Wiltshire farm foods or M&S?

I knew a District Nurse who used to see these meals in the homes of patients. She did not have a high opinion of them.

M&S are far superior. My DD in Aus ‘gave’ me a delivery of Wiltshire farm foods when I was unwell. They were truly awful. Poor DD knowing no better, thought she was ordering from a good online food deliverer not from a company well known for providing for the elderly & infirm 😂. I’d highly recommend Charlie Bigham’s or Cook.

My parents are in their nineties, and to maintain their independence as far as possible, we have tried lots of options. They weren’t keen on Wiltshire Farm Foods, but I do a fortnightly shop for them at M&S, and they love M&S food. I often buy the £12 deal of a main, side and dessert, which is the best value. Overall M&S is more expensive, but there is plenty of choice, and they eat it, which is the most important thing. My mum is having a moment with the stuffed fish cakes at the moment, particularly the cod with parsley sauce, she loves them.

My MiL used to have Wiltshire Farm Foods. Maybe she was lucky but she got on well with them. She also had the meal deals from places such as Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s etc. she lived into her 90’s and was very active right up until she died. They worked well for her and she never said a bd word about any of them. She wasn’t keen on Parsley Box.

Everyone who I know who uses Wiltshire loves them My dad had them for the last few years of his life and thought they were brilliant I m not keen on M and S I bought 3 for £10 vegetable cannelloni and they were not very good at all and needed longer in the microwave than it advised on the packet

We used to get Wiltshire Farm Foods meals for my FiL. I thought they lacked flavour.

We buy Parsley Box (to use in our motorhome) which I think are better. The advantage of them is that they can just be kept in a cupboard, not a freezer.

I have no doubt that M&S are better quality. I expect it's true of all of them that some recipes are nicer than others.

I think the truth is we all have different taste buds and what suits some, doesn’t suit others. I’d be willing to try all of them and we do have the Tesco meal deals and M&S already. For days when I can’t be bothered to cook they are a lifesaver!

Aren't they what has replaced Meals On Wheels?
I'm sure they have their place
for the elderly who may not have much of an appetite or prefer "mush" but I'd go for Cook or Charlie Bigham any day.
M&S vary, their "best ever Mac n Cheese" is good for instance other dishes, less so.

Which are the healthiest ready meals? Does anyone know any research on this?

Many of my clients used to have Wiltshire Farm Foods. And yes, the company did step in when Meals on Wheels was banned by local authorities. The food always looked atrocious and the recipients were not over enthusiastic. But they were convenient and the redeeming feature was the unwavering kindness of the delivery people.

I rival popped up. I am sorry but I cannot remember the name - Oak ... (ham, land, field). The principle was the same (delivered frozen, microwaved from the freezer), the prices were similar but the food quality was far, far superior and the menus more varied.

M & S did fresh mini meals but the choice was limited. And, of course, there had to be someone to go and get them.

Try "Cook foods:
These are better in my opinion.
Some Waitrose and some M&S. are OK too.

Not cheap but if you are looking for a "free from" range the Field Doctor offers tasty options. You need to check for your own issues of course. www.fielddoctor.co.uk/landing/range-bundle/gluten-free?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GV+%7C+PMAX+%7C+Bundles&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21678154200&gclid=CjwKCAjw3f_BBhAPEiwAaA3K5CvMkswfmD8gZZwz1Pru71LtoIxJSPMnPosHac2cKBzWlrq_dTwlYhoCCmQQAvD_BwE

These are very good if you like curries

www.chefakila.com/

Of course you can put M&S and Charlie Bigham in your Ocado order if you use Ocado.
They also do a good flan/quiche - Jon Thorner I think it's made by.

A friend of mine said that the greatest incentive she had to getting well, being active and doing her own shopping was the fear of having to relie on Wiltshire Home Foods. She had had them for a couple of weeks after coming out of hospital.

No experience of Wiltshire Farm Foods.

Parsley Box meals are tasty and don't need to be kept in the fridge but the portions are really small, unless you opt for the larger sizes they offer in a few of the recipes at an additional cost.

My Late Mum had M&S meals.. She tried Wiltshire Foods and they were not a hit with her, and that's putting it politely!

I buy a lot of M&S ready meals. Ido have to be careful, though, that what I’m buying can be frozen. I love their curries and couldn’t understand why some of the ones I bought could be frozen and some couldn’t even though they were so similar. Their food is often short dated which is why I have to freeze it sometimes. We bought a lot of Parsley Box meals during the pandemic. They weren’t very filling so needed vegetables etc adding to them but, apart from the lasagne were quite tasty. And very convenient as you can keep them in your larder.

Lots of ready meals are not really ready though, are they? If you've got to start cooking veg, or rice or any kind of accompaniment then it starts to get expensive and not very "ready".

Both Cook and Charlie Bigham generally offer smaller portions than your standard ready meal at much higher cost.
Both are OK if you're happy to pay a higher price and don't mind having to cook sides to go with it.

I think I've tried every ready meal going from cheap supermarket offerings to so called "gourmet" meals. M & S probably the best. I'm not sure that delicious, nutritious and reasonably priced can be applied to any ready meal so it's a case of experimenting until you find what suits your taste/budget.

We have a Farmfoods shop next door to Lidl. MrB buys their Steam meals, 3 for £5 and many different varieties. They are ideal for me, I don’t have a big appetite and they are just right and very tasty.

M&S wins hands down. No comparison whatsoever.

M&S. The Gastropub ones are the best but they may not come in single portions.

Charlie Bigham but they can't be microwaved if you're trying to save on fuel costs.

Waitrose Meal Deals. Again could be for two and I haven't tried their other ready meals.

I haven't tried Wiltshire Farm Foods.

Both Cook and Charlie Bigham generally offer smaller portions than your standard ready meal at much higher cost.

Goodness! We've found a Charlie Bigham meal for two is plenty. I'd always do vegetables anyway.

Wiltshire Farms are OK, but M&S ready meals, on the whole, are far tastier