Ready Meals - More Energy Efficient/Economical?

BooJewels

markin said:

BooJewels said:

I've thought about this lately myself and this was my thinking.  What I've always done with meals like lasagne - and even similar ready meals - is to split the difference - part cook in the microwave, then finish either under the grill, or in the oven. 

This is largely a time-saving and end result decision, not to save energy money - but I think that might be a small side benefit overall.  But I'm doing that anyway.

Dishes like lasagne can be cooked through to soft pasta in the microwave, then cheese added and popped in the oven, to have the oven baked finish that you don't get with microwave cooking.  I do this with baked potatoes, pasta dishes and the like too.  I regularly microwave something until it's hot, then oven cook - largely to save time.

Having said that, if I use my summer gas bills, when the heating is not on and therefore the gas is only used for the cooker and hot water - I average 16 m3 per month - even at the new prices (inc SC), that's 70p per day (was 44p) for all my hot water and cooking.  So even if I saved a bit on energy use in the oven - it's probably only pennies - and there's the corresponding increase in electricity use.  I wouldn't choose to eat ready meals in preference, just to save a few pennies. 

I'm not convinced that cooking is an area where much saving would be worth it - aside from obvious sensible tips, like putting lids on pans, using the right size pan on the right sized ring, not having flames up the side of the pan, better quality pans etc., so that you're not wasting energy - and another tip I've seen lately that I've started doing is if something just needs a couple more minutes, put the food back in and turn the oven off - there's enough heat still in the oven to carry on cooking a bit.

The high cost part is heating the oven up to temp, once that's done im not sure the is much difference in running it for 10min or 40min.

That was why I said I wasn't sure there was much of a fuel benefit to be had - I largely do it to take less time.  I think there might be more benefit if using the grill to brown things off - I've done that tonight, heated a pasta dish I prepped and froze previously, in the microwave, stuck some grated cheese on the top and stuck it under the grill whilst I set the table.  About 10-12 minutes cooking time in total - might have been 30 minutes or more in the oven.  There might be a modest saving to be had, but not enough to be worth doing it just to try and save money.

ZolaBuddy

badger09 said:

I have Coeliac disease so have always cooked from scratch. When diagnosed over 40 years ago, that was the only option. As I was also a full time working mum, I learned to batch cook.

Now in my 70s, I still happily spend 3 or 4 hours preparing bolognese, chilli, casseroles, tray bakes etc but always cook, and freeze, at least 6 extra portions for the 2 of us. Even for the infrequent Sunday roast, I cook extra veg for another meal. Occasionally buy Chicken Jalfrezi meals for 1, as there's no way I can be faffed preparing a curry, side, baji & rice when Mr T does it for me for £2 a head! 

Haven't tried to quantify it, but I'm convinced batch cooking saves money, not to mention my time.

I also have salad for my main meal 2 nights a week, but that's a weight control, rather than energy reduction measure 

.

I had a chat with my neighbours and I convinced them to buy a slow cooker and that batch cooking could be the way ahead for them.

They said they will still have their usual Sunday roast come what may but a slow cooker could well save them money in the long term.

adindas

ZolaBuddy said:

During an over-the-fence garden chat with my elderly neighbours this afternoon, they raised an interesting point about whether it was more economical and energy efficient to go for simple ready meals that you nuke in the microwave compared to cooking a traditional meals in the electric oven?

Up until a few days ago they were very keen on cooking meals from scratch (Sunday roasts, spag bols, cottage pies etc), using the oven and gas hob, on at least 4 or 5 days per week. But with the massive increase in energy bills on the way they are concerned that cooking by oven will be far more expensive compared to the ready meal option.

I really didn't have an answer for them, although I did suggest buying a slow cooker and cooking in bulk might be a better/healthier option compared to ready meals. But again I couldn't back this up with empirical stats. Although I did say I would try and find out for them.

Would anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

If your consideration is purely economics and energy efficient, ready meal that you bought from chain supermarket is definitely more economics and energy efficient for people who only prepare a meal for 1-2 people (say).

If you bought Curry, from Tesco/Asda (say) It will only you cost about £5-6 for two people. You could include anything like Ready Roast chicken, Chicken Kiev, spaghetti bolognese, etc.

How much will it cost you in term of raw materials and energy to cook it. Let alone if there is an opportunity cost to include your time to prepare and cook it.

About energy cost say you are using 900w Microwave, you will just need 5 minutes (e.g 5/60 hours) to warm it up. Say energy cost is 20p per KWH. The energy cost for this will only 0.9*15p * (5/60 hour)=1.5pence (not pound) so it is negligible.

But life is not just about economics and energy efficient. These meals contain preservatives, colourants, etc which is bad for health. Also some people enjoy cooking so they will see cooking is part of a break away from routine activities.

QrizB

adindas said:

If your consideration is purely economics and energy efficient, ready meal that you bought from chain supermarket is definitely more economics and energy efficient for people who only prepare a meal for 1-2 people (say).

If you bought Curry, from Tesco/Asda (say) It will only you cost about £5-6 for two people. You could include anything like Ready Roast chicken, Chicken Kiev, spaghetti bolognese, etc.

How much will it cost you in term of raw materials and energy to cook it.

£3 per person per meal is roughly double what it costs to cook it from scratch. We've covered this previously.

How much will it cost you in term of raw materials and energy to cook it. Let alone if there is an opportunity cost to include your time to prepare and cook it.

You are clearly cash-rich but time-poor. The "elderly neighbours" this thread is meant to help are the opposite.

[Deleted User]

My first meal I tried this week from oakhouse foods was the rustic cottage pie, it was very tasty and filling. The second meal was macaroni cheese, not so nice, it had a strong cheese flavour but the texture was weird! the only thing I could put it down to was it had a crispy crumb topping and I had stirred the mac cheese so the crispy topping was mush amongsts the mac cheese. I thought Id order some different dishes for next week, out of the seven I wanted to order five were out of stock! Comparing Wiltshire and Oakhouse, Wiltshire has the edge, on price and having over 330 dishes to choose from. Oakhouse do seem to be more like M&S ready meals and have posh packaging to make their meals more appealing.

Chrysalis

On my cooker, the hob is horrible, takes an eternity to get to temperature.

As for oven vs microwave, I assume a microwave is going to be hugely more efficient, less wattage with much lower cooking time.  Granted the oven wont be heating all the time once it reaches temperature, but I would be surprised if the energy usage is anywhere near close.

RogerBareford

adindas said:

ZolaBuddy said:

During an over-the-fence garden chat with my elderly neighbours this afternoon, they raised an interesting point about whether it was more economical and energy efficient to go for simple ready meals that you nuke in the microwave compared to cooking a traditional meals in the electric oven?

Up until a few days ago they were very keen on cooking meals from scratch (Sunday roasts, spag bols, cottage pies etc), using the oven and gas hob, on at least 4 or 5 days per week. But with the massive increase in energy bills on the way they are concerned that cooking by oven will be far more expensive compared to the ready meal option.

I really didn't have an answer for them, although I did suggest buying a slow cooker and cooking in bulk might be a better/healthier option compared to ready meals. But again I couldn't back this up with empirical stats. Although I did say I would try and find out for them.

Would anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

If your consideration is purely economics and energy efficient, ready meal that you bought from chain supermarket is definitely more economics and energy efficient for people who only prepare a meal for 1-2 people (say).

If you bought Curry, from Tesco/Asda (say) It will only you cost about £5-6 for two people. You could include anything like Ready Roast chicken, Chicken Kiev, spaghetti bolognese, etc.

How much will it cost you in term of raw materials and energy to cook it. Let alone if there is an opportunity cost to include your time to prepare and cook it.

About energy cost say you are using 900w Microwave, you will just need 5 minutes (e.g 5/60 hours) to warm it up. Say energy cost is 20p per KWH. The energy cost for this will only 0.9*15p * (5/60 hour)=1.5pence (not pound) so it is negligible.

But life is not just about economics and energy efficient. These meals contain preservatives, colourants, etc which is bad for health. Also some people enjoy cooking so they will see cooking is part of a break away from routine activities.

If your only cooking for one or two then you cook a bigger batch and freeze the leftovers for future meals. So cooking yourself still works out much cheaper than a ready meal. Plus it will likely taste better as you have made it yourself fresh with known ingredients and to a receipt of your own liking.