How frequently do/when was the last time you had a single serve microwaveable convenience meal (TV Dinner)

[thewienke]

They call them Hungry-Man dinners because you'll still be a hungry man after eating one.

It's crazy how some of those can have so many calories but seem to do nothing for actual hunger.

I'd rather eat the whole bag of this at 740 calories:

Which is more filling and has fewer calories than this at 800 calories:

But my favorite "easy meal" is these guys:

Two of those with a veggie and a small amount of carb like rice is fantastic.

 

[Deleted member 17990]

pretty much everyday, on the off chance I have scrambled eggs instead

 

[joecanada]

I'm almost sure I've never had one of those cafeteria frozen trays they look nasty like I don't see a point at all. If I was in a hurry I could just make a smoothie

 

[BasilZero]

Last time I had something like that was almost a year ago.


It was Lasagna or something.

 

[Primal Sage]

I don't buy any microwavable dinners, but I do make big batches of food and freeze it in individual portions for nights when I have little time. Mostly meatballs, stews, and braised dishes since they freeze so well.

Click to shrink...

same.

 

[SpottieO]

Like two days ago, there are some "healthier" ones that I like to get. Cheaper than buying lunch from somewhere and some of them taste pretty good.

 

[Rosebud]

A lasagna yesterday.

 

[Maximus]

Why not meal prep one night, instead of eating frozen dinners to save time?

I used to eat frozen meals when I was younger until I was 15 or so.

 

[Khanimus]

About 6 months ago. I was super ill and couldn't leave the house, so my gf got some of these that I could use for lunches.

 

[Deleted member 31873]

Not for a while. I don't think there are any good microwave ready meals in the Netherlands; they're all horribly bland and over-priced. The UK had some reasonably good ones though.

 

[PHOENIXZERO]

Wednesday and usually at least two or three times a week for my lunch break at work.

 

[Famassu]

The last time I was so sick that I didn't want to bother with making food is the last time I remember buying some microwaveable soup for certain but I sometimes (rarely) might buy some stuff to try them out, if I see some new products 30-50% off that sounds good. The last time I was sick was maybe a year ago so that's when I definitely had some, but I might've bought some after that that I don't remember.

Microwave food is generally kinda crap so I don't really bother with it much.

Edit: to add, cooking couscous or rice or such takes about 30-45 seconds of physical labour all in all (measure water & rice, take out the kettle, turn on the stove, pretty much done 99% of what needs to be done) and doing some simple sauce with a protein source to pour on the rice only requires a few minutes, so other than having to wait for stuff to heat & cook up, it's really not more than a few minutes of actually doing something that is required to make a quick and simple and much more delicious meal than some microwave stuff when you're tired or lazy.

Tortillas are also easy. Cook & season protein source of your choice (few minutes), prepare some vegetables/fruits/salad (which can range from 10 seconds of cutting some iceberg lettuce to maybe a minute of halving cherry tomatoes), throw that shit & some sauve/mayo on a tortilla, wrap it and enjoy.

 

[Felt]

I definitely use frozen ingredients pretty often... Trader Joe's basically, but they aren't microwaved. Haven't had a frozen meal in the microwave in over a decade.

 

[Tangyn]

Haven't owned a microwave for 10 years or so. At least that long. Ate em all the time growing.up though!

 

[Westbahnhof]

Poll please.
Like, 3 years I guess.
But also, the overall number of these things I've eaten in my life is probably less than 10.

 

[How About No]

Like...an hour ago

But I usually NEVER have them. Feck

 

[jb1234]

When Lean Cuisines are on sale, I go nuts.

 

[Interested Observer]

Years ago.

 

[Walter White Walker]

Very rarely. Maybe one in the past year. They're packed full of sodium among other issues.

 

[Juno]

Sometimes have a coconut chicken soup from the store, it's really great and convenient

 

[pillowtalk]

I eat trader joes frozen and non frozen stuff all the time. Kinda cheat since I only use the oven or stove top to cook/reheat them and not microwave.

 

[Murasaki]

A lot of UK supermarket Indian and Chinese food advises microwave cooking; would those count? Why have the oven on for an hour when you could nuke a beef in black bean in 4 minutes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Strike]

Not since I was a kid. If I can't cook, I order out.

 

[Menchin]

I don't remember ever eating a ready meal

Always make my own food

 

[Aya]

Can't believe you guys are soooo lazy and prefer eating that frozen crap. A nice cheese omelette with bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms on the side takes literally less than 5 min to make it, if the mushrooms are already washed and cut. Def cheaper too. Or 10 min to boil some pasta, add some olive oil and a bit of ham, tomatoes or whatever else, parmigiano. And SO much healthier.

 

[SigSig]

Couple of years ago. I either cook myself or order something. There's a ton of cheap meals you can make in a couple of minutes which taste a lot better than anything that leaves a microwave.

 

[Gakidou]

Couple weeks ago now, I had my family over so now i've got leftovers for dayys.

Don't know if its different in the US, but ready meals in the UK are generally good quality and there's also a big grey area between microwave ready meals and convenient ingredient kits. Tons of ready meals are actually oven meals (or they can be either). So if they're defined by whether you microwave them, does that make soup a ready meal?

Anyway I always tend to have one or two "convenient" meals in my cupboard of freezer just in case im busy and get back late. Also if there's anything interesting in the reduced section its nice to try something new. Often its nice to buy a bunch of ingredients, buy something quick for when i get home, and then using the ingredients next day. Cause I walk to the shops and carry all my groceries by hand.

 

[Vyrance]

A few days ago, I usually buy some when they're bogo/on sale at publix

 

[Keldroc]

Can't remember. Maybe 20+ years ago?

 

[Ryuhza]

Not in ages. My microwaves never play nice with them. I follow the instructions to a T and end up with nasty cold spots.

 

[Br3wnor]

At least 5+ years ago, probably when I worked in retail, would have them for lunch in a pinch.

 

[Matador]

All the time since I count calories.

 

[Mendrox]

I don't remember, but they mostly taste shitty and are unhealthy so thank you for reminding me that I won't buy them anymore. Preparing beforehand is way way better and you can do it for a whole week.

 

[Deleted member 25600]

Never

 

[Shiloh]

I'll eat Hot Pockets at least once a month. No shame. A dollar a pocket.

 

[BigDes]

I don't have a microwave so certainly not anytime in the last five years.

 

[Dandy]

It's probably been at least 2 years.

 

[julian]

I don't recall. We don't even have a microwave in our home.

 

[Prax]

Like a week ago. The cheap kind! :D

I even made worklunch versions for myself last week. Behold.. lol

DELICIOUS POVERTY COMFORT FOODS!

 

[kVH2LpZd]

https://tenor.com/2hNo.gif

 

[Shining Star]

Literally not once in my life.

 

[Cream Stout]

Like a week ago. The cheap kind! :D

I even made worklunch versions for myself last week. Behold.. lol

DELICIOUS POVERTY COMFORT FOODS!

Click to shrink...

bottom left looks the tastiest. these remind me of the kfc famous bowls and i want them

 

[Prax]

bottom left looks the tastiest. these remind me of the kfc famous bowls and i want them

Click to shrink...

KFC chicken bowls and Swanson fried chicken dinners were indeed the inspo.

 

[Seirith]

My husband takes a Smart One to work every day, they are cheap and easy to deal with on a job where he doesn't get an official lunch break.

I eat frozen meals once in a while as well, no shame in them.

Edit: I am surprised at the amount of replies that don't have a microwave.

 

[Camwi]

I eat a few of them a week. Banquet brand are oftentimes $1.00 a piece and surprisely tastely for how cheap they are.

 

[Militaratus]

Almost every day when I lived in Japan I had microwave meals. I loved that they microwaved them for me in the convenience stores.

 

[Sunster]

like a year ago but because of this thread now i want a Hungry Man dinner lol. They have tons of preservatives which are a carcinogen tho so i would recommend to the people ITT saying they eat them all the time to uhhhh not do that.

 

[ned_ballad]

Like maybe 5 or 6 years ago

I haven't really eaten tv dinners since I moved out of my parents' house.

Although I do microwave frozen veggie burgers every so often, if they count.

 

[jph139]

Pretty regularly. They're usually on sale, buy 5 for $10, that sort of thing. I shop for groceries every other week so like half of my weeknights. Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice mostly.

Honestly, I find them pretty filling and tasty enough, though I'll usually add some additional spices - paprika, Italian blend, garlic powder. And most of them are under 400 calories. Sodium levels are high though, so I wouldn't call them healthy.

When I only have a couple hours to myself after work, I can't justify spending the time to prepare a meal for one person from scratch. Even simple stuff like pasta and sauce takes four times as long and isn't any tastier.

 

[Deleted member 4262]

Haven't used or seen a microwave in like 12 years.