Enough. We're walking away from supermarkets

sams247

frugal_shopper wrote: »

It's not clear why CAT chose to close the cafe as it was always busy, I can understand the quarry shop closing as it had high prices & limited customers but the cafe should of been making a decent profit.
The bakery is still there but is up for sale, if they don't find a buyer soon then it is likely to close.
Wil Lloyds butchers is still there but Hamers closed a few years back as he thought he would do better with property investments.
The market still has stalls selling fruit & veg, meat, fish, bread, cheese, eggs, jams & preserves but that includes new stalls selling low quality produce as well as the decent ones which is causing some stall holders to struggle as they can't match prices. There are less stalls than there used to be & an awful lot more selling things you would normally find in a £shop.
Tesco bought the former Travis Perkins site & cattle market, despite being told where to stick their planning application a couple of times already they are still trying to push it through. If they ever succeed that will probably finish off all the remaining indpendent shops.

What a shame. We loved our days local shopping there, it was a good community, we always spent time chatting with the shopkeepers. I think part of the problem with the big supermarkets is that small local shopping has virtually been wiped out.

Ooh the milkman idea was really good, we havent seen a local milkman for ages, but a little research showed they are still around and I can get our goats milk delivered three times a week. Perfect.

Its true about just popping in for one thing and coming out with two shopping bags and £30 lighter. I am finding it is saving me money already simply by cutting out those little extras I always picked up. And without the safety cushion of oh we can always get it from Tes** tomorrow I am being very careful about meal planning and there is a lot less food being wasted and thrown away.

A week in - what do I not like? Ok I miss all those little extras like cake and biscuits that would sneak into my basket on my way up the aisles. Other than that its still going ok.

And my blog is finally alive.

gailey......... thats a lot of milk!

krlyr

For cleaning products, it might be worth looking at products you can use more universally - for example, Stardrops seems to be used from everything, from cleaning floors and counters, to in the dishwasher, washing machine, carpet cleaners, etc.
Or if you want to go more natural, look at white vinegar and bicarbonate. For example, I've replaced the glass cleaning sprays with a simple solution of water and vinegar - brings the windows and glass doors up just as clean. Often I'll do a bucket of vinegar and hot water to mop the floor (less harsh on the doggies' paws that way too), to deodourise I'll sprinkle some vinegar on rugs or doormats. Bicarb down the sink, sprinkled, left to soak then flushed down with hot water or perhaps a bit of plain bleach, helps keep them clear and smell-free. Bicarb made into a paste makes a good oven and hob cleaner too. Lemon juice is another one - a bowl of it zapped in the microwave will deodourise, loosen up the grime, plus I then make use of the hot lemon juice by chucking the kitchen sponge in it for a clean (lemon juice has natural antibacterial properties too). I wouldn't say I'm too "out there", they're just some easily picked up products that mean I don't need to keep 50 million different spray bottles of products in the sink cupboard! I found our local oriental supermarket fab for the vinegar (5l bottles for £4.30) and bicarb (3kg for £4.10) and will be seeing if they can get lemon juice in cheaply too
(and as an aside, bicarb added to regular shampoo makes for a clarifying shampoo that will leave your hair feeling very clean and fresh! Plus it's a good remedy for UTIs, and also apparently good for indigestion too!)

As for the little cakes and snacks..have you considered cooking a batch and freezing? I freeze cakes and cookies so we can have a little snack, only a few minutes away in the microwave or oven. Helps with portion control too - it seems too greedy to grab a lot from the freezer, whereas if we open a multipack from the supermarket, it's all too easy to scoff the lot!

Edwardia

Abel & Cole delivers here Mondays, Riverford Fridays and Ocado any day I want.

I use Abel & Cole like a milkman for organic free range farm eggs, organic farm Guernsey pasteurised but unhomogenised milk, organic natural yogurt, organic mature Cheddar and other bits and pieces. Minimum order is $10 delivery 99p.

Getting my second order from Riverford Friday, min order 12.50 ($25 if meat) free delivery.

With Ocado I have an annual savings pass which I got 50% off when I first started ordering so delivery on orders over $40 free. Even if I had paid full cost I would save it back over the year. Also got a total savings pass at 8.99 Not sure this saves me much but get 10% off things like organic veg box, Evian, OH's wine gums, Tampax.

Saved 33% on first order with https://www.yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk and stocked up Bentley Organics cleaning stuff.

Have also used www.shortersclub.co.uk to stock pile on non food stuff.

sams247

I am signing up today for our local milkman. So many years since I used a milkman!

And every cloud has a silver lining - I am not well at the moment so cant get out to shop. Yesterday every meal came from the freezer or cupboard, which ironically means everything we ate came from a supermarket......... From the time before the 'decision'. The upside of this is that I have time to browse the 'net and I am really excited to have found a nearby cafe with what promises to be a good source of lovely things to buy......... and a list of excellent places to find like minded people and products.

I plan to visit Local Roots in High Wycombe as soon as I am well. Meanwhile I'm going to join http://www.post-carbon-living.com/food/index.php/group/ Food Group. Looks hopeful.

sams247

Well, we're still going strong, and getting used ot what we need and where to get it. I made an error to impulse buy some extra chicken at the weekend in a little deli. I didnt need it, it didnt feature on my list........ mustnt get into the habit of impulse buying as thats where I spent so much extra in the supermarkets.

So, places we have been to;

Beaconsfield Farmers Market - a good trip, we did well and found some excellent eggs (cheaper than in wait***e), bacon (sold by the rasher), bread, honey, apple juice, fudge, cake, rapeseed oil, cheese, butter and veg. We also bought some pheasant sausages which did taste amazing but the lady was so rude and off with us that we wouldnt buy from her again.
http://www.tvfm.org.uk/market/4/beaconsfield/

Seasons cafe and deli - bought some great cheese biscuits, crackers, quiche, onion marmalade, coleslaw, potato salad and crisps (and had a great lunch)
http://www.seasons-cafe-deli.com/

Local Roots Cafe and Deli - some wonderful cheeses, a lot of them veggie, bread, chocolate, scotch egg (runny middle), pasta, crackers, honey, eggs and had some amazing baguettes for lunch. Very friendly couple
http://localrootswycombe.co.uk/

Milkandmore - local milk man has delivered goats milk, potatoes and apple juice

P E Mead - this was a way out for us, but we treated it as a day out, had lunch (do you see a theme developing here?!) Bought Veg, fruit, pasta, frozen yorkshires (I know, I know, but they are excellent for sudden last minute visitors), fish, quiche, pizza, cheese, salad, popcorn, crackers, tea
http://www.pemeadandsons.co.uk/

I have to say wherever possible we bought local, and artisan, and its all been delicious. The people have been really friendly and it has been such a nice experience. No hassle, no shoving or car parking issues....... and at the moment I am speding less than I was before.

So far my failure to date is to cook more from scratch, I am cooking from scratch but not more than I did before. I need to start baking cakes and biscuits and make my own pies again.

sams247

Uh oh, hit a snag. Was really happy reading about meat free (well, fish free) prawns as that would mean I could bring them bcak onto our menus..... but only available at Sains and Te**o

Back to the deli's and markets this weekend to stock up on veg and cheese. Got fresh juice from the milk man, and some potatoes for jackets tonight

sams247

Well, its March now and we're still here, still avoiding the supermarkets and still shopping at Farm shops, artisan outlets, deli's, local small shops, Farmers Markets and a few select online producers. Our food delivery now comes from Abel & Cole on occasions, we use the milkman and buy all our fish from the local Loch Fyne.

Have I been in a supermarket? Yes, of course. Once when I was too ill to consider standing upright for too long my OH dashed out to buy tea and essentials in their lunchbreak, I also went to Sains**** to buy the Linda McCartney prawns and was happy I did so. I have been on two other occasions - to get some extra bits when unexpected guests arrived and once when I ran out of baking ingredients part way through a batch bake.

I'm ok with that.

I am still saving money, my shopping lists are much better prepared than when I started, I am now resisting those lovely little extras in Deli counters, and we are having a much wider variety of meals than we had before.

We also made our own biscuits - seemingly a good thing, but no, sadly it seems warm biscuits are just too tempting and they didnt last long...

I am trying out new recipes and some experiments have met with great delight, others have been eaten hurredly and never mentioned again.

So I am happy to continue.

Not so good at keeping up with my blog....... where does the time go!

lizalloareds

sams247 wrote: »

And my blog is finally alive.

!

would love to read your blog x

sams247

lizalloareds wrote: »

would love to read your blog x

Aww thank you. Its http://sayingnothethebigfive.blogspot.co.uk/

I am trying to keep up with it......... must be better, must be better.....

Today I am gathering some of the links I have started to use to order food, ones I have been happy with, and my plan is to add these to the site. My DD urges me to open a Twit account so I am preparing to embrace yet another leap in computer world

Gigervamp

A lot of small businesses use Twitter. I follow a deli that specialises in Persian ingredients, (@PersiainPeckham) a small homebaker who sells gorgeous breads and runs courses, (@OneMileBakery) a butcher who sells rare breed meats and often has dexter beef that's been aged for over a month, (@Naththebutcher) as well as various farmers who do meat boxes. (@RosewoodFarms we've had meat from)

It's definitely worth signing up to Twitter. Oh, and not food related, but I've really been enjoying the tweets by @Cmdr_Hadfield. He's one of the astronauts currently up in the space station and he posts pics every day of the bit of the Earth that he's flying over. They're amazing!