Eat Well for Less...Live on MSE

ash28

C_J wrote: »

Whilst I am a huge fan of Aldi, I think it only fair that I point out the negatives I've found with shopping there. Apart from the obvious, that they don't stock absolutely everything I want, i.e. dried pulses/beans or much of a range of herbs amd spices (although this is improving) the main drawback I've found is that their fresh produce doesn't stay as fresh for as long as the big supermarkets. Soft fruit and cherry tomatoes especially will go soft or mouldy quite quickly.

I have wondered whether this is maybe because they don't sell fruit which has been irradiated (which would be a good thing) but I'm not sure.

Our local Aldi's fresh produce is second to none, always lasts ages and is far better than the big superarket's fresh produce. I have been a couple of times to an Aldi in a nearby big town and their fresh produce is awful, I assumed that it would be the same as our local branch - wrong. I had peppers, that when I opened the bag some were already going mushy....same with a bag of carrots, however I've had the same thing from a large Tesco.

I wonder if it is more branch specific than anything else.

C_J

That's interesting.

ani*fan

mirry wrote: »

Was it the Aldi soya milk you used in tea? As I tried it two weeks ago and it it curdled in my coffee? Can you let me know how you get on with it as I may try it again if it works for you

Today's menu plan ...
Breakfast 1 egg on 1 slice toast = 15p

Lunch: Homemade large cheese/veg pasty 20p & large pear from my tree.

Dinner: (to serve three)

Sweet potatoe fries (got 7 large ones from the market for £1), will use half of them.
Served with lightly dusted sole fish 55p each,found in reductions.
Served with peas. Works out Approx 75p per person.

2 Oat biscuits and a latte in the evening =10p

I buy sainsbobs latte sachets , 10 in a box for £1 but find they are quiet strong so use half a sachet & add a dash of milk.
Also Aldis oat biscuits are exactly like hobnobs but only 35p per pack

mirry...your menu sounds lush, I love sweet potatoes.
About the soya milk, I have to confess I'm not fussy about the taste of soya milk, it all tastes fine to me, the only reason I was buying alpro was because it's the only one that doesn't curdle in coffee.I've decided to try powered milk in my coffee, I think I use less of it, just a wee tea spoon then topped up with cold water, it tastes creamy enough and so far my belly has been ok, I'm also drinking a lot less coffee on the back of discussion here.
Realised I forgot to answer you about the oats in mince experiment, I actually quite liked it, I've had various spells of trying to be vegan and don't mind different textures (OH said the taste was ok, the texture was not good though). OH is already a bit freaked out by the thought of big changes to our diet so I'm trying to calm things down by not forcing the issue. Next experiment will be own brand mince with lentils.

C_J

I always use coarsely grated carrot to stretch things like chilli or bolognese, I find it takes on the other flavours well and sort of disappears into it without changing the texture or look of it too much.

tattycath

C_J wrote: »

I always use coarsely grated carrot to stretch things like chilli or bolognese, I find it takes on the other flavours well and sort of disappears into it without changing the texture or look of it too much.

Thanks for this. I've not thought about using carrot for bulking things out. I'll try it.

New_Me

Courgettes vanish when chopped into most things. Also in Aldi super 6 just now.

Florence_J

One tip I picked up from Eat Well For Less was putting a metal skewer through my jacket potatoes when putting them in the oven to speed up the cooking time and therefore use less energy. I found it did shave an easy 30mins, maybe more, off my usual cooking time. OH's potato wasn't quite as cooked but he had chosen the biggest potato I had ever seen for his tea.

I have been very organised/sad and produced an epic spreadsheet inventory of everything in the cupboards and freezer including expiration dates. Then because I am even more organised/sad I colour coded the items as to what needs eating quickly to what has years and years to go. I used to do this on bits of paper and stick them in the cupboards which OH though looked messy, so this should hopefully please him and my love of spreadsheets and keep us organised.

Fruball

Florence_J wrote: »

One tip I picked up from Eat Well For Less was putting a metal skewer through my jacket potatoes when putting them in the oven to speed up the cooking time and therefore use less energy. I found it did shave an easy 30mins, maybe more, off my usual cooking time. OH's potato wasn't quite as cooked but he had chosen the biggest potato I had ever seen for his tea.

I have been very organised/sad and produced an epic spreadsheet inventory of everything in the cupboards and freezer including expiration dates. Then because I am even more organised/sad I colour coded the items as to what needs eating quickly to what has years and years to go. I used to do this on bits of paper and stick them in the cupboards which OH though looked messy, so this should hopefully please him and my love of spreadsheets and keep us organised.

For huge potatoes, just use two skewers a few cm apart or crossways through the potato . Speeds up the process in normal size potatoes too.

mirry

ani*fan,can you let me know how the own brand mince tastes & where did you buy it?

We went to Aldi yesterday, we couldn't see vegetarian options in the freezers? But we did very well, spent £40 and we saved £28. I managed to pick up the courgettes on Offer for 49p.
I'm thinking a vegetable lasagna with long slices of courgette/carrot?
Making my own white sauce/tomato base.
I also found two bags of dried prunes in my cupboard that are out of date by one week. So I'm thinking banana & prune cake

catkins

mirry wrote: »

Can someone tell me how much the dried kidney beans are that they buy, because I looked in Sainsburys and they were 5 times more expensive than the basic can....weight for weight?

I buy big bags of beans, chickpeas etc in indian grocers. Off the top of my head I am not sure how much I pay but they definitely work out cheaper than tinned.

C_J wrote: »

Whilst I am a huge fan of Aldi, I think it only fair that I point out the negatives I've found with shopping there. Apart from the obvious, that they don't stock absolutely everything I want, i.e. dried pulses/beans or much of a range of herbs amd spices (although this is improving) the main drawback I've found is that their fresh produce doesn't stay as fresh for as long as the big supermarkets. Soft fruit and cherry tomatoes especially will go soft or mouldy quite quickly.

I have wondered whether this is maybe because they don't sell fruit which has been irradiated (which would be a good thing) but I'm not sure.

I rarely shop in Aldi because I can't get things like beans, chickpeas etc. They also do very little veggie things like mince, sausages etc.

I have found their veg can vary a lot as to how long it lasts but it never seems to last as long as veg from some other supermarkets.

mirry wrote: »

ani*fan,can you let me know how the own brand mince tastes & where did you buy it?

We went to Aldi yesterday, we couldn't see vegetarian options in the freezers? But we did very well, spent £40 and we saved £28. I managed to pick up the courgettes on Offer for 49p.
I'm thinking a vegetable lasagna with long slices of courgette/carrot?
Making my own white sauce/tomato base.
I also found two bags of dried prunes in my cupboard that are out of date by one week. So I'm thinking banana & prune cake

I think all Aldi's vary a lot but my local one does very little vegetarian items