How dependent are we on pre-packed frozen food and self frozen food?

[coxyhog]

6 hours ago, dcfc2007 said:

Not really but I can still do better than ready meals that are filled full of MSG, salt and sugar. They are completely tasteless and the meat tastes like rubber.

 

 

 

That is the problem with ready meals,esp the salt content.

We have a big fridge/freezer in the kitchen & a chest freezer in the garage....most of the time you'd have trouble fitting a small pie in there.

The missus is a big believer in fresh,when this covid crap started I told her to buy some frozen veg....no way,she bought fresh & froze it.

We also have a small fridge in the kitchen which was bought for me to keep lager & white wine in....I've since been relegated to one shelf.

[Toy Boy]

13 hours ago, boydeste said:

I have found by doing this the flavour is much better than eating straight from the pan.

This is an interesting observation and I've noticed exactly the same thing. My home-made Bolognese sauce and French onion soup definitely improve after a few months sitting in the freezer. I also make my own Thai/Chinese style chilli sauce with mixed vegetables to go with battered fish, prawns or chicken, and I prefer it after it's been frozen than when it's fresh. I was surprised to find that the GF agrees, the last time I whipped up a fresh batch and served it for dinner she looked at me like I'm dumb, "Why you no freeze sauce, aloi kwah."

[boydeste]

11 hours ago, Toy Boy said:

This is an interesting observation and I've noticed exactly the same thing. My home-made Bolognese sauce and French onion soup definitely improve after a few months sitting in the freezer. I also make my own Thai/Chinese style chilli sauce with mixed vegetables to go with battered fish, prawns or chicken, and I prefer it after it's been frozen than when it's fresh. I was surprised to find that the GF agrees, the last time I whipped up a fresh batch and served it for dinner she looked at me like I'm dumb, "Why you no freeze sauce, aloi kwah."

It's actually a little trick I have been doing with my fishing bait for years.

I soak the fresh bait in my favourite oil/flavours, then freeze it.

When I take what I need back out, you can smell and taste the infusion that has taken place!

Don't tell anyone my little secret!  

[coxyhog]

We never eat Indian curry or bolognese sauce for at least 24 hours after it's been cooked.Then as we always cook industrial quantities most of it goes in the freezer.

[lazarus]

"Harvard Medical School claims that the fast cooking times of microwaves help to retain nutrients in vegetables."

. . .

How to Cook Frozen Veggies to Maintain Nutrients

https://www.livestrong.com/article/501925-how-to-cook-frozen-veggies-to-maintain-nutrients/

 

Microwave cooking and nutrition

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/microwave-cooking-and-nutrition

"...The cooking method that best retains nutrients is one that cooks quickly, heats food for the shortest amount of time, and uses as little liquid as possible. Microwaving meets those criteria. Using the microwave with a small amount of water essentially steams food from the inside out. That keeps in more vitamins and minerals than almost any other cooking method and shows microwave food can indeed be healthy..."

[Bazle]

On 1/22/2021 at 12:34 PM, dcfc2007 said:

Not really but I can still do better than ready meals that are filled full of MSG, salt and sugar. They are completely tasteless and the meat tastes like rubber.

I don't eat that many ready meals but today I had, and enjoyed, this one:

It was far from tasteless, and I don't think it was too unhealthy (but happy to be corrected by anyone who knows about nutrition).

[KhunDon]

I’ve had a couple of frozen/chilled M&S meals in the past, but can’t say I liked them much. 
We’ve two freezers in the utility room and a third fridge freezer in the kitchen. 
Much of the room in them is taken up with my wifes Thai stuff, like fish, meats, Chinese pork sausage, Pandan leaves and Thai herbs etc, which she usually gets from an import company who have it flown in to Manchester from Thailand on a Thursday and it’s delivered on Friday morning.
The rest of the freezer space is taken up with all sorts of meats, pies, sausages and bacon from my sisters place in The Lakes, which is delivered overnight in a freezer box.

Then there’s all sorts of cooked sauces like bolognais etc which my son and I eat. Cornish butter and a couple of small Brown loaves as standbys, plus loads of frozen fruits and puff pastry.

Loads of “frozen meals” in there, but they are homemade and are the results of me or the wife batch cooking and freezing them for later. 

 

[boydeste]

41 minutes ago, KhunDon said:

I’ve had a couple of frozen/chilled M&S meals in the past, but can’t say I liked them much. 
We’ve two freezers in the utility room and a third fridge freezer in the kitchen. 
Much of the room in them is taken up with my wifes Thai stuff, like fish, meats, Chinese pork sausage, Pandan leaves and Thai herbs etc, which she usually gets from an import company who have it flown in to Manchester from Thailand on a Thursday and it’s delivered on Friday morning.
The rest of the freezer space is taken up with all sorts of meats, pies, sausages and bacon from my sisters place in The Lakes, which is delivered overnight in a freezer box.

Then there’s all sorts of cooked sauces like bolognais etc which my son and I eat. Cornish butter and a couple of small Brown loaves as standbys, plus loads of frozen fruits and puff pastry.

Loads of “frozen meals” in there, but they are homemade and are the results of me or the wife batch cooking and freezing them for later. 

 

That's a fair bit of freezer space you have, does her indoors have a good date rotation system in place?

[KhunDon]

3 hours ago, boydeste said:

That's a fair bit of freezer space you have, does her indoors have a good date rotation system in place?

She’s Thai, what do you think? 🤣

[boydeste]

2 minutes ago, KhunDon said:

She’s Thai, what do you think? 🤣

Say no more!

[Pumpuynarak]

On 1/22/2021 at 7:34 PM, dcfc2007 said:

Not really but I can still do better than ready meals that are filled full of MSG, salt and sugar. They are completely tasteless and the meat tastes like rubber.

 

 

 

but have you ever tried M&S lol, i've never ever found anything in M&S food halls that was as you describe, each to their own.....

Edited January 26, 2021 by Pumpuynarak

[Zeb]

I pretty much stick to fresh food across the board, with some exceptions like bread, but I try to avoid starchy carbs most of the time.

Also some frozen vegs from time to time, but again most stuff is available year around so I don't have much frozen stuff.

Meals I prepare in the slow cooker keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks so no point in freezing that.

I eat lots of salads with cold diced chicken breast I've grilled, or smoked salmon or diced ham with homemade salad dressing. 

Strawberries are my stable dessert and some cheese with some bite in it.