PICKING up a supermarket ready meal on the way home from work means no cooking, zero mess and no cleaning up the kitchen.
But, some ready meals can be absolute calorie traps, racking up large amounts of calories for seemingly very little food.
GettySupermarket ready meals are quick and easy – but they are also full of calories[/caption]
When it comes to weight loss, calories are king.
Ultimately, calories in vs calories out is the main equation you need to know in order to slim down.
There are other factors to consider too, but it’s the balance of calories that fundamentally plays the biggest part in whether you lose, gain or maintain your weight.
Love a ready meal? According to Rob Hobson, a nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Life, the supermarket you buy your ready meal from can actually make a difference to the quality of the dish.
“Obviously they are fairly similar but there are differences especially when price is concerned,” he says.
“Cheaper varieties can be a lot more ultra processed and, as such, contain a lot more additives.
“But this sometimes means they may contain less fat, for example, as an emulsifier has been used in its place.”
Rob adds: “The ‘taste the difference’ versions of dishes are also sometimes less healthy as they tend to be more indulgent with more cheese, cream or richer spaces making them high in calories, sat fat and salt.”
Opting for homemade meals tends to be a better option, if you have the time.
“Using fresh ingredients means you can make your dishes more nutritious and control the amount of saturated fat, salt and sugar,” explains Rob.
“You can also tweak recipes to add more veggies or switch to the whole grain variety of a food.
“Aside from all of this, you can also ensure your dish doesn’t contain any of the ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboards which is characteristic of ultra processed foods that have been shown to have a negative impact on health.
“Everything tastes much better when you make it fresh.”
Still fancy picking up a supermarket ready meal?
You might want to give these calorie packed options a miss if you’re watching your waistline.
1. Macaroni cheese
WaitroseMacaroni cheese is the most calorific supermarket ready meal[/caption]
The number one highest calorie supermarket ready meal is macaroni cheese as it undoubtedly bats most others away in the calorie counts.
“The combination of cheese, cream, and pasta are making this dish high in calories, but also high in saturated fat,” says Rob.
“You could make this in a healthier way by using ingredients such as wholemeal pasta, skimmed milk, yoghurt and either reduced fat cheese or a smaller amount of a string flavoured cheese.
“You could also chuck in some frozen peas if you were making it yourself at home.”
The supermarket macaroni cheese with the most calories
Waitrose Italian Macaroni Cheese, 400g (746 calories) – £3.50
Waitrose Italian Macaroni Cheese With Bacon, 400g (715 calories) – £3.50
Aldi Inspired Cuisine Macaroni Cheese, 400g (659 calories) – £2.49
Morrisons Macaroni Cheese, 400g (632 calories) – £3.75
2. Pasta carbonara
AldiCarbonara options also tend to be very high in calories and fat[/caption]
So creamy, so carby, so delicious; a classic carbonara really ticks the comfort food boxes, but it comes in second in the list of calorie-packed supermarket ready meals.
“The combination of cheese, cream and cheap cuts of ham are often to blame for the poor nutritional content of the shop bought carbonara sauces used in this dish,” says Rob.
“Cheaper brands are also very ultra processed using additives like emulsifiers, modified starches and flavour enhancers to create the dish.”
Fancy making your own?
“For a healthier home version you could make it the traditional Italian way with egg yolks, good quality pancetta and a small amount of parmesan,” he says.
“You could also swap white pasta for the wholemeal variety for extra fibre.”
The supermarket carbonara with the most calories
Aldi Inspired Cuisine Spaghetti Carbonara, 400g (528 calories) – £2.49
Morrisons The Best Spaghetti Carbonara, 400g (625 calories) – £4.75
Sainsbury’s Chicken & Bacon Pasta (581 calories) – £3.25
3. Pizza
M&SThe Wood Fired Pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella with Fresh Basil from M&S contains 1,144 calories[/caption]
Friday night pizza night? Although a carby, cheesy, meaty pizza can offer a satisfying meal, Rob says that there’s not much to be said on the health front for a pizza.
“It is high in calories, sat and saturated fat which is down to the combination of bread, cheese and toppings such as pepperoni,” he explains.
He adds: “If making your own pizza from scratch is a bit of a faff then you could try making tortilla pizza?
“You can make flour tortillas yourself using just flour and water and these can be frozen so you have them batch cooked and ready to go in the freezer.
“Then you just top with a base of passata, chopped garlic and oregano then top with a little cheese, chopped red pepper and even an egg on top.”
Pizza to go? These are the calorie-laden supermarket options to watch out for
M&S Wood Fired Pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella with Fresh Basil, 449g (1,144 calories) – £6
Tesco Finest Salsiccia Picante With Hot Honey Pizza, 400G (1,069 calories) – £4.75
Deluxe Pinsa Pizza Assorted, 400g (1,063 calories) – £2.75
Lower calorie supermarket ready meal options
You don’t just have to stick to green veg and salads to ensure your meal is a low calorie one.
There are actually several supermarket ready meals which aren’t going to have too much of an impact on your daily calorie count and won’t hinder your efforts to lose weight.
Tesco Cottage Pie (370 calories) – £3.25
“The ingredients in this dish are normally lean mince and then a gravy and mashed potato,” explains Rob.
Although the humble spud is a carb-based food, Rob says that potatoes are not actually that high in calories.
“These dishes do often contain quite a bit of salt though which is the nature of a ready meal.
“You can check the label for the salt content and I would advise looking for an amber or green coloured traffic light.”
You could also try:
Morrisons Cumberland Pie (380 calories) – £3.75
Morrisons Sausage and Mash (388 calories) – £3.75
Morrisons Nourish King Prawn Linguine (283 calories) – £3.75
Tesco Chicken Chow Mein (391 calories) – £3.25
Despite it being such a takeaway favourite, a Chinese chicken chow mein doesn’t pack as many calories as you might think.
“This is just chicken breast and then egg noodles which are relatively healthy,” explains Rob.
“This dish may be lower in calories than you think but it is often high in salt given the ingredients used to make it such as soy sauce.
“The flavour of these dishes is usually flavour enhanced using MSG (Monosodium glutamate).
“Again another dish you can make yourself.”
Studies have suggested that the food additive MSG could potentially have toxic effects on the body, so opting for meals without MSG is a wise move.