What grocery items do you never buy?

[AmberTurnerCo]

I would
Alcohol
Crisps apart from Pringles

Iceland is good for frozen, it's their selling point. Yes there's a lot of ready meals but a lot of stuff good for your own cooking too. They're piss poor for fresh fruit and veg though.

The grimmest supermarket I visited in recent times was a Farmfoods in a deprived inner-city area. Seemed like it hadn't had a refit since the 1990s. Small, gloomy, crowded, not at all inviting. I have to think somewhere like that would never stay in business in a richer area. I might visit another Farmfoods if I have an empty freezer, but I'm not going to that one again.

Iceland actually has lots of good brands.

I’ve not shopped at Iceland but I just had a quick look on the website and I’d have no problem buying food there. I buy lots of fresh veg but always have frozen veg in too. They’ve got nearly all the frozen veg I buy -butternut squash, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, spinach, chilli, peas, green beans, cauliflower, mixed peppers and sweet corn. I can always make a curry, a soup or a veggie chilli from the freezer + store cupboard stuff.

They have frozen baby okra too. I’m now off to google recipes ...

I don't buy ready meals either very much but yeah there's loads more to Iceland than that. And their xmas party food is brilliant: they have things like sushi and vegan duck rolls/burgers etc, little tempura prawns and veggies, loads of chicken wings types of things, lots similar to m&s but just in big bags and much cheaper!

Why do you think I "don't like" something simply because I'm not willing to spend an hour travelling to it? It's just a supermarket. What are they selling that I can't just as easily buy in my local supermarkets, unicorn steaks?

people writing off an entire shop (Id guess based on misconceptions) are losing out!

But why are they "losing out"? It's not like Iceland sell anything you can't buy in every other supermarket.

I don't agree with the snobbish "I'd never shop in Iceland" comments but people aren't obligated to seek out supermarkets that aren't nearby and maybe don't sell everything they need just to prove they aren't snobs.

Iceland are brilliant for pre prepared stuff. If you like to cook quickly and easily, then they have lots of meats, veg, fruit all chopped and ready to go, fresh stuff not a massive range but most of the basics. I think people are snobby because it's frozen food but most of the 'fresh food' we buy in the supermarket has been flown in frozen anyway. Yes you could live off white bread and chicken nuggets, but that's true anywhere. They don't stock much herbs and spices, and baking ingredients, but I don't mind shopping elsewhere for those every now and then. Best thing about Iceland for me is that you can pop in in the morning after the school run and they drop it off before tea time, as I don't drive it's a godsend (pre covid obvs). I will shop anywhere though. I tend to shop around

I don't get it, i mean out if the whole supermarket i only buy a stock average of 60/70 items, so i don't buy most things!

I agree with this ^ but I suppose I would never buy ...

Caviar
quail's eggs
plover's eggs
octopus or squid
tripe
trotter
(I know they don't sell the last two at least - I couldn't even get kidney when I wanted to make a steak and kidney pie).

Coffee
Spirits
Cleaning products (just use hot water generally)
Another one for fabric softener, air freshener. Really not into anything perfumed, I don’t buy shower gel (just use bar soap). Does have the benefit of being better for the environment I guess!

A lot of teetollers on this thread. Interesting.

I assumed it was stuff you don’t buy that’s a staple in loads of households. Like ham or cheese or cereal.

Otherwise my answers would be cockles in a jar, guinea fowl and anything Duchy original.

@boltzmannbrains I’ve personally found them to have had a much wider range of frozen fruit and veg than other supermarkets. I make a lot of smoothies and slow cooker meals using those and if I’d written it off because I thought it only sold frozen nuggets then yeah, I’d be missing out.

I never said anyone who didn’t shop there was a snob, nor did I say anyone should go out of their way to go if there wasn’t one near. I think you’re projecting a little bit if that was aimed at me.

@Imissmoominmama good luck with not buying Nestle products! I'd be amazed if you don't! Branston pickle is just one I didn't realise was owned by them! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nestl%C3%A9_brands#:~:text=Nestl%C3%A9%20owns%2030%25%20of%20L%27Or%C3%A9al%2C%20the%20world%27s%20largest,existing%20Alcon%20shares%20to%20the%20Swiss%20pharmaceutical%20giant

Cat food

[quote 81Byerley]@Imissmoominmama good luck with not buying Nestle products! I'd be amazed if you don't! Branston pickle is just one I didn't realise was owned by them! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nestl%C3%A9_brands#:~:text=Nestl%C3%A9%20owns%2030%25%20of%20L%27Or%C3%A9al%2C%20the%20world%27s%20largest,existing%20Alcon%20shares%20to%20the%20Swiss%20pharmaceutical%20giant[/quote]
For those of us in the boycott, it does take some work but it can be done. There are quite a lot of products that I dont buy now because they are owned by Nestle (or they get income from use of a brand name) and I can honestly say that I havent ever missed them. I have been boycotting them for years now and it becomes second nature.

Fresh bread, fresh croissants, fresh pastries (frozen and part-baked much better)
Any tinned meals
Low fat or low sugar anything

cleaning products except laundry and dishwasher detergent. DC's have allergies so I use a steamer and plain water to clean everything.

Back to Iceland again.....they do Swedish meatballs that are the closest I have found to Ikea ones and are cheaper. Also they do a whole range of chicken strips with different flavoured coatings, the Southern Fried ones are absolutely lush!

Tinned meat. Except the time we went camping for a week and went full-on 80s with Spam, corned beef etc. It was bloody delicious!

I don't buy sugar, alcohol, milk, jar sauces except from pesto.

Never really buy much in the way of crisps or biscuits as my Ds eats everything and anything that comes into the house. He snacks on oatcakes/cold meat or buys a single packet of crisps.

@Ginfordinner

A lot of teetollers on this thread. Interesting.

I drink, just not in the house! I can't sit and have a drink, it feels weird for me. Save the units up and binge drink on a night out however!

I wasn't't judging btw. There just seemed to be a lot.

"I drink, just not in the house! I can't sit and have a drink, it feels weird for me. Save the units up and binge drink on a night out however! "

This is me too. I associate drinking with socialising.

We're given booze as gifts a lot as well, or we have unopened leftovers from having people round so I almost never have to buy any to take somewhere either.

We'll open a bottle of wine with dinner once in a blue moon. (Once so far this year I think.)

But unless we have company we don't drink at home.

@PyongyangKipperbang @81Byerley- that list doesn’t even have everything on it! You’re right though- I bought some Lily’s Kitchen cat food when our pet shop was shut - had no idea that was Nestle.

It takes us ages to get through sugar, but I still keep some in the house for baking or adding a pinch to a home made tomato sauce.

Fabric softener here too!
It's horrible stuff
The amount of people I know who use it and their kids all have eczema!

Ready meals