"Eat Well For Less?" - thoughts?

HOWMUCH

Hasda currently are doing 3 curries for £7, B&M are doing Patak pilau rice microwave for 50p, I pick up indian sides and freeze when YS usually approx 50p a container (3 varities in box). So the curry we had this week cost £3.50 per head. And was as good as a takeaway and very filling infact I still have some in the fridge for tomorrow lunch.

Ilona

I called in a Waitrose supermarket last night on my way back from a day out. We don't have them in my neck of the woods, and I was curious as to what they sell and their prices. How the heck can anyone afford to shop in there? I buy a large tub of plain yogurt from Mr T for 45p. It's £1.20 in Waitrose. The cheapest bag of basic cat litter is £3, double that of other supermarkets. Must be a lot of well off people in the West Hull area.
Ilona

sassysar

There are 7 in our house and I work 3 days a week and cook from scratch most nights . Today was shepherds pie and yorkshire puds ( heated up from last night ) and petit pois . The pie was made with left over lamb hotpot from yesterday . All I had to do was make mash and microwave the peas . I'm sure it took as long as putting a pizza in and making salad.
If the lady had time to go to the supermarket 17 times she had time to cook !

andygb

sassysar wrote: »

There are 7 in our house and I work 3 days a week and cook from scratch most nights . Today was shepherds pie and yorkshire puds ( heated up from last night ) and petit pois . The pie was made with left over lamb hotpot from yesterday . All I had to do was make mash and microwave the peas . I'm sure it took as long as putting a pizza in and making salad.
If the lady had time to go to the supermarket 17 times she had time to cook !

:beer:

I do that shepherds pie as well sometimes, when we have left over roast lamb and tatties. I also add spices and chopped chillis to make it a curried version.
I agree - anyone who goes to the supermarket 17 times in one week has loads of time on their hands to do more worthwhile things.

purpleshoes_2

Some people are better cooks than others, clearly. I like to think Im an ok cook, my mum by her own admission less so but even she can cook more than a few meals from scratch. No one taught me how to cook, a few recipe books and trial and error. I cant remember the last time I bought a microwave meal. I dont earn a lot, cooking from scratch saves me cash.

I rarely eat takeaways but after the next bootcamp i do is done I think I will, its about 7 quid for a tea time special where I live, curry or pizza and chips plus a drink, very good value.

Another place does curry, chips, enough to feed 2 people for 9 quid including delivery and the food is fabulous.

candygirl

ash28 wrote: »

Unfortunately for me supermarket naans are just a doughy splodge....the only one that comes remotely close to a naan is Waitrose.



They are normally about £1.79 for 2....if you like naans they are about the best outside an Indian restaurant/takeaway - that's just my opinion though.

The ones from Asian supermarkets, are cheaper n far more authentic:D

ash28

candygirl wrote: »

The ones from Asian supermarkets, are cheaper n far more authentic:D

I imagine they are, but we don't have any Asian supermarkets anywhere near us.....the nearest one is over 20 miles away. One of the drawbacks of rural living. I have a friend who works in Waitrose (about 15 miles away) who will pick some up for me. They are definitely better than other supermarkets or Sharwoods etc - for those who aren't able to access an Asian store.

ash28

Ilona wrote: »

I called in a Waitrose supermarket last night on my way back from a day out. We don't have them in my neck of the woods, and I was curious as to what they sell and their prices. How the heck can anyone afford to shop in there? I buy a large tub of plain yogurt from Mr T for 45p. It's £1.20 in Waitrose. The cheapest bag of basic cat litter is £3, double that of other supermarkets. Must be a lot of well off people in the West Hull area.
Ilona

Years ago Waitrose was the only supermarket within walking distance and I didn't drive at the time, so was more or less a captive customer. It was just as expensive then. Saying that, some of their ranges are worth the money as they are delicious but others are really overpriced.

Some of their entertaining food is very good, and you can borrow any number of glasses from them, you can also borrow a 50 or 60cm fish kettle, handy if you fancy a whole salmon for a special occasion.

For everyday stuff I wouldn't use Waitrose....it's the kind of shop where I usually get an unpleasant surprise at the till....unlike Aldi where I generally get a pleasant surprise.

PasturesNew

ash28 wrote: »

Unfortunately for me supermarket naans are just a doughy splodge....the only one that comes remotely close to a naan is Waitrose.



They are normally about £1.79 for 2....if you like naans they are about the best outside an Indian restaurant/takeaway - that's just my opinion though.

I know what you mean about naans not being like proper indian ones - and I agree that my 30p naans aren't like the £2 indian takeaway ones. Mind you, indian ones aren't all that great quite often these days either. So it's a balance between desire and cheapest. For me the most important part of the meal is to get the proper indian curry taste. Everything else would be nice to have at full price, but I compromise to keep the costs low so I can justify the indian 2x a year or so.

It's easy to keep justifying the extra cost of this bit, that bit and the other bit - which is how the show's couple ended up where they are, because everything they had had to be the 'best'

I've not shopped in a Waitrose - where I used to live the closest was an impractical 100 miles round trip. Now I live just a 3 mile round trip away I don't go as it's £2 to park, just to see what they've got.

Also, the Lidl vacuum packed ones fit into my toaster if I cut them in half - and I use the toaster to heat them up.

ash28 wrote: »

I imagine they are, but we don't have any Asian supermarkets anywhere near us.....the nearest one is over 20 miles away.

I've never lived near one - never heard of them until I came to MSE. I might live near one now, but I don't know. Asian supermarkets, and similarly named places are an alien planet to me. There's probably one just a 16 mile round trip - but to go, to look, to get one item, it's not worth the cost of the fuel/parking.

Caterina

Ilona wrote: »

I called in a Waitrose supermarket last night on my way back from a day out. We don't have them in my neck of the woods, and I was curious as to what they sell and their prices. How the heck can anyone afford to shop in there? I buy a large tub of plain yogurt from Mr T for 45p. It's £1.20 in Waitrose. The cheapest bag of basic cat litter is £3, double that of other supermarkets. Must be a lot of well off people in the West Hull area.
Ilona

Some of their offers are amazing, they price-match MrT, when they do the final YS reductions you can get seriously posh food for pennies, their service is great, the quality of their food is unbeatable, they run an ethical outfit (all staff members are "partners" and share in their profits AND they get paid a decent living wage), you can get free tea and coffee from their takeaway machine, free newspaper if you spend £5 (£10 at weekends), if you need a bulk shop their delivery over £60 is free...what's not to like?

Some of their stuff is rather expensive, but this is the case in most SMs, as OSers we are all used to pick and choose, offers and YS goods are luck of the draw but so it is for every other SM.

I find it cheaper to shop sensibly at W8rose than casually at MrT!