Do I really spend to much on food?

ceridwen

jackieglasgow wrote: »

I'm a bit worried the thread is getting off track from OP's original post, which is how these things end up getting merged.

Crux, can I suggest a change of name for your thread to "How to have a high quality diet and reduce the cost" or something along those lines, then it is sure to stay as a standalone thread, and will show exactly what direction you are aiming for? As I said before, I think it's an excellent thread which stands on it's own merits, but I'm worried it will become involved in another heated debate, which would be a shame, as the thread would lose it's focus, and the help you are getting will end up becoming diluted and harder to find amongst all the off topic stuff, for anyone else reading who'd like to find this stuff out.

I am a vegetarian, and of course find your menu plan too meat heavy, but would like to also suggest that everyone chips in with cheaper alternatives to your favourite ingredients. For example, I'm sure you probably buy finest quality Buffalo Mozarella, but I have found some of the own brand ones almost as good. I was very surprised with the Tesco one I bought last week for 42p, it was delicious - I have a tomato and mozarella salad, too! This would be an idea, you could, each week, focus on the items you want to downgrade for the following week, post them, and invite substitutes - we can see what we can find for you!

Just a suggestion, but as I said before, I think this thread could be a real breath of fresh air to the board, and would be sad to lose it, I would also like to see where you end up with your budget, and what changes it brings to your family's diet / lifestyle, if any. I think it's good experiment, and a much more sensible way of doing things than Economy Gastronomy!

Sorry, didn't mean to go on there!

Jackie X

A very good comment - and apologies for my own off-topic comments.

A new thread - by crux - specifically stating at the outset that its about high-quality eating at an affordable price (hastens to add - what is generally defined as "affordable" - as a common MSE definition is for rather lower price level than that...) would indeed be a very good idea.

There are - as I commented before - absolutely loads of how to eat as cheaply as possible and then even cheaper threads on MSE and they are very useful to many people. I am sure we have all picked up various tips from them:T

However - there is a very real need for a thread that has the different type of focus crux has - ie what one might call "optimum health eating" at a reasonable cost.

So - I'd be delighted crux if you wish to run such a thread - and do hope that all comments about shopping for whoopsies/loads of ways to spin out mince/etc (though very useful) won't be recycled on this thread - because it would have a very different emphasis.:D

jackieglasgow

Cordon Bleu without the "Gordon Bennet!" How to feed your family restaurant quality food on a MSE Budget!

jinky67

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Sorry - I really don;t get the problem here (and I'm no apologist for the supermarkets ). If the vast majority of us can;t compare price/100g and price/kg in our heads, then basic maths needs sorting, not supermarket pricing

I'd far rather a campaign were done to reduce packaging (and therefore) the price of food

Penny, it bugs me as well:mad:

Especially when you are rushing round you dont always have the time to spend working it out, especially with kids in tow

It should be be priced per kilo:D

Addiscomber

Fire_Fox wrote: »

The human body finds it far easier to convert animal fat to human fat than it does to convert carbs to human fat,

Could you please provide some links to medical/scientific papers describing studies that prove this to be the case, please?

thriftlady_2

jinky67 wrote: »

Penny, it bugs me as well:mad:

Especially when you are rushing round you dont always have the time to spend working it out, especially with kids in tow

It should be be priced per kilo:D

I think Penny's point is that if people can't multiply by 10 then something's very wrong.

£0.12 per 100g = £1.20 per kg -it 'aint hard and the kids should be able to help:)

thriftlady_2

crux wrote: »

Ok, first challenge.

Halloumi Cheese - Tessco 250gm £2.23

Would not go so far as to say I can't live without this cheese, but I do love it.

Our Tesco almost never has it in stock
.

I bought some Tesco halloumi the other day and found it extremely salty. Waitrose do Cypressa which is £2.20 for 250g

ceridwen

jackieglasgow wrote: »

Cordon Bleu without the "Gordon Bennet!" How to feed your family restaurant quality food on a MSE Budget!

......:think: "The Budget Gourmet"...."Health comes first"......"Food thats not just fuel"

....wanders off still thinking.....

I'm back - "Foodies go Frugal"....

jinky67

thriftlady wrote: »

I think Penny's point is that if people can't multiply by 10 then something's very wrong.

£0.12 per 100g = £1.20 per kg -it 'aint hard and the kids should be able to help:)

I have to admit, my mind just goes when it comes to things like that

yes i know, I am ashamed of myself:o:rotfl:

juno

thriftlady wrote: »

They do indeed and I'm with you on this one Mrs E. It does take quite a bit of maths effort to work out if a bag of apples is cheaper than loose apples because nowhere have I seen bagged apples priced by weight, the small labels tell you how much each apple is which is no help if you are trying to compare the prices with loose apples.

You have to weigh the bag to see how much you are getting and then work out which is cheaper, in my experience the bagged ones work out more. IMO that is asking too much of a customer, the store should be able to tell you which is cheaper.

I believe it is a deliberate ploy. I think the supermarkets rely on the fact that we generally assume buying in bulk is cheaper and so will grab the bag of apples over loose ones.

But then I eat one apple, rather than 100g of apple. So I don't care what my apples cost per kg - I know that if I buy loose ones they cost about 20-30p each, so a bag of 7 has to be about £1.40 to be a good deal.

Edinburghlass_2

ceridwen wrote: »

A very good comment - and apologies for my own off-topic comments.

A new thread - by crux - specifically stating at the outset that its about high-quality eating at an affordable price (hastens to add - what is generally defined as "affordable" - as a common MSE definition is for rather lower price level than that...) would indeed be a very good idea.

There are - as I commented before - absolutely loads of how to eat as cheaply as possible and then even cheaper threads on MSE and they are very useful to many people. I am sure we have all picked up various tips from them:T

However - there is a very real need for a thread that has the different type of focus crux has - ie what one might call "optimum health eating" at a reasonable cost.

So - I'd be delighted crux if you wish to run such a thread - and do hope that all comments about shopping for whoopsies/loads of ways to spin out mince/etc (though very useful) won't be recycled on this thread - because it would have a very different emphasis.:D

No-one "runs" a thread on MSE, a thread takes its own course with differing opinions, thats what a forum is all about.

The OP is looking for cheaper options for the ingredients they use and if that means whoopsies then thats what people will post about.

Oh and I tend to buy apples singly too