It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

EstherH

That's really good that you have had a lovely holiday and spent so little. Plus added bonus of free veg. Was the weather okay?

EstherH

Nice day here at the moment. Going to go a bring some more blackberries in from the garden.
Have resurrected the bread maker and made a couple loaves this week.

Just wondering, because I always buy value mince but is this false economy. I know there is loads of fat coming out of it, but if I paid more, would I get more portions? I know that people will say all the rubbish goes in etc., but I try not to think about that. We were eating it before they started to talk about what goes in prepacked food etc., and because money is tight, I look at the other options and go for value. Was in Costco the other day, and I know that their meet is good quality, but when I looked at the price of the mince it seemed about twice the price.
I need to get as many portions as I can out of a pound of mince, that's what it comes down to rightly or wrongly. Please don't judge me on ethical grounds. I know a lot of you buy ethical meat and wont compromise on it. I would like your opinions though.

Gigervamp

Well, if a load of fat comes off the mince when you cook it, you've paid by weight for that fat haven't you? So it stands to reason that you're getting less meat for your money.

jediteacher

EstherH wrote: »

That's really good that you have had a lovely holiday and spent so little. Plus added bonus of free veg. Was the weather okay?

We were really lucky with the weather. It drizzled a bit at the beginning of the week but not enough to get wet. Then we had fine weather and did lots of walking. Thanks for asking.

EstherH

That's good, the weather here has been so awful all summer that I have felt sorry for people going on holiday. Think it has been better down south though.

EstherH

Gigervamp wrote: »

Well, if a load of fat comes off the mince when you cook it, you've paid by weight for that fat haven't you? So it stands to reason that you're getting less meat for your money.

I have bought turkey mince because people have recommended that on here, but the amount of fat that comes off that is more than the value. I know this sounds really thick, but if I bought minced steak then, would the weight of the fat in the value be replaced with meat?

Skint_Lynne

I buy the costco mince, you don't get a lot of fat coming out from it, and it is great value for money, I get lots of generous portions from it, we are big eaters in this family.;) You could always pad it out with lentils, veg, oats etc if you want to.

I would worry about buying the value stuff as I wonder what it actually consists of, and it looks very pink, suggesting that it's not the best. However, I would never judge what other people buy, I don't know what each individual person's circumstances are. I would always buy the best meat/chicken that I could afford as it works out to be better value in the long run.

I like to buy my meat from the butchers, but as things get more expensive, costo's meat comes in at a very close 2nd place. x

EstherH

I always used to buy meat from the butchers, but they have all closed down in our area due to vast number of supermarkets opening up. I do pad things out with loads of veg etc. Think I will try the Costco mince. Got stewing steak there and it was lovely. It was also about the same price as supermarket.

MrsBartolozzi

Regarding fat in mince, I've used Sainsbury's own mince as the detail on their website is clear and not confusing like some other shops sites.

Basics mince: ...................£2.42 per Kg 17.3g fat per 100g so for every £1 you spend you will throw away 17.3p (assuming draining fat)
Beef mince .......................£4.40 per Kg 15.3g fat per 100g..........................................................................15.3p

Lean Steak mince: ........... £5.78 per Kg 11.8g fat per 100g ...................................................................... 11.3p

Ex lean Steak mince ..........£5.98 per Kg 4.5g fat per 100g...........................................................................4.5p



Now, it's obvious to see that the Basics mince is half the price of the steak mince, even accounting for the fat content, and so is "cheaper", but it has up to 2% less protein than steak, suggesting there might be more gristle or water in it. So the 400g pack of mince only really contains up to 330g meat (inc maybe some water), something which might be worth thinking about, compared to the 400g pack of extra lean containing 382g.

Another factor to consider that if it's not steak it is probably another less tasty part of the cow so you might need more flavourings to make it tastier.
What is plain to see though, is if you are buying steak mince get the extra lean as it is much cheaper if you are going to pour away the fat as there is so little of it.
Anyway, I was surprised by this, I'd assumed that basics mince would have worked out only a little cheaper than the next kind, but it's much cheaper. I suppose it's about what you can afford, and if you want some mince but only have £1 to spend then Basics is the cheapest minced beef.

mardatha

I second the Costco mince. And the lamb mince is a lot cheaper and gorgeous. We too eat a lot of meat and less veggie stuff, and I buy all my meat from Costco now, it's very good.