What Would Be On Your Essential Shopping List?

IWannabedebtfree

I'm trying to compile a basic weekly shopping list, one that gives me essential items without deviating into non essentials. I shop online so will keep it as my 'favourites.' Trying to manage on absolute basics to make simple meals to feed 2 adults, 2 kids.
So far: Potatoes, cheese, milk, bread, margarine.

Sorry if I sound feeble..spend so long thinking about how to spend less cash on food, think my brain is melting!

Bargain_Rzl

Can I suggest you look at it from another angle? Think of what you'd like to achieve - i.e. meal planning, there are tons of threads on this board about how to get started - and then work out what you need to buy based on that. Have a look at one of Penny-Pincher's meal-planning threads, as her plans tend to be balanced, varied and healthy (she cooks for 2 adults and one pre-teen child). (Edited to say: although Toxic Lemon has the right idea about a chicken being a good basic, you can meal plan creatively, so if you want a roast on Sunday, chicken pie for Monday dinner and chicken soup for Wednesday lunch, THEN you put a chicken on the list).

I think it's a good idea to have a "basics list" as you're trying to do, but of the things you have listed, I wouldn't include potatoes. This is because, depending on what you're planning to cook, it's possible that you won't need them (or end up with too many or too few).

And I agree about the butter - better a sparing amount of a natural product than any amount of an unnatural product

HTH

Bexstars

Maybe not a weekly buy unless you use loads but pasta and rice go well with almost everything and are cheap and filling

ikkleosu

Tinned tomatoes - the staple of a miriad of recipes.

I'd also add onion.

thriftlady_2

My weekly 'basics' are;
milk
butter (agree with BargainRzl and Toxic Lemon here;) )
cheese
eggs
orange and apple juice
flour for bread
bacon
ham/salami (for lunch boxes)
fresh fruit and veg- essentials are onions, spuds, carrots, apples, lemons, bananas
oats
fresh fish for one meal
fresh meat for one/two meals
quite a lot of wine:o actually this comes from a seperate budget

These are the things I buy every week. I also replenish dry stores like pasta, rice, tins of tomatoes, passata, spices, sugar etc

I posted my basic bare bone storcupboard list recently. I'll hunt it down and post a link in a mo:)

thriftlady_2

Didn't take long to find it

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=329506&highlight=storecupboard+list

HTH:)

gingin_2

For me it would be

Pasta
rice
bag of potatoes
tins of tuna
tinned tomatoes
bread
cheese
milk
flour
marg
apples
eggs
bag of frozen peas
onions
garlic

Bexstars

Toxic_Lemon wrote:

You shouldn't have margarine (hydrogenated fats and all that)! :eek: LETHAL stuff. Butter is much better for you.

I never knew that! Is that the same for all marg spreads, we use cant belive its not butter thinking that it was better for you than using real butter

Bexstars

thriftlady wrote:

Didn't take long to find it

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=329506&highlight=storecupboard+list

HTH:)

thankyou I must have missed that post! I have bookmarked too

tawnyowls

Bexstars wrote:

I never knew that! Is that the same for all marg spreads, we use cant belive its not butter thinking that it was better for you than using real butter

The dairy spreads are probably even worse, as not only do they have the saturated fats from the butter content, but they have the hydrogenated and trans fats from the oil content. Get butter. If you like the convenience of spreadability, Kerrygold do a pure whipped butter in tubs (no oil added) - it does spread at low temps, but if you let it get too soft so the air comes out of it, it then becomes like normal butter, i.e. difficult to spread.

culpepper

Don't forget yeast if you make your own bread's.
Tea bags or coffee.