Wiltshire farm foods or M&S?

Charlie Bingham meals are expensive, generally higher in fat, salt and sugar too.
M&S are generally cheaper and they have their Count on Us range.

I'm still able to cook but absolutely hate it. Plus we both have to watch our intake of fat, salt and sugar - but DH has a huge appetite (not over weight at all) so a lot of ready meals are not enough for him. I also quiver at the cost when I can make a medium chicken do four meals for us in different guises, adding spuds/rice/lentils/veg etc.

We do eat some ready meals but never more than twice a week. I also learnt last week that ready-made mash has some additive that raises blood pressure - something we must both avoid (forgotten what it is).

Check Iceland and Sainsbury - both have really updated their ranges of ready (or nearly) meals. If one can do tinned spuds and some veg, the range of possible meals is wide.

My dad loves the M&S range but I can’t always get the packs for one. We get him frozen meals delivered from Oakhouse Foods which are a similar price to M&S and imho are pretty good.
He does occasionally tell me that one’s been “shocking” but that generally means he hasn’t read the cooking instructions properly 😃

Picard’s frozen gnocci,..
Is this the one you mean?

www.ocado.com/products/picard-gnocchi-with-tomatoes-mozzarella-393106011?irclickid=!FN0BAMpdgMznBhHvuMMJGkadhif3nHPpQhQR8LjP3QeXa9P7BFauVKCFgAwEXwSCgWiDExDHgyvqeAAAth5GXw&sharedid=&irpid=1249479&irgwc=1&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=impact_affiliates&utm_content=RedBrain%20Ltd&utm_term=1249479

If so, I'm another fan...
It's got no odd ingredients and I try to keep it in my freezer in case my grandchildren arrive suddenly hungry. It makes a change from pasta and is even quicker.

I might add some extra basil or baby tomatoes or mozzarella pearls if I want to pad it out (or need to use them up).
We tend to have salad with it.

I cook mine in a frying pan with a good splash of olive oil. I think it takes about 7 or 8 minutes.

It's perfectly good straight out of the pack though. And you can put the pack back in the freezer once you've taken out what you want.

Farmgran: Good old "elf 'n safety"! I used to coordinate the local meals on wheels. It was run by the WRVS and staffed predominantly by volunteers. The meals were freshly cooked daily and only farmed out if there were specific dietary requirements.

As the referrals were made by Social Services, I don't think that the local authority did not like being in control, so they decided to contract out to a commercial firm. Which was an unnecessary cost to everyone, at the end of the day.

As one social worker said to me "How much cheaper than free can you get?"

dalrymple23

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.

That would be Oakhouse foods. dalrymple23
They deliver. A relative used to have them when he was alive.
No idea what they're like though.

I was going to suggest Ocado delivery ( often a deal for new customers)
They sell M & S and Charlie Bighams and there are often meal deals and offers. They have lots of high protein foods, low fat and gluten free options.
They sell Picard’s frozen foods which are excellent. Their frozen gnocci is lovely 6 mins in the microwave for a portion.

M&S are superior to Wiltshire Farm Foods. You could get them through the online supermarket Ocado, who sells the M&S range. You can get a late evening delivery for £1.99 (unless over £75). I get an Ocado delivery every month just to get some of their nicer foods. You can read customer reviews before you buy. Minimum order £40. Everything comes bagged up which I find convenient, only supermarket delivery still to do this, you pay for bags but it gets refunded when you return the bags.

I have used Wiltshire Farm Foods in the past and although convenient, many of them are disappointing. At the moment I have an “issue” going on with them - I found a small piece of clear Perspex in a Lasagne! I complained, they took away the offending piece of Perspex for testing, etc etc but now say after all their vigorous tests, both in the production factory and also in the raw materials factory - they have not been able to discover what caused it! A very flowery woman rang me to say they would like to send their new brochure and offer me a £25 credit off my next order!! I feel very disgruntled and that they are trying to fob me off with this unsatisfactory result and still have no idea what caused the item to be in my food. Good job I didn’t swallow it. I will stick to M&S in future - or maybe try Oakhurst? I didn’t like Parsley Box. Grrrrr…..

I think M&S and Charlie Bigham are both good, and they're amongst the many brands available from Ocaco. The ready meals are divided into types such as Indian, Italian etc. and the "meal deals" are there. Cook are really good too.
We also use microwave rice which can be plain or flavoured, all the brands seem OK, they cook in 2 minutes and you keep them in the cupboard rather than the fridge. I try to avoid buying meals with the rice in the same pack if possible as the whole meal is quite small and short on protein. Apparently frozen rice and mashed potato are good, though I've never tried them.
We also like haggis for a change, they can also be bought in slices but I don't think that they can be cooked from frozen.
Many simple meals can also be cooked quickly in the air fryer: fishcakes, chops, scampi and fish (portioned or whole).

We tried Wiltshire Farm Foods for one week when I was working full time and DH was ill.
Never again.

M and S.

Well worth the money, especially if you have a freezer. Check each item to make sure it can be frozen. Worth hunting for reductions there too.

Shinamae

I have just taken delivery of £36 order from Wiltshire farm foods, that was for six meals worked out about £6 a meal. I’ve only had one so far the roast beef and I have to say I was not overly impressed.
Please share your opinions with me..

They are dreadful on several counts. We bought some to keep in stock for if we needed a quick meal after an outing.
Firstly, the Wiltshire Farm photos show beautiful platefuls of appetisingly laid out food - a FULL plateful. I can only assume they set it out on a tea plate for the photo because our helpings were tiny and we had to top up with bread and butter. There truly wasn’t nearly enough to warrant calling it a meal. They tasted ok, nothing special and the ‘roast’ potatoes were soggy.
To sum up, I wouldn’t eat one again if you paid me!
M and S, while not perfect, were heaps better and more plentiful.

Dalrymple, I'm curiose as to why the local authorities would ban meals on wheels!
We still have them in NZ. Long may it last!

Desdemona

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.

When I was unwell recently, we ordered from Parsleybox. As you say, the portions are small, but as I didn’t have much of an appetite, they were fine. The ginger chicken is lovely!

The benefit of P’box is that you don’t need to find room in the freezer as they keep for months in a cupboard.

With all respect Shinamae you aren’t nearly old enough to be reduced to Wiltshire Farm Foods. If batch cooking at the weekend does not appeal, make the acquaintance of my good friend Charlie Bigham

I didn't like Wiltshire meals at all when I tried them. Also, it depends on our budget. I am perfect happy with Tesco ready meals, especially their low calorie range. M&S are lovely, but just an occasional treat for me. And Charlie Bingham likewise.

Thank you all. I shall definitely be trying the M&S food. The reason I need ready meals (, I’m only 72 )is the fact that when I work I don’t get home till 8:15 and I really don’t feel like cooking then.
I just had my second Wiltshire farm foods it was pork loin one piece of pork loin that curled up and was quite tough made up with a lot of veg and some mashed potatoes which is really cheap so I don’t think I will be ordering off Wiltshire foods again….

M0nica

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.

LOL

Sorry forgot add the website, cookfood.net.

Cook are superior to M&S and Waitrose.

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

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.

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.