To spend 50 quid a week on fruit and veg

[Lalunya85]

Two adults and two kids under 3 in our house. It seems that 50 pounds is waaaay too much just for fruit and and veg and I wonder how much others spend?

I get a weekly veg box which is about 30 pounds. That sees us through the week but there isn't anything left over by the end of it. Except maybe the red cabbage.

Then I spend around 20 pounds on fruit at the local market once a week (regular, not a farmers market or anything like that). I buy around
12 apples (some for crumble),
6 pears,
10 Mandarines,
6 bananas
6 Oranges
6 plums
Maybe some grapes, a pineapple, or some other exotic fruit
I don't buy things that are overpriced and out of season (punnets of blueberries on December anyone?).

I then spend another probably 60 quid on all other groceries: some meat (we eat meat once a week), fresh fish every other week, pasta, rice, bread, dairy and eggs, baking ingredients, chocolate, breakfast cereal (unbranded) etc... I buy all of that at Morrisons (no Waitrose or ocado ever in his house). Don't buy ready meals or frozen stuff (like fish fingers or pizzas which would be expensive) and we always cook from scratch so no takeaways or restaurant meals ever.

How does all of that compare to others? It sounds ridiculously much to me!

It varies so much how much people spend on fruit and veg (and how much of it they eat I suppose).

The difference in price between Aldi veg and organic/local/seasonal is insane! I wish the latter was more affordable to all of us.

I love celeriac but haven't had any in my veg box yet! I make a really tasty celeriac mushroom pate (like a veggie lover pate), baked and with lots of butter.

Thank you for your to a PP for the mice pie idea, I shall try them!

It's easy to spend a lot on fruit and veg, but still seems a little steep.

Out of nterest, how do the riverford (or abel and cole) deliveries work? I'd find them extremely helpful but I need to be out of the house for school runs twice a day, so wouldn't want the stuff sitting in a hot, damp post office, or whatever.

Crikey, Jacelancs! That's an impressive and varied shopping list.

Off the top of my head, I have bought this week:
2 bags of Spuds ( desirees and small)
Onions
Carrots 2 kg
1 Aubergine
3 broccoli heads
Frozen peas
Frozen beans
2 Galia melons
About 8 Satsumas
About 10 bananas
And eaten unlimited apples off our trees.

That's between 6 of us. Probably under £20 altogether.

And some of the Aldo stuff is good, btw - DH cam home with a 49p bag of British Spring greens from Aldi, last night. Massive bag - we ate 1/3 of it with some fish pie, tonight and it was pretty decent (boys won't touch it, mind, but they're pathologically fussy!)

Aldi!

Waitrose is extortionate for fruit and veg if you're used to Aldi/Lidl or even Morrisons or Asda. Most supermarkets do a head of broccoli for about 50p but it's three times that in Waitrose.

The offers in these supermarkets are seasonal, because that's what they can get cheap when they put the offer on, and it's what they have a lot of. It's often also fairly local too - a lot of the Super 6 stuff in Aldi is grown within the same or adjacent counties.

If you're on a budget, or simply don't want to spend loads when you don't have to, it's probably better to buy a larger volume from the cheaper supermarkets than a tiny amount from the expensive box schemes. I do think that because it all comes boxed up for a set price that people don't realise that you could pay a lot less for the same stuff bought separately. I also don't think because some people choose to buy the most expensive fruit and veg available that that translates into the 'fruit and veg is soooo expensive, might as well live on frozen pizza' argument.

It is possible to get quite a lot of fruit and veg for not much money at all but it will be less exciting things like carrots, leeks, cabbages, onions, apples and bananas, instead of out of season berries or purple sprouting brocoli and asparagus.

No its not if you buy loose Waitrose can work out cheaper. I got a kg of broccoli for 65p yesterday. 6 eggs for £1.

You do notice a difference in quality with some veg, though, particularly broccoli - it can vary from rotten cabbage to really sweet and nutty. It's the one thing I'm happy to pay 3 times as much for from M&S, because it's usually (not always) good there, while I rarely do at Waitrose unless I just need to do a quick shop in the middle of Newcastle after doing other stuff and there's nowt else in, because I often have to chuck it before the display until date, because it's yellow.

I'll buy veg in Sainsburys or Tesco if I can be there to prod and sniff, but not online, because it's often vile and smells musty.

Mince pies! I would only eat mice pies if they were locally sourced and organic!

Sounds about right for London prices.

About half of my list came from reduced counter
I also buy anything that is on a special offer or the wonky veg section
I very rarely go into a shop with something specific in mind but cook with what I have found
So reduced counter squash and courgette and peppers made me decide on a roast veg accompaniment
Another night I might find stuff to make a stir fry
I also do a lot of layered veg dishes
Breakfast is usually fruit and yoghurt
Lunch is salad based, jacket sweet potato or left overs
I can't eat pasta, bread or cous cous anymore and have never liked potatoes, only option left is rice and I can take or leave that hence why we eat so much other stuff!

I've just clocked that you're buying extra salad and tomatoes - you know that ain't seasonal, right?

Tomatoes are from Spain these days. Last few I'm sure!

jace please tell me about layered veg?

I think some people are obsessed with getting 5 (or now 7) a day, and some are even getting quite competitive about it

I don't like buying food with airmiles, so in winter it's mainly leek/cabbage/carrots/onions/apples/pears.... works out cheap though

I have never totted up if we get our 5 a day. Don't expect we do.

I don't even believe in that as a concept for health. Am sure there is no need to eat 5 different fruits each day.

I don't think 5 a day is that difficult.

I always have a handful of berries in my cereal or porridge ( frozen, much cheaper), some salad at lunchtime, on a sandwich , a glass of orange juice in the day at some point, usually at least two whole fruit, satsumas, apples or bananas, then veg with my dinner.
That's 6 without trying.

It does sound very expensive! Just popping in to ask whether you've considered growing some things yourself? I think some people think this means spending an awful lot of time managing a huge plot - but it needn't! You can grow simple things like fruit without much hassle in a small space.

We have a thread on the gardening forum for allotmenteers large and small!

(no Waitrose or ocado ever in his house)

Are they the devil incarnate or something?

I second Lidl/Aldi for fruit and veg. Lidl certainly has a decent amount of organic too. I get an Abel & Cole box once or twice a month as a treat, but besides that we use frozen to avoid wastage, or buy fresh from a supermarket. We also have a farm shop not far from here which sells fresh veg at supermarket prices.

Your market fruit sounds very expensive - as does the Riverford box TBH! Why don't you go into Aldi/lidl and price up the same stuff? Or even the tesco/asda websites and see how it compares?

I have live on a narrowboat but still manage a allotment, growing your own definetly saves money. I,m a vegan so understand the price of veg. We as a family eat a lot of nuts and seeds, but I wouldn't rule out frozen veg. its fresh froze and contains loads off good flavours. Pick your own farms are another fab money saving option and get the kids involved at the weekend. I have to admit most of my diet consists of reduced veg.... I shop everyday but understand working mums don't always have the time... I don't have a freezer either but by shopping everyday I do think I save money on reduced produce....give it a try for a week and I promise you will find veg that is different but tasty xx well done on no takeaways and cooking your own!!!

AdoraBell, what do you mean about 'London prices'?

To me, London prices would mean going daaaahn Ridley Road and getting mountains of fruit and vegetables for a few £.

TBH, OP, if I was concerned about spending, I would investigate if there were any local collectives with their own vegetable box schemes, as these are more consistently local as well as cheaper than the branded boxes.

*shove" hello! We do have an allotment, but only started in late spring this year and the harvest was...well...limited!

We did have lots of tomatoes and beetroot and the leeks are still going strong.

I might pop over to the allotmenteers thread in that case! Do you have one for beginners who have very little knowledge and need a lot of advise??

veganmeredith I think I could do with incorporating more frozen veg, definitely. I only really buy frozen peas to make soup. It would save a lot of time too, which since both parents are now back at work would be really handy!

*acatcalled" not at all! Just more expensive, so off limits for our store cupboard stuff.
The only time I bought anything in Waitrose was when I was weaning my kids and wanted to get organic beef...couldn't afford to buy there every week.

I meant shove and acatcalled grr.