Discussion thread on Supermarket prices - are they becoming too high?

Joannasephina

I've only just discovered online shopping and have done it twice in the last few weeks (alongside top up shops in Lidl and my local co-op). I do it with Asda as I love their stuff and they do great offers but its always so busy at the weekends and my nearest is nearly 25 miles away. BUT my main gripe is - why do they charge according to when your shopping is packed, not when you "checkout" or pay for it? Do the other shops do this? I have noticed a few things on my bill that I wouldn't have bought had they not been on offer. Grrrr.

Albansanne

This is all good advice. My two eat like horses and every time I get the budget under control they're appetites seem to increase. I've cut down on some of the luxuries and switched to own brand but prices just keeping getting higher. It's lucky I'm on a diet or I'd be bankrupt! Can't believe I haven't been on here before, I really think these forums are going to save me a lot of money, thank you.

missymoo81

hey joannesephina, Tesco charge you when they pack it too, you can see the prices change dependant on the delivery day, its a pain though! I hate wondering around tesco especially on a saturday.

Online shopping is great for seeing the breakdown of prices ie the price per kg etc.

Hey Albansanne, the old style forum is lovey, people are so lovely and friendly, i know what you mean about being on a diet, it's good though i'm finding the extra i wont eat now will go on OH's plate to fill him up instead.

LovelyLollipop

Thanks to this thread Hubby and I just went on the bus to Asda (I was able to use my daysaver that I used to get to & from work so we only had hubby's bus fare) with our trolley bag and funky trundle and bought bags and bags of own brand flour which was still at 50p/42p. Need to get into the pantry now and sort out where it's all going to live

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

missymoo81 wrote: »

I am trying to get the electric bill down too,QUOTE]

I agree, its looking at the whole picture and seeing what is the cheapest/best option. No good cooking something with cheap ingredients if the cost of gas or lecky is going to bankrupt you!

I use a remoska and despite the upfront cost it has saved me lots in bills. I also use economy 7 and make sure the dishwasher and washing machine are on at night and we all use the electric shower before 8am (check regional times as they vary) I calculte this saves me money as pence per unit is around 1/2 price.

Look at everything, insulation, check utility bills, I am excited about the local jumble sale on saturday as I know I'll get some household bargains, clothes etc! I try to plan ahead and buy things I think I'll need in the future, also mend things, I went mad with a roll of gaffer tape once and the laundry basket stills stands testimony to that! Grow your own if poss even if its sprouted seeds and bulking out food as others have said.

I serve a jug of water at mealtimes and bread to bulk up the meal and second the previous comment about portion control, I think people can over eat (I know I have been guilty of that in the past and put weight on) Work out what each portion should be, make a note and stick to it, adjust as necessary if people are hungry or there are leftovers.

I use tinned beans to add to leftover meat to create another meal, for example, on sunday we had brisket in slow cooker and instead of dishing up the leftovers as one meal I added red kidney beans to it and served it with rice and it did us 2 meals instead of one.

natlie

Hi
I buy my bread flour in bulk from Dove Organics http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/retail-flour/org-strong-wholemeal-flour-5x15kg/ it works out £1.20 per 1kg organic bag but its good quality - they also do lots of specialist flours like gram, buckwheat and gluten free self raising - they sell lots of extras too

I do most of my shopping at ALDI Tesco is just unaffordable for us now and I buy tea, coffee hot choc all bulk and fairtrade from ethical superstore. My friend is shopping at Tesco and spending £160 per week for 5 I am spending £50 for the 4 of us

Nat
xxx

missymoo81

again good thinking desperatehousewife. portion control I think is going to be key here too.

With bread making etc, I have worked out a plan to get the most out of my oven, I've fiddled about with tins etc, and I can get a batch of biscuits a batch of cakes, 4 loaves of bread and a lasgne or fish pie or whatever at the bottom, once a week so all done at once, so the oven is only on for an hour and anything else can more often than not be heated in the microwave or cooked on the hob. I have an actifry too so that does wonders for chips, wedges etc, saves me switching the oven on.

Winter is such a bad time for food prices to be going up too, everyone eats more as they want hearty filling hot food, and the heating has to go on and more layers are worn so more washing, lights on as shorter days..... the list goes on and everything seems to hike up in the winter.

Lollipop I have that problem at the moment I have near on 50 bags of flour ot find a home for!!!!!

missymoo81

wow natlie £50 for 4 thats good going! I too am an aldi convert after going in there for the first time properly yesterday and comparing prices, it was nice and quiet and organised too.

Butterfly_Brain

Noticed that poundland have 4 pack tins of branston beans - I bought 4 packs because they really are nicer than any others including heinz. ( I use them to bulk out mince in a cottage pie, cowboy stew or just plain old beans on toast

I go down to the market on a Saturday, just as it is closing and I usually get some good deals and freeze them. Alternatively buy frozen veg

The whole family love to go foraging for goodies and we grow a lot of our own veg

Some cheap meal ideas that I use are :

Boil some water with a tbsp of knorr granules (either chicken or veg) then add pasta and cook until the pasta is done. Serve up in a bowl with a shake of parmesan cheese. - I know that the knorr granules are £1.40 but they do go a long way and are the best thing for this dish

Cook some pasta with a chopped onion and a tin of chopped tomatoes, make a cheese sauce drain the pasta etc put into a baking dish sprinkle with grated cheese and pop under a grill until the cheese is golden. - you can also do this with peppers added if you like.

Home made soups go down well with home made bread, my lot love cream of mushroom, chicken, parsnip and apple, cream of vegetable, pea and ham and lentil and bacon.
We usually have a soup night at least once a week and everyone takes it in turn to choose their fave.

Pancakes are brilliant - you can fill them with any savoury filling and cover with a sauce and bake in the oven as well as making sweet fillings or serve just with lemon juice and sugar.

I usually make a big batch and freeze them (using the waxed paper from cereal packets to separate them so they only need a quick warm in the microwave.

Tortillas and pizzas are really easy to make.

Cooking bacon is great because you can make so many things such as a carbonara or pasta with bacon in a tomato sauce, or chop finely and sprinkle over a home made pizza add to soups etc.

I don't buy chicken pieces I buy a whole chicken and stretch it to three meals.

Sausages are sliced to make it seem like you have a lot more than you do. I make a casserole or a cowboy stew, sausagetoad,sausage and mash, or use to top a pizza

I always have cheap noodles on hand and I make my own cakes and biscuits.

We only usually have a pudding on a Sunday and only if I don't do yorkshire puds with the meal.

valk_scot

missymoo81 wrote: »

Winter is such a bad time for food prices to be going up too, everyone eats more as they want hearty filling hot food,

One word here...soup. There's no beating it for being hearty and filling and it's cheap compared to most other foods. I make one big pot of stock from a chicken carcasse, freeze half of it for later in the week and almost always have a pot of soup on the go from late September onwards. My usual recipe is a couple of ounces of red lentils plus diced up leek, carrot, onion, celery and some frozen peas chucked in at the end. I usually have a head of celery chopped up in the freezer so I can just grab a handful of that when I need it. The other veg can vary a bit....I grow a lot of kale in the winter so that can go in, turnip, coarse outside leaves of cabbage shredded up, green outside bits of cauliflower etc. The real magic ingredient though is a little bit of Marigold Swiss Vegetable Boullion Powder, as recommended by the great Delia.

I also make chicken noodle and sweetcorn soup; lentil, bacon and tomato; !!!! a leekie: scotch broth etc etc.

ETA: The site software clearly doesn't approve of !!!!-a-leekie soup, lol. Male chicken-a-leekie then?