WTF have I done?

[Supermercado]

Posting in AIBU for traffic

How much has your supermarket shop cost including top ups, how big is your family and what do you make with it? I've just spent a small fortune on food for one person, which included fresh vegetables, yogurt, cheese, sphagetti, tinned beans and tomatos, and frozen fruit but it amounted to a bit over £60. Shopping in asda. Not including dog food, wine, or toiletries. NO lobster or anything of the sort. A multi pack of tuna. Besides a box of lollies and tea, no treats. It didnt even include the top up milk that I'll have to get and I've forgotten ingredients still. I cant afford to do this every week but is it the price you pay to have a good diet or is it possible for less?

@Abbaloverandmum that reminds me
I bought bottled water but that's because I was out and needed a refrigerated drink as today was roasting but I think you're referring to people who are buying it and solely drinking it

And that's not included in the total cost as I went in and bought that afterwards

Our last shop was £65 for 5 people for a week (2 adults, 3 children aged 5-12)

For breakfast we all have granola with cows milk

I make dh a packet lunch, 6 slices of bread (3 sandwiches) with either chicken salad, cheese and salami, ham and mustard or cheese and tomatoes along with a container of fruit (usually bananas, an apple and some grapes or a clementine).

The kids and I eat a sandwich each for lunch and have a smoothie made with banana, apple, honey and frozen fruit. I put a bit of raw vege on the side for the kids (cucumber, carrot, peppers, tomatoes etc)

for dinner we are having the following:

falafels with pita bread and salad
baby potatoes with salad and fish
home made ham and vege quiche with garlic bread
home made vege soup with focaccia bread
3 bean chilli with nachoes
chicken curry with spinach, rice and naan
tuna pasta bake and broccoli

I shop at Aldi, I did already have a tin of tomatoes, 1 loaf of bread, garlic bread, 1 pack falafels and rice, so this would have added another £4-5 to our bill.

Wonder if you're forgetting a few significant things because unless you bought large quantities (or premium brands) the only possibly pricey things I could see on your list were the peanut butter (depending on size and brand) and the vanilla extract. Multipack of tuna is about £3.50?

I don't know how Asda compares to Tesco but I popped into Tesco recently as I passed by and ended up saving £7.50 on a £22 shop because of Clubcard offers on things that I needed, rather than being drawn in by offers. Don't normally shop there so was pleasantly surprised.

Our weekly shop at Aldi costs around £75 a week for 1 child and 2 adults. That's all good, toiletries and alcohol and cleaning products.

We're €120 a week for 2 adults and 2 under 10. All food is home cooked no jars, pre-pack.
We eat porridge a few times a week, much better value than cereals.
We cut down on the meat although it's in the meals it's bulked it with chickpeas, lentils. Plenty of veg and fruit.
No biscuits or crisps, fizzy drinks.

Not sure how many people will see it but ibe forgotten to list a few items I also bought wholemeal wraps to use as tortillas and cheap asda brand doritos or something like that.

Its impossible to say without knowing the exact contents of this shopping, But I do agree prices have gone up.

Buy cheaper varieties of veg, all the veg you’re buying is ‘premium’

a mix of frozen peas / carrots / sweetcorn
Frozen green beans
frozen spinach
a cheaper variety of tomatoes (cherry toms are expensive)

frozen berries/mango are very expensive - I assume you’re making smoothies? Buy bananas and cheap yogurt to bulk it out

as other have said too much expensive dairy

you said no treats or connivence food - I would consider croissants and chicken fajita
mix a treat, so ditch those

cheese I’d also consider a treat to some extent - it can be very expensive nowadays

Would you consider dried beans? You can cook a big batch and freeze them that would save you some money

lasagne is an expensive meal to make - spag bol is similar and much cheaper

Fajitas are another ‘treat meal’ for me - expensive to make

make a chicken stir fry instead and use rice and the side

Sorry not chicken I forgot you were a vegetarian - but the principle still applies

@redtshirt50 why are fajitas more expensive than stirfry? Are you using a kit? Surely it's just onions, peppers, (I also add mushrooms) and either chicken or halloumi , some spices from the cupboard and wraps. Even if you want guacamole avocados are 49p in Tesco, sour cream 70p, make your own salsa or just use some diced tomato for freshness

@StaunchMomma Just curious but how many dishwasher tabs did you get for a fiver?

I spend a similar amount to you and I'm also alone. I don't have a very restricted budget so I'm lucky to be able to spend this much. If you can't, you need to cut the treats such as mango or raspberries. Meals based around potatoes, rice, pasta, apples and bananas are always going to be cheaper

Peanut butter - make sure it's the supermarket brand
Croissants - use bread instead
Cheese- big block and freeze half
Actimel yogurts- unnecessary
Vanilla extract- expensive!
Soured cream- will you really use but this and the Creme fraiche?
Yogurt - but the kill ones
Tender heart cabbage- normal cabbage is cheaper

Aubergine - courgette is cheaper

Spring onion - use normal white onion
Sweet potato - use white potato

Jubblys - treat
Quorn - use supermarket soya
Frozen mango - treat
Frozen mixed berries - treat. Use apples
Mushrooms
Cherry tomatos - use salad ones
Red Onions - white are cheaper

*kill = kilo. Like Onken big ones or even own brand

I think you got quite a lot for your money, is this the first time you’ve ever shopped for youtself and paid for your own food?

@KermitlovesKeyLimePie I usually order the large bags or boxes on offer with weekly shop but forgot. Was £5 for 21 Fairy platinum plus, so around 23p a tab, whereas on Ocado they're currently £16 for 105, so just over 15p a tab.

I know you can get cheaper tablets but our dishwasher is a bit rubbish and I end up having to run loads through again with the powder tablets.

Your post is confusing @Supermercado because you said / implied this shop was for YOU but later on you talk about your DP so it's a shop for 2 people. £60 a week for two is not expensive. I'm amazed that all of this ONLY cost £60!

On your list, I wonder what you do with all the dairy in one week. You must be making a lot of creamy meals to use it all.

And as others have said, many of the things are one-off store cupboard items. I mean- vanilla essence? A bottle lasts me for years!

There isn't much substance here. Where is the protein coming from for your meals?

Tinned tomatos
Tinned beans
Passata MAKE YOUR OWN WITH TINNED TOMATOES
Tomato puree STORE CUPBOARD ITEM
Sriracha sauce
Lasagna sheets WILL LAST FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK/MEAL
Peanut butter
Croissants BUY BREAD INSTEAD?
Cheese
Actimel yogurts BUY PLAIN GREEK YOGHURT INSTEAD
Milk
Chicken fajita mix - didnt buy chicken, I'm a vegetarian
Vanilla extract - HOW LONG DOES THIS LAST YOU?
Soured cream
Creme fraiche WHY BOTH? THEY ARE VERY SIMILAR.
Yogurt
Tender heart cabbage
Cauliflower
Aubergine
Carrots
Celery
Avocado
Spring onion
Sweet potato
Mixed peppers
Jubblys - NOT ESSENTIAL
Quorn mince
Frozen mango AN EXPENSIVE CHOICE OF FRUIT
Frozen mixed berries
Mushrooms
Cherry tomatos
Spaghetti
Red Onions

@Supermercado I'm super-confused.

You said this I did my own separate shopping this time. Usually its about £150 including dog food and top ups for four people and a dog

And you mentioned your DP and where they shop.

So was all that food just for you? Does everyone in your household eat different food?

I think you have really confused everyone.

I do a big monthly shop at Lidl which usually comes in at around £100ish for 2 adults and 2DC. I also do a much smaller shop in Asda as I'm usually unable to get everything I need in Lidl so probably about £120-£130 for both. I do top ups from Lidl probably around £20-£25 per week. I buy lots in bulk such as rice, pasta, big 24 packs of toilet roll. I always grab meat when I see it reduced and pick up bits that will keep and I know we'll use such as tuna and boxes of cereal when they're on offer on the Lidl app. I tend to buy the big bulk bottles of laundry liquid and fabric softener from b&m. I tend to find that the bottles are the same price as the supermarket but you'll get maybe half a dozen more washes in the ones in b&m

I don’t really understand if either,but it seems rhe op is shopping just for herself for the first time, and doesn’t know thr cost of food, maybe she is young, lives with her mum and dad, and they usually buy her food and now she needs to buy her own.

for sure you don’t need to spend a tenner a day on food but if you want to eat all the op is, then it’s going to cost about that.

she got a hell of a lot for her money though.

Apart from the frozen mango and the Jubblys (sweets?) I don't think anything there is unreasonable and a normal person shouldn't have to swap from aubergine to courgette or have an apple instead of frozen berries, which are already cheaper than the fresh ones.

"A shopping trolley would probably be a good investment. Then you don't need to buy smaller packs because you can't carry the big packs. Will pay for itself in no time."

I have one. I use it when I go to the very big supermarket and also have a bag on my shoulder. I do most of my shopping on the way home from work though so it's not practical then.

"I get a veg box and we have only eight different items each week - three of which are carrots, potatoes and onions most weeks."

Telling people to limit themselves to boring veg will put them off eating healthily though. If I had to make every meal out of carrot, potato and white onion and couldn't have aubergine any more I think I'd end up just having toast.