First Saturday in May, Featuring A Book , Additives and A Bank Holiday

 What a glorious week of sunny weather we have had here in Suffolk with record temperatures for the time of year in some places. The trees are all wonderful different  greens and  I watch the limes and poplars  over the road on the edge of the graveyard changing every day. 

In the garden the ornamental Beech is bright lime green compared to the dark green and blue of the Ceanothus beside it  

 

The last of my April library books was a lovely book that was mentioned on a blog - probably by Debby at 'Life's Funny Like That' in the US, it's something I would never have read without a recommendation, but I'm glad I did.

Elif Shafak - There are Rivers in the Sky. A magical story that brings together different times in history all linked by water. In ancient Ninevah hidden in the sand are fragments of a long lost poem. In Victorian London, an extraordinary child is born on the mud banks of the Thames. In Turkey in 2014 Narin, a Yazidi girl living by the Tigris and her grandmother travel through war torn lands to reach the sacred valley of their people. In London in 2018,  Zaleekhah, a hydrologist, moves to a houseboat on the Thames after the break up of her marriage. 

Very clever story and so well written.

 

After the post about foods and which countries we import from I was fiddling about on t'internet and came across details of this additive butylated hydroxytoluene which apparently is banned in some countries. It's added to some breakfast cereals by Kelloggs - but not in this country.

Then up popped an article about the '10 foods Americans love eating that are banned in other countries' .HERE .

Here's something I'd never heard of...........

Mountain Dew: This citrus-flavoured soft drink is popular across the U.S., but it contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO), an emulsifier that has been banned in Japan and the European Union. BVO is also used in flame retardants, and its presence in food has been linked to health issues like memory loss and nerve damage.

Goodness! Reading too much about additives is frightening! 

We've only just had Easter and now another Bank Holiday weekend for 'May Day' . Not sure what I'm doing but  the council are giving away bags of compost today so I may head up the road early to collect some - limited to two bags per car. 

There's the second open afternoon of a Bluebell wood at a private house and park a few miles away tomorrow. I tried to go last Sunday but found a massive queue of cars  half a mile from the entrance so did a turn around and came home again - what a crowd there would have been in the woods. Not sure I shall bother, I've got Bluebells here after all although mine aren't the native ones and there isn't a wood full of them!

On Monday there are several May Day events - but they'll all be busy and family/couple orientated  which puts me off, so maybe it will just be the extra boot-sale and home to watch the final frames of the World Snooker Championship which I've been following and enjoying for the last two weeks.

Have a good weekend, the forecast is for much cooler than last week which will please some people although I've loved it.

Back Next Week

Sue

Do We Import Any Food from the USA?

 A few weeks ago with all the tariff  hoo-ha I thought I'd look in my cupboards and see which food products I have that are U.S produced. (Just in case our government slapped tariffs on US produce in retaliation, although since then  I've lost track of what tariffs everyone is paying as it has changed and then changed again, and food probably isn't involved anyway)

That made me realise just how vague some labelling is as many things just say 'Produced For Aldi/Morrisons' or wherever, with no country of origin . Some items say Non EU product and others just 'Packaged in UK'.  A bag of mixed nuts says 'Produce of Many Countries'.

 There was half a jar of cranberry sauce in the fridge which said cranberries come from US, Canada or Chile. Seems most dried fruit comes from Turkey. A tin of corned beef comes from Brazil. Canned Pineapple from the Philippines

Many things are British - butter, flour, sugar, milk and much of the meat I buy comes from a Suffolk village not far away. At the moment most ordinary veg is British but the 'hungry gap' is still to come. Apples will soon be coming from New Zealand as our own stored apples come to an end until September. 

Interesting but inconclusive. 

Back Soon

£50 February? A Post That's Hung Around For Months!

Do you remember No/Low Spend November? (probably not). Then came Decadent December(which wasn't) followed by Just Stay In January(which was) and during Just Stay in January I had a brilliant idea for good alliteration for  February ................£50 February!

I worked out a shopping list and menus................

Shopping List Aldi   

1.5Kg Strong White bread Flour £1.09 (Makes 3 loaves using 400g each and pizza bases using 300g)

2 wholemeal sliced -Bread @47p  94p 

Pasta 41p                                                                                                                                                      

2 x 4 pt milk@ £1.45. £2.90                                                                         

2.5kg wonky potatoes £1.49 

1kg carrots 49p

Cucumber 89p

1 fresh pepper 59p                                                                   

12 chipolatas 1.79   

Fresh medium chicken £4.15. Breasts and one leg removed and frozen. Rest roasted  and carcass used for stock for soup and meat bits for chicken and veg pie.

2 x tin sardines @52p £1.04                                                                   

2 x tin toms @39p 78p

500g Essentials grated cheese 2.99

250g Mature grated cheddar £2.19                                                             

4 x 6 mini apples @ 99p £3.96

Basics mini Plum toms 69p

4 x pineapple tins @  79p  £3.16

4 tins cheap peaches @ 39p  £1.36

Tomato puree tube 59p

1 tin baked beans 28p

Stuffing mix 45p

2 sachets yeast 45p

Frozen peas 99p

Frozen Broccolli £1.19

Marmalade 79p

Gravy mix 62p

Mozzarella Ball 69p

2 x 35p instant noodles 70p

1 stir fry sauce 55p

                                                                          

Asda

1.5kg Plain Flour 80p  

Willow spd 1.10

Baking spread £1 

Lard 50p

2 x Half dozen Eggs @£1 = 2.00 (roadside stall)

Tesco

onion 5x 11p 

Sainsburys cheap 'cooking' bacon 500g. divided  4 portions £1

Which adds up to just over £46.....I think, I didn't double check.

Main Meals

2    warm pasta salad fish ( pasta, 2 tin fish, fresh toms, cucumber)

2    pasta with tom & onion sauce (1 tin toms, 1onion, part pepper) +cheese

2    pizza (flour, yeast, Topping = 1 tin toms strained , onion, tom puree, cheese, mozzerella) 

 8   two quiche  ( 6 eggs/ 2 bacon, fresh toms, grated cheese, milk)

8   chicken (2 roasts legs, 2 breasts -stir fry (carrot, onion, pepper, noodles), 2 soup, 2 chicken and veg pie)

2   Toad in hole (1 egg) flour, 4 chipolatas

2   scotch eggs (6 chipolatas 2 eggs + 1 to coat)

1   egg, bacon, fresh tomatoes

1   tom soup( juice from 1 tin toms, grated carrot, onion, tom puree)

----------

28

Breakfast -  toast home made bread

Other meal

Sandwich and fruit

I even bought a couple of things and took some photos of items from the list that I had in the cupboard anyway...............

                                                                                  

BUT.............. I had lots of meals I'd batch made in the freezer that needed be used, and things left from Christmas that really needed eating. Then I used half  the packet of stuffing mix plus nuts that were in the cupboard which needed using PDQ to make a nut loaf.

And THEN it was the end of February and in the freezer there were still chipolatas from Christmas, some of the last of the chicken breast meat bought months ago and my home made veg curry and a couple of pizza toppings.

And the freezer really needed emptying and defrosting before the weather warmed up.

So...............it just never seemed the right time to get started!

Which is why £50  February  became  Maybe March? (didn't happen!) or even Attempt in April? (no) or Might be May!! (doubt it) but more likely it is Just Give Up in June!

Back Soon

Sue

Lots of Cheap Fruit and Vegetables - But Were They a Bargain?

Before Easter when all the supermarkets were doing their special vegetable Easter bargains I went into town via Lidl for a change as they were the only place doing the cheap green beans for 15p and much to my surprise they had a Lidl cheap fruit/veg box which I'd never seen before and people I know who shop there regularly had also never seen one. It had a dozen apples, small green cabbage, small broccoli and a pomegranate  for £1.50. I also got their special offer parsnips.

From Aldi  I got the special offer carrots 8p. Cucumbers were on offer reduced to 59p ,mini plum tomatoes 62p and a bag of salad for 69p (normal price for toms and leaves). I'd intended to get the 8p broccoli but it looked very old and yellow so didn't bother.  

A pomegranate is something that has never featured in my food buying and when I sorted out the seed bits and found they were rock hard and un-edible I just squeezed out the juice for a small drink. 

The green beans were only edible for one meal as by the next day they'd gone spotty brown. The apples are OK but not the tastiest or crispest I've eaten.

The parsnips were cut, blanched and frozen and as usual I removed things from their plastic bags and put in the salad drawer in between tea towels or in a dish/ tub with a piece of kitchen roll underneath. Salad bits were eaten over the weekend when family were here and everything else is keeping well for this week.

So although some things were  a good bargain others didn't live up to expectations. Plus to make up for the cheap veg Aldi had put milk up to £1.55 for 4 pints  - that's 10p more than last week and I bet it doesn't go down again.

Back Soon

Advent 2024 and Tempting Shelves and Bargain Veg.

 It's no wonder people spend more than normal at Christmas time when the shelves are full of specially packaged food that looks so festive.

Everything is Christmassy red. This is Aldi but all the supermarkets have their aisles of Seasonal items, tons of chocolates everywhere. This was yesterday, so still plenty left for Christmas.

Have to say the thought of Pumpkin flavoured coffee doesn't get  me excited!

I went to Aldi to get the bargain pre-Christmas Veg. Despite feeling guilty, as I expect they've cut the price paid to farmers too. But at least it's all British ( apart from the broccoli which I discovered comes from Spain).

Broccoli, carrots, parsnips and potatoes all just 8p a bag! Some years I can't take advantage of these specials as I've needed them a week before, and being on my own a bag of carrots lasts me two or three weeks, and potatoes last me more than a month,  but this time it's worked out just right. I don't buy extra to freeze either - it wouldn't be worthwhile. 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Price Rises 1 Year On.

  The book I read recently 'Across a Waking Land; A 1,000 Mile Walk Through a British Spring' (it's been very useful for blog posts!) begins

 just as Russia invades Ukraine and the author says he thinks this will have a really serious affect on food supplies and prices. It certainly has, coupled with the long term effects of Covid (higher costs after the slowdown of manufacturing etc ) and Brexit (difficulty in getting foreign workers for harvesting and packing). 

Luckily I could check out how much prices had changed because last year in March I was doing  the 'Eating Basics Challenge' and had photos of shopping with prices. This is just one week - an average sort-of shop.

What I wrote a year ago and the prices then. New prices at the end of March 2024 in RED . 

Milk down 10p, chicken thighs the same. Everything else is up in price, fruit and vegetables by more.

AL Bread 39p (20 slices and 2 crusts) I divided these into 5 x 4 slices and the two crusts and popped all but one in the freezer. Now 45p

AL British Chicken Thighs 1kg = 7 = £2.85 Wrapped individually and frozen .SAME

AL Pears 97p (They were on offer at 30% off) NOW £1.69

AS Back Bacon 300g =£1.40 ( I wanted to buy their cheaper 'Cooking Bacon Pieces' at 90p but not in stock) NO ESSENTIALS RANGE  ANYMORE so 300g now £2.25

AS Pineapple pieces 49p  NOW 71p

AL 2 Pints milk £1.30 (Makes up to 4 pints when mixed half and half with water) £1.20

AS Grated Cheese 500g = £2.60 I have NEVER EVER bought grated cheese before - lazy - except the crazy thing is that this is cheaper than a block of cheese at the moment so for this experiment it works. NOW £2.99 

AS Head of Broccoli 34p NOW 79p

AL 1kg Carrots 50p NOW 65p

AL 500g Parsnips 50p  NOW 65p

AL 6 Mini Apples 59p NOW 99p

A year ago the total was £11.93 - NOW £15.22

We certainly are paying the price for all the things that have happened in the last 7 years. 

I wish I knew for sure that farmers are benefitting from the price increases - but I doubt they are .

Back Tomorrow

Sue

And The Final Food Shop of February..............

 ......from someone who never wanted to be a food blogger! but sometimes is short of ideas for blog posts...........

Once I was sure the floods had subsided I did the final February shop which came to exactly £29. After the third shop someone said I'd not spent much this month but this tops up my February food total to £114.70 which is a little below average for an ordinary month.

This last shop of the month was a pot of parsley (79p, for dividing and planting out later), cabbage, carrots, apples, pears and grapes. Cheese, butter and Stork for cakes; Icing and castor sugar, yeast, cashews, pack of three small boxes of apple juice (always in the cupboard for grandchildren); a jar of Malt Extract so I can see what a malt loaf made in the bread maker is like and finally a pound of sausages from the proper butchers, which will be split into twos before freezing. 

Proper sausages are quite expensive so nowadays I make two sausages feed me for two days- one day one sausage goes into a toad-in-the-hole and the next day the other sausage makes two sausage rolls. Every time I do this it reminds me of my Mum saying about our old neighbours that "they are so mean they only have one sausage each!". Two each was the norm in our house.

I don't buy sugar from Aldi - where most of my shopping came from - as I'm not sure of it's origin but at Asda they have Silver Spoon which is made in Suffolk or Norfolk. 

On the other hand Aldi have more British fresh veg than anywhere else. We've got to do more to support our farmers.

I don't eat much meat nowadays but last week had an odd wish for an old fashioned stew and dumplings, something I've not made for probably 10 years. So maybe March's meat purchase will be some stewing steak or even better some neck of lamb chops - I bet I'll get a shock when I find the price!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

The Third Food Shop of February

 The 3rd food shop of February happened - before floods-  and I actually bought some meat.

The third shop was Feta, a tin of sardines, apples, pears, a head of broccoli, sultanas, chicken thighs and bacon and a leek off the market - which is the only place to buy one at a time. Not in the photo are fish fingers which I keep in the freezer for grandchildren. Total spend £16.88.

I always buy chicken as a pack of thighs, divide them into packs of two before freezing. Sometimes I buy a pack of two chicken breasts and cut each in half, wrap and freeze for stir fries and fajitas. This time it was 1Kg of thighs which was 8, for £2.85. I cook two at a time - one to eat hot and one cold.

The bacon is Aldi Essentials range which is quite thick and large slices.  1kg pack of bacon (£4.29) is split into packs of two rashers before freezing which is what I need for a quiche, a leek and bacon pilaff, a good bacon sandwich or to eat with fritters. This makes 7 packs. It will be several weeks before I need either chicken or bacon again.

Total food spend in February so far £78.07 + the fancy farm shop pie and a dozen eggs (which I had to buy from a shop as I'd not been swimming so hadn't passed the farm stall) = £85.70

Back Tomorrow

Sue

A Pie From a Farm Shop

 On the last of my vegetarian taste tests Tasker in Yorkshire mentioned buying vegetarian pasties from a farm shop - "now that's an idea" I thought and as I was near an 'award winning' farm shop when taking the Mustard Pot photo I popped in to see what they had. 

This is what I found and really explains why farm shops in Suffolk are for people who don't need to look at the price! and why I won't be buying another from there.

Small Sweet Potato, Spinach and Feta pie. This was £3.65. - that seemed a lot for one small pie.

Made by a company called Country Pies from near Ipswich. Unfortunately their ingredient list is as long as a pie made in a big factory anywhere.

Here you go.........................Homemade pastry(fortified flour(wheat flour, maize flour, calcium, iron, vitamin b1,vitamin b3) margarine (palm and rapeseed oil, water, salt, natural flavourings) water), puff pastry (wheat flour (calcium, iron , niacin, thiamine) margarine (palm and rapeseed oil, water, salt) water, salt, preservative e202, sweet potato 25%, vegetable stock (salt, modified maize starch, hydrolysed vegetable protein (soya colour e150), flavour enhancer  e621, non hydrogenated rapeseed oil, sugar  dried tomato, flavouring (contains wheat, barley) yeast extract, dried onion, dried spinach, colour e150c, pepper extract (salt, spice extract, herb extract) ground nutmeg, acidity regulator citric acid) béchamel sauce (modified maize starch, wheat flour, palm fat, maltodextrin, skimmed milk powder, sugar, salt lactose (milk), milk protein, yeast extract, sunflower oil, flavourings (milk) citric acid, onion) feta cheese (milk), spinach, pepper, salt, egg.

I nearly lost the will to live typing that!! so many parenthesis or are they brackets?

Do not confuse brackets [ ] with parentheses ( ). Parentheses are used to enclose additional information in your own writing; brackets are editorial marks used to insert comments into someone else's words that you are quoting, or to insert material into a passage already in parentheses.

It had more filling than the Lidl pies I tried but the overall taste was just pepper. I know many of the ingredients used are necessary for safety, but it still seemed rather a long list.

I've still got 3 home made vegetable bakes , that were made in January,  in the freezer so I need to eat those rather than trying anything else from supermarket or farm shop! Then I'll be making more of my own.

(Note to self - don't get side-tracked into things by comments on the blog!)

Apologies for not replying to all comments. I'm not opening the laptop in the evenings as I've got such a huge heap of library books!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Tulips Again, Shopping and Books

 The daffodils at Aldi looked as if they'd been packed in a box for weeks so I left them where they were and dithered by the flower stall on the market. Daffs or Tulips, Tulips or Daffs?

The tulips were gorgeous colours - so tulips it was. If it's grey skies all week I have a bit of colour right beside me in the living room.

Second shopping trip in February and another week of replacing things used, to build up a useful store in the freezer and cupboards (prep for being snowed in for weeks or WWIII!?) Cabbage, tomatoes, pears, apples and grapes. Butter and Willow spread, cheese and milk. I'm building up a stock of ground coffee to use in my new machine, so 3 different packs. I looked for savoury biscuits to eat with cheese that had the fewest ingredients and came home with Aldi oatcakes. Also there are a packet of cashews, two sachets of cheese sauce powder, a jar of olives and the tube of 'guilty pleasure' Pringles....sometimes I just crave something crunchy!

Not in the photo are two packs of frozen sweet potato chips/fries - they went straight into the freezer.

 Still  no meat as I'm still eating mostly my batch made meals from the freezer, and only a couple of things that could be called a UPF. Total spend £30.17

I picked up two books from the For Sale shelves in Stowmarket library. They sell off old books and get books donated to sell too.. On the left Rumer Godden - Peacock Spring. I know I read Greengage Summer many moons ago and I just liked the cover of this one. On the right is a follow up to Ring of Bright Water, which I was sure I'd read but it's not in my Book-of-Books-Read. Maybe we read it at school?  But I have read Island of Dreams by Dan Boothby which is all about Maxwell and his home and writing.

Wordle Tuesday = SCRAM in 2 = well chuffed! 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Weird Weeks Shopping?

 Over the years there have been lots of TV programmes where experts 'spy' on peoples weekly shopping trolley and then surprise them and make them own up to all the 'bad' things they've bought. I remember several series of Gregg Wallace and Chris Bavin - Eat Well - Spend Less and recently Michael Mosley - Secrets of Your Big Shop.

 This is either done to help them save money or eat better or both. Nearly always a family who want to change something and their big shop sometimes has lots of fizzy drinks and crisps but it has all the things they need for meals. 

I've often wondered why none of these programmes feature one retired person.

So I photographed my last weeks shopping and wondered what on earth an 'expert' would make of it. There's no main things for meals, but lots of milk. Nothing makes sense at all.

 There are pears, apples, grapes and lemons. Cauliflower, carrots and potatoes. Butter and Willow spread and bread flour. Milk and cashews and mixed nuts and raisons. Mayo and cheese, a pack of six mini naans and some cooking chocolate for cake making. 

A very weird selection for a weeks shopping, but I've lots of batch made meals in the freezer. Fruit is bought  for the week  and vegetables for two or more weeks and everything else is to replace things used. Extra milk for the freezer as I'd got plenty of room. It all came to £31.02. Another week will be completely different and would tell a TV programme nothing at all!

I'd love to be analysed!

 

Back Tomorrow

Sue

Last Saturday in February

First of all  thank you for all the comments yesterday and apologies to all the people who took  me far too seriously - Suffolk sense of humour is odd I admit, but I'm not becoming a total recluse - only dropping one WI meeting! Also apologies for not replying and thank you to everyone for reading - I'll keep writing while everyone keeps reading!

Swimming this week was lovely and quiet - despite it being an ordinary public session as opposed to a dedicated lane swimming session there were just 3 other people going up and down - all faster than me! But I did my half hour and felt better for it.

I thought having a water meter would cut my water and sewer charges and it certainly has but it now means that I have to read the meter after the estimated bills arrive (Monday - both at once), get through on the phone - twice. Give both companies the reading - because it was much lower than the estimate - and wait for new bill to arrive for water usage although I was able to pay for the sewer over the phone. 

The electric was off for a planned outage on Wednesday. I decided it would be a good time to do next months shopping - which sounds very odd but I have a cunning plan to see how easy/cheaper/doable it would be to live for a few weeks on just the Essential/ Basic/Value ranges which have appeared in all the supermarkets (I used Aldi, Asda and Morrisons and bought store-cupboard stuff and frozen for now). Youngest Daughter said she shops online using all the value range from one shop and if they don't have it in stock sometimes it gets upgraded without paying more. Although she said " DON'T try the sausages!"

I had lunch out for a treat and got home, sorted all the shopping, made notes for the future and as the house was beginning to feel chilly I lit the wood-burner and just as it was getting going the electric came back and the boiler clicked on - if I'd have known it was going to do that I needn't have lit the fire!

(BTW Aldi and Morrisons both had tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers - no shortages here despite the dire life or death warnings! I didn't notice what Asda had). 

This week I've been grateful for

• A nice quiet swim
• An interesting morning of slow shopping
• My peaceful Suffolk life
• Plenty of reading

 

Recently read.......The Very Good Classic, the Long Lost Old Crime and the Bordering onto Rubbish!

It's a pity the Whitstable Pearl books have got sillier as I thought the first few were OK - now they've started to be televised perhaps she is writing with a view to what will become good TV. If they ever get on free TV I doubt I'll be watching.

Whatever you are doing this weekend - hope it's a good one. Last Saturday there were several things happening around here - too many to get to. This weekend there is nothing in the diary. Although Six Nations Rugby is back on TV to enjoy.

 

I shall be back Monday.

Sue

Heading Through February at a Rush

 All sorts of random stuff in this weeks round up..............

But first........... thanks to everyone for Sparrow comments yesterday

 I've mostly been reading and then some more reading. With 15 library books and my Crime Classics book subscription  to get through it seemed best to get on with it. I don't need much persuasion to swap housework for reading!

Although the car got a much needed wash and inside tidy - a puzzle book and map in a side pocket had gone mouldy from damp which is a mystery. Hope there isn't a leak round the door.

Then I went shopping and everything had gone up in price yet again, 20p and 30p at a time. I don't always look at the middle aisle of Aldi where they have their food specials but noticed this and I love beetroot, fresh preferably, but not at all when it's vacuum packed and squidgy or pickled in really strong vinegar. This new pickled beetroot is a 'Winterberry' flavour and wasn't too strong at all. I wonder if it's something they'll stock or perhaps never to be seen again - you can't really tell with Aldi. But I noticed they had bread flour back for the first time since Ukraine was invaded.

When I moved in here there were several Hebes, a shrub I dislike as it makes me feel odd looking at it - the Hebe Geebies! one was in the back border and died the first year, one is out the front and is doing OK and two were under the back living room window but they were both  'got' by the hard frosts we had in December so this week I removed them without any guilt.

The previous owners spent a lot of money on plants just to get it looking good ready for selling, but many things they planted, especially the smaller plants aren't doing well. The back garden is surrounded by 6 foot  fences but instead of making it sheltered it seems to be a frost pocket and doesn't get a lot of sun in winter. I want to get a couple more big evergreen shrubs for the border, to hide the neighbouring houses and probably loose some of the small stuff that isn't flourishing or spreading.

Looking forward to a second hand book sale this weekend. There's a craft sale and coffee morning too but how to do 3 things at the same time in 3 different villages?!

I'll be back Monday

Sue

 

 

Comparison Shopping is Such Fun!

 It was interesting to do the Aldi/Morrisons comparison last month, in fact so much fun that I thought I would do it again!

Aldi and Asda in Stowmarket this time. And I was so right about February's food spending being amazingly low as by the time I'd shopped at both (Asda had things I needed that Aldi don't stock) I'd spent ⅔ of what I spent in the whole of February! But hopefully I now don't need to shop for much other than fresh stuff for the rest  of this month.🤞.......I always think this fingers crossed emoji looks a bit like a chicken drumstick!

This time I've  failed at writing all the Asda comparison prices down - Duh. Can't remember who the youtuber was (he got mentioned last time I did this) who does this sort of thing for a living - but he obviously has more patience than me!

This is most of the Aldi shop - I didn't photograph what I got from Asda as I was in a hurry to get everything put away so I could have my lunch.

 

 

I've not worked it out completely nor listed everything this month. There was some stuff from Asda that Aldi don't have(or I didn't find or forgot to look for).

Aldi                                                   compared with                     Asda

650g Chicken Breast    £3.49                                                 1kg = £5.35

Tin Corned Beef           £1.79                                                           £2.00

Frothy Coffee Sachets  £0.79                                      Nescafe        £1.50

Soft 'marge' for cakes* £0.75                                     Stork              £1.50

Pasta                             £0.29                                                           £0.29

Bread Flour                  £0.59                                                                ?

Yeast                            £0.59                                                             £0.79

Hot X Buns*                £0.89                                                               ?

Bread Burger Rolls(4)  £0.75                                                      (6) £0.99

Tortilla Chips               £0.45                                                                ?

Pringles*                      £1.65                              35g bigger            £2.00

Distilled Vinegar          £0.29                                   Sarsons             £1.24

Ex-Mature cheese         £1.79                                                            £2.00

Milk  2pt                       £0.95                                                            £0.95    

2   Bananas*                 £0.28                       1kg         £0.95            £0.25p

500g Carrots                 £0.27                      1kg         £0.43              £0.21

Sm. Potatoes500g        £0.62                      1kg         £0.85               £0.42

Aubergine                     £0.69                                                            £0.69

Cucumber                     £0.43                                                            £0.45

Braeburn Apples           £1.19                                                           £0.99

Lettuce *                       £0.43                                                           £0.46

*Haven't tried Aldis own make of cake making "marge" before - I'll see how it compares to Stork - which makes excellent sponge cakes.

*I know it's not Easter! but these are handy to keep in the Freezer - they fill a hungry Grandchild better than anything else .

*Pringles ....Tut -although  I do eat them as part of a meal and a tube lasts me quite a while.

*Bananas. Priced individually in Aldi and have gone up 1p each since last month.

*Iceberg lettuce- not my favourite lettuce in the  world but they are much cheaper than anything else and weight for weight are a bargain.

 Also from Aldi I bought another veggie frozen "thing" to try - (future taste test post), 

From Asda I  bought some smoked Mackerel fillets (forgot to look for these in Aldi) and some small Frozen salmon steaks, a 3kg bag of Allinsons Strong Bread flour as I've found the Aldi bread flour is best mixed with something of better quality to get a good loaf from my breadmaker, cooking chocolate and fajita seasoning which I couldn't find in Aldi. Small plum tomatoes too as I missed them in Aldi. 

Asda also have the Nescafe decaf frothy coffee sachets not available in Aldi. One thing I noticed had shot up in price was a jar of Hellmans Mayo - I tried Aldi own brand a while ago and it wasn't nice at all so reverted back to the best. I don't use it often (warm pasta salads, egg mayo sandwich) so the great ol' jar of 800g will last me months and it will need to at the shocking price of £3.29! ......looked it up later and it would have been cheaper at Morrisons ..........ho hum.

 

March Meals........................There are still several things from the pre-Christmas stash and February's shop in the freezer. I started off the month by making a quiche again, which provides me with 4 meals that don't seem repetitive if served with something different each day.The aubergine is going to make a batch of aubergine and tomato sauce for pasta(probably 4 portions); Mackerel fillets (2) also going with pasta in a warm pasta salad. The Chicken breasts have been halved and frozen making 6 meals - in tortilla wraps for one and others I've not decided on yet. ( I may go back to jointing and freezing a whole fresh chicken next time I need chicken meat - probably June shop)

 

The results of  this months comparison are not as clear cut as last months Aldi/Morrisons test. Several things in Asda work out cheaper than Aldi whereas last month Morrisons was more expensive nearly all the time (although Asda often only have larger packs for a family rather than a single person). 

 

All jolly good fun............... what shall I compare next month?

 

Back Tomorrow

Sue                                                      

I Needn't Have Bothered!

 Thank you to Lyssa Medana for the link to this  shopping comparison

it's fascinating although "slightly" more complicated  than my effort  ....and I thought I had too much time on my hands!!.....I'm guessing he does this for a living.

I needn't have bothered!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

So is the TV Ad Correct?

 There's often an ad on TV with the price of a trolley load of shopping from Aldi compared to a trolley load from one of the bigger supermarkets (Asda or Tesco) - I can't remember which.

The trolleys are very full to almost overflowing - a ton of shopping - lots of branded things in the Asda/Tesco trolley compared to Aldi's own brand. I think the ad says the Aldi trolley full costs one third less than the big supermarket price - £60 compared to £90 - or something similar.

So that's for a big family shop but what about in real life for 1 person, especially as prices seem to be shooting up everywhere. Investigation needed

. I went to Aldi first with my shopping list and bought everything they had from my list. Then I went to Morrisons with my list and a pen to write down their prices (I didn't want to buy everything twice!) and to buy the things Aldi didn't have.

 

 A normal sort of big shop for 1 person (well normal for me)

 

 

Here we go

 

                                    Aldi price                                          Morrisons Price 

6 Braeburn apples           £1.19                                                 £1.59

2 Bananas                            26p                                                     28p                                                

Conference Pears            £1.49 (4)                                            £1.50 (6) on offer

Punnet of Red Grapes       £1.49                                                   £1.99

Carrots   500g                     28p                                                      29p

Broccoli                               47p                                                      46p

Baby Plum Toms                 59p                                                     59p

Baby Charlotte Potatoes      62p                                                     75p

Cucumber                             43p                                                    45p(on offer)

Butternut Squash               -------                                                 £1.25

Lettuce(2 little gem)            49p                                                  ------------

Onions                                  69p                                                      69p

Savoy Cabbage                    43p                                                      39p(on offer)

 

Extra Mature Cheese        £1.79                                                    £2.00

Greek Salad Cheese             75p                                                    £1.35

Paneer Cheese                 ----------                                                 £1.60

Unsalted butter                  £1.48                                                   £1.48

2 pints whole Milk          ----------                                                      95p

 

Bread Flour                          59p                                                   £1.00

Self Raising Flour                 45p                                                      65p

Tin Plum Tomatoes               28p                                                     45p

Jar Pitted Olives                    49p                                                  £1.00

Pack of 8 Frothy Coffee        79p                                                  £1.50

Pasta Penne                           29p                                                       30p

Tube Tomato Puree               31p                                                       65p

Tin Salmon                       £1.49                                                    £2.40

6 Cheese/onion in pastry   £1.19                                                    £1.49                                     

Bacon 300g                     £1.39                                  500g           £2.00 (on offer)                  

Chicken Thighs                £1.79                                                    £2.20

Small Pizza                            49p                                                      65p             

                                                          

TOTAL                         £22.00                         TOTAL                £31.90

 

 If I've added things up correctly.......which is debatable...........

Aldi didn't have any Butternut squash, milk in 2 pint bottles or Paneer cheese. Morrisons had no Little Gem lettuces.

Aldi total when missing things are added using the Morrisons price for the missing items is £25.81

Morrisons total when missing things are added using the Aldi price for the missing items is £32.39 ( but that includes 2 extra pears and 200g more bacon)

Lots of the things here will last me months, especially the meat as I only eat it occasionally,  others will last a couple of weeks and some just a few days. My shopping list is never the same twice as I tend to make a list to replace things I've eaten rather than for the week ahead. I have all sorts of stuff already in the cupboards and freezer and  the sort of meals I will make will be Huge pan squash/veg/paneer curry (usually makes at least 7 portions for the freezer); Chicken and stir fry veg.; Salmon and broccoli bake(4 portions for freezer); Feta(salad cheese) and Pasta salads; Pizza(adding extra topping); Cheese and onion rolls (with a bit of added cheese and heated in the microwave) with veg; Quiche with the bacon, cheese and tomatoes; Chicken and salad.

And if you've got right through this post - well done.

 

Have I proved the ads right or wrong? Perhaps almost right but a different trolley full might not?

 

Although I reckon all I've proved is  I have too much time on my hands!

Back Tomorrow

Sue

PS I was ever so excited to find Aldi's  baby potatoes are from Suffolk!

So Why Was I a Teeny Bit Cross With That Book?

This book........





















 As I said on Saturday, this book by a food blogger is on loan from the library. It's been raved about all over the place and has good reviews. It has menu plans and very delicious recipes for meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans and people who need gluten free. With a photo and prices of the weekly shopping required. EXCEPT when you come to look at the recipe you need other things not mentioned in the shopping list........things like flour, olive oil, spices and balsamic vinegar..............and that's just in week 1. So although it says feed your family for £35 a week you do need a few extras.




But I shan't gripe too much because when I worked out my plan 3 years ago I also used a few things from the cupboard but my weeks outlay was under £20 while in the book each week comes in at MORE than the £35 quoted.

Perhaps spending more than the quote is just sort of authors artistic licence?......or cheating........


But what about now .............2018..... can 2 people eat for £20 for a week......is it possible? (without pulses - which I can't eat and with a few sweet treats ......because I'm bad!).

I tried - using the Mysupermarket price comparison site again - but by golly it's hard. I wanted fruit but that was difficult to factor in, I wanted some meat and cheese and vegetables and breakfast other than porridge. I added up, took things out of the list, swapped some things but still couldn't get under £20. And I know there are people out there managing very well on £10 a week per person..... please could they tell me how? (without using yellow sticker stuff plus NO pulses but with meat, cheese, fruit and veg!)

Then I had a thought.... "light-bulb moment"!................benefits are paid fortnightly so anyone on a tight budget would have two weeks money and could plan two weeks menus which might actually make things easier to work out.

So back to the drawing board...........£40 for 2 people for 2 weeks...........................

That was the  weekend before last when  I was watching Rugby, writing a letter and reading a library book so didn't get round to sorting out a meal plan. Then I tried again this weekend just gone................

How did I get on?
Back Tomorrow
Sue

Feeding 2 People for £20 Back in 2015

 This library book that I collected last week got me remembering a post I did in January 2015 on the old blog.   ..............a purely theoretical look at how to feed 2 people for £20 for a week.

The parameters I set were HERE
I was imagining someone without a garden or access to markets or yellow sticker produce and only able to go to 2 shops. The cupboards were bare except for just a few things including tea and/or coffee.

Old post in italics

So..........£20 to spend/ 2 shops/only a few things in the cupboard/3 meals a day + snacks

My £20 shopping list using the My Supermarket comparison website for Tesco and Aldi

500g value cooking bacon 80p

750g.value beef mince £2.69

400g sausage meat £1

1kg value porridge oats 75p

454g value milk powder £1.15

250g.value butter 95p

250g value baking fat 39p

1.5kg bread flour 75p

1.5kg SR flour 45p

yeast 59p

value eggs (15) £1.25

1kg value rice 40p
value spaghetti 20p

2½ kg potatoes £1.15

celery 69p

1kg carrots 55p

1kg value onions 79p

pkt value mashed potato 28p

2 tins value baked beans 48p

2 tins value tomatoes 68p

2 tins value peas 42p

pkt value stuffing mix 15p

jar value mayo 40p

jar value marmalade 27p
bag of value apples 89p
bag of value pears 89p

TOTAL£19.11

from the cupboard mixed sweet spices and curry powder, sugar, stock cubes, sunflower oil, salt and pepper, tea and coffee for drinks.

This makes

3 loaves bread to have for lunches and toast for breakfast if needed
porridge for breakfasts / and or the toast

some homemade spice biscuits for snacks 

bread and marmalade pudding for one dessert if you need it

main meals

  a bacon/onion quiche feeding 2 people for 2 days,

 a pan full of beef mince/tinned tomatoes/onion/carrot/porridge oats mix to  make 2 portions spag- bol,  2 portions shepherds pie (using the packet of mash to make the potatoes last all week and probably into next week too) and 4 portions to freeze for  2 days next week 

half the sausage meat/half stuffing mix/grated apple/shortcrust pastry makes a sausage plait for 2 portions with veg and some for lunches

a vegetable curry using onions, carrots potatoes and celery
A scalloped potato meal with a little bacon in for flavouring

That's 7 main meals all served with some of the veg either tinned or carrots. I would prefer frozen peas to tinned but that is a bigger outlay.

lunches of 

vegetable soup -twice                          }                     

beans on toast                                       }            With a small piece of fruit each to follow - 

scrambled egg on toast                         }             half a pear or apple each

poached egg on toast                            }              depending on how many were in the pack

bacon sandwich                                    }

sausage plait with grated carrot salad   }

 There would be several things left so that the next week it would be possible to buy

a chicken and cheese instead of the meat

different breakfast cereal instead of porridge for variety

some dried fruit and more veg instead of some of the other buys

The rest of this post is HERE with what people said and also why I wasn't very happy with my menu plan.

So here we are March 2018 and a book with weekly budget menus is in my home - and it got me thinking and planning and researching and finding how prices have changed in 3 years and then getting a bit cross with the book!


To be continued Monday...........................................

Sue

1st PS...... Went to Hospital yesterday for results of  his CT scan and stem cell sampling................There may be problems. Back next week for a biopsy.............No light at the end of the tunnel yet...........hours more treatment ahead.

2nd PS....... Thank you for comments on second-hand shopping yesterday. I'd love to say I never buy new but I don't fancy secondhand knickers!!