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?

For the yellow sticker fans I bought a 6 pack of Cumberland sausages for 49p at 4.30pm today. It's my nearest shop for COVID shopping.

People would give a 5 year old and a weaning baby a salmon fillet each?! It would just go to waste with my DC so they get a bit from ours.

The filled pasta is plenty, my DD gets full after 3 or 4 pieces.

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 ??

Ha nope I'm not. I just seem to have turned into my mother. She always loved a M&S bargain.

I think we must be particularly piggy when it comes to salmon. 600g (feeds 4, it says on the packet), feeds 2 of us - but then we do like salmon a lot, and tend to have a small breakfast (maybe a yoghurt, or 2 slices of toast), no lunch, and a big dinner. I think I'd cry if I had to make 2 bits of salmon feed 4 of us - unless it was in a pasta sauce or similar.

My 5 year old eats a whole salmon fillet.

I wish my DD would eat a salmon fillet HavingAMoan she will try a tiny bit but always leaves most of it on her plate. She can put away 4 fish fingers though.

Who can’t put away four fish fingers! Mine love them.

@SapphosRock

People would give a 5 year old and a weaning baby a salmon fillet each?! It would just go to waste with my DC so they get a bit from ours.

The filled pasta is plenty, my DD gets full after 3 or 4 pieces.

For your family size I'd serve one fillet per adult, and split a third fillet between the 5 year old and the baby, with the 5 year old having the majority, obviously. Less than one fillet is not a reasonable serving for an adult. The 5 year old needs half a fillet at least.

As per my previous post, the filled pasta does not contain enough calories to be a healthy or reasonable meal split between more than 2 people. To put it into perspective split it between 4 and you will each be eating significantly less calories in your meal than if you had a Slimfast Shake, which is very extreme low calorie dieting.

If you really are eating that little, and feeding your children that little, I would suggest a visit to the GP, because there's something wrong either physically or mentally for servings that unhealthily small to be seen as sufficient.

mrsm43s thanks for your concern but we definitely don't go without, my DD is a healthy weight. The home made wedges with the salmon are a lot more popular and she eats all her veg. I make a dipping sauce out of full fat yoghurt or creme fraiche too so plenty of calories.

Re the filled pasta, 3-4 pieces + carrot, cucumber + hummus seems like a decent lunch for a 5 year old.

My 5 year old would be demanding more food if they only got 3-4 pieces of pasta. Also loves houmous, hands are in it and everything.

Local butcher and farm shop are much nicer in quality than M&S,cheaper and much less packaging, they're shocking for that.

At first I thought it was good value but then looked at the quantities in the pictures. That food would not feed me and DH for a week. For us two, our shopping is about £90-£100 a week but that's for everything, including alcohol and cleaning stuff. We often eat things like fillet steak and other goodie but I source from the butcher where possible as I find it much better value. We also don't eat processed food or ready made things and I feel this saves us a lots of money.

I'm a regular M&S shopper. If I try to replicate my shop at other supermarkets, including higher welfare meat, which M&S does by default, it works out more expensive or even very limited - sainsburys can match the welfare and quality but costs a fortune to do that.

My only niggle is needing to go to sainsburys, anyhow, for range. Eg M&S do sell fresh ginger, but in tiny pieces that go mouldy. Sainsburys sell it not chopped up, for much less. Markses also do not look after their bananas.

I think £75 a week for a family of 4 would be great value, we spend more (but have 4 and 6 year olds), but we get through more food than that! What's your meal plan op?
I think that during lock down prices in Tesco and Sainsbury's (the two supermarkets we've been able to get deliveries from)seem to have gone up so I imagine the price jump to M&S wouldn't feel so big IYSWIM.

@SapphosRock

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!

I don't buy supermarket meat apart from the chicken, as currently none of my local butchers sell free range, whereas all the rest of their meat is local farm meat. Drives me mad though! The odd bit I've had from Waitrose and M&S seem pretty similar to me, but maybe it varies. But my M&S sells barely any of the makings of food - almost no baking ingredients, limited range of fruit and veg (and it's true for my local branch that nothing is local, compared to other supermarkets, although I accept it clearly is different from place to place), very few herbs and spices etc. I would say a good 3/4 of the store is pre-prepared food, so not for me!

One of those packets of pasta between four??! How on earth? That's about four pieces of pasta each.

Well our fridge is still full to bursting.

Meal plan is:

Breakfasts: egg on toast, omelette, avocado on toast, or fruit and yoghurt

Lunches:
roast chicken thighs with salad
Falafel, hummus salad
Ham and tomato sandwiches
Quiche and salad x 2
Filled pasta with cheese + hummus and crudités
Leftover chicken soup from the roast

DD will have meatballs or chicken teddies

Dinners:

pork chops with mash and brocolli

Prawn spaghetti with shallots, tomatoes and cream fraiche (already had spaghetti)

Butternut squash risotto with shallots, white wine, Parmesan and cream fraiche

Salmon, wedges and veg with cream fraiche dipping sauce

Lentil dal with spinach (already had a stock cube)

Roast chicken with rest of butternut squash and veg

Jacket potatoes with meatballs or whatever is in the cupboard

Snacks: Fruit

My DD will get chicken teddies if she doesn't eat what we're having

I know people overfeed nowadays but I do think these are very small portions, not just for your 5 year old but your DH too. Is he a very small man? My DH is 6ft 5 and could eat your entire shop to himself and still be hungry. He isn't overweight at all.

Regardless, I agree with your initial point. I bloody love Marks, and am counting down the days until Ocado switches over. I'm lucky as I can now afford it, unfortunately wasn't always the case.

Oh maybe I should have mentioned I have a DW not a DH! Is that a drip feed?! Do men really eat so much more?

We both have healthy appetites at any rate and I am still breastfeeding.

My (womanly) standard portions have always been a whole pack of filled pasta or two salmon fillets! Always been underweight. But if it works for you all then the low cost is definitely a perk...

Agree with PP that more M&S photos from you would be welcome 😌