speedy roast (Birds Eye Roast Lamb Dinner)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Birds Eye Roast Lamb Dinner
Date:	15/06/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: taste fine

Disadvantages: too many additives in it

I really try to make my own food to take to work, saving money as well as eating healthier than having to buy ready meals all the time. Last week I was in a hurry and didn't have time to make anything so I found myself staring at the freezer section in my local supermarket trying to find something for dinner.
Eventually I settled on a roast lamb dinner because I didn't fancy chicken or beef and I wasn't in the mood for a curry or pasta.
The packaging for this meal has changed in colour from the one pictured in this category. It now sports a green box which fits better with a lamb meat in the meal, as it also contains mint gravy. Looking on the box you see a perfect looking roast on a plate. I am too wise to know I will end up with exactly what is pictured which is a shame as I wish the manufacturers would get it right now and again.
The plate also looks to provide a decent portion of food, which again I usually know I'm not going to get. Ready meals are generally just enough for my appetite but I find they are never enough for my partner, so this is one of the reasons we never buy them. Along with the additives etc of course.

To cook this meal, you can cook in the oven or microwave. For convenience I always find I cook ready meals in the microwave, as this is generally the reason I have bought one of these meals, for the speed and ease of eating a meal.
The meal will take around 9 minutes in a microwave or 35 in an oven depending on setting s and temperatures.

Once inside the cardboard packaging the meal is sitting in two portions in a black plastic tray, covered in a sealed plastic that needs piercing before placing in the microwave.
On first glance there looks to be a decent portion of potatoes which are sectioned off on their own, and in the meat tray, the gravy, peas and carrots sit on the surface hiding the meat so you can't tell how much you will be getting.

Once cooked the plastic cover is supposed to be easily removed by slitting across the packaging. I found this quite difficult to master without catching the steam that was sitting inside the tray. This really is where you have to be careful not to burn yourself even after the required two minutes of leaving to settle after cooking.
It's hit or miss as to whether I will plate up a ready meal or whether I'll eat it from the packaging. On this occasion I decided to plate my meal up to make it looks as though as I was eating a proper meal rather than a convenience meal.
Once on the plate I saw there were three slices of very thin lamb meat, which I found out was shoulder meat. There were also a generous portion of peas, slightly less carrots and an overload of potatoes. The gravy looked fairly decent consistency. It was by no means looking like water, but wasn't thick either. Once decent sized Yorkshire pudding was sitting on the side looking quite nice.

The proof is always in the taste. I found the mint gravy to really compliment the meat and gave the potatoes a nice flavour. It was a subtle taste of mint, but there all the same. The lamb itself was quite chewy despite being thin, but it didn't require too much effort.
I found the peas to be a bit overdone compared to the rest of the meal, whilst the carrots were still on the crunchy side, and the potatoes should have been slightly smaller to cook a bit more evenly against the rest of the meal. The Yorkshire pudding was half overcooked and half decent. I think the place I slit the plastic prior to cooking made the Yorkshire pudding get too much air during cooking. A point to remember if I ever have this meal again.
Overall the taste was pleasant and I enjoyed the meal. I thought there was enough on my plate to make it look like a small sized roast dinner. Nothing compared with the amount I would cook at home though for one portion.

I was averagely full after eating this meal, but I would have liked something to follow it up with to satisfy my stomach even more.
The meal cost me £2.49 which is a lot for a microwave meal but substantially less than buying a fresh microwave meal so it worked out well in a way.
Each meal will provide you with 325 calories and 11 grams of fat. It's quite a good all round balanced meal which won't do you any harm if you choose to buy this.
The negative to this is that when looking at the ingredients list there are too many "extras" included that you just wouldn't include if you were to cook a roast dinner at home which is a shame.

If you're looking for a quick meal on the go, you could do worse than this one.

Summary: an ok ready meal