Home delivered ready meals

[chykensa]

lobeydosser - good on you, my man! It has to be worth a try, and if you have perused the ingredients list and there is nothing added that you would rather not eat, then why not!? My wife and I lead such busy lives that there is always a pan of something on the cooker to 'heat up when you get home', but I understand that not everyone runs their lives like this.
If using these meals give you both the opportunity to try new foods and eat healthily, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't.
I look forward to hearing your considered (as always) opinion on these meals in due course

P.S. I need Speedos to get into my garden rather than wellies at the moment, so will PM you in due course!!

[Greg]

Mar 4, 2017 8:40:18 GMT chykensa said:

lobeydosser - good on you, my man! It has to be worth a try, and if you have perused the ingredients list and there is nothing added that you would rather not eat, then why not!? My wife and I lead such busy lives that there is always a pan of something on the cooker to 'heat up when you get home', but I understand that not everyone runs their lives like this.
If using these meals give you both the opportunity to try new foods and eat healthily, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't.
I look forward to hearing your considered (as always) opinion on these meals in due course

P.S. I need Speedos to get into my garden rather than wellies at the moment, so will PM you in due course!!

No photos hopefully 

What will you do with all your home grown lobeydosser if the ready meals take off ?

[lobeydosser]

Hi chykensa Send me some water wings!!!!
The area I have had the whacker plate on has been flooded for a couple of months now and so I cannot get my fancy paved patio down.

For years the wife and I worked shift patterns and very often one was coming in from work when the other was leaving and so structured meal patterns were something that other folks followed. Like wise portion sizes and, in general, healthy meals.
Even now, having been retired for years, our eating habits are not good and we are hoping that by trying a structured menu, that we will be introduced to a simpler and healthier lifestyle.

Hi Greg Not all ready meals come as complete meals and you have to add your own veg. So what we grow will supplement these meals.
However the varieties of veg we grow this year will be only those that will supplement these meals.

[lobeydosser]

Due to the way they work their ordering system at Oakhouse Foods, yesterday we sat down and worked our way through their brochure to give ourselves a complete 2 weeks of meals.
For each week they are all different with 2 Beef, 2 Poultry, 1 Pork, 1 Lamb and 1 Fish. Also we ordered about 5 desserts.
The second week are different again and this will give us a better idea of quality over a wider range.
I don't honestly see us sticking to 2 course meals every night as much of what we eat for the main meal depends on what we have been doing through the day, but just knowing that there is a full meal there if we want it without having to trek to the shops, is a bonus for us.

For a couple of years now we have been dependant on supermarket home deliveries and, with every order, we have been disappointed with either use by dates, unavailable items or bad packaging.
Whilst there will still be some items that we have to buy from that source, it will be interesting to just how much our online groceries bill will fall by, now that our main meals will be coming from elsewhere.
At a rough estimate, I reckon it will not cost us any more buying our meals ready made.

[Bobsbeer]

I only have experience with Wiltshire Farm, but I'm sure Oakhouse are similar. As a social worker I often recommend them to service users, mainly older ones, but also some of my MH clients. The portion sizes are good, and from a limited experience, they tasted good. They served them at a OAP lunch club I visited on a few occasions when I visited to help out. The ingredients are not stuffed with crap, high salt etc as their main market is older people who want the convenience of having a decent meal without the hassle. Especially single people who find it a hassle to cook for one, but they don't suit everyone. Hope they taste good lobeydosser

[lobeydosser]

I'm sure they will Bobsbeer
Since I wrote on this topic, we have spoken to a number of the local Park Homes residents and they all swear by them.
Indeed I now wish we had tried these some time ago, but better late than never.

[chykensa]

lobeydosser and I kept up a sporadic communication last year as we went through the growing season, sharing success and failures of our respective vegetable gardens and most pleasurable it was too!
My OH and I hope to drive my van through France for the month of August, so our growing plans this year will have to take this into account. It's a challenge to find veg that will be ready to harvest in full either prior to, or after, that month. Lots or early plantings of peas and some later harvests in September will have to be a priority. Fortunately my neighbour is only too happy to water my greenhouse so my peppers and chillies will be tended in our absence!

[lobeydosser]

Wiltshire Farm Foods have a list of "Free From" ingredients, but not one for Free from Alcohol and many of their meals do contain alcohol so their meals are a no no for both myself and my wife.
Oakhouse do include free from alcohol and therefore are an easy choice for us.

Today I did our usual Asda Online Order, but knowing that that would be arriving on the same day as our first weeks meal service, the Asda Order was worked out to not include any main meal or sweets.
The Asda Order was £70 less than usual and our week of meals and sweets come in at £68.
Now money really doesn't come into this because, like vaping, it is the other advantages that are paramount, but it is interesting that these meals are not costing us anymore than we would be normally spending.

[lobeydosser]

When I first started vaping, I kept a strict record of what I was spending and what I was saving by not buying cigarettes.
However, when I got to the end of each month and checked the bank balance, the figures were not adding up. I was saving more money than I should have been and it took me some time to work out why.
The reason was that I had been going to the shop each day to buy my fags, but I wasn't just buying these. I would invariably buy other things. Not things I went for but things I just happened to see and fancy.
Because I was no longer going there to buy fags, I was no longer buying rubbish either and so there was more money around to go into the bank and stay there.

I suspect the same thing may happen with these home delivered meals. Our other shopping will be cut to breakfast, lunch and household items with the odd expensive meal for special occasions. Also, because we will be getting a substantial 2 course meal each day, our other meals will be of a reduced amount.

However, only time and the monthly bank balance check will tell us exactly what these meals are costing us.
So my friends, that information will not be available until this time next month.

[lobeydosser]

Tonight we had our first home delivered meal.
The delivery man not only brought the stuff to the door, but offered to pack it away in the freezer for us!!!

Anyways, call me a cynical old fart, but really I don't believe what I read or see in pictures in brochures, nor do I necessary take other people's words for it that we are going to find foods and beverages all that to our liking.
So we were sum-what surprised to find our evening meal quite delicious and very well proportioned.
Indeed, so much so that in future we will be having the desserts at lunchtime with a bowl of soup and keeping the evening meals to just a main course.

If today's meal was anything to go by, things are boding well for the future.

Oh and the washing up consisted of 2 forks and 2 spoons. Even I can manage that!!!!!

[Greg]

We need pictures

[lobeydosser]

Mar 6, 2017 21:04:14 GMT Greg said:

We need pictures

What, of the old fart or of the food?

[DaveJ]

Mar 6, 2017 20:48:56 GMT lobeydosser said:

Tonight we had our first home delivered meal...

...
Oh and the washing up consisted of 2 forks and 2 spoons. Even I can manage that!!!!!

Well, there's a BIG plus! I'm sold.




* In times past when we were both working longish hours, we often found it hard to face proper cooking for our evening meals. The idea of decent premade meals certainly does have some attraction/merit.

[lobeydosser]

Yes DaveJ We were in the same boat, but back then the idea of someone else preparing our meals and then freezing them for us to cook later, just never crossed our minds.
I'm afraid we were in the mind set that all meals had to be prepared and cooked at home.

It takes a lot of re-education to get around to the idea that your food preparation should not take you longer to prepare it than it takes you to eat it.

[lobeydosser]

Well here we are, halfway through week one and no criticism so far. We have had 2 beef and 1 poultry dinners and they have been both substantial and tasty.

Our order is in for weeks 2 & 3 and tonight I am doing a preliminary order for weeks 4 & 5.

Every single meal over these 5 weeks will be a new to us meal. We may as well try something different each night, but being careful to avoid any meals containing alcohol.

At this rate it will take us about 3 weeks to fill the dishwasher!!!!!