What Would Be On Your Essential Shopping List?

thriftlady_2

I don't think all spreads have hydrogenated veg oils in them. They will say if they do in the ingredients list.

Things like 'Pure' and vegan spreads should be OK, but they're expensive.

black-saturn

I usually like to keep some tinned tomatos in and some pasta. Then you can make a pasta meal out of anything thats going such as mince, chopped sausage or tuna.

comping_cat

Just looked at your store cupboard list, thriftlady - have you been looking in my cupboards!!!! Its almost exactly the same!!!!
I do agree with the meal planing as well, ive only just started doing this, and im already cutting back on what im buying in my weekly shop. We dont touch marg either, butter all the way!!!!

Trow

Not all margarines have hydrogenated oils in them - just be very choosy about what you buy - read the labels carefully, hydrogenated oils legally have to be on there.

More and more companies are using different fromulations to avoid HVO's - and although butter is still better, marg is cheaper and keeps longer, and if you are watchingyour weight it spreads more thinly.

Trow

thriftlady - snap!

lil_me

Organic margarine isn't allowed to have hydrogenated fats in so thats usually the safest bet. Several companies are trying to produce more products with no trans fats in, but not sure which ones have been successful so far, but there are several spreads/margarines without trans fats which are much lower in saturated fat than butter! I know Marks and Spencers and Waitrose have advertised they wish to remove all hydrogenated fats from their own brands, same with Sainsburys.

Coffee is a must on my essentials aswell, fresh fruit and vegetables, along with pasta and rice.

lynzpower

M&S dont use transfats I heard. whether thats true or not I dunno..

We cant have butter as OH has high cholestrol, and Im anti trans for the same reason, but Oliveo type spreads in the main dont have trans fats in.

However, in any case, I dont believe that a "staple" shopping list is moneysaving or helps menu plan. If I had a shopping list week in week out wed either eat the same things weekly, which we dont tend to do, or wed have a backlog. EG we certainly dont buy marg weekly, more like monthly.

Chocolate however, is daily

I agree with RZL, menui planning the other way round is much better for budgeting!

Penny-Pincher!!

Make a meal plan for the week then buy what you need. For instance my rough weekly shop would be something like:

2 loaves bread
milk
butter
chicken (will make 2 meals for 3 people)
minced lamb (will make 2 meals for 3/4 people)
eggs
yogurts
apples
bananas
spuds
carrots
cabbage
value oats
cauliflower
OJ
Apple juice
2 tins beans
crisps
tin value mushroom soup
plain flour value
value bacon bits
6 sausages
SR value flour
tin value toms
onions x 3
dried spagetti
stuffing


This would do the following main meals:

Roast chicken, roasties, yorkies, stuffing, 3 veg
Chicken Pie (leftover chicken), mash, 2 veg
Spagbol
Shepards Pie, 2 veg
Egg, chips and beans
Steamed bacon pudding, small roasties, 2 veg
Toad In Hole, Mash, 2 veg

Breakfasts:
Toast, Cereal, Egg/Toast, Bacon Sarnie, Porridge, fruit juice

Lunches
Sarnies, soup, beans on toast, leftovers.

Snacks
Fruit, HM cakes, biscuits, crisps

Easily get all this for £25.

HTH

PP
xx

overlykeensaver

My staples would be:
milk, yoghurt, bread, tins of tomatoes,
also I buy in bulk: pasta, rice, olive oil, dried chickpeas, lentils, meat.

lil_me

I agree, I menu plan, then buy from that, or you just end up overstocking if you buy the essentials repeatedly and don't use them. I look at what I have now and see what I need to go with it, for example had stewing steak and mince so bought carrots, onions, potatoes and mushrooms which with a bit of gravy will do steak stew (have flour for dumplings) maybe with mash and shepherds pie with some carrots. Might even be some mince left to do bolognese sauce for with the pasta I have especially if I add some of the soya mince that is left, and some for with a baked potato. Found this saves me the most money at the minute.