Strength Meals Co Braised Beef Ragu 350g

Not a fan. As the saying goes don’t judge a book by its cover, the picture on the packaging looked promising but sadly the contents were no where near as appealing. The Instructions were easy to follow making it a conveniently quick meal. As it was cooking, the smell wafting out was inviting. On plating up and tucking in, I was left disappointed. The meat to sauce ratio was way out of proportion, too much sauce and about 5 small pieces of meat, which was bordering on tough and chewy. Mine contained 2 small pieces each of carrot and green beans. The mash had an almost powdery texture and tasted to sweet for my liking. The whole meal was reminiscent of nursing home food. This meal is made of 80% Aussie ingredients and is made in Australia ☑️ It has a 3. 5 star rating ... MoreNot a fan. As the saying goes don’t judge a book by its cover, the picture on the packaging looked promising but sadly the contents were no where near as appealing. The Instructions were easy to follow making it a conveniently quick meal. As it was cooking, the smell wafting out was inviting. On plating up and tucking in, I was left disappointed. The meat to sauce ratio was way out of proportion, too much sauce and about 5 small pieces of meat, which was bordering on tough and chewy. Mine contained 2 small pieces each of carrot and green beans. The mash had an almost powdery texture and tasted to sweet for my liking. The whole meal was reminiscent of nursing home food. This meal is made of 80% Aussie ingredients and is made in Australia ☑️ It has a 3. 5 star rating which I find strange as it contains 1060mg sodium, 7. 3G sugar and 23. 6g fat, doesn’t sound very healthy to me, It states 57% braised beef ragu, 60% beef but I don’t think there was anywhere near 60% beef in my sample. It is pricey at $9 for a 350g serve which was heavy on sauce and no real substance. I guess you pay for convenience. Might have to add some steamed vegetables to make it somewhat hearty. Both the tray and sleeve are recyclable ☑️it would be cheaper, tastier, easier and healthier to make at home. Would I buy this again? I’m sorry but my answer would be no but thanks Bunch for giving me the opportunity to try this sample *Please take note that this review is based on my personal tastes but your experience may be completely different to mine.

Flavour was there. I was not expecting what I got at all with this product. The texture was essentially like a soup, the ragu and mashed potato mingled together with a few carrots and it looked like a meal you would give to an elderly person with no teeth. However, the flavour was really quite nice. I enjoyed it despite the texture. Not sure I would pay the full $9 asking price but it was certainly one of the best flavours of a frozen meal that I have tasted. 436 calories (1830 kj) and sugars only 2. 1g per 100g which means 7. 3g per serve. Use by date March 2023 and made in Australia with at least 80% Australian ingredients. I would probably buy this again if it was on special... which surprises me.

Not for me. I was excited by this meal as it isn’t something I would normally pick up (I’m not a big frozen meal person) and was excited that the ingredients didn’t contain all these thickeners, artificial colours or flavourings. I was quite shocked at the price as it was steep for a single serving. Frozen in the vac seal it looked far from appealing but the smells coming from the microwave was like the slow cooker had been on all day. Eating the meal it was okay, nothing I’d right home about. The braise was almost soup like and there was not enough mash to soak up all the sauce. The mash itself tasted horrible, like it had originally been deb. No flavour and almost a powdery consistency. It was nice to see real vegetables.

Actually surprising good. Was so pleased to get this bunch offer to try. Have been very into the quick microwave meals for lunch. The perfect portion control means I'm neither too hungry nor too full afterwards. To be honest, have tried several frozen meals from multiple brands however was not all too impressed. Been purchasing the refrigerated ready meals instead as I have found they taste better. Thus, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this frozen meal actually tasted quite decent. The ragu was flavourful and sweet potato mash quite tasty. Didn't find it too salty nor too liquid as other commenters have indicated. Would consider purchasing again for a quick meal option.

Relatively tasty but expensive. I don't often eat microwave meals. I found this quite expensive at $9. It was on sale for $7 this week so that is a bit better. I easily found this in the ready meals section in the freezer. Braised Beef Ragu sounds good, they also have Chicken Paella. The packaging looks really good. I like the simplicity, the facts/figures about the 436 calories, 354. gm protein, 11gm saturated fat, and 18. 1gm carbs on the front of the packaging. It highlights that this is a healthy meal. The heating instructions are simple - Remove cardboard sleeve, no need to prick plastic film, Microwave on high for 6 minutes from frozen, stand for one minute, peel back the plastic film, stir sauce and mash separately. Serve. I found there to be a good amount of ... MoreRelatively tasty but expensive. I don't often eat microwave meals. I found this quite expensive at $9. It was on sale for $7 this week so that is a bit better. I easily found this in the ready meals section in the freezer. Braised Beef Ragu sounds good, they also have Chicken Paella. The packaging looks really good. I like the simplicity, the facts/figures about the 436 calories, 354. gm protein, 11gm saturated fat, and 18. 1gm carbs on the front of the packaging. It highlights that this is a healthy meal. The heating instructions are simple - Remove cardboard sleeve, no need to prick plastic film, Microwave on high for 6 minutes from frozen, stand for one minute, peel back the plastic film, stir sauce and mash separately. Serve. I found there to be a good amount of meat/sauce. It was quite tasty. I wish there were more veggies - there were only around 5 beans. Even though it didn't look like much, I felt it was quite a substantial meal. If I could change anything I'd add more veggies to the mix. I found the meat/sauce tasty and wouldn't change that. I wouldn't buy it for $9 though. This would be handy for convenient meals in the freezer when you don't have time to cook or meal prep.

Has the building blocks of a tasty meal but falls short. Surprisingly, this has the building blocks of a tasty meal but falls short in several ways. According to the Strength Meals Co. website the meal is supposed to look like this. I wish. Here’s what my meal looked like. . . Not pleasant looking is it?I am not giving this one star because there were things I thought worked and that could be improved. The meat was quite good. It easily separated using a fork. I could also taste a little of the wine in the sauce – I love wine-rich sauces. The meal is easy to prepare and the film peels off easily. I don’t count grams of protein in my meals, so knowing a protein count of 35. 4g of protein in this meal doesn’t mean much to me. I did research the protein content of eggs ... MoreHas the building blocks of a tasty meal but falls short. Surprisingly, this has the building blocks of a tasty meal but falls short in several ways. According to the Strength Meals Co. website the meal is supposed to look like this. I wish. Here’s what my meal looked like. . . Not pleasant looking is it?I am not giving this one star because there were things I thought worked and that could be improved. The meat was quite good. It easily separated using a fork. I could also taste a little of the wine in the sauce – I love wine-rich sauces. The meal is easy to prepare and the film peels off easily. I don’t count grams of protein in my meals, so knowing a protein count of 35. 4g of protein in this meal doesn’t mean much to me. I did research the protein content of eggs (13g on average) and meat/poultry (25-28 grams /100g of meat), so on the face of it, this meat & veg meal seems quite average in its protein content to me. And now for the things that didn’t work for me. Let’s face it, it looks awful. And while the ratio of mash to meat to sauce was acceptable, I thought the portion size was too small. I ate something else in addition to this meal. Flavour-wise, I was hoping for greater intensity There was a hint of wine and tomato in the meat/sauce part, but the mash and veggies were bland. The veg was terrible. Three soggy, limp pieces of green beans, one wilted onion ring and a couple of overcooked carrot batons. The mash was tasteless and watery, and once again, Woolies is playing weasel words with its descriptions. If you look at the ingredients list, you will find there is more potato than sweet potato in the mash. I certainly wouldn’t buy this product as is. I am giving it 2 stars because I do think it has promise. If the kind of improvements I am after were made, I could see myself buying this on occasion.

Changed it to suit my taste. It took me a while to find this product as just looking at it, i wrongly assumed it would be in / near the meat department in the fridges. There was in fact a Strength Meals Co Beef ragu in this spot, but it came with noodles, not mash. After this, i had a moment of inspiration and thought to check the freezers where i located this meal. And yes, if i had looked on the product details, i also could've found it!I am not a fan of mash and chose to eat the ragu with a slice of bread and some side salad. I think this helped with the mushy texture that my husband stated he noticed when he tasted it altogether. I enjoyed the flavour of the meat. I did find it a little runny but the bread helped with that - changes the calories though if you ... MoreChanged it to suit my taste. It took me a while to find this product as just looking at it, i wrongly assumed it would be in / near the meat department in the fridges. There was in fact a Strength Meals Co Beef ragu in this spot, but it came with noodles, not mash. After this, i had a moment of inspiration and thought to check the freezers where i located this meal. And yes, if i had looked on the product details, i also could've found it!I am not a fan of mash and chose to eat the ragu with a slice of bread and some side salad. I think this helped with the mushy texture that my husband stated he noticed when he tasted it altogether. I enjoyed the flavour of the meat. I did find it a little runny but the bread helped with that - changes the calories though if you are watching those. I like that this was Made in Australia. I feel the price was quite high for the product overall. I'm unlikely to buy again.

Not very appealing. Ok so lets immediately set expectation here. This is NOT a home cooked meal so if you're expecting it to compare to one, you'll be very disappointed. That in mind, I was quite looking forward to giving it a go. It was easy to find in my store so that's a bonus. The photo on the cover is quite appealing! "Looks tasty!" I thought "Can't wait to give this a crack!"The instructions are dead easy to follow. Store it frozen and just pop it in a microwave for a few minutes, then you're good to go!While it was heating, pleasant aromas of beef ragu filled my home and I smacked my lips together in anticipation of what was to come!"Ding!" My microwave told me it was ready. I enthusiastically took it out and tore the plastic cover off (carefully because of ... MoreNot very appealing. Ok so lets immediately set expectation here. This is NOT a home cooked meal so if you're expecting it to compare to one, you'll be very disappointed. That in mind, I was quite looking forward to giving it a go. It was easy to find in my store so that's a bonus. The photo on the cover is quite appealing! "Looks tasty!" I thought "Can't wait to give this a crack!"The instructions are dead easy to follow. Store it frozen and just pop it in a microwave for a few minutes, then you're good to go!While it was heating, pleasant aromas of beef ragu filled my home and I smacked my lips together in anticipation of what was to come!"Ding!" My microwave told me it was ready. I enthusiastically took it out and tore the plastic cover off (carefully because of hot steam) and.... OMG WHAT IS THAT?!?!It has the visual appeal of what one might find in a toddler's nappy. If I were a self-respecting gym junkie, I would certainly not base my diet on these. I have dignity people!Bravely, I soldiered on and I must admit that it tasted marginally better than it looked. But lets be honest here. We're starting from a pretty low benchmark, right? There were some pretty tough bits of 'meat' in there and the carrots and beans were somehow dry and chewy. And the mashed potato reminded me of that stuff you get from KFC. Would I get this again? Um no I certainly would not. I realise that I tried to set an expectation at the beginning of my review, but this falls well below even that... I'd rather spend some time cooking one myself, dividing it up and freezing it. I'm sure it'd be more healthy and significantly cheaper. And then I wouldn't have to eat "that" again.

Processed, unfresh and poor quality meat. It is not much of a looker. From frozen, microwave for 6 minutes without piercing the plastic. Let stand for a minute before peeling off the film. Smelt good but the sauce was separated and a bit watery. The beef is in very small pieces and tough (and then some pieces were pure fat). Vegetables were minimal, with two pieces of green bean and 2 sticks of carrot. Their taste and texture were odd and didn't give an impression of freshness. Finally, I'm quite picky about mashed potatoes and these were too unnaturally buttery/creamy-tasting for my liking. I would've enjoyed the meal more with pasta, which is what one would expect, given the name of ragu?

Average but lacking substance. Easily located within the freezer ailse along with the other frozen ready made meals I got Master 17 to try this meal as being a sportsman he is always keen for high protein meals. Vacuumed sealed this meal is easily microwaved for 6 minutes on high. The product is made in Australia from at least 80% Australian ingredients and has been given a 3. 5 health rating. Both the tray and sleeve packaging are recyclable and the film is return to store. The review from Master 17, it was ok tasting but as with most of these meals it seriously lacked actual meat or vegetables. Only a couple of fragments of beans and carrots. Certainly not a budget buy at $9 for a 350g serve and he advised me for the price to not purchase of my own accord.