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Ready-made meals can be an incredibly convenient option in the busy lives that we lead. When we want to stick to our real food way of eating but don’t always have time to cook a meal, we can turn to them for something quick, tasty and nutritious. As the demand for healthy ready-made meals grows, there are more options available to us. Learning to discern between the healthy options and the not so healthy options will help support us on those days we do need to turn to ready-made options. Let’s dive in.
Why it's difficult to find healthy ready-made meals in the supermarket?
The supermarket freezers, fridges and even some isles are bursting with ready-made meals, but the sad reality is that many of these aren’t a healthy, nutritious or real food option. They may be convenient, but most conventional brands don’t place an emphasis on how healthy their products are. Instead they focus on making it taste so good that people will keep coming back for more. What if we could combine the good taste and the health benefits into one? It’s certainly possible, but sadly not with most of the supermarket options.
The qualities of a healthy ready-made meal
A healthy ready-made meal will ideally follow the balanced plate formula, which will ensure it’s nutritionally balanced and going to make a satisfying meal choice. The balanced plate formula is fifty percent vegetables, twenty-five percent protein, twenty-five percent complex carbohydrates and a serve of healthy fats. When looking at a ready made meal, we should question whether it is nutritionally balanced and ticks off all of these important macronutrients.
Ingredients to look for in a healthy ready-made meal
It probably won’t surprise you that the types of ingredients we like to see in healthy ready-made meals is real foods. Yep, it’s that simple. We want to see things like seasonal vegetables, quality meat, poultry, fish or seafood, whole grains, dairy, free-range eggs, beans, lentils, herbs, spices, nuts and seeds.
How to read the ingredient list on your ready-made meals
The first step to sussing out the ingredients in a ready made meal is to turn to the ingredients list, which is generally near the nutrition panel. What we want to look for is real food ingredients (as outlined in the ‘ingredients we like to see in a healthy ready-made meal’ section above). The percentages can also be helpful if it has them, this is because it shows us how much of these ingredients are inside and can give us an idea of the balance.
What to look for in the nutritional panel
Something that can be helpful to look at on the nutrition panel of a ready-made meal is the amount of protein in the product. This will give us an idea of whether or not this ready-made meal will be a filling and nutritionally balanced meal, or if it needs to be bulked up with some other ingredients. We want to see an absolute minimum of 15g of protein, but the more the merrier.
What does a ready-made meal that we'd avoid look like?
A large majority of ready-made meals fall under the ‘avoid’ category for us. This can either be from the perspective of lacking real foods, not being nutritionally balanced, or a combination of both. Let’s look at one example and delve into why we would avoid it.
Woolworths Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients: Cooked Pasta (47%) (Durum Wheat Pasta, Water, Canola Oil), Milk, Cheddar Cheese (10%) (Milk, Salt, Starter Culture, Non Animal Rennet), Water, Cream (3%) (Milk), Parmesan Cheese (2%) (Milk), Corn Starch, Garlic (0.5%), Dijon Mustard (0.4%) (Acidity Regulator (Acetic Acid)), Salt, Acidity Regulator (575), Canola Oil, Pepper, Natural Preservative (Nisin)
This ready-made meal contains canola oil, acidity regulators and many highly refined ingredients, which doesn’t align with our real food philosophy. That aside, it’s also not a balanced meal and it doesn’t contain any vegetables. Sure it has some garlic, but that’s 0.5%, which is barely anything. The way we can tell it’s not a balanced meal is because it contains no veg, but also because it’s 50% pasta, which is a complex carb and should be closer to 25% of a meal according to the balanced plate formula.
Our top 3 ready-made meals to avoid and why:
There are plenty of ready-made meals that we could scrutinise, but let’s take a look at three and why we don’t recommend them.
V2 Plant Based Lasagne
Ingredients: Bolognese Sauce Mix (72.4%) [Bolognese Sauce [Water, Tomato Passata, Plant-Based v2 Mince (Water, Soy Protein, Vegetable Oils (contains Antioxidant (Tocopherol)), Flavours (contains Glutamic Acid), Thickeners (Methyl Cellulose, Modified Cornstarch, Carrageenan), Colours (Caramelised Sugar, Beetroot Powder), Salt, Yeast Extract, Minerals (Zinc, Iron), Vitamins (Niacin (B3), Pyridoxine (B6), Cobalamin (B12))), Vegetables (Carrot, Celery, Onion), Tomato Paste, Vegan Stock Powder (contains Soy), Sugar, Canola Oil, Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Salt), Napolitana Sauce (Tomato Passata, Basil, Sugar, Salt, Garlic)], Vegan Bechamel Sauce (15.9%) (Soy Milk (Mater, Soy Blend (Soy Protein, Milled Soy Beans), Canola Oil, Moltodextrin, Sugar, Acidity Regulators Potassium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate), Natural Flavour Sunflower Lecithin, Vegetable Gums (460, 466), Salt), Water, Flour (Wheat) Canola Oil, Vegetable Stack Powder, Salt), Lasagne Sheets (11.7%) (Water, Durum Wheat Semolina, Salt).
The long list of ingredients is already a major red flag. The packaging of the product is also very deceiving, they use some cheeky marketing to make it look all-natural like saying ‘good for you’ and using the colour green. But looking at the ingredients we can see many highly refined and even artificial ingredients. From vegetable oils, thickeners, genetically modified ingredients and acidity regulators, to artificial colours, flavours and added sugar. There’s not a whole lot of ingredients that are good for us here.
Woolworths Sweet & Sour Pork
Ingredients: Sweet & Sour Pork (57%) (Australian Pork (34%), Water, Malt Vinegar (Barley, Wheat, Colour (Caramel III)), Water Chestnuts (5%) (Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)), Onion, Pineapple Juice (Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)), Sugar, Red Capsicum, Soy Sauce (Soybeans, Wheat), Tomato Sauce (Acidity Regulators (Acetic Acid, Citric Acid)), Tapioca Flour, Ginger, Pineapple (2%), Tomato Paste, Garlic, Canola Oil, Maize Starch, Salt, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Carbonates), Tapioca Starch, Natural Preservative (Nisin)), Cooked Long Grain Rice (42%) (Water, Rice, Rice Bran Oil)
Hello artificial colour, acidity regulators, added sugar, canola oil, rice bran oil and other highly refined ingredients. This ready-made meal has minimal veg, is not nutritionally balanced and doesn’t have a whole lot of real food ingredients that actually give our body the nutrients it needs.
Latina Fresh Ready Made Angus Beef Veg Lasagne
Ingredients: Water, durum wheat semolina, tomatoes (18%), beef (11%), carrots (4%), milk powder, red wine (contains milk and egg), spinach (2.5%), onion (2%), celery (2%), butter, corn starch, parmesan cheese (1%), wheat flour, canola oil, garlic (05%), salt, sugar, flavour, parsley, food acid (citric acid), black pepper, oregano (0.02%), basil (0.02%), natural preservatives (nisin), nutmeg
While there may be some vegetables in this one, don’t let that fool you. Ultimately the percentage of veg is minimal and there is inflammatory vegetable oil (canola), added sugar and artificial flavours. While it’s much better than the plant-based lasagne above, it’s still not up to scratch with our real food philosophy and isn’t the most nutritious or balanced meal.
Ready-made meals may be convenient, but if they’re not nutritious or made up of real foods, they won’t support our health. When we eat food that doesn’t give us what we need, our body isn’t as efficient as it otherwise would be. So while it may be appealing to pick up a supermarket ready made meal, the lack of nutrients may lead to lower energy levels and that can override the convenience of not having to cook in the first place.
Remember that you can always cook up a big batch of a healthy home cooked meal and freeze it for when you need something quick. Or there’s plenty of healthy ready-made meals on GoodnessMe to build up your supply.
What are the healthiest ready-made meals available?
There are lots of healthy ready-made meals available via GoodnessMe. Here are some that we’ve been loving which get the GoodnessMe real food tick of approval. Oh and did we mention that they’re delicious?!
Amy’s Kitchen Indian Gold Lentil Soup
Ingredients: filtered water, organic yellow split peas, organic red lentils, organic carrots, organic tomato purée, organic extra virgin olive oil, shallots, organic garlic, sea salt, organic spices, organic ginger, organic turmeric, organic black pepper.
Australian Organic Food Co Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients: Water, Organic Pumpkin (25%), Organic Sweet Potato (15%), Organic Carrot, Organic Potato, Organic Onion, Organic Cream (Milk), Organic Celery, Organic Olive Oil, Sea Salt.
Celebrate Health Tuscan Style Italian Beans & Tomato
Ingredients: Beans (40%) (Cannellini, Borlotti), Tomato (40%), Lentils, Water, Fire-Roasted Capsicum, Pink Himalayan Salt, Vegetable Powders, Basil.
Australian Organic Food Co Chicken, Spelt & Vegetable Soup
Ingredients: Water, Organic Vegetables (35%) [Potato, Carrot, Sweet Potato, Onion, Broccoli, Celery, Corn, Garlic], Organic Chicken (4%), Organic Spelt, Organic Cream (Milk), Organic Corn Starch, Organic Sea Salt, Organic Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavours (Milk).
Chantal Organics Probiotic Easy Oats Maple & Maca
Ingredients: Oats* (70%), Maple Sugar* (15%), Oat Bran* (7%), Hemp Seeds* (5%), Maca Powder* (1.5%), NZ Sea Salt, Ground Cinnamon*, Probiotic (Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086). *Certified Organic
Plantasy Foods Mac N’ Cheese Classic Carbonara
Ingredients: Gluten Free Pasta (60%) (Brown Rice, White Rice) Organic Coconut Milk Powder, Nutritional Yeast, Tapioca, Garlic, Texturised Pea Protein, Onion Flakes, Salt, Rice Flour, Smoked Paprika, Coconut Sugar, Lactic Acid, Hickory Smoke Powder.
Global Organics Chilli Bean Soup
Ingredients: Water, Kidney Beans* (18%), Tomato Puree*, Potatoes* (9%), Red Bell Peppers*, Maize*, Onions*, Carrots*, Wheat Protein (wheat gluten*, whole wheat flour*, wheat bran*, sea salt), Vegetable Stock* (sea salt, onions*, carrots*, leeks*, parsnip*, parsley*, turmeric*, garlic*, nutmeg*, lovage*, pepper*), Sea Salt, Raw Cane Sugar*, Spices*, Locust Bean Gum* (410), Chilli (0.2%)*. *Organic ingredients.
Nature First Plant Based Mexican Bowl with Organic Quinoa
Ingredients: Water, tomato puree*, tomatoes*, kidney beans* 10%, quinoa* 7%, corn*, capsicum red*, carrots*, agave syrup*, onion*, sea salt, sunflower oil*, leek*, thickener -locust bean gum*, chili* 0.2%, cumin*, parsley*, coriander*, paprika*, garlic*. *Organically grown
Ceres Organics Classic Mediterranean Soup
Ingredients: Water, Tomato Puree*, Onion*, Dried Beans* (cannellini beans*, red adzuki beans*, borlotti beans*, mung beans*, split green peas*), Dried Pearl Barley*, Celery*, Vegetable Bouillon* (sea salt*, yeast extract*, soy flour*, dehydrated vegetables* (onion*, celery*, carrot*, parsley*, marjoram*), corn starch*, turmeric*), Red Lentils*, Sunflower Oil*, Green Lentils*, Sea Salt, Parsley*, Basil*, Chilli Powder* (*Certified Organic)
Amy’s Kitchen Chunky Tomato Soup
Ingredients: tomato purée* (34%), diced tomatoes* (32%), water, cream* (milk) (4%), cane sugar*, onions*, sea salt, cracked black pepper*.
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