It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Brambling

I've made scones with the butter milk you can buy in SMs so I imagine it will work as well

EssexHebridean

Brambling said:

I've made scones with the butter milk you can buy in SMs so I imagine it will work as well

The "residue" from the cream > butter process is definitely not the same thing as that. whether it would work in the same way I have no idea - but I think the SM stuff is "cultured buttermilk"

A link here with some ideas though: https://www.preservedgoods.com/post/2017/11/24/things-to-do-with-whey

Florenceem

I am baking a lot now as I take cakes along to my Salvation Army Corps twice a week. I got home just before the storm here today to find that my Sister had called by and left me 12 free range duck eggs in the porch - I was down to my last 7 of them.
I have had loaf tins in my cupboard but tended to make round cakes - I like using the liners so it is that style for me at the moment.

linz

ChihiroSen said:

I need to express my shock somewhere and sorry if this is the wrong place, but My food bill has trebled and its unsustainable, I just spent £113 for two people. No meat or fruit, just basics like frozen fish veg, pasta, cheese salad veg, bread and toilet roll. It’s insane. I’ve been watching it creep up and up. Every week it seems to cost more. Do they expect prices to rise even more. Because we are going to have to start skipping meals. 

Have you tried looking for yellow stickered items? If you have places nearby try popping in around 6.30 or 7pm. My local co-op regularly has lots of meat, veg, bread that you can pick up and freeze for a fraction of the price. 

cuddlymarm

Hi again guys
I collected my TGTG bag from Morrisons. For £3.09 I got a bag of carrots, some parsley, 3 bags of potatoes, 2 half cucumbers, lettuce and a bag of bread rolls. So our meals for the rest of the week will be potato based and I’ll prep some and some of the carrots for the freezer.
My chilli ended up being cowboy stew because it’s difficult to make chilli with no chilli powder in the house and I was determined not to go out just for that. The other half of it will become pasta bake with a sprinkle of melted cheese on top. I learnt from my mum how to roll each meal into the next.
Its 6 weeks until we go on hol so I’m stretching my food stocks as long as possible and putting the money towards spends.
OH was a bit disappointed that there was no sweet stuff but I was relieved because I really need more of my shorts to fit by the time we go away.

TheAble

ChihiroSen said:

I need to express my shock somewhere and sorry if this is the wrong place, but My food bill has trebled and its unsustainable, I just spent £113 for two people. No meat or fruit, just basics like frozen fish veg, pasta, cheese salad veg, bread and toilet roll. It’s insane. I’ve been watching it creep up and up. Every week it seems to cost more. Do they expect prices to rise even more. Because we are going to have to start skipping meals. 

It's difficult to say whether this is "a lot" really without knowing the context of how long it's expected to last you, as others have pointed out. But I'm not convinced that stuff you've listed is necessarily all that expensive? Cheese can still be had at £5/kilo, pasta at 40p/kilo, cucumbers at 50p etc. So either you've bought several weeks worth or you're going wrong somewhere.

ChihiroSen

Thank you for all the support everyone. To answer some questions, I tend to buy as needed so don’t really think of things in terms of a weekly or monthly shop, but I know before the pandemic my weekly spend was roughly £45. 

I shop at the worst supermarkets for price as that is what is nearby, (No car) so it’s a Marks and Sainsbury’s local. 

This was on online order at Ocado, which I rarely do but use occasionally to try and get heavier things online. I used to shop at Asda but now they won’t put things in bags for me which I need to help me manage because of a disability. Where as Ocado will bag things for me and the drivers always offer to put them on the kitchen counter. 

I always buy own brands where available. 

The good/bad news today was they order was cancelled, as there wasn’t enough money in my account. But it turned out to be the angels looking out for me, as I accidentally ordered 36 yoghurts!! I wanted 1. So the overall shop price would be £82, a drop, but still far too much.

GaleSF63

ChihiroSen said:

Thank you for all the support everyone. To answer some questions, I tend to buy as needed so don’t really think of things in terms of a weekly or monthly shop, but I know before the pandemic my weekly spend was roughly £45. 

I shop at the worst supermarkets for price as that is what is nearby, (No car) so it’s a Marks and Sainsbury’s local. 

This was on online order at Ocado, which I rarely do but use occasionally to try and get heavier things online. I used to shop at Asda but now they won’t put things in bags for me which I need to help me manage because of a disability. Where as Ocado will bag things for me and the drivers always offer to put them on the kitchen counter. 

I always buy own brands where available. 

The good/bad news today was they order was cancelled, as there wasn’t enough money in my account. But it turned out to be the angels looking out for me, as I accidentally ordered 36 yoghurts!! I wanted 1. So the overall shop price would be £82, a drop, but still far too much.

What are your ASDA drivers like - are they helpful? 
The ASDA website says this "If you need a little extra help when we deliver your shopping, you can leave reusable bags or boxes at the door for the driver to transfer and pack your shopping into. If you need this additional assistance - when placing your order, please let us know in the delivery notes section before you checkout your order so our drivers are aware ahead of your delivery."

I can't unload either, but I have a 3-tier trolley which I put at the door and the drivers (Tesco or Waitrose) have always been happy to load the trolley for me.

By now I expect quite a few of the drivers have realised it's quicker if they unload than wait for the customer to do it, anyway!

ZsaZsa

ChihiroSen, will delivery no longer place items into your own bags/boxes anymore? I thought all the supermarkets did that. 

Otherwise, you mentioned that you’re shopping for 2 of you- is that an adult or older child? Perhaps you could time a delivery slot for when there’s someone else at home to lend a hand. At least then you’d have a choice of supermarkets rather than relying on Ocado. 

skogar

On the subject of caster sugar - I don't really use it. I'm afraid in my years of being a student it was too expensive so I just use normal granulated and I've not have a problem with it. It may be that some makes of granulated are finer than others but it may be worth trying it and seeing how you get on. When running particularly low on sugar I did try using demerara instead of soft brown but that turned out much too grainy so I can't recommend doing that.