To wonder why people do "top-up" shops

[RedSkyAtNight]

Just as the title says really. I've read a few threads where people either mention a fortune doing a top-up shop or mention doing a top-up shop as a job that needs doing in the week.

We shop once a week and buy enough food for the week. We then don't buy any more food until the following week. Other than folks who have very little storage (or possibly very large families?) I can't really understand the need to do a top-up shop. I mean obviously if you want to go and get something different to what you have in, that's fine. But why do it if you see it as a chore?

increasingly because like sweeteners in drinks I can taste the difference and to my tastebuds it tastes gross. Not that the act of freezing bread is gross.

But the thing is wombling that we will have strawberries the day that the delivery arrives or the one after. Lettuce lasts for ages, I don't get that at all. I don't eat spinach every day, by the end of the week we eat what is left to use up what we have rather than buying new stuff.

It's interesting though because then on other threads I'll be told spending £100 a week on food shopping is loads. I'd spend a lot more if I was regularly topping up with fresh strawberries.

The berries are best eaten quickly. Likewise cucumber and lettuce are noticeably better day 1 than day 6.

I do a weekly shop for the basics but most weeks the milk or something else runs out so have to top up there. We also then usually decide to have something slightly more complicated to eat over the weekend that requires ingredients that are not included in the weekly shop. Quite obvious answer to the OP's question really

To be honest though Buck I don't buy particularly nice bread anyway for day to day use. It definitely tastes the same frozen or not.

I remember the days when my parents used to just do a weekly shop of all the non perishables; tins and packets and bottles and suchlike, every Thursday at a supermarket 3 miles from us. (Big supermarkets were rare and quite new in the 1970's.) Dad used to drive us and it would be like an outing, and the kids would get a large bag of maltesers (a very rare treat!) and would eat half of them before we got home.

Anyway, I digress. So we would get the shopping, once a week ONLY.

But then we would have the milkman deliver the milk - daily, and the bread too, and cream, and yoghurts, and pop, and cheese. Then my mother would go to the local shops - the butchers, bakers, and grocery, for the fresh stuff every few days, like bread, cakes, meat, fruit, and veg.

We only got the non-perishables in the 'main weekly shop.' As I said, like bottles, jars, tins, packets etc. No ready meals as they didn't exist. And very little frozen. You could fit what frozen she had in the little freezer compartment in the fridge.

Everyone we knew did this. People without a car would get the bus and come back with 2 huge bags (like small to medium leather suitcases,) bulging with their non perishables. Then the perishable stuff would get delivered by the milkman, or be bought from the little local shops.

I don't do a weekly shop now at all to be honest (though I used to when the kids were little,) me and DH just get stuff when we need it. I think we probably end up spending more, as we see other stuff we want, but it works for us. We don't smoke or drink alcohol often (sometimes go 2 months without an alcoholic drink,) and we go out maybe 5 times a year for a meal, so we relax the rules when it comes to shopping.

Lettuce is still up to 4 weeks, I think that article said, before supermarket.

That said I think people are buying the wrong fridges if they're saying that their lettuce is manky after 4 days. Mine is still good up to 14 days, but past its best at about 10 days. no wonder there is so much wastage in this country. Many of these labels are best before not use before.

I do a fairly big Ocado shop weekly, but we often run out of veg as we eat enough of it to feed a small army! Plus some veg won't last a week and if we get extra visitors at the weekend, I can easily run out of things ie milk. I do only get a basket though and avoid the junk aisles!!

Yes, that's what I find also Buck

Perhaps some people's fridges aren't great though/ at the wrong temperature which is why milk etc is going off before it should.

Perhaps you don't eat as much fresh fruit and vegetables as others, OP. We get through stacks this time of year.

We eat loads of fresh fruit and vegetables abra and only shop once a week.

Why is it that a weekly shop is the way to do it? I shop online (50 mile round trip to the supermarket) and get it all delivered. Normally every four days so bread/ milk/ fruit always edible even if not "fresh". I find a lot of berries have a few days to be eaten, same goes for salad, spinach and broccoli. I think I'd waste more food on a weekly shop tbh.

I rarely do big shops anymore. I do little and often from Lidl, Tesco and M&S. Different stuff from each shop.

@Drama, LOL just what I was going to say! teenagers, love them, but can they eat, our grocery bill has gone through the roof!

That's another point to make actually. People took their bags with them to put the shopping in (vinyl or leather,) or one of those large bags with wheels on - like this on the picture here.

There was no such thing as throwaway plastic bags then!. (1970's.)

Why is it that a weekly shop is the way to do it?

I don't think it is, each to his/her own and whatever works as above. It's the people who questioning that it is possible if you actually eat fresh food that I am replying to.

Yeah out lettuce is OK after longer than 4 days too. Doesn't go manky til about 7 to 9 days. And our fridge is over 20 years old.

*OUR lettuce, not out lettuce (sorry.)

People do know best before dates are used only to make you buy again.

Use by are the ones to look out for. And even then, go by smell, appearance.

We always forget something.

The shop always seems to not have something (German supermarkets aren't great).

Sometimes we change our minds mid week

Though german milk lasts alarmingly long. I'm not talking about the uht stuff, I prefer fresh, but our current carton is dated 15th June but is fine

From a nutritional viewpoint, the fresher the food is the better the Vit C content (fruit and veg). Refrigeration slows down the deterioration but doesn't stop it completely.

After 5 or 6 days in the fridge, plus time on the supermarket shelves, there is very little Vit C left in green veg for example. And if you boil it rather than steam, you can destroy it all.

Ideally, veg should be eaten straight from the ground. I sometimes throw out green veg which LOOKS ok after a week, because I know that the vitamins will be negligible.

You also have to ask WHY some green veg (lettuce for example) lasts 4 weeks- it's down to the gallons of pesticides etc used on it. Organic veg and fruit has a shorter shelf life.

You should, ideally , only buy enough veg for a couple of days so it's really fresh when you eat it.

I assume the OP is one of the 30% of the UK who doesn't eat their 5 a day or relies on tins (or frozen which is ok.)

Because ... fresh stuff.

Haha Increasinglymiddleaged I wish! Strawberries are a treat unfortunately. If we want some I will buy them and we eat them that day, but I wouldn't get them with my delivered shopping because if we didn't get round to eating them then they might go off. I can't afford to have food going to waste, so I don't buy any salad or fruit on my internet shop, as I like to go and look at it and choose my own. I also don't pay any attention to use by or sell by dates Buck3t. I sniff it or examine it to see if it's edible.

Last night, I wanted some salad for with tea, so I went to Lidl and bought a baby gem lettuce, a small pot of baby tomatoes, and a cucumber. I already had onions and peppers. I used all the lettuce, half the tomatoes, half a pepper, half the cucumber and half a large red onion. The rest of the tomatoes, pepper and onion will be made into salsa for tonight and DD and DH will finish the cucumber with their lunch. So you see, by tomorrow I won't have any salad things left. If I fancy salad tomorrow, I will go back and buy it again.

If I'd bought 5 lettuces when I last shopped four weeks ago, they'd either be used up or manky. I don't see why that is a complicated concept.

Fruit.