Which ready meals make the most sense?
Not all ready meals are created equal.
The convenience and “obvious” health benefits of ready-made meals cannot be denied. Quick, easy and at least marginally better for you than the dodgy garage pie you shamefully scarf down between traffic lights on your drive home.
What constitutes a “ready meal”?
For the purposes of this discussion, ready meals are:
- Fully prepared meals, that can either be eaten as is, or simply require a quick turn around the microwave.
We are talking about salads, wraps, pasta bakes, stir fry’s and cottage pies.
For a long time woollies was the obvious choice for convenience meals, so much so that any meal you could heat and eat was colloquially called a “woollies meal”.
Woollies no longer reign supreme in this realm.
Most of the other large grocery retailers have stepped into this arena and aren’t pulling their punches. Healthy options abound!
Or so it would seem…
Here’s a cheat sheet of health tips for you. Simply follow these guidelines next time you’re picking up a quick lunch or dinner and you can be sure you’re making an informed choice for your health.
So-dium so bad?
High salt diets are inextricably linked to hypertension and cardiac disease. This doesn’t just mean how much of the white stuff you sprinkle onto your food after the fact. Most of the dangerous sodium is already hidden within your food, as other ingredients such as monosodium glutamate (MSG).
No Fat, No Sugar, No taste…
Finding the right balance of fat in a meal is trickier – not all fat is bad, and depending on your lifestyle you’ll have to adapt your fat intake. To reduce your risk of coronary diseases try to stick to “healthy” fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, seeds and fish. Excessive fat from animal products can have a negative impact on your overall health.
Sugar should be limited to no more than 24g per day for women and 36g per day for men. (Yes, it sucks, but that’s what the science says.)
Get your fibre fix.
Getting enough fibre will solve many of your more personal problems keeping things regular.
Know your salt, sugar and fat facts, and NEVER forget the fibre!
Next time you pick up your dinner, flip over the package and read the fine print. Don’t be fooled by the pretty picture on the front, full of healthy buzz words and fresh vegetables.
