To not be able to food shop for cheaper?

[cheesetriangles]

I’ve tried all the supermarkets possible but can’t manage to get our weekly food shop for less than £100.

(£100 is inclusive of all food, toiletries, cleaning products, detergent, vitamins, kitchen/loo roll, tin foil etc)

It’s only two adults eating but we do have to buy some free from products in that. We don’t buy alcohol. I’ve been to all the supermarkets and just can’t do it for cheaper at any. We eat very little meat, maybe the weekly shop includes two meat products that’s it. I wish I could save on this but maybe that’s just not practical with the cost of living? AIBU?

I shop at lidl and manage to get everything I need for the week. I stock up on a few things less often elsewhere but I walk, or stop when i am driving that way already. I rarely buy from the middle aisles and most weeks don't even look.

Agreed.

It's also pretty rude, to just swan into a thread with many posters who eat those foods as part of the management for their medical condition, and loudly turn your nose up at it. I wonder if the poster goes onto threads where people mention following a vegan diet to proclaim that it's all rabbit food, or plops onto discussions about the price of cheese to say milk is for baby cows and was never meant for humans and besides which it's full of PUS ☠️☠️☠️

You can feed people for between £0.50 and £1.00 as often as you like.

Can you cook a chicken ? There you have 10 meals easy just by adding some pasta, veg, rice, sauces etc.

£100 a week is £14 a day. Are you eating gold bread ?

@DumboHimalayan Same goes for those who were being precious about skimmed milk powder. It's just milk that's been dried. Maybe with some added vitamins, but the process of drying doesn't add anything noxious.

Some people are even uptight about frozen veg, though I hope people are getting over that now.

@jd1983 yes I work FT 40hrs a week with chronic health conditions

I go shopping once a week, to Aldi because I like the food there and it works out cheaper for me. B&M is next door for anything else
When I pick up my prescriptions once a month I get anything I need from Morrisons like a specific salad dressing i can't get at Aldi

Aldi is our local store.
Nearer than others.
I have never bought anything in the middle aisle.
It’s possible to keep to the list
Plus Aldi and Lidl have won many awards for their food, especially the wine if you like a tipple.

I don't know why people are saying aldi is a crap store
It sells fresh food like anywhere else

Lidl seems better than Aldi. I find their food fine. The veg tends to be cheaper there than the other supermarkets. They are definitely not crap shops. I rarely buy anything from the middle aisle but when I have, they were good purchases.

Certain things are ok from Aldi. Some types of veg don’t last very long, the salad is poor quality and so is the soft fruit. There’s no exciting veg like fennel or celeriac. Meat is ok if you eat or freeze it, but you can’t leave it in the fridge because it often goes rotten before its sell by date. Allergen labelling is extremely poor, lots of items contain allergens that they absolutely don’t need to contain. There is no provision at all for free-from foods, not even staples like bread or flour.

I didn't know that gusto box included sandwich bread & fillings too.

@Spirro I definitely think there's a lot of variation between stores and more so than other places
I get the bistro salad weekly and no issues with meat at all (cooked chicken on its use by date) But then my friend hates Morrisons and her local one is awful (I went in to check it out!)

I can do 100 a week for 2 adults and 3 children. I have coeliac disease but only really bother with gluten free pasta and occasionally flour. I don't buy gluten free bread/snacks etc as I just can't afford it. We only buy non brand foods and basic fruits such as apples bananas and oranges.

A week old. Wow.

Its very interesting and gives lots of great ideas for everyone else still reading along.

@lljkk so that includes a whole week of food so 6 days (we get 1 takeaway on a Saturday). I use hello fresh or gousto 5 days a week for 3 people so the third meal is split between my 2&5 year olds. However I don’t ever pay full price for it they send discount codes if you cancel your account then re sign up so I alternate - I then buy a separate meal for the 6th day with my food shop

Ours is about £120 for 4 people from Sainsbury’s and I don’t particularly budget though no alcohol, toiletries or meat. Do you buy a lot of ready made stuff or brands? You need to post a list or receipt for helpful advice really.

I don't know how you're managing this. 5 people £100 pw. Maybe because things are aimed at families of four so buying for two may aswell be buying for a family? But I think you definitely could bring this down. Batch cook and freeze? But that seems excessive to me

I spend about £120 a week on food shopping for 2 adults 1 teen and 3 under 10s including packed lunches. Myself and partner don’t take a lunch. Cook from scratch. 2 main dinners each day as kids eat hours before us as we have dinner after work about 11.30pm

@AvengedQuince its not just bread. If you look at ingredients, nearly everything has it in! I’m coeliac and I shop at Lidl for meat and fresh food but pasta, side dishes, cereal, convenience/y treat foods, some yoghurts, sauces, etc I need to get elsewhere. I tend to bulk buy these where I can but it really does add up!

I shop for 6 adults for around £120 a week so I'm pretty sure I could come in at less than £100 for 2!!
We eat meat & veg dishes every night too, usually slow cooker meals.

I haven't said that, did someone else? There isn't much in my cupboard with gluten aside from the obvious though. Silverskin onions have barley, but natural/Greek yogurt is just milk, my pesto is fine. Just the onions where I wouldn't expect it. It must depend on what you buy, I mostly cook from scratch.

Thank you, these sour cream do look really good. Although a bit fiddly but needs must 😃

I do the herb and garlic butter ones too. So far we have had smashed (can't call it proper mash as I refuse to peel them), diced, sliced, boiled, roasted, flattened, the favourite so far is crispy roasted with a whole head of garlic.

I even planted some to try become a goddess of the garden (which is the biggest joke as I kill everything off), so imagine my face when it was time for a haul....expecting some nice big potatoes..... To pull up more baby ones 🤣

Oh well, at least I managed to grow something for a change.

We spend about £200pw for a family of 5 (one dc in nappies, no alcohol). No dietary issues though. But I think we could get it down much cheaper if we needed to - we eat meat daily, and buy some pre-prepped stuff and premium range products, lots of soft fruit, and packaged snacks for lunchboxes. So quite a lot on convenience/fussiness that I wouldn't need if I was shopping for 2 sensible adults. We get a Tesco shop delivered - it would be much cheaper in Aldi but the convenience of a weekly delivery works for us.

When cooking under the grill??
food keeps better wrapped in foil for lunches, also takes up less space in a bag

It doesn't! That comes out of the £40-60 top up shop I do 😊

@Bertiesmum3 , use your common sense.

@Spirro , it varies from store to store. I've never had a problem with veg from Lidl or Aldi, but I went to one store and didn't buy any as it looked like it wouldn't keep for a couple of days.