good for lazy/ busy people (Birds Eye Roast Beef Dinner)

Member Name: freud

Product:	Birds Eye Roast Beef Dinner
Date:	13/04/09 (197 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: quite tasty, filling, reasonably nutritious, no effort

Disadvantages: not enough meat, gravy a bit thin, slightly soggy puds & pots

I live in a strange household because, although I love to cook, there's really no one to cook for on a regular basis & I usually can't be bothered to cook for myself.

Hubby's self-employed in the food business so rarely eats at home whilst older daughter now lives & works the other side of the country & younger daughter (18) is always out & about.

I therefore decided, being Bank Holiday, that I'd treat myself to something that could be prepared with minimum effort yet look as if it was a little special.

I've eaten ready meals before so I guess I knew what to expect - if you've not tried them & are thinking you'll get a 'home-cooked' roast dinner you'll definitely be disappointed - if you have then you'll get just what you think.

The box looks attractive with it's green fields in the background with a plate of roast beef, Yorkshire puds, peas, carrots, gravy & roast potatoes in the foreground.

Inside there's a heat-sealed cellophane wrapper which holds a black compartmentalised tray which hold the above in frozen form.

Full directions for cooking in the oven or microwave are clearly given on the reverse of the box. I prefer them oven cooked & it took slightly under the recommended 35 minutes to cook.

All the ingredients plus nutritional values are also given - I won't list them all but the most important for me was the fact that there are some additives (not bad compared to similar meals) & each complete meal is only 310 calories & 6.8g of fat.

The Positive
~
- a piping hot fairly nutritious meal for busy/ lazy people.
- looks quite appetising.
- tastes nice enough.
- you can recognise the individual foods (unlike in some ready meals!)

The Negative
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- if you're expecting a home-style meal you'll be disappointed.
- the (Irish) beef is short in supply & thin.
- the Yorkshire pud & potatoes were a bit soggy.
- the gravy was a bit runny for my liking.

But, I must say, I was just in the mood for this 'Great British Menu' & it reminded me of a cross between an airline meal but more filling & a bit more tasty.

summary
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- satisfied my need for a hot ready-made meal.
- minimum effort to prepare.
- no washing-up!
- tasty enough if you're not expecting a home-made roast dinner.
- relatively healthy compared to some ready meals.
- worth having in the freezer as a standby.
- expensive at £2.49 per meal but OK for a treat for one person.

Summary: if you know what to expect then you probably won't be disappointed