Disappointed by Birds Eye

MrsStepford

I am usually quite a fan of Birds Eye but not this time.

Birds Eye 2 Chargrill Fish Fillets with Sundried Tomato and Basil Sauce. 250g £3.75 or 3 for £10 from Iceland. Hadn't eaten them before so just bought the one box.

The plus points:

Wild Alaskan Pollack and it tasted of fish 🐟

A lot of clean ingredients
Only 1.2g carbs with 17g protein and  201mg Omega 3 per fillet oven-baked
Cook from frozen in oven in 30 mins or 5-8 mins in microwave depending on wattage

The minus points:

Not fillets just thin strips
The lecithin to bind the sauce didn't work, it was like pink hot water with tiny bits of tomato. Salty, no discernible tomato or basil flavour
Who needs dextrose (sugar) in fish ?

Anyone else tried this ?

sarah1972

Personally I wouldn’t buy fish in a sauce, I would buy the fish and then make a sauce that doesn’t have lots of nasties in it like the sugar you mention.

jon81uk

All ready made tomato sauces taste too sweet to me now due to the added sugar. As Sarah says buy some fish, basil and a tin of tomatoes to make your own sauce.

MrsStepford

I agree that making a sauce ourselves is better, but sometimes you need something that will cook quickly, after a long day.

It's now quite difficult to find fresh or frozen wild fish in supermarkets. Much of the fish is farmed in the Far East. Iceland is moving towards fish 'produced and packaged in China, for example. It's really hard to find wild Alaskan salmom at a reasonable price.

Buying wild fish and making a tomato sauce will be more expensive. I am able to buy organic Italian tinned tomatoes from Costco for 70p per 400g can (case of 12) at the moment and was horrified to see that Morrisons own brand organic 400g cans of tomatoes are 1.39 each. 

sarah1972

MrsStepford said:

I agree that making a sauce ourselves is better, but sometimes you need something that will cook quickly, after a long day.

It's now quite difficult to find fresh or frozen wild fish in supermarkets. Much of the fish is farmed in the Far East. Iceland is moving towards fish 'produced and packaged in China, for example. It's really hard to find wild Alaskan salmom at a reasonable price.

Buying wild fish and making a tomato sauce will be more expensive. I am able to buy organic Italian tinned tomatoes from Costco for 70p per 400g can (case of 12) at the moment and was horrified to see that Morrisons own brand organic 400g cans of tomatoes are 1.39 each. 

Can’t see on Birds Eye website that the Alaska Pollock is wild? 

So the same fish is £2 for 520g at Sainsburys (for example)  https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/jjames-white-fish-fillets-520g?istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=wxwqqaxqw&istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=15424330555&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%257Bsku%257D&utm_custom1=129852755749&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gclid=CjwKCAiAl9efBhAkEiwA4TorijYjsc3Cg4c2Ijy1xMPYEwhg8bRhjxkk-VrYR9LMbK-OLRRuwjZiLRoC5GIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Birds Eye £3.75 for 250g
Sainsburys pollock £1 for half the pack 260g which allows £2.75 for a can on toms and some basil so it’s hands down cheaper. 

pumpkin89

MrsStepford said:

Buying wild fish and making a tomato sauce will be more expensive. I am able to buy organic Italian tinned tomatoes from Costco for 70p per 400g can (case of 12) at the moment and was horrified to see that Morrisons own brand organic 400g cans of tomatoes are 1.39 each. 

I agree with your broader points and we have similar views around quality food!  But it has to be pointed out that Birds Eye are not using organic tomatoes, so it's not a like for like comparison.  I have the same issue when people say homemade is cheaper than ready meals - my recipes always cost more than the ready made equivalent, but it's not the same thing!

sarah1972 said:

Can’t see on Birds Eye website that the Alaska Pollock is wild? 

If you hover over Our Products and then Frozen Fish and Seafood it says "Have a look at our deliciously simple range of fish products, all made with 100% wild caught fillet".

MrsStepford

I have discovered that Aldi does stock some bags of wild frozen fish, so husband has volunteered to do a click & collect from the store in the next town, next weekend. I just have to find some other stuff to make up an order. 

But yes, we will have a go and see how cheap we can go 😉

SandyShores

We've been using this tomato sauce recipe from The Slimming Foodie.  Depending on what we are using it for, I usually add fresh garlic and an onion if I've got one in the cupboard.  Not sure if it would go with fish, but you could adapt and it keeps quite well /can freeze the leftovers:

https://www.theslimmingfoodie.com/best-ever-pizza-sauce/

I quite like the Sainsbury's jar of chunky veg pasta sauce if I'm in a real hurry - at 85p its difficult to beat.  DH has brought home the tubs from the cold aisle previously but at £2 a go I'd rather make my own.