Cheaper to buy a ready meal?

VfM4meplse

Ginmonster wrote: »

I'm really disappointed with how unkind the comments have got here. I wouldn't want anyone to judge me now as an adult by how hard I did or didn't work at as a kid at school. No-one is perfect and anyone can fall into poverty no matter what their background.

I find Jack and her claims of being part of the proleteriat incongruous, just the same as Russell Brand. They give the left a bad name.

[Deleted User]

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I find Jack and her claims of being part of the proleteriat incongruous, just the same as Russell Brand. They give the left a bad name.

Bit like Bob Dylan when he was protesting about injustice and the poor then going back to his large mansion in a Roller paid for by his rebel songs :):)

PasturesNew

"They say" ..... she used to come to mse for recipes/help .... "they say".

Who are "they"? Dunno, I read it here somewhere.

Callie22

PasturesNew wrote: »

I blame the rise of the celebrity chef culture .... all flogging books and requiring no fewer than 182 obscure ingredients to make

Wheel out delia and you'll have a beef stew with just beef, spuds, carrots, onions, bit of gravy ...... wheel out a modern celeb chef and it'll take them longer to list their ingredients than it takes to cook it!

You don't need organic porcini mushrooms .... you can either leave that bit out, or just buy "any old mushrooms". You don't need a splash of wine, nor a bayleaf, nor a raft of ingredients.

I agree with some of what you say, but back in the 90s Delia was the absolute queen of obscure ingredients. Just thinking about her Christmas Collection TV series, she practically introduced pesto to this country (I remember having to go to a deli to buy a very expensive jar as it was just not something you could find anywhere else...), she introduced us to creme de marrons, ginger wine and made liquid glucose something that you could buy in the supermarket rather than a chemist's shop (chocolate truffle torte anyone?) It's hilarious watching some of her old series on YouTube as you see so many things that are pretty common in kitchens nowadays and you realise Delia was the one who publicised them first. Supermarkets even coined the term 'the Delia effect' because they knew that if something was featured in one of her programmes there'd be a rush on it the day after. Of course it all fell apart with the disaster that was her 'How to cheat at cooking' series but in the 90s Delia was as much a celebrity chef as anyone, and she was one who introduced us to lots of stuff that was 'obscure' .

PasturesNew

Callie22 wrote: »

.... back in the 90s

Oh I'm not THAT modern!

I had pesto once, nasty stuff. Sibling served it to me on pasta ribbons... gross! To be honest, offered that, I'd rather go hungry!

Maybe Delia started it all then ... the nonsense of cookery with stuff most of us have never heard of.

rach_k

ariarnia wrote: »

But those people, who believe in Jack, will see her saying it is cheaper to buy ready meals than to eat actual food.

I wouldn't worry about it. If people don't already know who she is, they won't take much notice of one tweet. If they do know who she is, they know the full story so won't jump to conclusions.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Ginmonster wrote: »

I did the same in my student days! Not sure I'd fancy one of those pasta and sauce things now though. Or beanfeast which was the other packet I'd add veg to to make a meal. I think I may have grown up after all!

I used to love Beanfeast! Would eat half a packet with value pasta and a bit of onion, carrot and pepper. Might see if it's still on the shelves.

I realise I have one ready meal as an emergency option in the freezer; Quorn cottage pie. And yes I can make several versions of veggie cottage pie from scratch. Pretty much all other ready meals I've tried have been sloppy, flaccid and always need bulking up with fresh veg as sides. They're just not that nice in my opinion.

PasturesNew

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

I used to love Beanfeast! Would eat half a packet with value pasta and a bit of onion, carrot and pepper. Might see if it's still on the shelves.

It is still sold.... and I still sigh when I see it .... because I really WANTED to like it, but couldn't. I was probably spoilt by the tins of quorn chunks/mince you could buy at the time, with those tasting better than the dried beanfeast. Maybe now I'll give it another go .... I want to like it I'll have to look up the price and see if I think it's "good value" or just overpriced.

As a rule I don't buy many ready meals (whatever the definition is) ... because they are expensive and you get so little. Some ranges used to be cheaper, but have increased in price or the ranges withdrawn and replaced by pricier products on shelves.

Sometimes though it's just nice to have a ready meal and eat it without any "leftovers" of raw ingredients, half opened packets etc ... and washing up to do

Where do you stop with the phrase "ready meal" anyway? That's subjective in itself.

bouicca21

Celebrity chefs started way back, and if they are the ones who pushed shops into having more variety then I for one am grateful. I remember being unable to buy garlic (there's no call for it), basil (there's no call for it), raw beetroot (there's no call for it), Parmesan (there's no call for it) and many other things - including basmati, arborio, pasta and anything wholemeal (there's no call for that) - in the early 1960s.

euronorris

PasturesNew wrote: »

Where do you stop with the phrase "ready meal" anyway? That's subjective in itself.

I make my own kind of ready meals these days. I bought a stock of tin foil trays and lids, and regularly do batches of things like cottage pie, portion up, label and stick in freezer. Then, on those lazy days where I just want something quick and easy, I pull one out, and stick it in the oven.


I haven't gone so far as costing it yet (it has things like bay leaf in it ), but I definitely prefer the quality and flavour. Also, I can't have cheese, so I can make mine without cheese grated on the top (and hubby can just add cheese to his when he wants).


Working hard to get my grocery bill down at the moment. Made improvements this month, but still a long way to go!