M&S food. Rip off or bargain?

[SapphosRock]

I posted last week about doing our weekly food shop in M&S.

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3952990-how-much-would-you-pay-for-this-shopping

I love the quality of food but DP thinks M&S is a rip off. I think it’s a bargain. Today’s weekly shop came to £74.26 - every meal for a family of 2 adults, 1 DC (age 5) and 1 baby (just started weaning).

A few bits were reduced.

Pics show breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So was I ripped off or is this good value?

I find Waitrose far better for selling actual ingredients rather than packaged stuff, if we're talking higher range supermarkets.

I don't think the meat is particularly good quality in Waitrose. Do love a M&S rotisserie chicken, Waitrose aren't great. I do love the Bertinet bakery sourdough in Waitrose - £3.50 a loaf though!

We've had bad experiences recently with fish and chicken that was days before the expiry date that smelled most very definitely 'off', when we went to cook it.

I do love their GF range, their bread, and their fruit and veges.

I wouldn’t mind a grocery shopping thread either. Yes, it’s not the most riveting entertainment, but no one‘s being forced to see it!

I think there’s been some fab reduced items, across all supermarkets since lockdown. I’ve found decent stuff at v low prices that never would have been reduced before - I guess buying habits have changed

I bought this today from Lidl. A whole side of salmon for £8.

I love this thread. Yes my life is that boring just now

When is the best time to go to markies for the yellow stickers then? I find it all a bit hit and miss.

@HavingAMoan

I bought this today from Lidl. A whole side of salmon for £8.

Wow that's a bargain

I think M&S offered good quality, but quite expensive. However, increasingly it seems to be expensive and not great quality - hoping customers won't notice.

Admittedly service stations are expensive but I remember paying almost £5 for a box of iceberg lettuce with a very tiny amount of egg. I wasn't impressed.

I shop at M&S. During lockdown I had some deliveries from Sainsbury’s because we couldn’t get out.
I couldn’t believe how expensive it was.
People think M&S is the expensive supermarket but it isn’t.
I buy their offers and meal deals. They have great reduced items which I freeze.
On balance, M&S weekly shop is cheaper.

I don’t have a huge family though. That will make a difference I’m sure.

Was thinking of starting a yellow sticker thread too, would love nothing more than to see some great supermarket bargains.
Do!!
I love M&S yellow stickers!

I went to M&S earlier today - we had a Sainsbury’s delivery at the weekend, so this was just bits and bobs. It was yellow stickers a-go-go. I got:

Scones
Pita breads (in the freezer)
Salad (we had this with tonight’s dinner, and it was really what I went in for)
Sausages (in the freezer)
Chicken flatties (freezer again)
Sausage rolls (freezer yet again)

Also not yellow stickered:

Small bunch of roses
Bag of popcorn
Six eggs
Salt mill
Weekly gossip magazine

The total was £16.

Their meal deals / dine in are the best versions of what's available elsewhere.

@HavingAMoan

I bought this today from Lidl. A whole side of salmon for £8.

Ooh love it! I bet you could get 8 fillets from that so only £1 a serving.

Never had Lidl salmon is it good? We get the M&S kiln smoked ones that are 👌 but £14 for a bag of 5.

I pretty much only buy reduced in M&S. If you time it right, you can fill your freezer with lovely stuff very cheaply.

I'm a bit confused by peoples' ideas of portion sizes here. Unless you are feeding teenage boys who are basically the human equivalent of a labrador how would one pack of stuffed pasta not feed a family. I have 2 teenage girls and a human dustbin DH and one packet of stuffed pasta feeds all of us (baked with a head of broccoli and a carton of passata). Whilst we would eat 4 salmon fillets between us when they were little a packet of 2 fed 4 of us.

I bought this today from Lidl. A whole side of salmon for £8.

That's farmed salmon (you can see how fatty it is) so not so much of a bargain. Rather buy wild salmon less often.

As far as how much your shop is, it depends where else you buy food. At the moment we are spending ~£200 per week in the supermarket but that doesn't include wine (bought from the Wine Soc ~£100 per case which lasts over a month) or vegetables (get a veg box every week - £15) or dairy (have milk delivered including cheese, butter, yogurt, bread ~£100pcm) ir regular trips to the corner shop. Admittedly we are carrying enough food in the house to do a couple of weeks, possibly more comfortably.

There are 5 of us, 2 adults, two Tweens who eat us out of house or home and a fussy 7yo with an apple addiction - OP bought 0 apples, we buy 3 bags a week.

Like the idea of a shopping thread though. Suspect the MN chicken will be shown up for the myth it is.

1 pack of filled pasta feeding 4 people for dinner 😂 my DP eats that by himself for lunch!

My DH can also eat a whole pack of pasta by himself so the thought it could feed four is hilarious! As is 2 salmon fillets between 4. 😂

I’m not bothered if it’s fatty salmon, I don’t have £200 to spend on food. We’ll get two meals from that, if not three.

www.marksandspencer.com/l/food-to-order/view-all-food

This stuff is my porn.
I would live on it if I could afford it and wouldn't end up the sizw of a house

That's not much food for a family of 4, even with little ones.

If I do my weekly shop at M&S it's about £230/50 but includes everything.

I don't buy much processed stuff.

A pack of stuffed pasta is supposed to serve two as a main meal. It says so on the pack.

I couldn't actually find details on exact calories of M & S ones, but Morrison's similar ones (Spinach and Ricotta tortelloni) is 300g, serves 2 with each serving being 286 calories. If you split it between 4 that would be 143 calories per person. That's not even close to being OK for the main part of a main meal for 4 people. Even split between 2 its a fairly light meal. Between 4, its an unhealthily small portion.

My (tall and skinny) teenage son will happily eat one to himself for lunch with a load of cheese grated on it and a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the side. As a family meal, I'd serve up 2 packs between 4 with tomato and vegetable sauce over it and cheese grated on top and salad and a garlic bread on the side.

I used to shop there, but I stopped when they started allowing men into the ladies toilets and changing rooms.

I do miss their food though

Shopping for me at our local M&S outlet is convenient and they sell ready meals, but there is little choice and the quality is hit and miss even though the price never is :)

Just because it is M&S is no guarantee of good value for money. Having said that I still shop there probably out of sheer laziness :)

their fruit and veg looks lovely most of it is imported from overseas when local/uk stuff is in season yet they never stock uk produce.

Got to say this is not true. Strawberries and cucumbers in our store are currently from within 10 miles.

I think you can get vfm if you look for it. My favourite buy is 15 different size free range eggs for £2 as teen DS loves eggs.

Just wondering if the OP is actually an M&S advertiser ? Forgive me if I'm wrong but most of her posts are about this outfit ??