Home delivered ready meals

[DaveJ]

Apr 3, 2017 20:45:26 GMT lobeydosser said:

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So far we are happy with these meals and they are certainly giving us a wide choice of fair...

That's the one measure that really counts. Glad it's working out for you.

[lobeydosser]

These days there seems to be a down-side to everything and it is no different with these home delivered meals.

Instead of deciding at the last minute what we are going to eat for our dinner that evening, instead I have to work out what we are having for the Main Course and the Sweet Course for two weeks, a fortnight in advance.
Then, once I have worked out that lot and sent the order in, I then have to work out what meals we are having, when.
If it is a Beef meal say on a Monday, then it will have to be a Pork, or a Lamb, or a Poultry, or a Fish, or a Vegetarian on the Tuesday and so on.

Finally I have to write out a Menu for a fortnight so that we can....
A;- Pack the freezer so that everything comes to hand as soon as we open the top to get out that day's meals,
and,
B;- Know in advance just what we are having for that night's meals.

Ofcourse, even then everything can go awry when SWMBO decides she canny be bothered with a frozen meal and wants a Carryout from the Indian or the Chinese or the Pizza Place or the Fish & Chippy.

The easier you try to make your life, the more dammed complicated it becomes!!!!!

[lobeydosser]

Okay, up until now I have been praising these meals, but now is about time for some criticism.

The meals themselves are okay, however many of the recipes are very old fashioned. For instance, it must be 40 odd years since I last saw a curry that included "Bombay Potatoes".
Potatoes in a curry!!!!!!! That went out with the Arc and is a typical example of cheapskates bulking out of foods!

Although the foods are okay, the same cannot be said for the Administration, the Packing, the Brochure or the Deliveries.

In every order so far we have been charged for items that were not delivered and when I am making up a 2 week menu for the both of us, to get only enough for one, or worse, none, is a PITA. I phone them up and complain and all I get is, "Oh we will send it out with your next order". That is no use when I am depending on that delivery.

The brochure is well out of date. Even the newest one. It will state that some dinners are for two persons and then they change it to one person meals without saying anything. Naturally I order one meal, thinking it is for 2 persons but only a one person meal arrives, even though I am charged for a 2 person meal.
Also the brochure is very indistinct about how meals are cooked. 90% of them are microwaved but some are oven cooked only and it is not until you take the meal out of the freezer that you learn how it is to be cooked.
With some meals taking up to an hour to cook and needing constant attention throughout the cooking time, when you are expecting a 10 minute microwaved meal and end up pussy-footing around the kitchen for an hour, well most of these oven cooked meals have gone back in the freezer and a trip to the local Chippy has been in order.

We have one more order to get and unless all the previous mistakes are sorted out or our money refunded and that this order is correct, then we will be looking elsewhere for our future food requirements.
We have never been great fans of cheaper frozen food type meals, but Oakhouse looked good and the locals that use them raved about them. I pity those who are older and not on the ball, who I suspect must be getting fleeced paying for meals that they do not get.

[gill2009]

  I'm so sorry to read this lobeydosser...I was so hoping that this worked out for you 

[lobeydosser]

It is bad news that the Admin side of this firm is so bad gill2009, because if it was better, then we would probably stick with it.
However, now that these faults have shown up, perhaps now is a good time to start looking elsewhere.

On the up side, these meals have shown us that "less is better" and quality, even at a higher cost, is a lot more satisfying than quantity.

[Postmodern Smoking]

I'm also sad to read this.... I had thought that it was going so well for you both.
Maybe time to experiment with some of the other similar companies?

[lobeydosser]

Perhaps Postmodern Smoking or perhaps time to take a closer look at what is available in this area between Farmers Markets, Supermarkets and Freezer Shops.
Okay this means travelling about a bit, but having put in the effort to work out how to have a different meal every night, it shouldn't be too difficult to transfer these ideas into doing the same for a normal weekly shop.
And, it will probably work out cheaper, all be it we will have fuel costs to consider.

[pipeman01]

I must admit this doesn't really surprise me. A few years ago (well about 10) I used a similar service while I was recuperating from major surgery and was a tad disappointed. Seems little has changed in the industry.

[lobeydosser]

I suppose the real difference, for us, is that we will see what we are getting before we buy.
Okay, there is the time and effort involved in going and buying, but at least we will know what we have bought and not be dependant on the whims and shortcomings of admin, packers and delivery personnel.

It seems to me that there is a lacking in pride for doing one's jobs well.

[zeldamum]

lobeydosser sorry if this has been mentioned before. I lead a very busy life so full on cooking of meals is hard to organise, I never know from one week to the next what my shifts are going to be at work and then I run a Beaver Scout colony which takes up most of my spare time.

I bulk cook some meals and then freeze them. I make a meat based spag bol base and freeze it, minimum of 8 meals at a time, the same for curry and stew. Sometimes i bulk cook 20 meals of each.

Bulk cooking saves me money and time. It does take a bit or organising making sure I have enough of everything, cooking time wise I will spend a full day cooking, but the meals last around 2-3 of months if I go for broke doing 20 meals of each. All I then have to do is cook potatoes, vegetables (frozen) rice or pasta. This means I eat what I want when I want.

I buy foil containers in bulk from a catering company 1000 at a time and these stack really well in a freezer as they are all the same size. Portion size is fully adjustable and I am happy knowing it is all home cooked from scratch. If I want to microwave them for quickness when I get home from work I just take one out before going to work then transfer to a plastic bowl or jug to reheat when I get home.

[lobeydosser]

Thanks for that zeldamum
Both the missus and I worked shift work for many years and bulk cooking, back in the day, was the norm.

These days we are looking for an easier and more convenient way of doing things, however, as we are finding out, what is advertised is not necessarily as good as it is made out to be. Unfortunately this is also true for the ingredients we use in our "home cooked meals".

[lobeydosser]

Time to bring you bang up to date with our home delivered meals.

About 3 hours after I had written my last e-mail to you regarding these meals, I collapsed in the house and was rushed to the hospital having had a Stroke. Nothing to do with the Stroke nor, I suspect, me writing to AAE-C.

However, because of what happening, the disruption it caused in the household during the time I was in hospital and the chaotic meal times that changed when I returned home again, all went to prove that no matter how organised we try to simplify our lives, we should always leave enough leeway for the unexpected.

I went into hospital during a 2 week food delivery and so the freezer was half-full of our delivered meals.
Because SWMBO was running round dealing with my needs, while daily travelling 80 miles doing her round trips, she had little time or appetite to think about freezer foods or meals.
Consequently, and while I was still in the hospital, our last delivery arrived, she had to find room to half-filled freezers for a double set of a fortnights load of meals.
Between 3 freezers, she only just managed to squeeze it all in.

It is now 3 weeks since I had been home from hospital and there is still a couple of weeks lying in the freezer. This food will get used in dribs and drabs, here and there, as we fancy, but they will never be used as a primary mainstay food supply.

Quite apart from the criticism that I had regarding the way that this firm organised their deliveries, "Variety is the Spice of Life" and a fortnight of "hospital food", (IE nae chips!!!) we will be looking for these foods that we most enjoy and put the convenience foods to "an experience", not forgotten, but not repeated.

[bt]

Visited an old bloke i know today. He gets his meals delivered. I said how was lunch today mate? He said he didnt even want to eat it, he was so sick of them always the same or similar. I said "hows about some KFC?" His eyes lit up so i got a bucket with spuds n gravy.