Sainsbury's Basics good/bad items

shazzprozz

i ilke basics:
crumpets
muffins (for toasting)
vodka
bacon
vinegar
eggs
chicken
sponge mix
yorkshire puddings
yorkshire pudding/pancake batter mix
orange juice
biscuits.
ill try anything once.
if you are thinking of cooking,why not try some basics as ingredients?
i cant say i have had anything really bad!

robinsonkj

I buy Corned Beef Basics (8 thick slices for about £1.80)-Excellent quality no jelly or fat better than the normal range.....BRILLIANT!!!

I also buy Basic muffins they are always more fresher and softer than the named products. :j

tanmu

Oh yeah, I also use the basics flour, aubergines, courgettes, pancake/batter mix, lasagne sheets (n=but NOT the spaghetti) tinned peaches, fishfingers, white and dark chocolate (for baking), butter and sometimes the crisps..I don't like the frozen mixed veg at all - it's all broken up like crumbs, and lots of carrot tops and black spots on cauliflower

treforsouthwell

Sainbury's have a basics body wash, well hidden but it's only around 10p per packet and it's just as good as the £1 stuff!

simplydevine05

We've tried a huge part of the SB range when both myself and OH were out of work last year. I am generally quite fussy about quality as there is also my 2 year old son to feed and I didn't want him fed junk sdo as to speak. Even now our finances are better there are still items I get in basics. So here's my run down:

All fresh fruit and veg I've found very good, however a lot of it these days is more expensive than the normal stuff. Frozen berry mix is nice too. Other favourites are honey, chocolate mousse, creme caramel, mild cheese (only use for cooking though), white and milk chocolate, all biscuits, fish fingers, salmon trimmings, natural yoghurt, partbake baguettes (although these are really high in calories and fat compared to Sainsburys normal label), noodles (as in Supernoodle type, but these are high in calories too), tortilla chips, fresh apple and orange juice, apple/blackcurrant squash, butter (good for cooking with), kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, frozen white fish fillets, all bacon (in particular the cooking bacon is brilliant for making carbonara), mozzarella, eggs, jelly, stuffing, all wines (although I tend to use them for just cooking these days), jam, rice, ham, ketchup, vinegar (I just use this to fill a shaker bottle up and you can't tell the difference), prawns (although I prefer to cook with them), chocolate mini rolls, small apple pies, mince (however, since starting to buy it from the butchers and then having it again, I have gone off it and find it gristley, but it saw us through), toffees (I used these melted down with butter, cocoa powder and marshmallows for a sauce to mix with cornflakes for buns, but I find them nice alone too), scourers, handwash, chocolate dessert mix (like Angel Delight), frozen chicken portions, all fresh chicken, self raising and plain flour, mint sauce, gammon joints and rounds, fresh olives, corned beef, frozen pork chops, cheese and onion pasties (warmed), vanilla cheesecake, breaded frozen fish, table salt (salt is salt!), tuna (ok for cooking, but it is bitty and hard to drain), trout fillets, salmon fillets, soft cheese (good for mixing with other stuff), diced pork shoulder.

Avoid: most bakery goods I found too dry, chicken roll (mostly skin and even had bits of bone in there), cola and lemonade (tasteless and mostly gas), frozen lamb chops (these days it's mostly bone you get not meat), sausages (there's something a bit too processed about these for my liking), frozen mixed veg, lasange sheets (I just could not get these to soften when cooking), vanilla ice cream (tasteless), frozen mince (even worse than the fresh stuff for fat and gristle).

Oops, got a bit carried away there!

MINI_2

I vote for :-

SB butter, peppers, smoked salmon, tortillas, cream cheese, museli.

Bogof_Babe

I don't know what they have done to their mini swiss rolls, but the ones in the pack I got earlier in the week were crammed full of some sickly white mock cream stuff, with very little jam or sponge. They look nice but are far too sweet and rich.

debbeierm

Great summary list, but don't forget the Basics Eggs. These used to be from caged hens, but are now from hens in barns which are not in cages. They are really good value!

stressedclaire

Penny-less wrote: »

I always buy the basics lettuce. They are usually larger versions of the little gem type lettuce and only about 37p. Really nice. Also a lady who works in our local branch told me that the basic chicken breasts are from the same supplier as the dearer ones - just different sizes.

ah, but are they free range - no! we have to remember chicken welfare as well as looking after our pennies! if we can't afford to eat free range then we shouldn't be eating chicken. we didn't have meat all the time in the old days, often once a week when it could be afforded!

stressedclaire

debbeierm wrote: »

Great summary list, but don't forget the Basics Eggs. These used to be from caged hens, but are now from hens in barns which are not in cages. They are really good value!

ditto my previous quote on chicken - barn chickens are not very happy chickens at all - take a look at hugh's chicken out campaign!