Ranking Tesco meal deal combos spotted on Sheffield’s campuses

Watch out, the meal deal man is about


The humble meal deal is the perfect symbol of nutritional value and British culture. It’s divine balancing of convenience, variety and ok pricing, makes it a must have for any lazy student or rebellious pensioner who’s interested in having a bit of fun.

The meal deal is also probably the best gift money can buy. Whether it’s used to patch up a rocky relationship or just to pop under the Christmas tree. The recipient is bound to be extremely grateful for the love and effort you’ve put into their present.

However meal deals, much like loaded rifles, are not as wonderful or charming if they fall into the wrong hands. They can be twisted into terrible things like salads or even worse, egg and cress sandwiches. With this in mind, I’m here to clearly outline what meal deals, more specifically from the Tesco on West Street, are worth scranning and which ones deserve to be binned and set alight.

BLT, Twix and Ribena

This meal deal is just a good all-rounder. Starting with the sarnie, it’s got bacon for the protein, lettuce sorting out the Vitamin A and tomato for the swagger, there’s not much to add other than more bacon, more lettuce and more tomato.

Then the Twix, an understandable choice for student living, with its two bars in one design giving you the pleasure of having a cheeky bar here and a cheeky bar there. Despite this, the Twix just doesn’t have the volume you should be after. I think you would be much better off getting a Mars bar or for the quirky masochists out there, a bounty.

Then finally the drink, a lovely refreshing Ribena. It’s got the taste, it’s got the volume and it might not be that healthy (although, you can always get the low-sugar version) but it’ll do.

This meal deal positions itself well between the poles of being too healthy yet tasting awful and tasting amazing yet halving your life span. It also knows where it wants to be stylistically and it’s not trying to appear as something it’s not. It’s just a genuine enjoyable meal.

For this reason I would give this meal deal a 7/10.

Prawn mayo, pineapple chunks and water

Prawn mayonnaise for a sandwich already delves into the controversial. With its taste profile being as diverse as cardboard, the only people willing to eat it over other options are full – blown prawn fanatics. These are the type of people who will try to slip prawns into everything. This could be subtly substituting scampi for fish in a chippy tea, adding the little critters to random pasta dishes made throughout the week or if it’s really serious, trying to redecorate the entire house in shrimp pink paint. Anyways, as far as the sandwich goes it’s not good.

As a means of compensation, pineapple chunks have been selected as a snack. The chunks regardless of the terrible sandwich choice, are a very strong snack contender. They feature the sweetness of chocolate bars yet they do not sacrifice your health by doing so. Their portable nature also gives the same benefits of the Twix, giving an extra sense of freedom. Anyhow, in the context of it being with a prawn sandwich, it seems seriously out of place and it should have been swapped for something less sweet.

Finally with water as the drink you cant really go wrong. Even in this case it complements the already bland healthy aesthetic that’s going on. It’s just the drink of all drinks.

I think this meal deal does have a vision but I don’t think it really delivers on it. The three items are overall pretty healthy but the prawn sandwich and pineapple chunks should not be seen together. I also believe that the prawn sandwich itself is a poor choice.

That’s why I rate this meal deal a 4/10.

Sausage, bacon and egg, Fridge Raiders and Oasis

From the get – go we’ve got the British holy trinity. Sausage, bacon and egg, the only things needed to balance the diet of a proper English bloke.  Each filling combines optimally to release just the right amount of energy to fuel a 30 minute pub rant about what actually makes a “premium lager”. The typical lad behind such a purchase, with a personality as extra large as his bully back home, will always be ready to show you his fantasy football team or his daily footy bet (which will definitely turn a profit this time). Overall, for a sandwich you just cant go wrong with a sausage, bacon and egg.  This sandwich is chosen purely for its taste which it excels at.

Then we have the Fridge Raiders. A collection of very mysterious meat chunks slathered in grease that taste oh so good. To fully enjoy this snack, you must turn off the part of the brain that worries about what your actually eating and focus entirely on your tastebuds. This selection fits the theme well but could have been swapped for a Ginsters sausage roll or steak slice.

To top if off we’ve got an Oasis. I’m going to assume this person has gone for the summer fruits variant because what’s the point if they haven’t. This drink is definitely top three sugary drinks of all time (don’t come for me Oasis, I’m just being dramatic) and is a very respectable drink for any combination. I don’t think there is another drink that fits the theme better. A pint or a cup of tea maybe, but were still fighting for those to join the selection.

I would rate this meal deal a 8/10. All of it’s items are completely delicious and it fits the theme it’s going for. The only thing I would change is the Fridge Raiders for something a little bit better.

Southern fried chicken wrap, Mars bar and Fanta Orange

Now mixing it up, we have the Southern fried chicken wrap. Very solid choice, it’s tasty, it’s  somewhat healthy and it does its job. I would have personally gone for the sweet chilli chicken wrap because it tastes better and is a bit less bland, but the wrap is pretty good.

Mars bar as a snack is a superb choice, the mars bar is the best chocolate bar currently on the market and it doesn’t mess around with how much it’s packing. The caramel and nougat inside has got to be the best human creation since matching galaxy tracksuits from Amazon.

Fanta Orange is a decent choice as well. It matches the general sunny and warm aesthetic of the meal deal and if you want a fizzy orange drink, there’s not much competition.

This meal deal I would rate a 6.5/10. The choices (apart from the mars bar) are acceptable but not the best they could be.

Chicken, tomato and basil pasta, Soreen loaf and Innocent strawberry smoothie

If you’re an Instagram influencer, this meal deal is for you. All three of these items perfectly represent the inspirational go get it attitude of a 20-year-old drop-shipper with a multi level marketing scheme.

The Innocent smoothie featured in this deal will surely make that photo of you “reading” a book with the words money and journey highlighted go viral and show everyone how financially focused you are.

It’s a good decision to get this meal deal if you are a healthy – minded individual who enjoys eating food that’s a bit more entertaining than kale and strawberries. The pasta is just what you would come to expect from a big chain supermarket, the chicken and tomato being a nice touch. The Soreen is a nice alternative to slightly healthier options and there’s not much you can argue with when a strawberry smoothie is involved.

All in all I would rate this meal deal a 7/10, it’s healthy, it’s sufficiently tempting and it would be a well – informed decision for an athlete.