Food - Back to basics!

natc

Hello all,

Did anyone watch Jamies save our bacon(please join the pledge!!) the other day? What an excellent programme that was, some decent tele for a change!! (Although very upsetting) Well, anyway, watching this has totally made me change the way i think about meat, and all food really. I really wanna go back to food basics, cooking proper, healthy meals. And trying to help our community at the same time, using markets etc.

I have always done my food shopping in our local ASDA, apart from the fact that they dont have a lot of fruit and veg out on shelves when we go, which is really annoying, most of the time its crap! And getting more and more expensive. The meats are full of crap too, and the animals are kept in poor conditions before they make their journey, in plastic packaging, to our greedy supermarkets. Lets all shop in our local towns like ppl did years ago!!

So, my question is, does anyone else go to markets for their fruit and veg, butchers/markets for their meat? And is it cheap enough and good quality? And do they get their produce from Britain, with good animal welfare standards?!

onetomany

yea try looking on the moneysaving old style thread theres some great advice on there i cook from scratch just cooking rabit stew for hubby and kids dinner, i buy from butchers £1.99

natc

Mmm that sounds lovely!!! Thats one thing ive never seen in a supermarket!!! lol.

Thanks very much for reply.

laineyc_2

I buy my fruit at the local market or the greengrocers. I buy my meat from the local butchers. The meat is a bit more expensive but much better quality. The fruit and veg is definitely better value for money.

natc

Thanks for you reply laineyc. Unfortunately, we have no green grocers in our area, i used to love going in with my mum when i was little, we had a few, now, none, its really sad. But ive only just realised this.

Hope butchers dont pump their meat with rubbish. I cant wait to get my food shopping now!!!

rachbc

I buy all my fruit and veg from the market and my meat from the butcher at the college where I work. I'm very lucky in this respect as its butchered by students and sold at excellent prices. its all locally sourced and though not free range or organic is very tasty.

natc

Thats very interesting, where in the country are you?

motherhen2234

I've found it difficult not to shop in the supermarkets due to cost and availability of alternatives. But i have since discovered a local-ish farmers market once a month which I go to. The meat is actually cheaper than the supermarket and is far better quality (I try to get enough for the month and freeze it) and the veg is a similar price so I get my veg for the week.

skintmumof3

you are lucky. i have to get everything from tesco as we don`t have a butchers or greengrocers in my town.
my town is like a ghost town. most shops are closing down. we have mainly charity shops and estate agent.....

angelavdavis

natc wrote: »

So, my question is, does anyone else go to markets for their fruit and veg, butchers/markets for their meat? And is it cheap enough and good quality? And do they get their produce from Britain, with good animal welfare standards?!

Hi NatC, I have taken to buying meat from a local farm shop. You order the meat in advance and they have it butchered, hung and then packed into joints ready for the freezer. It works out slightly cheaper than buying free-range at the supermarket (£75 for a whole lamb).

When it comes to markets, you have a choice on what you actually buy. Don't be afraid to stop them if you are not happy with the items they select, just tell them "Oh not that one, thanks, that one, thank you!" Most of the farmers markets I go to, you choose your own produce and then hand them over to pay.

mummysaver

I checked out a butcher round the corner from Mr T's yesterday, huge fat sausages, 8 per pack for £2. Chicken pieces and breasts were a lot cheaper as were assorted joints. They also had pig skin for £1, so am going to make pork scratchings for the kids at the weekend! Oh and a big pack of bacon miss-shapes for £1.99, so will be getting some of them to make some pies and soups and for topping pasta dishes.

So yes, the butcher is a lot cheaper! We also have a village butcher in the next village who is very good, his prices are the same as the supermarket, but the quality is far far superior, plus he'll order stuff in and prepare it the way you want with a tiny bit of notice.

The greengrocer near Mr T's is also cheaper than the supermarkets, not counting the special offers that Aldi and Lidl have on fruit and veg. The stuff tends to be riper, not so ripe that it goes over within a day or two though, and actually tastes of the vegetable that it looks like - I find that big supermarket veg can lack taste as it often seems to be picked before it's properly developed and ripened.

If you want to know if produce and meat is local or just British then ask them, they are great and really helpful in the ones I use. And don't forget fishmongers either, our local one is brilliant, and full of ideas about how to serve the stuff I buy!