Are ready meals bad for you?

Did you know that in the UK, two in five adults eat ready meals every week?

There are many reasons why you might choose a ready meal over a home-cooked one:

Even though ready meals can be convenient, they may not be a nutritious and balanced choice. Some ready meals can be high in salt and fat. Regularly eating these meals can increase your risk of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Are Some Ready Meals Healthier Than Others?

Many supermarkets and food companies now have their range of ‘healthier’ ready meals as an alternative to traditional ready meals. These may be lower in calories, fat, salt, and sugar, but are also still likely to be low in other important nutrients.

Some supermarkets also have a premium range of their own-brand ready meals. While these may taste better, they may not be any healthier for you. A few studies have found that premium supermarket ready meals tend to be higher in calories, fat, and salt than ‘value’ ready meals.

How to Make Ready Meals Healthier

Get to Know the Labels

In the UK, a traffic light food labelling system is used on the front of some food packaging. This shows the nutritional content of different foods, so you can make healthier choices. It lists the amount of:

calories
fat
sugar
salt

These are categorised as either red, amber, or green. This helps you see whether a food or drink is healthy:

Green = a good choice
Amber = eat occasionally
Red = try to avoid

Sometimes the traffic light system isn’t helpful. For example, it might list oily fish as red under the fat section, but this contains healthy omega-3 fats that are essential for health. So be mindful when making your choices.

The ingredients list on the back of the pack lists ingredients in order of quantity. Checking the top three ingredients shows what the majority of the product is made up of.

If fat, salt, and sugar are listed high up in the ingredients, this means the product is made up mostly of these ingredients. It is also important to check that the nutritional information relates to the serving size you’re going to eat.

For example, the label may display calories per 100g, but the product might weigh 120g. So double-check the portion you’ll be eating and adjust your calculations if needed.

Add a Side of Vegetables or Salad

One of the easiest ways to make a ready meal healthier is to include at least one portion of fresh vegetables or salad. This could be fresh, frozen, or tinned items, such as salad leaves, frozen peas, or tinned sweetcorn. You could also have a portion of fresh fruit for dessert.

This will help to boost the nutritional content of a ready meal by increasing your vitamin and mineral intake. It will also help you to reach your minimum target of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

Other Top Tips

Choose ready meals with vegetables included
Limit processed meat and choose chicken, fish, or seafood
Opt for ready meals with sources of fibre, such as legumes and beans

Quick and Easy Healthy Meal Ideas

Cooking a healthy meal may take less time than you think. Choose meals that don’t need lots of ingredients and keep it simple by using frozen or pre-chopped vegetables.

Or try batch cooking so you can keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer, which will help you to make an easy and nutritious meal another day.

There are also lots of helpful tips online for eating healthily if you don’t like cooking, or don’t feel in the mood to cook.

Live-in carer reviews

    
 
 
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