To Be a Supermarket Snob?

[MitziK]

[Takes deep breath and sticks head over parapet]

OH took over pretty much all shopping, cooking and cleaning a while ago, as I was struggling to manage working fulltime with a massive Psoriatic Arthritis flare and he hadn't been getting much in the way of work (he was self employed, but the last year, I think, could be better described as unemployed).

Anyhow, he tries, but finds planning and organisation difficult and because I'm a fussy bitch I have strong preferences around food (ie, not from packets, low carb, wholemeal, lots of vegetables, that kind of thing) whilst he is happy to exist on Haribo, pasties and crisps, I get to the point where I have to stick my oar in over what he buys. I couldn't justify an online order, so I got him to agree to coming to a large supermarket with me, as the local mini ones largely sell utter crap ding dinners and overpriced, sad looking veggies.

All major supermarkets are within a short bus ride away in different directions. He insisted upon Tesco's. Not keen, but I'm not going to knock it. It's better than another month of the offerings from round the corner.

Anyhow, within a few minutes, I'm feeling disoriented, vague and as though I had a migraine without a headache. I struggled through, got the shopping and we escaped - but it took so long, what with having to go back and look at the same bits twice because I couldn't see what was wanted the first time of looking for it. It wasn't enormously busy, I wasn't panicking or anything like that and there weren't huge numbers of screaming kids even if there were several people who stopped dead in front of me, which is a heinous offence, IMO - but I felt awful and I was relieved to be out of there. As soon as I stepped outside, I felt fine again. I've disliked shopping there before, but put that down to being surrounded by screaming kids, angry Mums and probably being a bit hormonal or tired.

He says that I should just give him a list and not put myself through shopping again, but I never feel like that when I go to either Waitrose, even when they're packed. He was sympathetic but thinks I'm being silly and a bit of a snob, as veggies, meat and bread flour/yeast are the same wherever you shop - but why am I absolutely fine shopping in one and not the other? Could it be the lighting? Should I just give up and let him deal with it all?

Am I just being a snob and not able to articulate or admit it?

it ,ay well be the lighting, my DH has to go round some stores quicker than others because the lights affect his eyes photo sensitive
order online and save the grief/hassle

Booths are on the move, they're east of the Pennines now, Ilkley for one, loved Booths when we lived in the North West.

Yep, I've got Asperger's, and can't cope with either Tesco or Asda. Too big, too bright, too loud. They seem to feel the need to play shitty pop music, too- I got #whamageddoned last time I went to Tesco .

I do a combo of LIDL and Sainsbury's- I find LIDL's food quality far better, and the few bits they don't do I can pick up in Sainsbury's with its lovely low lighting.

I don’t like shopping in Tesco or Asda so I get an online order from Tesco of general shopping and then go into Waitrose and M&S for top ups, delivery is cheap midweek so maybe you could do an online shop every 2 weeks then just get fresh stuff from Waitrose. I do this and mostly use the quick checkout as I dont have to get much

The input about lights and stimulation makes sense, as I'm resolutely a zero clutter and no busy patterns person.

Yes this affects me too. I avoid certain supermarkets because I feel so ill by the time I've finished shopping. They've only just brought in online grocery shopping in the area where I live in the last few years, and I do as much shopping online as possible now.

Our local Wholefoods is the worst for me, for some reason.

My MIL on the other hand openly says she prefers Waitrose because 'one gets a better class of person there'. Now that's what I call a supermarket snob.

i hate shopping oh goes and does most shopping i dont moan if he doesnt get it right or where he goes hes busy working and i appreciate him doing shopping as im busy working and dont get time in the week to go anywhere happy me happy him so i would let your oh go shopping instead the alternative is do online shopping

1. things do not cost more on-line.

Costs are the same as in the shop

1. Asda minimum order for delivery is £25. If you can choose when to deliver, it can be as little as £1, but average is £3.50
2. There is no way that 2 x bus fares is less than most delivery costs.
3. I find Aldi and Lidl just don't stock everything we need, so although it is cheaper, you do have to go elsewhere as well.
4. Waitrose is definitely more expensive, it works out at about 20%, if you are buying unbranded goods. They have (used to have?) a price guarantee on brand names, so they are the same as other supermarkets.
5. If you want to save money, stop buying brand names, stop shopping at waitrose and work out how on-line shopping works

The better class of person seems true - but I think that depends on the area.

Cleaning agents that are used as well.as pesticides
I felt the same way in asdas even had hives anytime i went in there also have begun to feel the same way in Tesco
Hardly go into either now

I don't really buy brand names - we bought lots of veggies/frozen veggies, some meat, salad veggies, frozen mince, Halloumi (because he loves the stuff), strong wholemeal flour + yeast, tins of pulses, that kind of thing. Except for teabags, but they're sold round the corner. I've found that not only are basics ranges not stocked in the smaller supermarkets, they aren't always sold online - and I prefer to see whether the veggies are squishy or firm before handing over my pound.

Because we're in the TFL area, the bus fare there and back for both of us was £3.

I do feel sorry for him at times, but he points out that I'm the one keeping the roof over our heads and he doesn't mind what he cooks as long as it makes me feel as good as possible/my blood tests don't flag up with severe deficiencies as they did a few years back (anaemia, vitamin Bs, vitamin D at a dangerously low level, etc). I'm still getting some pain from osteomalacia, despite being on massive doses for over a year and they said I had to be more careful about what I ate as well as taking a bunch of supplements in addition to medication for the PsA.

A good compromise might be to rotate round supermarkets and cherry pick what you like/is cheapest and stock up on offers etc.

Can you go early in the morning at all - supermarkets are very quiet then and usually fully stocked. Also buy several of each item. You mention Halloumi.

The cheapest Halloumi on the Waitrose website is £2.15 but it is £1.39 in Lidl and has a date of about a year on, so you could go to Lidl and buy a few packs and save loads. Veg and meat also much cheaper.

Interesting. I noticed 9 years ago that I get a total sensory overload and feel unwell in the Tesco stores.

Puzzled me for a long time, still puzzling me, not knowing if it is the sounds, lighting, colour scheme, or just signage overload.

I don’t know what it is, but it’s something.

Doesn’t happen anywhere else...

I think it's the lighting.