Value over branded?

[Maryshoppins]

Hi, not exactly an aibu, but...
I would like to reduce my food shopping bill to save a bit of money. I'm a little inspired by Jack Monroe's food blogs and would like to opt for value and store branded foods over big brands.

For anyone that has tried both, do you notice a big difference? And what about health wise. Are the lower branded products filled with crap to add flavour. I don't intend on buying meat products at all. Just tinned goods and dishwasher tablets etc..

Thanks

Thank you all! I second what one poster said about worrying about the quality of food when it is so cheap. I too have food issues. I wouldn't dream of buying ready made meals or cheap meat. But to cook from scratch with fresh cheap ingredients would be great.

I do agree about water for children and not smoothies/apple juice. But, throughout the day they drink water only, so I figure one carton in their lunch box is pretty harmless.

Well, I have ordered my food shopping and my bill has been reduced dramatically. I look forward to seeing if this is something I could stick to.

I adore the value/basics Yorkshire puddings, the Aldi ones are lovely.

Why on earth would anyone buy Yorkshire puddings? Egg, flour, milk. What's the problem making them?

Erm.....I don't know, sometimes when you are missing one or more of those ingredients but still want Yorkshire puddings? They are about 50p and keeping a bag in the freezer is great for emergencies. And also because sometimes you can't be arsed.

Also my DH normally does the roast and his homemade ones are foul.

HTH

I often buy yorkshires because a) mine taste shit and don't seem to cook properly and b) I might only want a very small amount. I can cook as few or as many as I want.

Excellent point about quantity fatlazymummy.

This is the thing on MN sometimes, people are so incredibly bothered about what others eat.
I have seen comments such as 'Smoothies are shit, just give your kids a glass full of sugar' 'cereal is akin to shit in a box' 'You are a div if you let your child ever eat crisps.

Ok, I made that last one up but you get the picture.

I'm going to enjoy tucking into frozen Yorkshires everyday this week I think, because I damn well can if I like.

We cook everything from scratch and buy everything except meat, fish and dairy from the value/own brand range and we are quite foodie and I think eat quite well.

Buying value veg is a good environmental choice as it means that odd sized veg isnt thrown away!

I never buy branded stuff, unless Lidl or Aldi have things on special offer. Fruit and veg are the same whether they are loose from a green grocers, packaged as "value" or in a bag stating "extra special". Ditto flour, sugar, rice, pasta etc. the difference usually, with fruit and veg at least, is that value ranges are not quite perfect shapes, but, honestly, who cares what shape their potato is?

Shopping has been a revelation since I started shopping at Aldi and Lidl, as I can get far superior products for a fraction of the price of Sainsburys, Asda etc. I posted a receipt on one of these sorts of threads a few weeks back and some people were amazed at how much I had bought for the amount of money spent.

I always go for value but with food but I cook everything from scratch more or less which saves money anyway.
If I do go for processed foods (peanut butter, special vegan foods) I do buy the highest quality, but because I save money all the time with how I shop anyway, It's worth it to me.
As for laundry, soda crystals and soap flakes!Cheap, do the job fine, I put essential oil in the dryer and everything smells lovely .
Skincare, castor oil and facial exercises. Cleanse with witch hazel.
(I'm a miser but a happy one)!

Most are fine but there are certain brands I have to have eg Heinz tomato ketchup. No other brand, cheap or expensive, will do.

Trial and error I think.

Ps. - Aldi cling film is the best. The cutter actually cuts, rather than tescos strip of limp cardboard that cuts nothing.

Tesco Value wraps are amazing, so soft.

As are their tortilla chips, perfect.

Sainbury's Basics Tortilla Chips are the best.

I shall compare them with Tesco's on funkybuddah's suggestion. Do they also only cost 30p per bag?

Value yorkshire puds are far better than any I have ever made myself. Mine come out more like a slab and are soggy even though I bump the oven up high for them. Never could work out what I was doing wrong, so I gave up. I am hardly the greatest chef, and these are so cheap.

I bought tesco value dishwasher tablets after seeng them recommended on here - was dubious, but they are great.

We rarely buy brands except for a few specifics, but my golden rule is to never pay full RRP for branded stuff, always wait till there is an offer on somewhere and stock up. On own brands and value products, we have a mixture of both with value stuff being the largest part. We tend to shop at Sainsburys for the most part as I prefer their products over Tesco and Asda, and it's the biggest local supermarket too (I don't drive). However meat is the one thing we always shop in Waitrose for - their Essentials range is equivalent to most other supermarkets premium own products, and meat is one area where I really can taste and feel the difference.