Bit of Grocery Advice please?

SpottedLeopard_2

In addition to the handy suggestions already made, I'd ask how old are your children? Are they at an age where they use 'pester power' to keep on adding items in the trolley (if they come with you)? Or even have favourite things they expect you to buy if they don't accompany you? I'm just asking so that you can be mindful of whether this affects the way you shop, not trying to be nosy!

Batch cooking is certainly helpful to save time during week (eg. just the sauce for a curry or stew, then make rice on the night you eat if needed). I've found keeping frozen veg in the house is useful, you can sneak it in to dishes to boost veg intake, and obviously it never goes off.

Perhaps try going in to a shop with a list; you're only allowed to buy what's on the list, no impulse buying (unless you spot a decent money-saving offer on loo-roll etc!). Bring a pen to tick the items off as you go, and to note any special offers/prices/discounts.

If you are counting toothpaste, shampoo etc as part of the grocery bill, I'd suggest stocking up from W*lkinson/ pound shops as and when you see bargains instead. Or even B00ts/S'drug - just need to keep an eye out!

ragz_2

lincsyellowbelly wrote: »

I guess my main question to you experts would be, would it be worth my while driving the 32 mile round trip to an Aldi ir Lidl.
Thank you for reading this, feel a bit better for putting it in writing, hopefully this will help to focus me.

Definitely! That's really not far to go, especially if you do it fortnightly rather than weekly and stock up with what is cheap. It's about 35/40 miles round trip for me to get to a Lidl or Aldi but I consider it well worth it (it's a half hour drive anywhere from here, though we are only about 50 miles from London!).

I buy the following in Lidl/Aldi (I prefer Aldi for some stuff and Lidl for others but that's more of a personal thing, I am rather fussy!)

Free Range chickens (£5 each)
Mince (£2 a pack roughly, it has been going up a bit)
Sausages and bacon (decent ones with British pork, I may be on a budget but for me it's important, you can buy cheap ones too).
Cheeses, milk, butter
Veg and fruit (though quality varies and choice is not vast, it is cheap)
Flour, tea, coffee (ground), sugar (demerera),
Pasta and rice (though pasta is cheaper in big supermarkets value range this is better quality)
Loo roll, sanitary products, nappies (not so much now), kids toothpaste
Eggs (free range ones cheaper here than most big supermarkets)
Tins - tomatoes! Beans!
Frozen - pizza, chips, wedges, veg, ice cream, fish.

The meat and dairy can be frozen so you could go once a month if it's a big trip.
The thing I am rubbish at is remembering to take the meat for the next day's meal out of the freezer

valk_scot wrote: »

I have to say I don't quite get this. Creamfields milk in Tesco is £1.10 for 4 pints, or 2L in my local corner shop is £1. Why waste freezer space unless you're miles from the nearest shop? £1 for 4 pts is hardly a bargain.
.

I guess it depends where you live. In our nearest tesco (13 miles) the creamfields milk is only available in semi-skimmed (I only buy full fat) and our local shops/petrol stations sell milk at over £1.50 for 4 pints so for me the £1 ones in Aldi/Lidl are a bargain and I tend to buy a week's worth and freeze it (yeah it says you can't but it's fine for us).

Ethically I am rather uncomfortable about it (dairy farmers) and if £1 milk was not available I would totally understand the price rise but while I can get it I do - it's cheaper (there are a lot of things I would rather buy for similar reasons but can't justify the cost).

Kia

I went to Aldi today and did a huge trolley full of shopping for £85 - restocking store cupboard and groceries for a month.
I tend to be a bit back to front and buy whats on offer and then meal plan around it!
Top bargain in Aldi today - tins of mushy peas 6p!!

lincsyellowbelly

kate477 wrote: »

Hi, I think I'm from the same town as you from what you say - Louth. fieldsoflincolnshire in Facebook (sorry, can't link) will take you to a fruit and veg delivery in the area, also do meat etc. Herons is an awful shop but good for frozen stuff like chips, ice-cream. Yes, it is worth going to Aldi/Lidl, but also worth trying our local butchers, Fairburns in town is good with advice on cheaper cuts, cooking methods etc. If I've got it wrong and you're not from Louth, please forgive me!

Hi, what a good guess, I am from Louth. I use Fields of Lincolnshire usually but their fruit has been a bit iffy in the warm weather, am starting back with them from tomorrow. Fairburns are also the place I go although I think I might try Alvingham Farm Shop again, not been there for a year or two. My main problem is self control, I shop when I really could manage so trying my best from now!!

lincsyellowbelly

ragz wrote: »

Definitely! That's really not far to go, especially if you do it fortnightly rather than weekly and stock up with what is cheap. It's about 35/40 miles round trip for me to get to a Lidl or Aldi but I consider it well worth it (it's a half hour drive anywhere from here, though we are only about 50 miles from London!).

I buy the following in Lidl/Aldi (I prefer Aldi for some stuff and Lidl for others but that's more of a personal thing, I am rather fussy!)

Free Range chickens (£5 each)
Mince (£2 a pack roughly, it has been going up a bit)
Sausages and bacon (decent ones with British pork, I may be on a budget but for me it's important, you can buy cheap ones too).
Cheeses, milk, butter
Veg and fruit (though quality varies and choice is not vast, it is cheap)
Flour, tea, coffee (ground), sugar (demerera),
Pasta and rice (though pasta is cheaper in big supermarkets value range this is better quality)
Loo roll, sanitary products, nappies (not so much now), kids toothpaste
Eggs (free range ones cheaper here than most big supermarkets)
Tins - tomatoes! Beans!
Frozen - pizza, chips, wedges, veg, ice cream, fish.

The meat and dairy can be frozen so you could go once a month if it's a big trip.
The thing I am rubbish at is remembering to take the meat for the next day's meal out of the freezer



I guess it depends where you live. In our nearest tesco (13 miles) the creamfields milk is only available in semi-skimmed (I only buy full fat) and our local shops/petrol stations sell milk at over £1.50 for 4 pints so for me the £1 ones in Aldi/Lidl are a bargain and I tend to buy a week's worth and freeze it (yeah it says you can't but it's fine for us).

Ethically I am rather uncomfortable about it (dairy farmers) and if £1 milk was not available I would totally understand the price rise but while I can get it I do - it's cheaper (there are a lot of things I would rather buy for similar reasons but can't justify the cost).

Definately going to have a trip to Aldi or Lidl, never done a big shop there, only bits and bobs. I won't know if it suits me until I try.

lincsyellowbelly

Well, following on from my first post at the start of the month, I'm afraid I have spent over my budget again this month, however, if I spend no more until October I will have still spent about £200 less this month than I have been doing so I am very pleased about that.
Been to Aldi today to do my 1st big shop there. Have just sat down and price checked it with Tesco and I appear to have saved about £21.00. I had to pop to Sainsburys for a couple of bits Aldi didnt have and had to drive 16 miles each way and we have yet to try some of the stuff but so far I am delighted. Thanks to all for the help on this. Next month I will try harder with the budget but I have made a good start. One of the best tips you gave me was mixing squash and fizzy water instead of buying fizzy drinks and this has been a real hit with the kids.

bupster

Two suggestions I'd add - don't buy snacky stuff at all. They'll moan at first but get used to it. If you have sandwich ingredients they can eat those - bread's only about a quid at Aldi and you can get a whole ham to roast for a fiver and slice it up thinly.

The other one is don't cook separate meals for everyone. Do one meal every evening and that's what people have to eat. If they don't eat it all, that's up to them. It might be worth sitting down and writing a list of what meals everyone will eat, and maybe looking up some recipes that will put together ingredients everyone likes - but it will cost you a fortune going shopping if you're driven by everyone else's whims as well as buying basics.

A freezer will help a lot, especially for meat and bread. I don't bother with freezing meals as I don't mind eating the same thing for lunch for a few days so make sure I make enough for three or four helpings.

I suspect the problem isn't the shopping as such, though you'll get lots of helpful ideas on the subject here. I suspect it's other people's demands. Can't remember what ages everyone is in your family but if it's possible, getting them involved so they understand the problem might help?

lincsyellowbelly

Yes you're right, we do have too many seperate meals and its stupid. They are getting more fussy as they get older, they are 12, 9 and 4. Thats a work in progress. Going to concentrate on the meal planning side of things in October, havent mastered that yet, think I'm better off having a load of food in and just cooking some of that instead of buying more. Not too good at being tied to certain foods for certain days.

xxlouisexx56

I lost £100 in cash yesterday it was meant to pay my gas bill

We are going on holiday in a months time so money is really tight at the moment. I have to cut back on the groceries. ATM we are having 3 cheap meals a week. Tinned raviloi, jacket spuds, beans on toast, soup.

I buy loads of reduced meat or meat on good offers, portion it up and then freeze it. I bulk buy 30 big chicken breasts from the butchers and freeze them separately so I can adjust my meals for the people who are eating.

Popperwell

xxlouisexx56 wrote: »

I lost £100 in cash yesterday it was meant to pay my gas bill

I'm so sorry:(

As/when I get my freezer sorted out I may have to think of doing something similar to you and try and buy in bulk. Not sure we have many butchers left around here...mainly all supermarkets...