Ready meals are not something I reach for much at all and most of them do not have the best reputation when it comes to taste, do they? I’ve recently found out that the ready meals from M&S are very different though!
I’m 20 weeks pregnant, working from home and looking after a toddler and a 4-year-old who has just started school. The school run means I’m out walking for 2.5-3 hours Monday to Friday and it’s all quite exhausting! We’re also in the process of moving house which is taking up a lot of our time and energy. We should be moved into the new house by Christmas and then the school run will be a 5-minute kind of job too, hopefully. So, life will get a bit easier soon!
When life is hectic and you barely have time to do anything that you actually want to do, cooking is not something that I look forward to at all so trying some tasty ready meals from M&S couldn’t have come at a better time.
These might not be for you if you’re following a special diet, like a Keto diet for example. Then you can use ketonix or similar to help keep you on track.
The new range also focuses on my favourite cuisine which is Italian. Italian food is versatile and suitable for all seasons and there’s something for everyone whether you like pasta, pizza, or risotto! Did you know that sine M&S launched their lasagne in 1983, it’s maintained its position as the no. 1 prepared meal at M&S and they sell an impressive 55,000 each week!
This autumn, M&S experts have expanded the collection with lots of authentic dishes after travelling to Rome for inspiration and working with suppliers across Italy to develop the “Italian Collection”.
This range includes things like Crispy Pancetta Carbonara, Roasted Mushroom Risotto, Prawn & Chilli Linguine and many more. There are also new additions to the fresh pasta range with girasoli and ravioli as well as new Italian bread additions in the form of flatbreads and focaccias. My daughters love the Piquillo & Cherrybell Pepper Focaccia from the Italian Collection
The new additions to the fresh pasta range are authentic pastas made in Verona and pasta sauces made in Calabria. It includes Basil Pesto Girasoli, Pea & Mint Girasoli, Gorgonzola & Walnut Girasoli and Parmesan Ravioli. They all sound absolutely amazing!
Other meals include Chicken & Bacon Pasta Bake, King Prawn Alfredo and Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli in a tangy tomato sauce.
My husband and I have tried a few of the different meals and my toddler tried some too. She’s the more adventurous eater of our two children! The meals we had are the ones below:
I’m a vegetarian but my husband eats everything so he sampled the dishes with chicken/meat and prawns and I had the vegetarian option and the focaccia. My husband only had nice things to say about his meals! He was really impressed with the amount of chicken and the quality of the food and clever solutions to keep the meal nice before cooking and during the heating process.
The Tomato & Pesto Mascarpone Strozzapreti was just the kind of meal that I love! I love tomato sauces for pasta and the pesto, semi-dried tomatoes and pine nuts were the perfect additions to this very tasty dish. It would make a great lunch to take to work too in a good insulated lunch box.
We’ll definitely look to M&S the next time we need a night off cooking! I really want to try the Parmesan Ravioli from this Italian Collection next!
