Please help me save!

ajs88

you've made the choice to go organic with fruit and veg and have your reasons but you are then going on to eat quite a bit of processed non-organic food, you could save money and continue to improve your diet buy ditching some of these

quorn is quite a processed food and not that high in protein perhaps you swap these for lentil meals instead

salmon is an expensive fish whereas mackerel os much cheaper and richer in omega 3, tinned sardines and tuna are also good and you can get sustainable and pole caught

unwaxed lemons are only really worth getting if you use the peel

as much as i love grapefruit it is expensive, i find that melon can be better value as you get so much

your buying a lot of low fat cheese products these are processed, still fairly high in fat and are not really adding anything nutritionally to your diet, perhaps buy standard cheese and grate it so you use less

your buying lots of flavoured yoghurts, again these are processed and plain natural yoghurt would be better and cheaper

try switching to wholewheat pasta its better for you and you'll eat less of it

your buying some baked goods perhaps you could trying baking with organic wholemeal flour instead

Lilypie_2

Thank you both for your insightful and useful posts.
Top nutritional tips, I've cancelled that order and will re examin my grocery. thanks every xx

valk_scot

You surely don't eat all of that in one week, do you? That looks like my big shop for a fortnight, and there's four of us. (Two adults and two older kids.)

lynzpower

Some of the dried foods there really seem so expensive. I notice you are spending over a pound on a bag of pasta, in my local independent shops ( Turkish) I get three bags of pasta shapes for £1. Mung beans, chick peas, anything like that, all a lot cheaper. I read you are in london, so you will have places like this ( eg tfc)

I also find things like pitta breads are really cheap along with huge bags of lentils, rice, spices etc. I also find the veg really good. I never pay more than 99p for free range eggs either.

What is your local market? Mine does the 'bowl' produce, sometimes its even organic or fairtrade. Much of it is very cheap indeed.

The sainsburys' basic bananas are fairtrade and you get a more than you do in the tesco bags.

merlin68

Organic is a waste of money. Quorn sausages? Whats wrong with normal sausages? I spent £50 on last night's shop. Family of 4 in Aldi's. They do nice sausages for 99p a pack.
There's no point in eating organic, then buying yoghurts full of sugar and pans au chocolate thingies.
Aldi fruit is 69p a pack.

Lilypie_2

I just thought even if 1/3 of what we eat is organic its still better than 100% not. Richard, no obviously not everything I eat is organic..

Looking again at my shopping list, I do think there's a muller overdose..
I do have fruit bowls shops near me and cheap food markets.. don't shoot me but I'm suspiscious why they're so cheap... are they cast offs for some reason (like been watered by dirty or used water..etc)
I think they're cleaner when they've been wrapped rather than naked on display for everyone to touch.. falling on the ground then put back again..etc
When they're in a bag in tesco.. at least if something wrong I can get my money back or tell some newspaper about it.. but with smaller grocers, no.
I'm not big on meat sausages and Quorn is in my opinion delicious plus its "free" on slimming world which I'm currently doing.

I will however, go to my market for lentils, pasta.. will look out for freer range eggs..etc
Thanks everyone!

Lilypie_2

Some items on the list like fruits last only 5 days other items last 10 to 14 days..
Had a look in my freezer and we actually have enough for another week, bar a couple of items to top up like milk, bread and eggs..

MrsBartolozzi

There are a number of lists online (just google top 10 organic foods) which show the fruits and veg that retain the most pesticides and so I would suggest sticking to organic for those, but fruits with thick peel that you don't eat - oranges, bananas don't retain the pesticides like say strawberries. You can also minimise your exposure to residue on non organic fruit and veg by washing (scrub properly with a small amount of detergent and rinse well) before you eat.

Tesco Perthshire water is Highland spring. (read the mineral composition and compare, as well as the location of the spring used - there's only one in that area used for bottling).

Am I the only one to find it confusing that you drink organic milk (one of the most important foods to go organic with) and yet eat lots of non-organic yogurt. Why? I second making your own yogurt. It's cheap and easy to make and you can choose what to add for your baby, so no unwanted additives.

flippin36

Lilypie wrote: »

Hello savvy shoppers and savers,

Could you have a look and see where we can cut? I don't think we're very indulgant in our shopping..feel free to disagree though!

1 Tesco Sugarsnaps 180G £1.50
2 Quorn Sausages 336G £3.36 do tesco do their own
2 Tesco Value Crunchy Peanut Butter 340G £1.04 2 jars! thats a lot of peanut butter. 1 jar last us a least a week.
1 Tesco 2 Organic Salmon Fillets £4.14 have you tried shopping at markets for this. Might be worth shopping round or using a cheaper fish.
2 Tesco Value Chopped Tomatoes 400G £0.66
1 Tesco Organic Unwaxed Lemons £1.40
1 Tesco Organic Apple Bag Ft £2.00
2 Pink Grapefruit Each £1.00
1 Tesco Organic Whole Milk 568Ml. £0.58
1 Tesco Organic Ripe And Ready Pear 4Pk £2.00
2 Tesco Sieved Tomatoes Passata 500G £0.58 is this necessary?
1 Amoy Udon Noodles 300G £1.38 down grade a brand
1 Rowse Easy Squeezy Pure Natural Honey 340G £2.00 own brand is usually good
1 Laughing Cow Extra Light Cheese 8 Portions 140G£0.80 I always find these things a waste of money. Lots of packaging too
1 Wholefoods Walnuts 200G £1.79
1 Tesco Half Fat White Mature Cheese 250G £1.82
1 Tesco Finest* Free Range Corn Fed Whole Chicken 1-2.95Kg £6.87 I only usually pay around £5ish for similar chicken.
1 Tesco Wholefood Mung Beans 500G £1.25 Any indian shops near you that a bit cheaper for beans and pulses?
1 Tesco Cous Cous 500G £0.59
1 Tesco Chick Peas 500G £0.78
1 Braeburn Apple Pack £1.75 Have you room for an apple tree in your new home
1 Tesco Organic Kiwi Fruit Pack £1.20
1 Tesco Organic Cauliflower Class 2 £1.65
2 Batchelors Super Noodles 98% Fat Free Sweet Thai Chilli 85G £1.38 These sound expensive for what they are, poundshops often sell these things cheaper
1 Tesco Italian Original Breadsticks 125G £0.55
1 Maris Piper Potatoes 2.5Kg Pack £1.74
2 Tesco Light Choices Baked Beans 420G £0.74
1 Tesco Organic Fresh Beetroot £1.00
1 Wheatfield Baker Multiseed Farmhouse Soft Batch 800G £0.99
1 Spring Force Toilet Tissue 9 Roll £1.99
1 T.Organic Prawns 200G £3.00
2 Farm Pride Free Range Eggs Box Of 6 £1.78
1 Tesco Vegetable Stir Fry 400G £1.00 I stir fry with veggies that need using up
1 Hovis Nimble Wholemeal Sliced Loaf 400G £0.66
1 Tesco Organic Oranges Pack £1.90
1 Light Choices Vegetarian Fat Free Natural Bio Yogurt 500G £0.90
3 Muller Light Vanilla And Chocolate Yogurt 165G £1.83
1 Tesco Rice Noodles 375G £1.00
1 Alpen Light Summer Fruits Bars 5Pk 105G £1.79 These are very expensive could you make your own or down grade.
1 Brioche Pasquier 6 Pains Au Chocolat £1.69
1 Tesco Sliced Spring Greens 200G £1.00
1 Tesco Organic Cherry Tomatoes 250G £1.40
1 Red Onions Pack £1.20
1 Aubergine Each £0.67 £
1 Tesco Farmhouse Extra Mature Cheddar 240G £2.35 More cheese?
1 Tesco Organic Celery £1.20
1 Tesco Light Choices Cottage Cheese Natural 600G £1.47
1 Tesco Organic Chestnut Mushrooms 200G £0.88
1 Highland Spring Still Water 6 X 1.5 Ltrs £3.09 downgrade brand?
1 Parioli Penne 500G £1.19 down grade to ownbrand
1 Parioli Fusilli 500G £1.19 ditto
2 Tesco Organic Fair Trade Bananas £3.10
2 Muller Light Cherry Yogurt 175G £1.22 faints at how much you spend on yoghurts
3 Muller Light Limited Edition Yogurt 165G £1.83 ditto
2 Muller Light Toffee Yogurt 175G £1.22 ditto


Thank you! PS: have tried comparing supermarkets but it wouldn't compare on stores own brands so felt it wasn't much use for me.

Hope you don't mind, I have added my thoughts in bold. If you want to buy organic thats absolutely your choice, but could you shop round at markets or farmshops? My farmshop is very competitive to Morrisons non organic food. A little more expensive but saves me petrol and its a pleasant shopping experience. Do you ever throw fruit and veg away? Its amazing what you can freeze.

I'm a bit puzzled that you only like fruit and veg that is prepacked?? We've no idea who has been prepacking it and whether they washed their hands etc, so all fruit and veg should be wash anyway. I have a pet peeve for unnecessary packaging .

Hope I've helped.

thepurpledragon

I agree with many of the comments on here already, fruit and veg should always be washed before use, so I don't understand your reasoning that it could have fallen on the floor. Organically grown could have been dropped in some lovely manure, but I wouldn't want to pay extra for that, lol. I would definately consider looking on the coupons and vouchers thread, I have saved an enormous amount. It does require some work, but the mysupermarket site is ideal.

Lastly, have a look at the 'Love Food, Hate Waste' website http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com it has some great tips about storing food, using leftovers etc, so you can buy in bulk when something is in season & cheap -I buy marked down tomatoes for a steal, roast them with some onion, garlic cloves, salt & pepper & some (cheap own brand)olive oil, then puree to make my own sauce for pasta or homemade pizza. My bf loves it, and it freezes excellently well.

Good luck - as someone with a VERY tiny grocery budget, I sympathise, but you can definately reduce it, with a little change of mindset. XX