Following on from Morrisons, Co-op and Marks & Spencer bringing out foods suitable for people on slimming medication, and those with smaller appetites, we’ve gone searching for the best value nutritious ready meals around.
Now, traditionally, you’d never put ‘ready meal’ and ‘nutritious’ in the same sentence; eating a ready meal for its nutritional value is a novel action. But supermarkets will adapt and launch new ranges to follow trends and keep the customers and their cash flowing in. For as long as Mounjaro and Ozempic are popular, expect supermarkets to keep expanding their healthy ready meal ranges.
Fat jab, high protein, small appetites, medical issues… Whatever your reason for needing a concentrated dose of nutrition, the GLP-1 friendly ranges are worth checking out.
Below, I have listed the best of what each supermarket has to offer.
As with any pre-made food you buy, always check the label for the exact nutritional breakdown of your chosen meal.
Quick summary
Aldi might be the cheapest, but its limited range puts it at the back of the pack. M&S is, as expected, the most expensive of the supermarkets, while Morrisons’ partnership with Applied Nutrition on a wide range of affordable products is enough to take the best value crown.
Which supermarkets have GLP-1 friendly ready meals?
M&S
We’ve got a whole article dedicated to the M&S Nutrition Dense collection. We did a group test of the chia mousse, ginger shot and chia pudding, but we weren’t overly sold.
The chia mousse was an acquired taste with an even stranger texture – it would take some getting used to, that’s for sure. We did, however, like the ginger shot.
Co-op
We haven’t tried any of the Co-op meals, however we do have an article going into Co-op’s GLP-1 friendly offering.
As you’d expect, Co-op’s prices are cheaper than M&S’ (when comparing a dinner), but the range isn’t as varied.
Morrisons
Morrisons are similar to Co-op when it comes to price points, with a meal costing £3.75.
In partnership with Applied Nutrition, 53 new products have been introduced to the shelves, with only seven of those being main meals, including:
- Sweet potato cottage pie – £3.75
- Sweet chilli prawns and noodles – £3.75
- Chicken tikka with mango & coconut dhal – £3.75
- Spaghetti and meatballs – £3.75
You can currently get three for £8.50.
Given the wide range, affordable price per meal, we give Morrisons the title of Best Value GLP-1 friendly ready meal.
Of the sides, we like the look of the smoothie mixes.
Aldi
For the name of their GLP-1 friendly range, Aldi have gone for ‘Balanced Box’, which is ironic considering the range contains an odd number of meals.
The Balanced Box range is quite limited, with vegetarians getting a choice of one. But, as you’d expect, Aldi’s meals are cheaper than the competition. Even though Aldi’s fat jab-friendly meals are the cheapest, we didn’t give Aldi the best value award as the choice is very limited.
Pick from:
Iceland
While Iceland doesn’t have a dedicated GLP-1 friendly range, they do stock a range of small meals from Slimming World and My Protein, which may be suitable for those taking weight loss medication and with smaller appetites.
My Protein
Known for their protein powders and bars, My Protein also produces a range of ready meals. And, as their name would suggest, protein is front and centre. We like the look of these options:
- Salt & pepper chicken with rice 350g – £4.25
- Beef pasta bolognese 350g – £4.25
- Sticky honey, ginger and sesame chicken with rice 350g – £4.25
Slimming World
On average, the Slimming World meals are 25p cheaper than the My Protein ones.
- Bang bang chicken & rice 400g – £4.00
- Chilli con carne and rice 400g – £4.00
- Hunters chicken risotto 400g – £4.00
Asda
Asda have also bought out The Health Menu, again, ready meals for those with small appetites or on weight loss medication. When you’re browsing the shelves for these ready meals, be aware that not all The Health Menu products feature the range’s logo.
Choose from high protein meals, soups, or packets of spiced pulses. There’s also a seeded loaf of bread.
We like the look of these ones:
