Food: quality vs quantity?

want_to_save

i only buy my meat from a butcher (same one i have used in the market in leeds for nearly 5 years) i feed me and my oh and if we are having chicken for example we use 1 chicken br**st between the two of us. good quality but also not hugely expensive. Bulk food out with veg and its a nice portion but not too expensive

sonastin

Its OK to go for quality as long as you're not leaving yourself hungry in the pursuit of only having the best.

Quantity is fine but you can really stuff yourself without getting the least bit of pleasure from it so you might wonder what is the point.

Its all about finding the balance that works for you. And it doesn't necessarily mean a straightforward swap. If you can't afford the finest quality sirloin steak, you can swap to a cheapy-rubbish "sirloin" or you can swap to a different dish using, for example, finest quality shin of beef or another cheaper cut. Depends on where you are sourcing it and whether you want to compare exactly like-with-like or can switch menu plans to something of equivalent quality but lower base cost.

I don't buy into the "health" benefits of organic - I'm as skeptical of the marketing gurus as I am of the chemical & fertilizer industry. On balance, without clear definitive uncontrovertible proof one way or the other, I'll favour the option that gives me more cash to spend on other fun stuff! Oh, and I prefer the cheaper sausages too!

Grouchy

I agree it is finding the balance between what you can afford and producing good quality healthy meals and how far your food has to go, but I go for quality every time. After all it is stuff you are putting into your body and should be good quality and healthy as possible - I don't bulk out food either as I prefer smaller portions.

Healthwise too for me smaller quantities of good quality food makes sense, though I don't go for much organic foodstuffs. I don't eat meat so can't comment on that. And I grow and preserve/freeze and lot of my own stuff.

Having said that it is still possible sometimes to find cheaper equivalents and I have a list of stuff I buy regularly, but through expericne I've found a lot of tinned pulses and vegetables especially are inferior in taste and quality and also dislike the budget rice I've tried, tasteless and bland. Bit of trial and error to find what is nice.

Each to their own of course but quality for me as I want to enjoy my food and try to focus of good quality ingredients and smaller portions (also better for my somewhat unruly waistline LOL).

charlies-aunt

tori.k wrote: »

Im another in the both camp, basic's like pasta, oat's, flour etc etc are always value driven but meat is always quality as most the time the end cooked product works out better value by the time the water pumped into the cheap meat has been removed

I agree Tori.K and its well worth the small extra cost to get meat that is British as our livestock standards are high. Quality over quantity works for me. Eggs have to be free range but everything else is value driven.

I find local traditional markets offer the best value for money for fruit, veg and fish - I love the range of unusual foods in the "Farmers Markets" but the prices are extortionate :eek:

Sainsburys "Basics" range takes a lot of beating for value and quality IMO

meritaten

If you cant afford high quality 'organic' produce then I would at least go for 'free range' or 'red tractor' meats. for the rest - then I look for 'in season' British produce. I do try to buy 'good quality' produce - but, sometimes its just not available or affordable. I do the best I can with my budget and what is in the shops! I also buy when its in season and cheapest - then freeze for later.

Peggybabcot

My original post on this thread was a whole hearted quality over quantity and having re read it I've realised that I don't always eat the most expensive for it to qualify as quality. For example we tried dropping a brand level until we were happy. In some cases there were no marked differences other than those extra pennies seen in my purse. However in others, lower branded items were a no go area. I suppose the definition of quality is a personal thing and we're all different. I regularly buy Aldi pasatta, tomato pur!e, flour, milk, tuna etc (in fact about 80% of my shopping is done there nowadays since my swap and save experiment) I've not noticed any difference in quantity or quality just money saved. x

gayleygoo

I go for quality too, for most things. Storecupboard ingredients can be value or the cheapest on offer, but I buy meat from the butcher. I could not afford organic meat (especially given the quantity DH would like to eat!), but the stuff from the butcher is very good quality and tasty, and not a lot dearer than supermarket meat. I wouldn't buy "value" meat or eggs unless it meant we'd barely be eating that week.

I haven't bought organic veg in ages. I'd love to, but when I look at the price difference between a big bag of value carrots and a small bag of organic ones, I can't bring myself to pay more I think it would be better if organic veggies in the supermarket were allowed to be "wonky" as they might be cheaper then, I heard that only "perfect" veg get into the organic packs so you pay more to cover the waste of the imperfect veg.

However, what a farming friend has told me about the fertilizers used on crops has started me thinking I really should buy more organic. Even a couple of items a week would be better than nothing - milk, butter, apples etc. Even better would be to grow my own, whatever I can next year - almost free organic veggies!

GwylimT

Quality, I don't eat what I consider to be rubbish food and the only ready made things I eat are dried gluten free pasta and a few things from our local butcher.