Approved Foods thread

Pooky

I don't think e delivery is too bad, £5 odd for 50kgs of food (and they give you an "hour" delivery slot so you know exactly when to expect them)

Everything I've had has been great, some catering sized tins of toms were rusty on the outside so I opened them up and froze down in portions, but that was to save the rust setting on my shelves more than anything.

I love the curry pastes that are 12 for 1p, went out of date in 2010 but they're vacuumed sealed, they'll last for years.

hermum

I found AF & a couple of other discount shopping sites through the MSE forum & made several orders. Nothing came that was inedible, a couple of things I didn't like.
I haven't used them for ages now as whenever I take a look there doesn't seem to be many things that I want which are cheaper than supermarkets.
At one time I had boxes & boxes of Ryvita really cheap, all flavours & marmite crisps, I think both were close to a year after the best before date before I finished them.
Beware of bulk buying wholemeal or granary flour unless you can freeze it, as it can turn rancid relatively quickly compared to white.
I did find that I was buying more rubbishy stuff that I wouldn't normally buy because it was cheap, so do try & be strict with yourself.

juno

A while ago I ordered from Approved Food, and bought some fruit pots (among other things). They weren't nice and I posted on MSE to say so, as did someone else - Approved Food read that, took the fruit pots off their website, and gave everyone a refund.

Badrick

I'd recommend staying away from the "fizzy" drinks, as the various ones we've tried have all been pretty much flat and not nice, apart from that I'd say everything else we tried was fine, We also found their customer service was very good when we had a problem with an order.

Possession

katieowl wrote: »

Were they the rice ones, if so I couldn't get them to look pretty, but they were still edible

Kate

No I've had both, and don't really like the rice ones as they're too bland, but on the other ones the oil coating had gone rancid. Had to throw them all away, couldn't face anything else.

Boodle

I would say take the plunge The website gives info on each item so you can stay clear of the out of date stuff like we do. I did get a load of soya custard that I reckoned would be about 2 days out of date when it arrived then threw it all straight in the freezer when it arrived Otherwise, I stick to long dated stuff as I'm buying about 4-6 items of each thing. I think the best deals are like of the oils, vinegars, lentils, soy sauce, and other storecupboard stuff. We get an order every few months to make the delivery charge worth it.

Lizbetty

I think they're great and when the order comes it's like Christmas!

I have stopped using them as much as I did, for a few reasons.

1. I was ordering things that we turned out not liking (spinach paneer was the biggest error) and we were throwing a lot away. Some of the things were just not to our taste (I ordered things 'just to see') and however cheap food is, I always feel upset binning it. And noone else would take it from us.

2. Beware of the couscous. However much you like it, you may end up with severe couscous fatigue and possibly even a couscous related stress disorder.

3. Ordering in bulk for us meant that we got fed up with things very quickly. I know a lot of it lasts pretty much forever, but I honestly used to love bulghar wheat, and now I shudder when I see the packets in the cupboard.

It's great if you're very disciplined and/or have plenty of storage space. I am just coming to terms with the fact that there's no point in stocking up the cupboard for a nuclear war, because even if there is a nuclear war, I would rather starve than eat couscous ever again. I've sort of learnt my lesson the hard way. I'm realising that I like to choose things on more of an ad hoc basis rather than bulk buying.

But, they are great for smoothies, wraps (although my kids hate those now..!), if you buy a lot of crisps and sweets (which we don't ) they have some great offers. And the service is fab.

I'd say everyone should try them at least once, and if it works for you then it'll save you a mint! :T

Lizbetty

Possession, we've had the noodles that tasted vinegary too. I'm not sure if they're like that usually to be honest, may be the stuff they put on to keep them separated?

We found them pretty odd tasting anyway, I agree.

hilstep2000

I do orders all the time. My daughter, myself, cousin and a friend all get together, decide what we want, and I get it. They pay me and we split the delivery. Sometimes, you don't want twelve packets of cous cous, but between us it's fine!
Make sure you read the sizes though! I ordered six tine of tomato puree, thinking they were small.... er no..... 800grams each! I gave most of them away, and we all had to freeze them in ice cube trays, should last a few months

katieowl_2

Lucyeff wrote: »

2. Beware of the couscous. However much you like it, you may end up with severe couscous fatigue and possibly even a couscous related stress disorder.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

kate