What lazy food/buy cheap/named you use

[Belledan1]

Have read the cooking from scratch thread and was wondering what lazy/cheap/branded food you will always get. I know some people have no choice re basic range and I have been there and do have to watch what I spend now. Interested in some convenience foods.

Lazy/convenient - mine is frozen mash but do make own sometimes. Also sliced / grated cheese - this more as teenager in family make toasties etc and less mess and sliced also good for calorie counting. Sometimes microwave rice, burgers and noodles again for teenager and have a variety different frozen veg. Yorkshire puddings.

Basic range - jam, garlic bread, yogurts. Mint sauce. Ham for omelettes etc. Eggs as I only eat the white.

Branded- always have daddies brown sauce, pg tips and nescafe but do tend to get when on offer.

Do try and stick to a budget and shop mainly aldi.

I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking wtaf 🤯
Although it vaguely reminds me of something that weetabix shared on twitter a year or two ago.

I only ever buy microwave rice now. I get the cheapest versions of tinned veg and pasta as don't think there's any difference to the branded. I always buy branded laundry products, I just don't think the shops own versions are food enough. I like Azera coffee but I've found a good substitute in Lidl.

twitter.com/weetabix/status/1532633184575361026?t=Ow7dqtWDeizWq2K90kFjnA&s=19

Didn't realise this ad campaign was still going!

Hahaha, no. Give it a try it is a very neutral taste. I just cook my sauce and put the weetabix at the end. It might look awful, not gonna like chewy puke, but it is delicious

Lie* sorry for the typo

Chewy puke you say?
Well I'll definitely try it now

Lazy: straight to wok noodles. Saves a pan and means a super fast dinner.

When you say you add the weetabix at the end, do you mean that you pour the sauce over the dry weetabix or do your crumble weetabix into the pasta/ curry sauce? How do you get the consistency right - in my experience weetabix is either too dry or too mushy for me to imagine having it with a curry.

Battered cod

Frozen onion and herbs

Lazy - pouches of microwave rice and straight-to-wok noodles for teens to make their own meals when they're on the hunt for food. I do buy bags of rice in bulk for when i cook, but these are handy to have around.

Value/own brands - loads of stuff. Pasta, cereals, porridge, flour, herbs, tinned veg, pasta sauce jars, loo roll, most cleaning products, soap and bubble bath.

Branded - ketchup, baked beans, margarine, tea bags

Lazy - pre grated cheese, frozen chopped garlic, ginger and coriander, frozen cauliflower rice.

Basics - rice, pasta, most tinned foods including chopped tomatoes and tomato soup. Anything I can add extra flavour to.

Branded - warbutons bread, marmite (accept no substitutions), Heinz ketchup, Coke Zero.

Lazy/ convenient - jars of pesto and pasta sauce always in the cupboard. A real revelation was getting finely ground polenta by mistake and discovering that it literally takes one minute to cook when mixed with boiling water. I often use it instead of mash or rice. Toppings on pies and under savoury stews. If you add some veg stock to the boiling water it's even better.

Basics - just about any of the basics ranges are fine with me.

Branded - tea has to be PG tips and spreadable butter is always Anchor. Ketchup, tomato soup and baked beans have to be Heinz.

Lazy - packet bread sauce, packet stuffing

Basics - loads, too many to list

Branded - Hellman's Mayo, Kellogg's cornflakes, Jacobs cream crackers, HP

I like Twinings tea

Loads of basics

Always have Pesto

Lazy: chopped garlic in jars, frozen mash, bags of salad, tomato and mascarpone pasta sauce, ready made meat balls, garlic bread, pizza, chicken in a bag,

Basics: cereal, quite a few own brands.

Branded: Azeera coffee, PG Tips, di cecco pasta, heinz ketchup and soups, HP sauce, Helmann's mayo, Coleman's mustard, Maldon salt, President or other French butter, Branston pickle

Luxury: good meat, good coffee, good cheese, good fish.

This is truly the stuff of nightmares 😷

Lazy - tesco stir fry veg + noodles

Brand - Heinz ketchup, HP sauce, dairygold butter, brennans bread

Basic - pretty much everything else

I know it defeats the being lazy part but I sometimes batch cook mash spuds. I freeze it in muffin tines for 1 large scoop portions. Handy if u have spuds near off.

Lazy- microwave rice, frozen mash, frozen veg (although I don't really think of that as lazy).

Branded- weeatbix (only as breakfast cereal though!), Nescafé azera, cushelle or Andrex toilet roll, fairy dishwasher tablets/washing tablets and washing up liquid, some choc bars (tunnocks springs to mind), Heinz ketchup (but only because I like to get a low sugar one and only like the full sugar supermarket own ones).

Value- most other things would be lidl or Tesco own brand. value brands- pasta and rice, squash, chopped tomatoes, frozen chips.

Oh yeah lazy- ready made salad bags and stir fry veg bags, ready made stir fry sauce

Mushy. For example, then I had the lentils with Weetabix,I make sure there is enough lentils sauce to make it mushy.

Love this thread,feel like you guys are my siblings/husband because they react the same way. I like "bizarre" mix though. If I told you the most strange (according to family and friends) combination of food I love you wouldn't even believe me lol

Sorry yes I do buy the cheapest basic eggs you can get. Thought of something else recently discovered bisto instant cheese sauce and parsley sauce. Though I did see in aldi they do their own cheese sauce now.

If I told you the most strange (according to family and friends) combination of food I love you wouldn't even believe me lol

Is it mashed potato and an old wellington boot?

If I am making a savoury mince recipe, or meatballs, or burgers, I crumble a weetabix or two into the mix. It makes the mince go a lot further.

I use oats for bulking out mince in thinks like pasta sauce

Lazy - frozen chopped onions, frozen cubed butternut squash and sweet potato. Jars of pesto and curry paste.

Basic - dried pasta, wonky veg, loo roll

Branded - Frank Cooper's Oxford Marmalade, Shirgar Welsh salted butter, Patak's lime pickle