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Annabel Karmel Bolognese Pasta Bake | Chewsday Review

Lots of requests in the last few weeks for a Chewsday Review of Annabel Karmel products, specifically the ready meals and frozen veggie purees. Most of you know that I've been lucky enough to meet the fabulous AK in real life on several occasions- check out some of my recaps here. But, as a dietitian with high moral standards, I won't let my awe get in the way of an honest review. You're welcome 😝 Today I've chosen the Bolognese Pasta Bake frozen meal, so I can compare it to the recent Heinz bolognese review, which you can read here.

Ingredients

Positives

Fat, saturated fat and sugar content all within healthy guidelines, although, these tend to all be higher than the Heinz version.
Low sodium (salt) content of 91mg/100g for a product like this, but again its double the Heinz version.
I prefer frozen products (like this) to those that have been heat treated to store on a shelf at room temperature (like Heinz). Usually this means that more of the heat sensitive nutrients are retained.
Very convenient for busy days.
No marketing untruths, unlike on the Heinz product

Negatives

No mention of fibre or iron content on the label, which is disappointing. This makes it really hard to compare to other products. Having said that, the mince content (11%) is the same as the Heinz product, which would likely provide enough iron to meet about 20% of toddler requirements. Not huge in the scheme of things.
At the moment these meals are on sale at Coles for $3 (but usually $4). That makes them about $20/kilo which isn’t particularly cheap, and is about twice the cost of homemade bolognese.

Marketing

This product claims to provide “1 serve of veggies”, which unlike the Heinz product, is actually true. Woo hoo! This meets almost half of a toddler’s veggie requirements, but only a quarter of an older child’s requirements.
“Low in sodium and sugar”- also true. The meal does contain the addition of apple juice concentrate (a source of sugar), which is necessary to balance out the flavour of the tomatoes. I have no issue with this.
“No preservatives, artificial colours or flavours” which is confirmed by the ingredient list (and is the same as the Heinz product)

Alternatives