why do frozen meals get such a bad rap

sdraobs

Is it lazy news/journalism to talk about all processsed foods being bad. I am lazy myself which is why i want to find a way to heath healthy and cheaply. so i am hoping frozen meals are the solution.

I can understand products like palm oil, pizzas, cornuctose and all the different names for sugar, but looking at the ingredients for a frozen spag ball from a main supermarket, it looks quite okay:

INGREDIENTS: Cooked Spaghetti(Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Tomato Purée (Water, Tomato Purée), Beef (13%), Tomato, Onion, Water, Cornflour, Red Wine(Red Wine, Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)), Garlic Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Chicory Fibre, Yeast Extract, Basil, Thyme, Flavouring, Oregano, Black Pepper, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion Powder, Beef Extract, Tomato Powder, Sunflower Oil.

So looking for peoples views as to whether they consider frozen packaged meals bad. is it the method of cooking that is so bad. if i make a spag ball from scratch and freeze and i processing it?

the veg in them are frozen (accept not much veg in this particualr spag bog) but arent frozen veg healthier than fresh ones that lose vitamins sitting in fruit and veg aisle.

Dial Hard

It's the nutritional info you need to be looking at rather than just the ingredients list. Ready meals are often laced with salt, fat and sugar to make them palatable. Pay particular attention to the portion sizes listed - the nutritional info given may be for half a pack but you might easily eat the whole thing.

The same meal cooked from scratch at home and then frozen is a different beast altogether. You can control exactly what goes into it and will likely use better quality ingredients than the mass-produced version.

sdraobs

Dial Hard wrote: »

It's the nutritional info you need to be looking at rather than just the ingredients list. Ready meals are often laced with salt, fat and sugar to make them palatable. Pay particular attention to the portion sizes listed - the nutritional info given may be for half a pack but you might easily eat the whole thing.

The same meal cooked from scratch at home and then frozen is a different beast altogether. You can control exactly what goes into it and will likely use better quality ingredients than the mass-produced version.

Thank you Dial Hard. If thats as bad as it is, then ill go with frozen meals. Ill choose the low salt/fat/sugar ones, and keep an eye on nutritional values. So your message is reassuring.

Macy0161

Dial Hard wrote: »

Pay particular attention to the portion sizes listed - the nutritional info given may be for half a pack but you might easily eat the whole thing.

Definitely pay attention to this bit, something that seems to be getting worse in my experience. One example I see all the time in work is those microwave rice pouches - the headline nutritional data on the side is per portion, which is half a pouch, rather than the whole lot.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

Thank you Dial Hard. If thats as bad as it is, then ill go with frozen meals. Ill choose the low salt/fat/sugar ones, and keep an eye on nutritional values.

You'll rarely get ones that are low in salt, fat and sugar. One being low usually means another is higher.

sdraobs

Macy0161 wrote: »

Definitely pay attention to this bit, something that seems to be getting worse in my experience. One example I see all the time in work is those microwave rice pouches - the headline nutritional data on the side is per portion, which is half a pouch, rather than the whole lot.

my diet strategy is to eat as much good food as i want. good food including something like spag bog. so not worried about calories

im sure my comments have been ridiculed/attacked to death in other sub-forums, but i dont think people are getting fat from over eating dinners like lasagnes, meat and two veg, rice packets etc. i think people are getting big from cakes/ takeaways, donuts, chocolate that is all around us. thats my view. im not an expert, not even an amateur at this type of thing. just my view.

Lux23

Plus you can only take the food producer's word for it when it comes to the ingredients listed on the packaging. The horsemeat scandal will tell you there could be all sorts of crap in ready meals that might not be listed. You're better making it from scratch and freezing it yourself.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

my diet strategy is to eat as much good food as i want. good food including something like spag bog. so not worried about calories

im sure my comments have been ridiculed/attacked to death in other sub-forums, but i dont think people are getting fat from over eating dinners like lasagnes, meat and two veg, rice packets etc. i think people are getting big from cakes/ takeaways, donuts, chocolate that is all around us. thats my view. im not an expert, not even an amateur at this type of thing. just my view.

People get fat from eating too many calories.

sdraobs

Lux23 wrote: »

Plus you can only take the food producer's word for it when it comes to the ingredients listed on the packaging. The horsemeat scandal will tell you there could be all sorts of crap in ready meals that might not be listed. You're better making it from scratch and freezing it yourself.

im too lazy, and time is money. thanks for pointing out that too. i wouldnt be surprised with the lack of regulation.

sdraobs

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

People get fat from eating too many calories.

yeah, but i reckon if people never eat chocolate/crisps/donuts/ice cream/ pizzas/takeaways etc ever again, id say in practice, their would be no obesity.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

yeah, but i reckon if people never eat chocolate/crisps/donuts/ice cream/ pizzas/takeaways etc ever again, id say in practice, their would be no obesity.

So if people ate less, their would be no obesity.

I concur.

sdraobs

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

So if people ate less, their would be no obesity.

I concur.

well they can eat more, as long as its not the wrong foods.

but i agree, in that by eating more good food, they will be eating less calories. so in one way they would be eating less.

Macy0161

It's very easy to go over maintenance over indulging in "good" food like nuts. It's not only "bad" food that are calorie dense.

OhHiMark

You can absolutely get fat from just eating pasta, potatoes, meat, rice etc. without touching chocolate or cake.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

well they can eat more, as long as its not the wrong foods.

but i agree, in that by eating more good food, they will be eating less calories. so in one way they would be eating less.

Just be aware that while spag bol can be 'good food' ready meals rarely are.

sdraobs

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Just be aware that while spag bol can be 'good food' ready meals rarely are.

yeah but i think its lazy journalism to say ready meals are bad. without giving reasons. i see it on all these tv programs that the uk/irl governemnt are peddling to get us to eat better.

based on Dial Hard, ill stick iwth the frozen meals. ingredients arent that bad. better than the average person who might think they are too tired to cook so order in a pizza/mcdonalds/ or krispy kreme

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

yeah but i think its lazy journalism to say ready meals are bad. without giving reasons. i see it on all these tv programs that the uk/irl governemnt are peddling to get us to eat better.

based on Dial Hard, ill stick iwth the frozen meals. ingredients arent that bad. better than the average person who might think they are too tired to cook so order in a pizza/mcdonalds/ or krispy kreme

Dial Hard also explained why ready meals are usually not considered good food:

:Ready meals are often laced with salt, fat and sugar to make them palatable. Pay particular attention to the portion sizes listed - the nutritional info given may be for half a pack but you might easily eat the whole thing"

Dog Man Star

Frozen meals need preservatives, usually buckets of salt.

I'm no nutritionist, but I can tell you that I have never felt as satisfied after a ready meal as I have after a bucket of stew or a plateful of pasta.

I lived on my own for a while and would always go for a ready meal after work. Now that I know better, I would have spent my Saturday afternoons cooking batches of ragu, curry base or pizza bases, rather than pulling meself off.

Frozen meals are invariably processed to the nines, and not be relied upon for a healthy & balanced diet. Next.

Rory28

You won't get what you want from frozen dinners OP. Its not much effort to boil some ham and make a weeks worth of dinner/sandwiches out of it.

Allinall

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Frozen meals are invariably processed to the nines, and not be relied upon for a healthy & balanced diet. Next.

This is a meaningless comment.

All meals are “processed”.

Allinall

Allinall wrote: »

This is a meaningless comment.

All meals are “processed”.

Stand corrected, altered in any way during preparation whether fresh or frozen. A more accurate description is laden with preservatives, usually high in sugar/salt content which is not conducive to best health in the long-term.

sdraobs

Deleted User wrote: »

Stand corrected, altered in any way during preparation whether fresh or frozen. A more accurate description is laden with preservatives, usually high in sugar/salt content which is not conducive to best health in the long-term.

the ready meal i referred to was low in sugar/fat. frozen foods dont have preservatives as the frozen state preserves them.

i am open to changing my opinion on frozen packaged meals. though i think all other users that are contributing to this forum have that mentality that they are bad without knowing why they are bad. i dont have an agenda. just the piercing with a fork and bang into microwave is alot quicker and less hassle than cooking from stratch if work was already done.

_Brian

Dog Man Star wrote: »

Frozen meals need preservatives, usually buckets of salt.

I'm no nutritionist, but I can tell you that I have never felt as satisfied after a ready meal as I have after a bucket of stew or a plateful of pasta.

I lived on my own for a while and would always go for a ready meal after work. Now that I know better, I would have spent my Saturday afternoons cooking batches of ragu, curry base or pizza bases, rather than pulling meself off.

My wife is a registered Dietitian and she doesn’t rate these as a proper food for anyone.

Op thinking they will eat as much as they want and thinking people don’t get fat from lasagna or bolonase is a proper joke of an outlook.

Problem with eating as much as you like is the portions gradually increase over time to keep you satisfied, people “get fat” from overeating, no matter what it is your eating.

_Brian

sdraobs wrote: »

the ready meal i referred to was low in sugar/fat. frozen foods dont have preservatives as the frozen state preserves them.

i am open to changing my opinion on frozen packaged meals. though i think all other users that are contributing to this forum have that mentality that they are bad without knowing why they are bad. i dont have an agenda. just the piercing with a fork and bang into microwave is alot quicker and less hassle than cooking from stratch if work was already done.

They do know why they are bad, too much salt, sugar and fats.

Also the foods are cooked in large quantities with a view to them being preserved, often cooked and the nutritional value partially or completely lost.

They you reheat them again, further damaging the food value.

These convenience foods will come nowhere close to freshly cooked foods cooked by yourself where you know what is in them. There is no shortcut to having a proper diet, it takes an amount of effort and input from yourself.

Remember, you can’t exercise away a bad diet.

sdraobs

sdraobs wrote: »

the ready meal i referred to was low in sugar/fat. frozen foods dont have preservatives as the frozen state preserves them.

i am open to changing my opinion on frozen packaged meals. though i think all other users that are contributing to this forum have that mentality that they are bad without knowing why they are bad. i dont have an agenda. just the piercing with a fork and bang into microwave is alot quicker and less hassle than cooking from stratch if work was already done.

As a blanket statement this is completely false. What about that pizza taken out of the freezer?

sdraobs

Deleted User wrote: »

As a blanket statement this is completely false. What about that pizza taken out of the freezer?

I gave an example of a frozen packaged meal ingredients at the start of the thread that seemed healthy, and i bashed pizzas as they always seem to be bad.

Im not saying all frozen packaged meals are bad. there seem to be good ones. and if i find one with low salt, low sugar, and non-bad fats, they seem okay. esp if i have some frozen veg with them.

Seems to be a market for someone to make good quality dinners and freeze them. But probably wouldnt get off the ground as they are painted with teh same brush taht all packaged frozen meals are bad.

Dog Man Star

Cooking for one is boring and pointless. You're cooking for 20 mins and it's eaten in 10.

Like I said, cooking up a slow cooker ragu on a Saturday afternoon is better.

Monday: Get in from work, kettle on, pasta in boiling water, ragu in microwave for 5 mins and you in the shower.

Get out 10 mins later and it's all done.

I wish I had done this, rather than microwaving a frozen shepherds pie.

Likewise, homemade pizza bases in freezer made on Saturday, while listening to football.

Monday, get home, oven on. Shower. Get out, spread sauce on pizza base, add toppings: tuna, chorizo, whatever's in fridge, into the oven. 10 minutes, perfect pizza.

sdraobs

Dog Man Star wrote: »

Cooking for one is boring and pointless. You're cooking for 20 mins and it's eaten in 10.

Like I said, cooking up a slow cooker ragu on a Saturday afternoon is better.

Monday: Get in from work, kettle on, pasta in boiling water, ragu in microwave for 5 mins and you in the shower.

Get out 10 mins later and it's all done.

I wish I had done this, than microwaving a frozen shepherds pie.

thanks, that sounds like a good idea. i appreciate your input and suggestion.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

the ready meal i referred to was low in sugar/fat. frozen foods dont have preservatives as the frozen state preserves them.

What you posted in the OP:

INGREDIENTS: Cooked Spaghetti(Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Tomato Purée (Water, Tomato Purée), Beef (13%), Tomato, Onion, Water, Cornflour, Red Wine(Red Wine, Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)), Garlic Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Chicory Fibre, Yeast Extract, Basil, Thyme, Flavouring, Oregano, Black Pepper, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion Powder, Beef Extract, Tomato Powder, Sunflower Oil.


They don't rely on being frozen to preserve them. They add sulphur dioxide (E220).

sdraobs

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

What you posted in the OP:

INGREDIENTS: Cooked Spaghetti(Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Tomato Purée (Water, Tomato Purée), Beef (13%), Tomato, Onion, Water, Cornflour, Red Wine(Red Wine, Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)), Garlic Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Chicory Fibre, Yeast Extract, Basil, Thyme, Flavouring, Oregano, Black Pepper, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion Powder, Beef Extract, Tomato Powder, Sunflower Oil.


They don't rely on being frozen to preserve them. They add sulphur dioxide (E220).

okay, i stand corrected. i was hoping for some justification or someone to agree. i think i must be wrong. thanks for contributions everyone. f**king chopping and frying pan for me. ....cleaning up*** ahhh:(.

Effects

sdraobs wrote: »

ill stick iwth the frozen meals. ingredients arent that bad. better than the average person who might think they are too tired to cook

Make sure you wash it down with something healthy, like a glass of Sunny Delight.

Alf Veedersane

sdraobs wrote: »

okay, i stand corrected. i was hoping for some justification or someone to agree. i think i must be wrong. thanks for contributions everyone. f**king chopping and frying pan for me. ....cleaning up*** ahhh:(.

There absolutely is a market for decent pre-made dinners. Not all 'ready meals' are necessarily bad.

And the odd time it's not an issue. But all the time and you're eating stuff that's not good quality, nutritionally.

Anyway, batch cooking makes life a lot easier, as someone above mentioned. I do it on the weekend. You can make it as handy as you like and a slow cooker would be your friend so you can lob it all in and head off and come back to a weeks worth of dinners.

Dial Hard

sdraobs wrote: »

based on Dial Hard, ill stick iwth the frozen meals. ingredients arent that bad. better than the average person who might think they are too tired to cook so order in a pizza/mcdonalds/ or krispy kreme

Just to clarify, I wasn't advising you to eat frozen meals! You seem to be differentiating between ready meals and frozen meals but a frozen ready meal is still a ready meal.

What I was saying is that you need to be hyper-aware of nutritional values and portion sizes instead of just fixating on ingredients lists and going "Oh well these all sound ok".

Really, my advice was to cook from scratch and freeze at home. Clearly you don't enjoy cooking, so batch cooking is your friend. As is a slow cooker.

Best of luck with it.

Dog Man Star

sdraobs wrote: »

thanks, that sounds like a good idea. i appreciate your input and suggestion.

You're welcome mate, get the food right and you are laughing.

Monday night was my movie night, big plate of pasta, headphones on and watch films like Bladerunner and Alien.

Great days.

PS - if you need a drink to match your perfect pizza or fresh pasta, a shiraz wine from Australia is my choice. Lindemans preferably, never Jacob's Creek.

Ok, shouldn't do this here, but film list:

1. Alien
2. Aliens
3. Bladerunner
4. No Country for old men
5. There Will Be Blood
6. Sunshine
7. Star Wars
8. Cold Mountain
9. Vanishing Point
10. An inconvenient Truth

Macy0161

Dog Man Star wrote: »

Cooking for one is boring and pointless. You're cooking for 20 mins and it's eaten in 10.

Batch cook recipes for 4 or 5 people, and freeze the rest. If you did that every night for a week, you'd get the guts of the rest of the month eating out of the freezer.

Even with a family of four, I tend to up recipe's so they'll do 7 or 8 portions. Time is the same, and then we've a freezer tray full of options for lunches or evenings when time is tight.

rubadub

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

What you posted in the OP:

INGREDIENTS: Cooked Spaghetti(Water, Durum Wheat Semolina), Tomato Pur(Water, Tomato Pur, Beef (13%), Tomato, Onion, Water, Cornflour, Red Wine(Red Wine, Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)), Garlic Pur Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Chicory Fibre, Yeast Extract, Basil, Thyme, Flavouring, Oregano, Black Pepper, Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Onion Powder, Beef Extract, Tomato Powder, Sunflower Oil.


They don't rely on being frozen to preserve them. They add sulphur dioxide (E220).

I doubt that, they are using red wine, and it has the ingredients of that red wine listed, that is why they use brackets. The second ingredient in the red wine is sulphur dioxide which is very common.

Since the ingredient is listed as part of another ingredient you cannot tell how much there is. i.e. ingredients are listed in order of greatest, but if it is within brackets this does away with that.

The first wine I checked on tesco has sulphur dioxide listed
https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=253228741

Allergy Information
Contains Sulphites
Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

You would probably struggle to find an "ingredient priced wine" which doesn't. If you look at frozen fish fillets there is usually nothing added at all, and fish does have a reputation of being short shelf life.
https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=266264084

It reminds me of people going on about McDonalds, going OMG did you see the list of 100 ingredients that goe into a single burger!!! make it at home instead, at least you know what is going into it. Then they go get mince, a typical burger bun

Ingredients
Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Water, Yeast, Sugar, Rapeseed Oil, Sesame Seed (1.7%), Wheat Gluten, Salt, Dextrose, Emulsifiers (Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate, Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids, Mono- and Di-Acetyltartaric Esters of Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids), Soya Flour, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Palm Oil, Flour Treatment Agents (L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, Ascorbic Acid).

bit of heinz ketchup

Ingredients
Tomatoes (148g per 100g Tomato Ketchup), Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spice and Herb Extracts (contain Celery), Spice

american mustard

Ingredients
Water, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Mustard Flour (11%), Sugar, Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid), Mustard Bran (3%), Salt, Turmeric Powder, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Garlic Powder, Colour (Curcumin), Flavouring.

a slice of gherkin

Ingredients
Gherkins, Water, Sugar, Salt, Acidity Regulator: Acetic Acid, Distilled Barley Malt Vinegar (1.3%), Firming Agent: Calcium Chloride, Natural Spice Flavouring, Preservative: Sulphur Dioxide

And quickly it tots up to about the same.