Jack Monroe's ready-meal challenge

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/07/jack-monroe-ready-meal-challenge

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Late last year, I watched a woman sitting on a breakfast TV show sofa tell the nation that her children were obese because it was cheaper to buy ready meals than prepare food.

It's easy to criticise, but I understand where that kind of thinking comes from – despite the widespread obsession with food these days, we're in a weird situation where cooking is alien to a large part of the UK population. Home economics hasn't been a compulsory part of the curriculum for years, kitchens are designed to be smaller because "nobody cooks" and supermarket shelves are filled with rectangular things that just need stabbing with a fork and pinging in a microwave. Indeed, with ready-made supermarket lasagnes setting you back just 75p in some cases, you could be forgiven for thinking it was the cheapest way to eat. I did.

At my deepest point of unemployment, I would buy three basic macaroni cheese meals, mix them with a carton of chopped tomatoes and spinach, and feed them to my child. Then I worked out that I could replace that 77p macaroni cheese meal with 500g of pasta at 39p, a carton of chopped tomatoes for 31p, half an onion (6p) and a handful of herbs, and prepare meals for less money, little effort and with fewer dubious ingredients. I taught myself to cook.

Watching that woman on daytime TV, I wondered if I could recreate a supermarket ready meal for less than the shelf price. I asked my blog readers what they wanted me to tackle. The one that cropped up time and again was the humble lasagne. I promised I'd give it a go, wincing inside. You see, despite cooking every day for years, I'd never actually made a lasagne. All that snapping sheets of pasta, two different saucepans and an oven on the go. It felt like too much effort and energy use for just us – and my son never asked for it.

So, I bought one from M&S, unwrapped it, felt through that sticky white sauce and revealed layers of minced meat, tomato sauce and pasta sheets. Not so mysterious. Later, when I pulled my own out of the oven, hot and crispy around the edges, topped with bubbling cheese, and sat it beside its shop-bought relative, I couldn't believe I had made it to the age of 25 without cooking one from scratch.

When I set out to do this challenge, there were two aims. First, to examine the long and unappetising list of ingredients that go into some of the ready meals on supermarket shelves, and second to debunk the myth that those plastic cartons of half-sized meals are a cheap way to eat. I stuck closely to the main ingredients, concentrating on those that were key for flavour and omitting those I felt unnecessary, along with any E-numbers and preservatives. Often it wasn't how I'd choose to cook myself – for instance, using oil and powdered milk to make a white sauce.

All but one of my meals came out cheaper than the original – and that was because I upped the chicken to free-range (I substituted free-range meat in M&S's lasagne and still beat it substantially on price). It's been interesting to examine these dishes closely, and good fun recreating them – without the E-numbers and preservatives – but perhaps the best thing about my experiment is that after portioning them all up and sticking them in the freezer, I've got dinner ready to shove in the microwave after work. I think I can see the attraction of this ready meals thing after all.

Lasagne Jack 60p; M&S £2.69

Makes 6 portions (price per portion) 2 tbsp oil, 6p 450g free-range pork mince, £2.50 1 onion, 11p 2 tsp mixed dried herbs, 3p 140g double concentrate tomato puree, 35p 400ml chicken stock, 2p 1 tbsp flour, 3p 2 tbsp dried skimmed milk and 200ml water, 5p (or 200ml milk) Mozzarella, 22p Lasagne sheets, 22p

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Cook the mince, onions and herbs on a medium heat until the mince is browned and the onions are soft.

• Add the tomato puree and stock. Boil for a few minutes, ensuring the mince is cooked through. Leave to stand.

• For the white sauce, mix 1 tbsp oil with the flour and milk powder in a saucepan on a low heat for two minutes until it resembles breadcrumbs, then add a splash of water to make a paste. Stir well to eliminate any lumps, add a splash more water, and repeat until only half the water is left, stirring continuously to stop lumps from forming.

• Tear the cheese into small pieces, add to the pan, and increase the heat to melt in. Reduce back to a low heat and stir well.

• Layer the ragu sauce in the bottom of your dish and lay the pasta sheets on top. Add a second layer of ragu, then pasta, then a thick layer of mozzarella sauce.

• Cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 200C or cool completely, freeze and oven cook at 200C for 30 minutes.

Dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, Sasha Watkins, gives her verdict: By cooking the meal from scratch you can use a better quality of meat, as Jack has. This homemade lasagne contains free-range pork and doesn't break the bank. The key thing is control – you can keep an eye on the fat content, pouring away any excess from the pork mince, using less mozzarella, and exchanging full-fat for skimmed milk, as Jack has done here, to make a lasagne that is not only tasty but also better for your heart and waistline.

Carbonara Jack 95p; M&S £2.20

Makes 4 portions 400g spaghetti, 24p 50g butter, 24p 220g free-range streaky bacon, chopped, £2.50 1 onion, diced, 11p 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, 5p 1 tbsp flour, 3p 3 tbsp skimmed milk powder and 400ml water (or 400ml milk), 5p 50g strong hard cheese, grated, 58p

• Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and pop the pasta in on a simmer.

• Saute the onion, bacon and garlic in about a third of the butter on a medium heat for a few minutes then transfer into a bowl.

• Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, add the flour and combine over a medium heat to form a thick paste. Add a splash of milk and stir until smooth, repeat, using all of the milk.

• Add the cheese, and return the onion, garlic and most of the bacon into the saucepan. Stir through to distribute, and reduce the heat to low for a few minutes.

• When the pasta is cooked and the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, drain and rinse the pasta and toss the sauce through (or cool and freeze, then oven cook at 180C for 25 minutes).

Sasha's verdict: The homemade recipe looks much better for the waistline as there is no added cream, just as long as you go easy on your portion size. It would be even healthier if you used a lower-fat cheese, or less full-fat cheese, which you can if you have control at home.

Sweet and sour chicken with rice Jack £1.08; Iceland £1

Makes 4 portions 1 tbsp oil, 3p 4 boneless free-range chicken thighs, diced, £3 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 7p 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, 5p 1 red chilli, finely chopped, 8p 1 onion, 11p 200g carrots, 19p 230g tinned pineapple chunks, 39p 140g tomato puree, 35p 1/4 tsp ginger, crushed, 5p

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the chicken. Saute on a medium heat for a few minutes to seal.

• Add the garlic, chilli, onion and carrots. Cook until softened and then add the vinegar.

• Pour over the pineapple, including all of the juice. Spoon in the tomato puree, add the ginger and stir well.

• Simmer on a medium heat for 15 minutes to cook the chicken through and thicken the sauce.

• Serve with white rice, 3p for a 75g portion (or cool and freeze, then oven cook at 180C for 30 minutes).

Sasha's verdict: The homemade version contains much better-quality chicken (free-range instead of "chicken strips") and has a far lower salt content: the store-bought alternative contains more than a third of your daily recommended salt intake. You can also choose to serve basmati or wholegrain rice, which release energy at a slower pace than easy-cook white rice and will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Fish pie Jack 86p; Iceland £1

Makes 4 portions 600g potatoes, diced, 26p 6tbsp milk powder and 400ml water, 15p (or 400ml milk) 50g butter, 24p 2 tbsp flour, 6p 1 onion, diced 11p 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube, 2p Handful of parsley, finely chopped ,20p 6 fillets (approx 320g) white fish, diced, £2.43

• Boil a saucepan of water then simmer the potatoes until very tender. Combine the milk powder and water until dissolved. Drain and mash the potatoes with a little of the milk and butter.

• In another saucepan, melt the remaining butter over a low heat and stir in the flour to make a paste. Thin with the milk, a bit at a time until the sauce is smooth.

• Add the onion, parsley and stock cube. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.

• Add the fish and continue to simmer for five minutes.

• Spoon the fish and sauce into your dishes, and top with the mash, spread to the edges and fluff up with a fork.

• Cook in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes or cool completely, freeze and oven cook at 200C for 30 minutes.

Sasha's verdict: The fish content of the homemade pie is much higher that Iceland's (only 14% pollock) and is likely to be of a better quality.

Bombay potatoes Jack 48p; Tesco 75p

Makes 2 portions 500g potatoes, cut into quarters, 13p 1 tbsp oil, 3p 2 tsp garam masala, 10p 1 onion, diced, 11p 1 clove garlic, 3p 1 small red chilli, 8p ¼ tsp ginger powder, 3p 140g tomato puree, 35p Tip of tsp mustard, 1p Few sprigs of coriander, chopped, 10p

• Heat a medium pan full of water. Add the potatoes, bring to the boil and then simmer until they are tender.

• Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain in a colander.

• Heat the oil on a low to medium heat. Add the garam masala, onion, garlic, chilli and ginger, and saute on a gentle heat for a few minutes to soften the onions and garlic.

• Add the tomato puree and very small amount of mustard.

• Add the potatoes, and heat through for a further five minutes.

• Serve garnished with chopped coriander (or cool and freeze, then oven cook at 180C for 20 minutes).

Sasha's verdict: Both versions use similar ingredients, but I was surprised to see that sugar had been added to Tesco's Bombay potatoes. I'm sure the homemade recipe is just as tasty without the extra calories from the sugar.

Vegetable curry Jack's 49p; Sainsbury 70p

Makes 4 portions 2 tbsp oil, 6p 1 onion, diced, 11p 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, 5p 1 red chilli, finely chopped, 8p 3 tsp garam masala, 20p Scant ¼ tsp mustard, 1p 140g tomato puree, 35p 200ml chicken or vegetable stock, 2p 200g red lentils, 44p 500g potatoes, chopped small, 13p 200g chopped carrots, 19p 100g green beans, 15p Few sprigs of fresh coriander, 20p

• In a large frying pan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic and chilli, then the mustard and garam masala. Saute on a medium-high heat for five minutes to soften the onion and garlic and absorb some of the spices.

• Add the tomato puree, stock, lentils and vegetables and cook for a further 15 minutes until the lentils are swollen. If the sauce becomes too thick, add half a cup of water to loosen it up again.

• Simmer to allow the flavours to mingle and, when ready, serve with the coriander (or cool completely, freeze and oven cook at 200C for 30 minutes).

Sasha's verdict: The ingredients are similar in both meals but the home-cooked recipe is bursting with more vegetable goodness. It contains three portions of your five a day (per serving) compared to the store-bought version which only contains one. Sainsbury's vegetable curry also contains palm oil which is a plant-derived saturated fat or "bad fat" that is linked with an increased risk of heart disease and total cholesterol levels. Palm oil is often used in manufactured foods, including ready meals, as it is cheap.

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