Eat Well For Less Series 3

Mr_Singleton

PasturesNew wrote: »

Nobody's been listening to me .... but I've been "moaning" about the gentrification of Lidl for some time. Everything "posh" they stock means they remove something I eat/used to eat ...

To put it extremely bluntly Lidl are a company out to make profits and there are little profits in catering to mean penny pinchers.

No doubt another company will be along shortly to replace Lidl as the penny pinchers shop of choice.

Sorry but thats the long and short of it.

suki1964

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

To put it extremely bluntly Lidl are a company out to make profits and there are little profits in catering to mean penny pinchers.

No doubt another company will be along shortly to replace Lidl as the penny pinchers shop of choice.

Sorry but thats the long and short of it.

I would hardly call lidl a penny pinchers shop. Indeed tesco can be cheaper. Last week peppers were 99p lidl , 85p tesco Cauli was £1.29 lidl, 85p tesco

However for the quality of the meat, dairy and provisions s better quality for the price that you pay

Their Parmesan at £2.29 is to die for Their dry cure bacon at £1.69 is the bee Knees and as good as any artisan bacon I've tried. Pure butter at £1.69. Their oven chips, garlic bread, peas, corn , frozen fruits, at least the same price as entry level supermarket brands for cost, but ttd, extra special prices

Oh and I stock up on their meatballs when £1 for 12. No fillers, no crud, pure meat

PasturesNew

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

To put it extremely bluntly Lidl are a company out to make profits and there are little profits in catering to mean penny pinchers.

No doubt another company will be along shortly to replace Lidl as the penny pinchers shop of choice.

Sorry but thats the long and short of it.

When did the poorer in society become penny pinchers?

I appreciate they have a business to run/profits to make, but they filled a niche in the market ... until the middle classes "hijacked" the store and made them "trendy".... and now they stock lobster and quinoa!

newlywed

I buy grated cheese, sliced cheese and.... Ready made mash!! The latter only occasionally because I just do not enjoy making mash, sorry. But I make swede chips, celeriac chips which take longer than mash.... So I can't really justify it.

And Nutella and banana toasted sandwich used to be a regular lunch menu, honey and banana if I wanted to feel healthier,

I quite like this program though. It's good that they blind test to find out what they can and can't bear changing. Everyone is different and has different food priorities, you just need to find which cheaper bits you can't bear to live with (cheap instant coffee? No thanks!)

Pollycat

lessonlearned wrote: »

My favourite......crisp sandwiches, I love them. Alas they don't love me back.

Lordy! Lordy!
Crisp sandwiches.

Me & OH have a joke when we've stayed in the pub too long and I can't be a**ed to cook

I say 'supper is a crisp sandwich but I've got no bread.'

lessonlearned

The blind tests are brilliant...a real eye opener.

Quinoa......well it might be trendy now but it's the only product of that type I can eat.......no grains - so no bread, pasta, no rice or oatmeal, quinoa it is. I use it as a substitute for cous cous when I crave some carbs.

I understand your arguments about Lidl and Aldi stocking more expensive products these days but what you are getting is excellent quality for keen prices. Much of their deli type stuff is as good as any upmarket food hall or farmers market and for a fraction of the price.

They offer good quality produce - meat, fish, dairy, fruit and veg - the building blocks for a healthy diet at really good prices.

Do we really want to go back to the days when those on a very limited budget only had the likes of Netto or Fine Fare. I used to work in Fine Fare at one point.:eek:

greentiger

Oh Fine Fare! I remember they had big bins of cereal that you scooped and bagged. I dread to think how many sticky fingers (heaven knows where else they'd been) dipped into them!

basil92

PasturesNew wrote: »

"Make Your Own" cigs, where you buy a machine (once) and baccy and "tubes" which are rolled papers with a filter attached.

Sorry to go OT but I've never seen them PN. Where do you by them from?

maman

lessonlearned wrote: »

I understand your arguments about Lidl and Aldi stocking more expensive products these days but what you are getting is excellent quality for keen prices. Much of their deli type stuff is as good as any upmarket food hall or farmers market and for a fraction of the price.

They offer good quality produce - meat, fish, dairy, fruit and veg - the building blocks for a healthy diet at really good prices.

Most of my friends (me included) first ventured into Lidl and Aldi because they sold a range of 'continental' meats and cheeses at prices way below Waitrose which was logical as they are German companies. Then they promoted things like lobster and the 3/4 bird roasts and other German Christmas favourites like Stollen. I wasn't aware that these things were displacing basic items.


Once in the store, I've gradually tried (and been mainly delighted with) all their basics and now I do 90%+ of my shop there. They were the first to promote fruit and veg as loss leaders which is so much healthier than the supermarkets that promote junk food on special offer.


I'm fortunately in a similar position to PN and others that save on food to spend on other things. DH and I might eat out and spend more on one meal than a week's groceries but that's our choice. I like getting good value for my food shopping because I hate being ripped off.


The difference is that the families on Eat Well for Less invariably have a compelling reason for not overspending on food. In last week's programme the guy was desperate to work fewer hours, others have wanted a family holiday and I seem to remember a family last year that needed a larger house.

Living_proof

lessonlearned wrote: »

The blind tests are brilliant...a real eye opener.

Quinoa......well it might be trendy now but it's the only product of that type I can eat.......no grains - so no bread, pasta, no rice or oatmeal, quinoa it is. I use it as a substitute for cous cous when I crave some carbs.

LL - have you tried making cauliflower rice? It's dead easy and very tasty with a few herbs and a bit of sweated onion thrown in? Carb free of course!