YouTuber admits he was ‘pleasantly surprised’ by £1 fish pie
A YouTuber who set himself the challenge of surviving solely on Iceland’s £1 Value Ready Meals was left astonished by how it affected his body. Sam Wilder, who has previously put other well-known food chains such as Greggs and Toby Carvery to the test, laid out the guidelines he had established before beginning his week-long experiment. He said: “The rules are; Number one, I only have a maximum of £1 to spend per meal, which means my full budget is £21. And number two, I have to eat at least three different products a day.”
Due to Sam limiting himself to Iceland’s budget £1 selection, he couldn’t incorporate some of the more sought-after items such as branded pizzas or Greggs’ sausage rolls into his meals. Sam believed that, in certain respects, the opening meal would prove the most challenging.
Read more: Simple supermarket food shop switch can save you up to £1,500 a year
Read more: Iceland makes big change at the tills every Wednesday
Sam was pleasantly surprised by a lot of the dishes on offer (Image: YouTube/SamWilder)
He said: “I think breakfast is going to be the hard thing. I don’t think they do any one-pound breakfasts.
“Before I went shopping, I did have a little look online and whilst there are plenty of one pound options, there’s really not very many breakfast options.”
Beginning the day with a lasagne, he remarked sardonically, didn’t seem like the optimal decision.
In the end, Sam opted for Iceland’s bacon and cheese turnover – which at £1 for two instantly ensured he remained comfortably within his spending limit.
Sam highlighted that, despite Britain being caught in the throes of a cost-of-living squeeze since 2021, with costs soaring everywhere, Iceland had maintained their ready meal prices at just £1. “I think it’s pretty much a miracle,” he said.
The fish pie was surprisingly hard to track down (Image: YouTube/SamWilder)
Whilst voicing some reservations that a complete week of frozen meals might not be the most nutritious option, he was thrilled with his morning selection. “I tucked into my 50p turnover and oh my God, wow, it was genuinely fantastic,” he declared.
“The pastry was flaky and tasty. The cheese was gooey and flavourful. And the amount of bacon bits in there was actually pretty, I was really happy.”
He was off to a brilliant beginning and his midday meal continued in similar fashion. He had opted for Chinese chicken with rice, and whilst Sam believed that rice didn’t really freeze particularly well, there was a notable silver lining.
“There were plenty of peas and carrots,” he said, “which is great as I was genuinely worried I wouldn’t get any veg throughout the next week. So, it was good to see these on my first full meal.”
In addition to evaluating the dishes for flavour and worth, Sam was also monitoring his wellbeing, and had recorded his weight before beginning his experiment. He explained: “A week on frozen ready-meals probably isn’t very good for you, so to counter any potential bad side effects, I’ll be spinning, cross-fitting, or walking the dog every single day. Sometimes all three!”.
Sam was a little concerned about what the challenge might do to his health (Image: YouTube/SamWilder)
Compounding the challenge of Sam’s trial was the reality that his spouse wasn’t participating. He went on: “While I had my frozen spaghetti bolognese, my wife decided to rub it in by making her own one, which looks so much better than mine.”
While he confessed that his £1 ready-meal couldn’t hold a candle to the homemade version, it somehow became more appealing as he consumed it.
By the end of the first day, he revealed: “I had eaten £2.50 worth of food and was in a calorie deficit by 39% of my recommended intake.”
Sam noted that, considering he had gained a bit of weight on his recent honeymoon, shedding a pound or two might not be the worst outcome.
As his challenge unfolded, another of Sam’s worries – that things might become monotonous – was also laid to rest. “There’s a surprising amount of variety in this range,” he observed. “Snacks, pastries, pizzas, full-on dinners..”
Sam was a little envious of his wife’s home-cooked meals (Image: YouTube/SamWilder)
However, some of the £1 range items were quite difficult to find. Sam mentioned it took a considerable amount of time before he could get his hands on Iceland’s elusive fish pie – and when he finally did, it was somewhat of a letdown.
The fish pie contained a relatively small quantity of fish – only about 15% – but the other ingredients fared well. “The mash is very creamy,” he commented, adding that it was similar to the mash that had topped an Iceland cottage pie he’d eaten earlier in the week.
“Yes, it’s reconstituted potato,” he admitted, “but it’s creamy and it’s tasty. The sauce is nice as well.”
Despite being one of the most coveted items in the range, the fish pie was “nothing to write home about,” according to Sam, but at just £1 he was still “pleasantly surprised.”
There was enough variety to keep Sam interested for a week (Image: YouTube/SamWilder)
He’d succeeded in staying well beneath his budget, spending merely £17 on groceries throughout the week. “It was cheaper than my normal food shop,” Sam said, “so that’s a win.”
Another delightful bonus for Sam was discovering that by limiting himself to Iceland’s £1 range for an entire week, he’d shed a few pounds alongside saving cash.
Sam discovered that he’d dropped approximately a kilogram during the seven days.
In conclusion, Sam revealed there was genuinely only one significant drawback. “Some frozen meals are good, some frozen meals are bad,” he said “but I mostly just miss fresh food.”