Dinner tonight

[Kaz]

Those ready meal curries and sides are huuuuge in calories, in fact they must try really hard to get that many in

[Workingman]

It mystifies me what goes in to ready meals to make them so calorific.

If I make a curry using chicken thighs (much more flavour) it is basically an onion and a tin of tomatoes with herbs and spices and seasoning - 400cals max, 135 per portion.

A large tearing naan, basically flour, yoghurt and water, is 300 cal, tops.

A portion of rice: plain; vegetable or fried; is 150cal max.

A meal for one comes in at less than 400 cals. Throw in an onion bhaji and a veg samosa and it goes to 600 - 650 cals.

You will be full after eating it.

[Kaz]

I know It's a mystery to me!

[Diflower]

A lot of it is the sheer quantity
Half the rice we got with that deal was 319 cals
We had only slightly more than half between us

[Workingman]

Not sure about that, Di.

When Mike and Soph and Becks come round the portions are well big enough to fill us up.

I reckon that the fillers used to bulk out the meals - modified starches, gums - are what contain the calories.

You and I do not use those when we cook; we have ingredients.

[Kaz]

I think it is those 'hidden' ingredients too

[Diflower]

I do agree it often is but...that rice had not much else in it, so it was just a lot of rice; that was the item that had me
The rest of it wasn't too bad per item, but just way too much altogether

[Workingman]

By comparison to other ingredients rice and bread (pilaf, naan, pittas) are cheap, so you get loads.

The protein element is dear so it is bulked.

The producers have to make money so they charge the protein price for the whole meal.

[Diflower]

Yep
And people look, and think, there's not much meat there, we'll need it all - but actually it was fine.
So they eat the lot then wonder why they're so stuffed (thanks to all the rice and bread) - or heat it all up and throw a load away