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

KxMx

I am lucky enough to have a local independent greengrocer. Not as cheap as SM's but not expensive either, and the quality is absolutely fantastic, nothing goes off quickly so very high value for money.
The only thing I really don't buy there is grapes because they charge quite a bit more than what I can pay at Tesco or Lidl.
The vast majority of the stock is sold loose so you can buy as much or as little as you need.
I'm a single person household but go in 2-3 times a week because I eat so much F&V.
I did get a few potatoes for sunday dinner last week, produced perfect roasties even if I do say so myself  

YorksLass

I wish I'd done my shoulder of pork in the SC joedenise - it was as tough as old boots with lots of gristle right through it.    Complaint winging its way to Sainsburys!  I know it's a cheap cut of meat but I've had it before many times and never had one so bad.  I've chunked the rest of it up this morning and will use half for a pork & apple casserole (SC) and mince the other half to make a pork & black pudding meat loaf.  Good job I know how to cook!

I'd love to have a local butcher, greengrocer, farm shop etc but alas none to be had round here so we're reliant on SMs.  I know we're all watching the pennies but I'd honestly be willing to pay a little more for good quality produce - SMs take note!

joedenise

@YorksLass  - I always do shoulder of pork in the SC - it's one joint of meat I'm not keen on roasted.  It also goes much further when it's pulled!  It wasn't a very big piece of meat but I've still got enough for 4 meals of pulled pork rolls with chips & sides plus what we had yesterday so 10 portions and I'm fairly certain I only paid around £5 for it in Lidl so about 50p a portion.  Each lot would also make a nice topping for a jacket so a couple of options to use the LOs.

We do have a fairly local buyer but since he started advertising on Faceache the quality of the meat has gone down so no point in paying the extra cost for meat which is no better than the SMs.  The only things I buy there now are low fat sausages and low fat burgers.

Love the sound of your pork and black pudding meat loaf.  Recipe please?

YorksLass

Here you go joedenise - no specific quantities I'm afraid, it's more of a "throw it in" kind of thing.  

Mince together left over pork, some black pudding, onion and breadcrumbs, S & P, add a beaten egg and stir well.  These are the main ingredients but I usually throw in other odds and ends as well (a chopped apple, left over stuffing, red or green pepper that might be lurking in the fridge or wrinkly mushrooms).  Press mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake in a moderate oven till firm (test with a skewer).  Serve hot with mash, veg & gravy or cold with chips/side salad.

joedenise

Thanks @YorksLass for the recipe.  I cook a bit like that too!

MovingForwards

I'm noticing a vast difference with growing my own and occasionally buying supermarket produce. It's almost as if the veg has been forced to grow quickly that it's not had time to create the flavour.

Pollycat

YorksLass said:

Here you go joedenise - no specific quantities I'm afraid, it's more of a "throw it in" kind of thing.  

Mince together left over pork, some black pudding, onion and breadcrumbs, S & P, add a beaten egg and stir well.  These are the main ingredients but I usually throw in other odds and ends as well (a chopped apple, left over stuffing, red or green pepper that might be lurking in the fridge or wrinkly mushrooms).  Press mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake in a moderate oven till firm (test with a skewer).  Serve hot with mash, veg & gravy or cold with chips/side salad.

Yum. Yum.
You had me at black pudding

elsien

I’m by no stretch anywhere near the breadline, but my weekly shopping money isn’t really covering much at the moment. The nice things like my strawberries and blueberries come when I get lucky with Olio. 

I can’t begin to imagine how hard things must be at the moment for those surviving on the bare minimum. 
And if I see one more idiot on Twitter telling us all we need to do is cook from scratch I will do them a mischief. There’s a lot of people budgeting hard, cooking fresh food and still wondering where the rest of the weeks food is coming from. 

ColdPensioner

Retired couple here.

I think we are food shopping more carefully, buying stuff on the list rather than just going round the supermarket (Aldi). We have acquired a small air fryer and are currently experimenting with it with varying degrees of success. Chips and cheese scones the winners so far! 

 We got it free, but some are silly prices. 

Certainly think twice about dining out, although happy to buy a snack lunch when out and about. 

Heating not yet switched on, but that's because we don't feel we need it yet. I did put my electric blanket in the bed the other day.

Don't do too many miles in the car, but it now costs more to fill than my first car cost me. 60mpg, zero tax Toyota hybrid, highly recommended! 

YoungBlueEyes

We’re similar elsien. Mind you cos we moved recently and I couldn’t get on a fix for gas+electric it’ll be kinda dear come winter when my variable dd goes out. 

We’re carefully so we’ll be ok, and we’ll be ok cos we’re careful. 

That hasn’t been sorely tested yet like.