a month without supermarket - new challenge for 2011 starts at post 1013

rach

i always buy fruit from the market, a good thing to do is choose stuff yourself and hand it to the stallholder.

i think i may've found a source for my UHT milk my mate who runs the post office says he will get it from bookers for me. just the soft cheese to go....

lil_me

Our library does cloth bags which are very strong for a few £. I find them very handy for other things like local shopping. I can't get away with a trolley, tried recently with a friends as a shop in local shopping centre (also independant) does some funky ones. I kept leaving it behind

That farm shop looks fab, wish we had one similar! Locally tend to only get meat and veg tops. Shame really.

I am also finding I have much less waste, lack of ready made meals I think.

catznine

Inspired by the small weight loss I had, since avoiding the supermarkets, I joined Slimming World this week and was quite surprised to see that a lot of the suggested food came under the major supermarket headings, even books specifically for each supermarket! :eek: I shall not be using those and am sticking to the cook from scratch recipes. It does feel that I am swimming against the tide though!

Yesterday we had pot roasted chicken using the chicken thighs from local market (which were very nice) and carrots, celery onions and potatoes from the veg box.

Managed to sprout my own alfalfa using a seed sprouter from wyevales. It was so easy to do. Trying to do beansprouts for a stir fry now.

Catz x

thriftlady_2

Weight Watchers are the same Catznine :rolleyes: I definitely feel as if I'm swimming against the tide with my deviant taste for real shops and real cooking. It's much harder following these weight loss programmes if you want to avoid supermarket food.

kscour

Well today's the today - 4 weeks of trying to be supermarket free!
How's it gone? ummm........ alot different to how I'd have imagined so it's been quite an eye opener.

"Failures"
Robinsons Hi-juice - don't they sell it to anywhere except the big supermarkets??!!
Country Life spreadable - I'd be happy with local butter but DD's don't like it

The Lidls factor
DD's are now addicted to :-
their edam cheese - only place apart from big supermarkets I can find it anyway
their cloudy lemonade - it is nice!
we've also had to use them for freshly squeezed orange juice (then have to strain it through tea strainer for very fussy DD1:rolleyes: ) but it is cheap around 79p litre
and also used them for packs of cheap butter for baking - prefer it to marg.
I hope in time I'll have found alternative sources.

I'm still discovering new shops and also still have one town to look around so I'm a long way from finishing checking out possible local sources. Opened a local mag yesterday to find an article about an organic shop that's opened a few weeks ago in the town I've been shopping in and I hadn't found it - so thats another one to add to the list to check out!

main changes I've noticed:-
well I'm spending less, not just on food, overall I seem to be spending less.

I'm cooking from scratch more - I did do alot before but because there's no ready made chicken nuggets in the freezer I'm having to get myself into action and make them before I need them IYKWIM. And it's not a big deal to be making cakes & nuggets & pizza bases - I really enjoy it.

We waste less food - after lugging it around I value it too much:D

There is much less rubbish in the bin

I actually enjoy shopping now - it's more fun and takes much less time.

DD's are eating less rubbish and more homemade cakes, which is better for them and alot cheaper for me. Also their friends are really jealous of their lunchboxes

The first few weeks I used to have almost panic attacks that we would run out of food and starve to death (even though the cupboards were full!) now I'm actually really really laid back about it - we have a shop 5mins drive/10-15mins walk away - and if we couldn't get what we want we wouldn't drop dead, we would just manage without for a few hours (except for t bags, I'm not nice in the morning without a mug of tea!) And the actual amount of stuff we are buying is less because I can carry what I buy in town back to the car so it certainly isn't the trolley load I'd have got previously from Tescos.

So I think although I can't do completely without supermarkets at the moment it's been pretty much a (suprising) success:D This has been one of the best things I have ever done and totally life changing so thanks CTC:T :T :T

And would I go back to my old supermarket shopping days??????

Not on your nelly!!!:D

hazzie123

I cant believe how empty my wheelie bin is compared to when I used to shop in supermarkets,usually buying processed !!!!!! too!It`s bin day today and I have only 1 bin bag in the bin.

Spotted a newly opened asian shop two streets away from me so I`m gunna have a browse in there tomorrow.

This defo is one of the best challenges I`ve done!!

For me it`s not going to be for one month this is the way of the future!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi.. guys... to be honest the challenge flew by for me.... and shopping didnt seem like a chore.....
it made me feel like a human being.... not just a customer that they could make money out of......

shopping now for me is ..... time out.......a hobby not a chore... that stressed me out before.....

i would totally recommend peeps that are read this thread....to just change one thing ( and start by going to one independant shop) as every little helps...( a new person buying from an independant on a regular basis... could make a huge diff.... to them ):D

its not easy for some peeps.... due to location etc.... to be honest it could take a while to find out the nice places with good reputations etc.......but part of the shopping experience is exploring and finding these hidden gems.....

still havent managed to get to swansea indoor market yet....but when i do i will be parking in tescos car park and going into the centre..... to buy my shopping in the market... which if i remember rightly is the biggest indoor market in britain or even europe..

i think we sould open a rehab for addicted supermarket shoppers:D

i wish i had done this years ago........

as isnt it nice when you walk into a shop and they greet you by your first name.....or in my butchers they call me the mad biker lady:D

going now for a :coffee: and a another slice of bread from the bakers...love the stuff:D

competitionscafe

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

shopping now for me is ..... time out
.......a hobby not a chore...
that stressed me out before.....

Sounds like you are writing us a theme song there! (try singing it out loud and see what I mean!)

Maybe the next verse:

I said no to Mr T..
it's local shops for me...
less time, less waste, less stress..
and my shopping costs me less!..


It's so true what you say about being greeted and having a good chat in local shops - even though I went to the same Mr T's for years they never did that and you always felt like you were just another customer on their customer conveyor belt. Always so stressful as well - overcrowded, people barging into you with trolleys, overheated, over bright strip lighting, no windows or natural light...... you could go in there in a fine mood and come out feeling really stressed and bad mood, grrrrrrrr

So thanks for starting such as great thread CTC and converting some more folk to a new, better way of shopping and living!

kscour

Next verse??

"got to admit that I got well taken in
with the clubcard points & a bit of wombling:o
bogofs, special deals and reductions galore
Well Mr T can bogof - I ain't going any more!":D

COOLTRIKERCHICK

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

TOP OF THE POPS here we come...... on the old k-tel label made by ronco.....( showing my age now....lol....)

who's going to be the pans people dancers in the background