My son likes to have a certain brand of microwave burger as a treat for his dinner on the weekends, but on one visit to Tesco to stock up on them there weren't any, so I just grabbed the Tesco own-brand version from the chiller shelf instead.

The packaging looks pleasant enough, a clear plastic tub containing two burgers with a peel off top that features a photograph of a cheeseburger on a purple background and large text saying 'Snack Express' in orange, and '2 cheeseburgers' underneath it in white text. The use by date is clearly displayed on the front of the packaging.

The product is described as '2 economy burgers with onion in sesame seeded buns with slices of processed cheese and ketchup.'

They contain 358 calories and 15.5g of fat per cheeseburger which a quick google tells me is about average.

Depending on the wattage of your microwave you cook them for between 50 to 65 seconds, leave to stand for 30 seconds, then garnish with a cheese slice and ketchup (provided). If you are only having one it's a good idea to store the other one in Tupperware as it would likely start to go stale in the open container.

My son has a real thing about 'bits' in any form, bits of pulp in juice, bits of fruit in jam, bits of onion or hard bits in burgers, there is always the risk of rejection with a new brand so I was pleased to see an empty plate and asked him what he thought. When pressed for an opinion he described the cheeseburger as "yeah, alright" and had nothing further to add. Obviously I can't make a review out of that so there was nothing for it but to try one myself.

Actually that's a bare faced lie. Erm, I am a vegetarian, usually, but I was really hungry one night and couldn't face the Gillian McKeith aduki bean recipe I had planned to attempt. And there was a solitary cheeseburger sitting in the fridge requiring only 100 seconds of preparation before it was ready to eat...

So yes, I caved in. I felt weird about it afterwards as I hadn't eaten red meat in nearly a year, but no regrets because actually it was really tasty! The bun was nice and soft, and the beef burger had a nice smooth texture with an onion-y taste, but as I said before no 'bits' at all. Even though they were standard cheeseburger size, so not very big, one was filling and I had no desire to eat anything else afterward (and it wasn't just my veggie guilt kicking in).

My son was definitely pleased as he asks for these ones now instead of his previous brand. They are a good budget-friendly choice, a branded burger like Rustlers costs £1.29 for one quarter-pounder burger, the Snack Express version costs the same amount, £1.29, but for two slightly smaller burgers.

So I shall keep buying them for his Saturday tea and just try to keep my hands off. Or give up vegetarianism. One or the other.