It's getting ridiculous. I did my "main shop" - for just a few things too - in Aldi. It came to £29.10, including £3.49 for a bag of compost. The two priciest things were chicken fillets £3.99 and Cheddar cheese £2.49, oh and cling film £2.39. Strawberries £1.99, Filtered milk £1.75. I got two packs of Loratadine as it's now time to protect my body from various pollens. You are meant to start taking them a month or so before they occur. Then Tesco - wait for it - £47.99!!! Big items there were cat food £14.95 for sachets and biscuits; 5% steak mince (500g) £5.19 and my little Friday bottle of wine, £2.80. Worcester Sauce - special offer, "only" £2. Panadol Advance £2.15 - as Paracetamol are a waste of money and don't work at all for me. Tesco's own Panadol are £1 but I prefer the branded for strength. Tam tells me that Panadol is just Paracetamol under a fancy wrapper but hey, they work. The final bill had £4.48 off for special promotions.
The "little things" were a tin of Apricots, Tissues, Ravioli tins x 2, Peppercorn grinder (£2 on offer), fruit and veg, 4 Ancient Grains rolls for the freezer; Cadbury Caramel bars (on offer) and Diet Coke. They soon add up though. The meat - I would say I would have perhaps 10 meals out of all of it - doesn't seem so expensive when I think it's about £1 a meal, and a bit extra allowing for other ingredients. l have just forced down the other half of the sausage roll from Tuesday, and had the other half of the (lovely) Cornish Pasty for breakfast yesterday. Gabby forgot the cheese, so I have that still in the fridge. It comes to something when a cheap tin of Ravioli (the £1 Tesco ones have actually got tidy ingredients and no nasties) becomes a main meal . . .
I was especially cross as I had a weak moment (and no breakfast as I went out first thing) and bought myself 4 Hot Cross buns but I DID buy ones that were reduced to 84p, only to find them as stale as anything so if I eat them, I will have to toast them. The use by date was today.
I have just been out in the garden, as I went and bought another 5 Raspberry canes whilst they are still about. I should have enough now. I bought an American one, Glen Doll, which are meant to be prolific. I came in to eat, and now it's raining. May put a jacket on later and go and cut right back the shrub by the original compost bunker. There are compost bins behind it, completely covered by the shrub now. The photo shows me digging and weeding around a Plum tree, which now has a nice blanket of aged muck heap. You can see the "pathway" up to the Polytunnel, where I have weeded - and where I haven't got to yet! To the left of it is where I am digging and weeding for the Glen Doll raspberries to be planted. Challenging.
I could hear gunfire up on Sennybridge Ranges, where they train soldiers from around the world. May hear a Chinook in the distance this week too, as there is Operation Agile Warrior 26 taking place over Herefordshire and it was noisy over Leominster last night apparently. Needless to say its about testing our ability to defend the UK in the event of an attack . . .
Round 2 - find the compost bins!
Ta-dah! I am now having an energy-boost with some cheap (59p) Aldi peanuts. There is a LOT more to do there (everywhere, tbh). Good for me though.
I shopped today too and have just realised I forgot celery - annoying. Topped up with diesel - just in case.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd about the different panadols branded and unbranded- they usually have the same ingredients, I thought paracetamol + caffeine. Luckily the cheap Superdrug paracetamol work OK for me.
Keith used to like celery. I am not a fan though will eat it if it is in meals. Diesel here in town at Asda is now £1.54!!! I have just joined an App that Tam recommended, PetrolPrices.com which tells you the cheapest (and dearest) prices in your area.
DeleteWe spent £58 in Aldi, but that included some meat, beer for OH and 2 bottles of wine, plus I stocked up on cleaning items. Across to Morrisons which was £17, Scotts porridge oats (the only ones he will eat), brillo pads, anniversary card, a magazine treat for me. I was very tempted by Hydrangeas in Aldi for £7.99, but resisted. We have the India v England cricket match on, and not doing well. I've planted up a hanging basket with pansies from B&M, a bit of spring cheer by the front door. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe Hydrangeas at Aldi were nice weren't they? I took myself by the scruff too! That hanging basket sounds a great idea - cheers you up no end to have some colour now that winter is hopefully retreating.
ReplyDeleteAt first I wondered why you were buying old bread rolls for the freezer, until my brain cells started working. I understand stale hot cross buns make good bread and butter pudding. We've certainly got the weather for it. I've given up complaining about the price of food, it's still much cheaper than it was in Crete even in the city supermarket though I'm planning to shop in Lidl next time which will be cheaper. I always check the reduced section in Morrisons though it is often full of processed food which we don't eat. I don't buy meat for myself which helps keeps the costs down.
ReplyDeleteNo, I hope those rolls are fresh and will stay that way! I am not a great fan of bread and butter pudding but in the meantime, have decided to give the birds a treat. These were way beyond staleness for the sell-by date. Like plus a week! I check the reduced shelves/chiller too, and sometimes there is something worth having, but when it is only a 20p reduction on something originally £4.50, I would go with the fresher full price item if I wanted it.
ReplyDeleteI checked my store online and here out of season fresh strawberries are $3.50/ pound [16 oz] in USD, which seems to convert to L2.61. Tho we maybe aren't comparing weights equally. The ground beef or "mince'' was hard to judge as prices here vary wildly. But I think groceries here, admittedly greater NYC prices, are as much as double your prices.
ReplyDeleteSugar in US bread: I did have a loaf of potato bread from when I was ill; I never usually eat bread except the rare bakery loaf. The sliced bread says it has 2 grams of sugar per slice and it seems that = a half teaspoon. Hard to imagine. That said, it does not taste sweet to me, or much like anything, but it's soft and pleasant w a soft boiled egg when one is very ill.
Your strawberries are very cheap. Here I got just 227grams (half a pound) for half a pound (8 oz). The ground beef is a good quality one with just 5% fat. Some cheaper trays have 20% fat - that's nearly 1/4 of the tray fat instead of meat. The sweet US bread has come from a chap with a Facebook account (Kalani Ghost Hunter) and he is over here a lot and thinks our food so much better, tastier and bread NOT sweet at all. He LOVES British cheese too.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try your breads and cheeses.
DeleteI almost want to cry every time I go grocery shopping. Meat is a ridiculous price here in Canada and I am pretty sure things will just keep on going up. Being ill probably does not help as I am ready to cry at the slightest thing.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Oh Jackie, I didn't know you were ill. Sending (((Hugs))). Rest up and get well soon. I see prices for food are high everywhere. When I was in NZ I was horrified at the price of everything.
DeleteOur food prices (Canada) are horrendous. Groceries including meat and toiletries but not pet food comes to about 100 pounds a week for two people. I am a careful shopper and rarely allow myself a treat. We eat beans twice a week and sardines once to keep prices down. I have no idea how families are coping. I fear children are receiving poor nutrition because their parents can't afford protein and good quality vegetables. Yesterday a small cauliflower was the equivalent of four pounds-crazy. I will be allowing myself a chocolate bar on Thursdays because I have just started a language course on that day and it is a big challenge. I'm not sure whether to eat it before or after class.
ReplyDeleteYes, the poorer families must really struggle. That is a crazy price for a cauliflower. I paid 90 pence for one last week. They were £2.50 in the posh shop!, but they are locally grown and very fresh.
ReplyDeletePerhaps choccy bar after the class? Sorry you will be worrying about the course.
I spend far too much on groceries but what the heck! Twenty years ago, my shopping basket for three adults cost less than half the weekly shop for one does today. And worse it is going to get now, thanks to the Tangerine Temper Tantrum Toddler.
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous how much groceries have gone up - they used the excuse of Covid to hike the prices and they never went down again. £1.80 for a tin of Heinze soup - yet if you buy 5, they drop to £1 each . . . and they are still making a good profit on that.
DeleteWhole-wheat bread in US supermarkets is always sweet, I guess because Americans won’t eat healthful foods unless well disguised???
ReplyDeleteSaw an article in the Guardian the other day about likely beef price-fixing by the 4 big companies that supply 85% of all beef to American consumers…
I guess you didn't have a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall or Jamie Oliver to show up what is wrong with supermarket foods - UPF (Ultra Processed Foods).
DeleteI am not surprised about a ring of 4 to fix beef prices . . .
Yes, food prices are alarming and there’s only so much cutting back can be done, we have to eat, thank goodness for a bit of growing and making our own, although gardening can be a pricey business…….moan over!
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
You're right about only so much cutting back. I do get myself some treats but balance that against being frugal with other things and always trying to make my own meals.
DeleteHappily the normal cheap paracetamol tablets work for me, it's a good job as I go through four packs a week. The Dr usually asks me if I want them added to my repeat prescription at my annual review, but I found out that it costs the NHS a LOT more to buy them than the supermarket ones cost me. It's definitely time to start tidying the garden a bit now isn't it, I'm glad you 'found' the compost bin. :-)
ReplyDeleteGosh, that's a lot of painkillers. I have had a break from the garden for 2 days now so will get back to it tomorrow.
DeleteI have reduced my grocery budget by buying only basic ingredients and cooking from scratch. If it is Ultra Processed it does not go into the shopping trolley. I buy nothing labelled low fat, no packs of snacks, no fizzy drinks. Crisps are not food. I try to buy and cook the healthy meals my Mum and Granny cooked which got them through the years of rationing and austerity. The freezer is a great help, I can buy more economical, family size and special offers on meat and freeze it in portions.
ReplyDeleteI make good bread from basic ingredients in the breadmaker, more economically than the cheapest supermarket UPF sliced stuff.
Ah, I do like my fizzy drinks (smack wrists). HOme made bread takes some beating. I made a pizza last night which will do me four meals and it only cost pennies.
DeleteAddendum. Two words, Postage Stamps.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, pony express would be cheaper . . .
DeleteThe own brand always work for me. I always match up the active ingredients and never had an issue.
ReplyDeleteI took two Paracetamol for a VERY sore hip at Malvern and they made absolutely NO difference. I've since put a pack of Panadol in the car.
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