Went shopping yesterday...

Magentasue

I only buy a couple of branded products but do find the BOGOFs are sometimes cheaper than the supermarket own brand. They rarely work out cheaper than the Smart Price/Value ranges but I don't like some of these. On the whole, my shop is a mix of supermarket brand and Smart Price (unless I'm doing a Lidl shop) but some branded stuff creeps in - ketchup for one. Can't think of any others off hand but I reckon if it matters to you and you can afford it, why not if it's only a few items.

furrypig

I went to Sainsburys today and decided to try their 'basics' range for a couple of items. I have bought the fresh orange juice 57p and 12 white rolls 18p! I always buy own brands where possible but don't tend to do the 'value' type ones. also I am struggling with the money versus environment etc issues as I really like to buy organic stuff if poss. I went to our local farmers market and bought 6 leeks and a largish organic cauliflower and it cost over £5!! I think it was dearer than the supermarket but was supporting local farming!! I find it all very confusing at times as if I stopped orgainc and went to own brands non organic I would definitely save money but is it best???

Sorry rambling again but would love to know what people think!!

Austin_Allegro

Becles I like your 'Economy products taste challenge' idea!

I didn't realise this was why you were doing it. But will your children ever trust you again?

tiff

Furrypig,

For me, finances have to override the environmental/ethical issues. I just cant afford to buy everything organic and thats the end of it. I recycle lots of things now and have cut down massively on the packaging that is thrown away so from that aspect I am doing the right thing. I am going to try buying meat from the butcher, it wont be organic necessarily but it will surely be better than supermarket meat.

Good luck to you though, hope someone has some answers for you as I see where you're coming from

fazer6

I'm the same as you tif. I don't buy the cheapest eggs as they'll be battery, I by barn eggs which are cheaper than free range, but not as bad as battery. A few weeks ago free range medium was cheaper than barn large so I went with the free range.

I'm not totally convinced the health benefits of organic outway the increased cost so I just buy what I can afford. I'd love to shop morally and more ethically but until my credit cards are paid off I can't. I buy from local butchers and get veg from the market so that does support the local industry.

I think the solution is to buy what you can afford, if it's organic and costs more then have less and bulk out meals with pulses so that the overall meal size doesn't decrease.

needmoney

fazer6 wrote:

I'm the same as you tif. I don't buy the cheapest eggs as they'll be battery, I by barn eggs which are cheaper than free range, but not as bad as battery. QUOTE]

I buy barn of free range too but after reading about the 'organic pigs' how do we know what's in tha packaging.

Becles

Austin_Allegro wrote:

Becles I like your 'Economy products taste challenge' idea!

I didn't realise this was why you were doing it. But will your children ever trust you again?

Probably not

They claim not to like garlic, so instead of garlic bread, we sometimes have italian herb bread. They claim not to like chilli, but they like spicy bolognaise. They don't like faggots, but like giant meatballs..........

After they have been eating it for a while, I do tell them the truth though, so they won't go through life thinking they hate garlic bread etc.

winkle1

I think I'm a brand snob when it comes to some things but I'm trying not to be! Last year i brought 'best-in' coffee instead of usual gold blend and it was awful!! Now i just dont buy coffee at all! I have it at work.

Did you know that Tesco Value beans are made by Heinz - only difference is they use tomato puree in the tesco value ones and tomato sauce in Heinz.... Personally i dont think you can tell the difference if. like me, you add loads of brown sauce!!! (has to be HP or Daddies - I'm a snob when it comes to brown sauce!!)

Loo rolls - well i share a flat with a mate so we buy whatever's on special offer just not the really cheap value one.

find it hard sometimes to buy foods that are cheap and healthy - i'm doing weight watchers, you see. however - on Saturday I went to iceland and picked up there 5 meals for a fiver range and then put them back when i got the checkout cause i thought to myself 'how much 'real' food could i buy with that!!!?!?!

needmoney

sureeks wrote:

on Saturday I went to iceland and picked up there 5 meals for a fiver range and then put them back when i got the checkout cause i thought to myself 'how much 'real' food could i buy with that!!!?!?!

Good thinking better off buying loads of frozen veg (there when needed don't go off) little bits of meat then you have the basis of cooked dinners, healthy soups, stir fries, curries, casseroles etc.

Becles

When you've got time to cook, make a double portion and freeze half.

I made a big pan of bolognaise sauce a couple of weeks ago which did our tea and I froze the rest. On Monday I was really busy, so got the frozen sauce out in the morning to defrost. At tea time, I just warmed it up and boiled some pasta. Took 10 mins to prepare and it was nicer and cheaper than a bought ready meal.

I like lasagne but hate the time it takes faffing on with the layers. I normally make a huge one that makes 4 meals