Best frozen ready meals ?

spider · September 2017

On the whole who's frozen ready meals do you recommend ?

For reasons I'lll not really go into, the fresh ones are not too practical as I need something with a longish life. I have browsed (and ordered a few times) from supermarkets as some are too far away (no wheels currently) but each does vary in what it offers both its own branded bits and various 'major brands' , for instance some online supermarkets only stock a few (different in each it seems!) brands of the Bisto ready meals and such...

I do need things that are microwaveable though rather than oven, which is a shame as there's a few that state oven only unfortunately.

Regarding meal 'content' as long as its not got any cheese, an excess of "wine gravy" (yuk) or is too heavily tomato based (can't really deal with tomoto's upset my stomach a bit, shame as it rules out quite a few soups) its OK. Not fussed if its vegan or meat based I'll eat most meats.

Bear in mind anything I order will be online so that rules out things like Co-op / M+S / FarmFoods / Aldi as these do not appear to have online food ordering that I see.

Thanks for any recommendations / things to keep away from. :D

EDIT... I have added a bit more information.

F_Clowder · September 2017

This should keep you alive through the winter:
Quality-Grade-A-Dried-StockFish-Frozen-Stock-Fish-for-Sale.jpg

or

spider · September 2017

I have yet to see microwave fish fingers available. I'm aware you can sort of nuke them anyway (you can with most stuff) but its not really ideal.

Birds eye do do some (not many!) inspiration meals that are microwave suitable however the ones I looked at were cheese or something content. Not suitable.

F_Clowder · September 2017

Well, that's me giving up then. I can only come up with fish for some reason. Sorry!

1024MAK · September 2017

Ice cream :D

F_Clowder · September 2017

Once microwaved, it will go great with the microwavable fish!

1024MAK wrote: »

Ice cream :D

1024MAK · September 2017

F_Clowder wrote: »

Once microwaved, it will go great with the microwavable fish!

1024MAK wrote: »

Ice cream :D

You microwave your ice cream :-O

F_Clowder · September 2017

Yes, to soften the chocolate on the outside.

1024MAK wrote: »

F_Clowder wrote: »

Once microwaved, it will go great with the microwavable fish!

1024MAK wrote: »

Ice cream :D

You microwave your ice cream :-O

guesser · September 2017

Need to be able to cook them from frozen presumably?
Somewhat annoyingly most of Tesco's ready meals no longer have microwave from frozen timings, only from chilled, so if you freeze them you're supposed to defrost them again before use which kind of defeats the point of having meals stuffed in the freezer for emergencies.

F_Clowder · September 2017

No freezing needed!

Also, no microwave needed. Just leave ten or twenty of these boxes on your counter or in your pantry, and you should be good.

spider · September 2017

guesser wrote: »

Need to be able to cook them from frozen presumably?

Yes that's a slight problem. The fresh range of things (I was looking at Acado amongst others) , you could freeze them but they are (to me it seems) never quite right after even if you defrost them.

But ideally frozen 'put in microwave for x minutes, stir (maybe) then another x minutes" thing are required...

Can't rely too much on 'own site' reviews either I think. I'll admit I'm slightly wary of say a supermarkets own "beef hotpot dinner" for a pound compared to a branded one for £2. I do have to be quite careful in what I eat... :)

Not a food snob :D Just can't really tolerate (stomach not me personally) crappy food at this moment in time, its a very long story...

F_Clowder · September 2017

So, this good stuff is out of the question?

MatGubbins · September 2017

guesser wrote: »

Need to be able to cook them from frozen presumably?
Somewhat annoyingly most of Tesco's ready meals no longer have microwave from frozen timings, only from chilled, so if you freeze them you're supposed to defrost them again before use which kind of defeats the point of having meals stuffed in the freezer for emergencies.

I thought the same, you have to walk around your Tesco as there are ready meals from chilled and ready meals from frozen, they are usually miles away from each other, in a different aisle. Sainsburys does the same thing, chilled are with the meats/pate/cheese section, frozen are with the chips/peas/ice cream, usually at the opposite end of the store. They just want you to walk around the whole bloody store trying to find stuff.

zx1 · September 2017

I like weight watchers cottage pie from Morrisons, you get quite a lot and it's not too bad.
They also do something called chicken in white sauce with herb potatoes and green beans which i also like.

guesser · September 2017

MatGubbins wrote: »

I thought the same, you have to walk around your Tesco as there are ready meals from chilled and ready meals from frozen, they are usually miles away from each other, in a different aisle.

I mean the chilled ones though, a couple have cook from frozen instructions but I'm sure that some have changed. The curries for instance I'm sure used to have cook from frozen times on the chilled ones so I dunno why they've changed it. They cook from frozen fine anyway but it's a bit daft having to guess how long for and when to stop and stir. I tend to be a bit overcautious and end up with a certain amount of dried out curry sauce stuck round the rim of the tray.

MatGubbins · September 2017

guesser wrote: »

MatGubbins wrote: »

I thought the same, you have to walk around your Tesco as there are ready meals from chilled and ready meals from frozen, they are usually miles away from each other, in a different aisle.

I mean the chilled ones though, a couple have cook from frozen instructions but I'm sure that some have changed. The curries for instance I'm sure used to have cook from frozen times on the chilled ones so I dunno why they've changed it. They cook from frozen fine anyway but it's a bit daft having to guess how long for and when to stop and stir. I tend to be a bit overcautious and end up with a certain amount of dried out curry sauce stuck round the rim of the tray.

Yeah, I've got a few of those too, the ones that have defrost for 8/16/24/48 hours before cooking printed in the tiniest of lettering that requires a 1000x microscope, hidden away in the ingredients section, after the cooking instructions. If I ever buy them they get a huge sticker put on front "defrost for a day, and microwave for longer".

The other awkward ones are break into sections, cook the meaty bit for 5 minutes, stand on head, stir, add rice cook for 3 minutes, add water, cook, stir, down a can of lager, stir, cook, wait, cook again. If your microwave is 650 then add 3 minutes, 850 decrease 1 minute, 750 add 4 minutes, stand time 2 minutes. Must be piping hot and rice must be toasted solid, stir, oils may lift to the surface. Defrost for 24 hours before cooking.

spider · September 2017

zx1 wrote: »

I like weight watchers cottage pie from Morrisons, you get quite a lot and it's not too bad.
They also do something called chicken in white sauce with herb potatoes and green beans which i also like.

I have ordered from them before, they are pretty good generally. The Cottage Pie (I did like one brand of it can't remember which one though) I can't have the one you mention the tomato content is too high. Same with ones that have a cheese topping. :)

I did try the W.W Beefy hot pot thing a few months ago but the wine (ish) gravy I did not enjoy, the rest of it was quite reasonable though to be honest.

zx1 · September 2017

The cottage pie i have has no cheese topping as i can't stand cheese on potato/meat. There is no tomato in this one as far as know.
Some places do those 'meals for one' which is chicken or roast beef with potatoes but they tend to be a bit crap.

Scottie_uk · September 2017

Findus Crispy Pancakes Curry Flavor.

Vampyre · September 2017

The missus has had the Asda weight watcher ones and said they are nice. Lasagne is the best.

Why not make your own big pots of stew, curry or ragu and freeze in some plastic boxes? Much cheaper, much healthier and about 50x more tasty. I appreciate cooking is not for everyone, but its kinda my thang. The Hairy Dieters Cook books have some fantastic, healthy, quick recipes.

1024MAK · September 2017

"Best frozen ready meals ?" are those that don't have cold lumps in the middle when you eat them... :D

1024MAK · September 2017

A search of "frozen ready meal" on a popular supermarket web site shows lots of results...

I've eaten some of these, but I think of those I liked best either had cheese or tomatos in them.

Mark

spider · September 2017

Random: I actually have done a few phantom orders recently just left them in the 'basket' as such. I did get a couple of email offers from one place who said if I spent x I could have some pennies off.

It was more than I wanted to spend, quite a lot more but after calculating it a bit, figured a large spend would balance out. Upon finishing the order the voucher code / email link was invalid despite it being dated 11/09/17.

Without naming names although it could be figured out, the min spend is 40 normally but if I spent 80 (as my first shop) I could have it for 60. Sounds good to me.

Have emailed them about it via the contact form as too lazy to call, will see if they respond over a weekend or I'll go elsewhere (again!) :)

A cynical mind tells me the software **might** of used US date formats but that would be silly as it would then be two months late for a fresh email to a UK customer.

zx1 · September 2017

What about pizza? I have a recipe you could try :))

AndyC · September 2017

spider wrote: »

I have yet to see microwave fish fingers available. I'm aware you can sort of nuke them anyway (you can with most stuff) but its not really ideal.

Spread a little butter or margarine on them before microwaving them, works wonders.

As to ready meals, they're all a bit crap in my experience and generally pretty bad for you (even the "healthy" ones tend to have incredibly high salt contents). I used to be terrible for living off them and takeaway junk food and ended up in a pretty bad way as a result. I now have a fairly strict low carb, low fat diet and as a result have just been plain forced into having to eat a lot more fresh and home made food. At first it seemed incredibly burdensome, but after a while you learn you can pretty much stir fry a few vegetables and some quorn pieces in about the same time it would take to microwave a meal.

spider · September 2017

zx1 wrote: »

What about pizza? I have a recipe you could try :))

If said pizza can be made without any cheese or tomato content at all (and ideally not any form of white bread based 'base' wholemeal is OK) then that's fine... :)

spider · September 2017

AndyC wrote: »

spider wrote: »

I have yet to see microwave fish fingers available. I'm aware you can sort of nuke them anyway (you can with most stuff) but its not really ideal.

Spread a little butter or margarine on them before microwaving them, works wonders.

As to ready meals, they're all a bit crap in my experience and generally pretty bad for you (even the "healthy" ones tend to have incredibly high salt contents). I used to be terrible for living off them and takeaway junk food and ended up in a pretty bad way as a result. I now have a fairly strict low carb, low fat diet and as a result have just been plain forced into having to eat a lot more fresh and home made food. At first it seemed incredibly burdensome, but after a while you learn you can pretty much stir fry a few vegetables and some quorn pieces in about the same time it would take to microwave a meal.

I have seen that 'food cheats' site which shows how to nuke various things. I actually asked about the Linda McCartney sausages being microwaved at their site but their reply was generic unfortunately, as the Quorn and Cauldron branded ones state oven only IIRC but the Fry's ones have micro instructions on them...

I do eat meat, but the veggie stuff seems easier to micro. Having said that the Wall's 'ready baked' sausages, I have only heard good things about them so I will hunt a pack down and try them.

I hear you about the salt content in general though I do see that. Having said that I've had some of those 'steamfresh' vegs earlier and they were very nice. 3/4 min in the micro and you're done. Went well with a quick baked potato. :D

mik3d3nch · September 2017

Jamaican beef patties, https://www.sams247.com/Patties-howto.aspx
Marie Callendar pot pies http://www.mariecallendersmeals.com/frozen-pot-pies
and those Chinese roll things are my favourite ready to eat frozen foods.

You can nuke all of them but its worth being patient because they taste much better from the oven. I do all my baking in a toaster oven, much more convenient than a regular oven. Use a food thermometer just to be safe.

1024MAK · September 2017

In terms of ovens, I find a combination microwave oven very useful. It can microwave stuff, cook using a conventional heating element (fan assisted) or do both at the same time (combination mode)(so quicker than just conventional) and if you get it right, crispy food ends up crispy on the outside instead of "limp". But I'm no cook so it's often more of a fluke when I get it right :))

A combination microwave oven can be quicker and more efficient even on conventional than a normal oven, as the cooking compartment is normally smaller.

Speaking of which, I use combination to do Ginsters Original Cornish Pasty's, Steak Slice or Chicken & Mushroom Slice. Along with microwave quick chips. I have tomato sauce on mine though which you won’t want :D

Mark

zx1 · September 2017

[quote="spider;921067"

I do eat meat, but the veggie stuff seems easier to micro. Having said that the Wall's 'ready baked' sausages, I have only heard good things about them so I will hunt a pack down and try them.
[/quote]

I tried those Walls sausages and they were horrible, you did them in the microwave for about 4 or 5 minutes but when i took them out they were really greasy and had a horrible chemical aftertaste. You can try them but be warned.

dm_boozefreek · September 2017

mik3d3nch wrote: »

Jamaican beef patties, https://www.sams247.com/Patties-howto.aspx
Marie Callendar pot pies http://www.mariecallendersmeals.com/frozen-pot-pies
and those Chinese roll things are my favourite ready to eat frozen foods.

You can nuke all of them but its worth being patient because they taste much better from the oven. I do all my baking in a toaster oven, much more convenient than a regular oven. Use a food thermometer just to be safe.

Oh Mike me and you are kindred spirits really ;)

Best frozen ready meals ?

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