to automatically ignore value brands

[somedayma]

I probably am BU because I could definitely do with saving some cash on my grocery shop. But I've had some v bad tesco value items in the past (soft rice crispies, plasticky tasting chocolate etc).

I was looking at value chicken breasts today, thinking 'they're probably going to taste the same as the other slightly more expensive ones once it's in a stew anyway'. but for some reason bought the more expensive ones anyway.

Value ready salted crisps taste the same as branded ones. Just FYI

The basics tinned tomatoes are ok. Some peel, still appealing - as it says on the tin.

Value fresh salmon. The pieces are odd shapes and sizes but it tastes ok.

The bags of basics potatoes are no different to the regular white potatoes, IMO. It's just the sizes are more mixed. Not as nice as maris piper though.

Sainsbury's basics crisps aren't very nice.

I avoid value sausages, mince & cheese.

I always find with cheaper beans it's best to drain some of the sauce. I have never tasted the difference and Tescos own tea bags are far better than Tetleys!

I had never considered buying value meat until today for some reason! It must have whispered "I'm fiiiiiiiine" at me or something. Whoever mentioned asda value stuff being ok- I've never tried it but I find ANY asda brand stuff a bit rank. It all tastes v bland and watery or something. to me anyway

I always use Sainsbury's basics teabags and they taste fine. Well to me they do anyway. The Asda own brand ones are vile, though.

Thing is it depends on the item, some are horrible (Sainsbury value cornflakes) and some are absolutely fine and sometimes better than the normally priced item.

If you can save some money on your groceries than why wouldn't you? Times are tough!

Even for you Nadia?

What?

Was you on the Wright Stuff this morning?

No...... Was you?

What?

I buy dh value chicken and he likes it (I'm veggie so no idea). He's a food snob but hasn't complained - value Jaffa cakes are crap though.

Value sausages and mince seem worse cos it's mushed up meat with who knows what added to it but how much can you REALLY do to a chicken breast?! I know they inject water into it to plump it up but surely that wouldn't affect the taste too much

My first trip to Lidl was a revelation - they don't stock my favourite teabags and I don't like their Milbona butter, but everything else is beats Waitrose, Tesco etc hands down for value.

Lidl fruit and veg is always fresh, their museli is delicious, the Mr Choc range is, to my taste, nicer than twix, bounty etc, the J D Gross chocolate range is superb value, and their Greek yogurt, which is a modest £1.50 or so for a huge carton, is the best I've tasted outside of Greece.

I love everything about Lidl except the sometimes long queues at the checkouts, but there's no gain without pain and your purse will certainly gain from your trip although your waistline might expand after you munch your way through all the goodies you discover.

Aldi is as competitive pricewise but, sadly, the nearest branch is miles away from me.

oooh no tesco value jaffa cakes are ace, really dark, tasty chocolate mmmm

I'm always afraid that a value item just won't be as good - if it's food - so I tend to just go the next one up, usually Tesco own brand.

Value bog roll is NEVER any good.

Value (all of this is Tesco I don't shop anywhere else) rich tea biscuits are just as good as McVities ever since they cut all that saturated fat out and turned them into crisps which won't go soggy properly in tea
Value beans are fine but watery and dare I say slightly hard
Value facial tissues - no problem if you haven't got a cold
Value baby wipes - not as much of a bargain as you'd want but they're fine otherwise
Value salt and pepper - problem?

I've got to say I'm a proper snob when it comes to raw and cooked meats though. If I can't afford the nice ham off the deli or the 2 for 4 quid packs then I just won't get any at all rather than have that salty square stuff I used to have as a kid (and preferred at the time anyway)

And I am definitely a tea snob. Ever since I tried Tesco Finest Assam Teabags I've never looked back. My mum sends them to Sweden for me.

Don't ever buy value meat. Think of the life the animals lead for it to be that cheap.

It's not just the value stuff.

If it's on an end shelf and it's 3 for a tenner, it's probably from outside the UK and intensively farmed.

And steer clear of those famous 'Dalepak' breaded chicken or grillsteaks. Not to be confused with 'Danepak'. Read the packaging and you'll see why :s

Many 'chocolate' chip cookies or ice creams don't contain chocolate, just chocolate flavoured vegetable fat.

Eggs though... if you can afford it go for free range or organic, but I have stopped judging people who still buy 'barn' eggs or eggs 'from caged hens' because the price of organic is pretty high.

Actually, I've stopped judging completely because the price of groceries keeps skyrocketing. An organic chicken costs an extortionate amount. A tiny bird is about a tenner!

I still judge on meat- particularly chicken. There are other things to eat.

Oh point taken boomerwang - no more value chicken for us

I buy sainsburys....

value flour, butter, tissues, kitchen roll, toilet roll, batter mix, food bags, apples (grown in the uk and smaller), chocolate (for choc chip cookies) and more than I can't remember.

Have tried value tea-bags, never again.

Never buy value meat. As an ex-veggie with huge meat eating guilt I buy the organic, free range stuff.

smart price pickle is grim. will try sainsburys.

smart price baked beans are nice though.

value apple juice is different to ordinary but I prefer it.

some value biscuits are ok, eg morrisons/asda chocolate digestives but not tescos. value kidney beans from anywhere and chopped tomatoes but not from tesco.

The price of foodstuffs is indeed still rocketing, and yet we still don't pay the full market price through the supermarkets because they distort the market so much. Meat would be more expensive still than it is now, as would most fresh perishable products, milk in particular - most farmers barely break even and some even make a loss on supplying the supermarkets they're squeezed so much. Only the super farm big boys make anything like a liveable profit these days.

Agree about value chicken. I'd worry more about what has been done to the chickens than the taste.

Lidl is excellent for cold meats - pack of salami is 79p, pack of nice game 99p. Also tortelloni is about 69p rather than the packs you get in one of the other supermarkets for 99p or £1.29.

Value tinned tomatoes are good, as are value biscuits.

I can't do value meat in any form as it creeps me out, and it is the one area I splash out on...free range and organic where poss.

But most other things are fair game for a try...cereal etc.

Don't tend to get condiments, drinks etc as I don't like excessive colouring, flavouring etc as I have sensitive skin.