I bought these just before Christmas and had one over the holidays, the other had been languishing in the freezer until the end of last week. So, I thought I would have it for my lunch and do a quick food review of these Aldi 'Melting Centre Nut Roasts'.
They taste quite nice, are full of vegetables, maybe not so perfectly formed as the image on the box, but they are there, and have a lovely gooey and tasty centre. Possibly a few months ago I would have rated them very favourably, but in my move away from the more processed foods I found them to both look and maybe even taste a bit 'manufactured'.
I ate them with all the trimmings at Christmas and with some leftover frozen roast potatoes on this particular afternoon ... and yes, there is way to much mayo on that plate it came out with a big splodge!! I do love mayo, but even for me that was excessive. 😄
Would I buy them again?
I doubt it really as I am trying to limit this sort of ready made food, and once the freezer is emptied I will be batch cooking homemade food and meal components as most of my future ready meals instead. But of course the few processed foods that I do really, really love will stay in the repertoire, I'll never say never but I will say occasionally.
Other lunches over the past few days have included:
Salmon, rice and garden peas, which were leftovers reheated.
Egg mayonnaise sandwiches, with sliced cucumber on the side.
The saved and frozen portion of curry and rice that I mentioned on this post.
And finally some homemade pasta sauce with a pack of Deliciously Ella's 'plants' tortelloni. Now although my homemade sauce had been in the freezer for over two years that was absolutely delicious, while the tortelloni was very debatable. This has now joined the ranks of yet another ready made product that I won't be buying again.
It's been a good process this month for whittling down slightly some of the foods that I used to eat but that I probably won't buy again in the future. There are still some things to get through and now that Alan has his new fridge freezer I can at last see just what foods I have left in my freezer, and actually get the drawers open more easily now that his foods are back home.
I think a menu plan for next week would be a good idea and keep me on the right track.
Do you have any pre-prepared foods that you used to buy regularly and enjoy eating, but that now seem like something that has become a bit of a no-no?
Sue xx
Yes Sue nut roast, I now make my own and freeze the portions I don’t eat, so more for another Sunday
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great idea. You'd think nut roast wouldn't freeze well somehow, but I've always found that it does so beautifully. It's great to have some on standby isn't it. :-)
DeleteGood morning Sue, have you tried the Aldi range of dried pasta, they are gluten free, there are three types - one is chickpea flour, one is pea flour and then there is the beetroot flour, we have tried them all and find the flavours good. Regards Jan in Castle Gresley
ReplyDeleteI've had the pea flour one but not the others yet. I did enjoy it, so I'll probably be trying the other two at some time. :-)
DeleteWhen I first stopped eating meat, I tried several of the 'fake meat' type products - burgers, sausages, not-chicken type things. I soon stopped buying them though - I was quite shocked at the amount of ingredients I'd never heard of, and I thought most of them tasted pretty bland anyway. As for nut roasts....I've tried several commercial ones but think none of them taste as good as the ones I make myself. I also had one in a restaurant once - it was disappointingly tasteless, never again.
ReplyDeleteIt's finding the 'replacement meat' type products that taste good and suit us that's the key isn't it. for instance I like the Aldi garlic Kyivs (and the M&S ones) but definitely not the Sainsbury's ones, they are awful. I like the Linda McCartney 1/4lb burgers, but I have never discovered another variety that I have enjoyed. As for most nut roasts, I find that I actually enjoy a good old sage and onion stuffing with added nuts that I do myself. Could you share your nut roast recipe, you might have done so before but I can't remember it?
DeleteI would say that I really don't enjoy 'ready meals' anymore, or indeed jarred sauces etc. They always look tempting but actually they usually taste a bit blah, sometimes the textures are strange and don't get me started on the additives. Even M&S meals are the same. I try and batch cook and cook from fresh but sometimes I get fed up with the time it takes and clearing up afterwards drives me a bit mad. My local farm shop has some nice 'wild' frozen dishes, very tasty, healthy, eco friendly but of course they come with a hefty price tag. Charlie Bigham's range is quite good, pricey though. And of course I look along the shelves thinking I could make that better and cheaper. It really is the only answer for me, make the effort, I know it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! Ready meals always seem like such a 'treat' and then you eat them and realise why they are not actually that good. At least they serve as a quick meal occasionally, and a good reminder of how good home prepared 'ready meals' are. Alan has been having a lot of Chinese takeaways recently, so I have been snaffling all his plastic containers ready for some batch cooking and freezer filling. :-)
DeleteAfter all the vegetarian taste tests on my blog only the Aldi veg burgers are still used. But I have got a couple of other things in the freezer bought before Christmas - some of their Xmas only ranges - to try. I'm saving them for when DiL and son etc are round for a sunday lunch meal.
ReplyDeleteIt is really good to have regular taste tests of new and seasonal products isn't it, and always really interesting to read other peoples opinions of them. I used to like the Aldi 'fishless fingers' but now I really don't, I'm moving on from so many previous likes. Perhaps added knowledge is mostly to blame as well as the flavour factor!
DeleteI've gone right off 'fake' sausages and burgers, although I do like the Sainsbury's spicy bean burgers served on a bun. The only ready meal I enjoy now is the Lentil bake also from Sainsburys but I only buy occasionally when on offer. I still buy Quorn mince and pieces but use them sparingly. I know they are UPF :(
ReplyDeleteI've always been a bit hesitant to re-heat boiled rice in case I poison us both but your salmon meal looks lovely. I do freeze portions of curry but serve with 'heat in the bag' type rice for speed. Any tips on re-heating boiled rice safely please, Sue, will be much appreciated :)
A spicy bean burger is really nice every now and then isn't it. :-)
DeleteMy only tip for reheating rice, is to only ever reheat it once and make sure it is absolutely piping hot. When you first cook it let it cool at room temperature for a few minutes and then cover and chill it down in the fridge. Then either use it the next day by reheating really well, or once chilled through freeze it in single portion serving sizes.
With this salmon, rice and peas, I first reheated the rice to a high temperature and then added the chilled salmon and flaking it through. It was then eaten straight away.
Thanks for that, Sue, I'll give it a go now I know what to do. It will certainly work out cheaper than packet rice.
DeleteAngie x
The packet rice's certainly have a place for emergency use, and I nearly always have one or two in the cupboard, but at the minimum of 45p for a sachet they do work out a bit more expensive than cooking rice from scratch.
DeleteNice to see your rating on various processed foods. Good luck on your journey. Right now here in Canada we are mostly all buying "Canadian" in preparation for Trump's tariffs come February 1st. No matter how we patrol our joint border I feel that 25% tariff on Canadian goods entering the U.S. is going to happen with more to follow.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Your food prices are getting even more scary at the moment aren't they, I think only Australia is now pipping you at the post for ridiculously high prices. I hope you can continue to manage. xx
DeleteI sometimes buy vegetable burgers or bean burgers but now look to see how many other ingredients are in them before I buy. We just had a very unsatisfactory pizza for a quick tea tonight and it wasn’t a patch on our homemade ones using either a tortilla or flatbread.Catriona
ReplyDeleteI don't know why we do it to ourselves, I often fall for the delicious looking pizzas and garlic breads in the supermarket ... usually when I shop when hungry ... but nine times out of ten I am very disappointed and realise I could have done so much better in so little time.
DeleteI am now getting a bit obsessive with reading labels, sadly usually after I have bought the food. I need to up my game and check before I buy!!
They never taste as good as you imaging they’re going to! We have a pub nearly which has home made pizza on the menu. Sometimes there’s a two for one offer and we treat ourselves - they are divine! June
DeleteThat is the way to do it isn't it, find somewhere that you can virtually guarantee a good pizza and treat yourself every now and then.
DeleteYour lunches always look good. There are some ready-made frozen meals that I've enjoyed, but, I haven't purchased any recently. More due to price considerations than anything else. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, ready meals are very expensive for the portion size you get aren't they. I think for me some more batch cooking for the freezer is going to be the answer.
DeleteI used to buy commercially made nut roast but found a recipe which sounded good. I love it and make it regularly now.
ReplyDeleteI really need to experiment and do that for myself. xx
DeleteWe ate our Lidl veggie thingy this week, it was a Moroccan style vegetable bake with a cheesy centre and wsa absolutely delicious.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have pasta very often but I like the pea one! xxx
That sounds really nice. It's good to find something like that to have on standby for a quick meal after a busy day. 🙂
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