To be horrified at the price of food

[Thorts]

Single pepper, now 60p - everywhere.
Apple juice - 99p everywhere for the cheap stuff

How are people supposed to eat fresh fruit and veg daily (and the right amount) with these prices?

If you were to look at processed food however; pack of ham 20p, custard creams 20p, garlic bread 35p.

You could get two of all the processed items mentioned for less price than one pepper and one carton of 1L value Apple juice.

Surely something needs to be done?

Think it's so easy and cheap to eat healthily. Please take me to this alternate reality

Sorry but very few people work 12+ hours. Pasta sauce made with an onion, tin of toms, garlic and chilli flakes takes minutes, ditto Dahl and veg, hominy pie you can make ahead, egg fried rice… all very cheap and meals I make in mins when we return from our full time jobs .

People are going to have to step up and start doing their own research into cheap meat free meals on a budget. It is possible, I’ve had to do it.

If you have £10 for food for the week, you're going to reach for the cheap UPFs because it's something to get you through. You're not going to grab a pack of mince and a couple bits of veg, because it won't be enough!

Frankly £10 in UPF isn’t going to be enough either, because £10 isn’t enough for 21 meals no matter what you’re buying.

Think it's so easy and cheap to eat healthily. Please take me to this alternate reality

Equally shocking how many people think a diet without avocados is a peasant diet.

Oats and porridge is cheap, ditto 50/50 toast and peanut butter for breakfast. Aldi fruit and fibre is v cheap for a big box. I often have leftovers for lunch. Jacket potatoes are cheap for tea with cheese and baked beans. Flapjacks cheap to make ditto soup. You need to be creative. We all have phones. Search cheap meat free meals, there is loads out there.

Iceland do 5 for £5 on a ton of things. A pizza for a pound. 4 crispy pancakes for a pound. It's much more than £10 would get you in fresh produce.

No it isn’t. You could get a massive bag of oats, jacket potatoes, lentils,pasta, tinned tomatoes, veg…

Yes, and food that doesn't leave you hungry and feeling like crap because your body is looking for nutrition, not just empty calories.

I agree that the profits they are making are ridiculous, and up a lot compared to in the past. That’s the same for other essentials too, like energy. But if you buy from small independent retailers food is hugely more expensive so it’s not all about profit. Unless those small retailers are ripping us off to an equal amount.
But I could shop for way less than £50 for one person and even if that was the average cost, it would be affordable if everything else hadn’t gone up in price so much

Cheap meals don't have to be meat free. You can use a small amount of meat and make really tasty healthy meals.
Things like bolognese or lasagne with just a small amount of mince and more veg.
Pasta bake with mushrooms and chicken
Chickpea or veg and chicken curry

Chicken and bean stew
Wraps with more veg than meat. Maybe some black beans.
Basically anything can be made using half the amount of meat and upping the veg and/or adding pulses.

There are no tariffs on any goods between the UK and EU, as part of the bare-bones last-minute December 2020 "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement".

And most of the non-tariff barriers are going the other way, hitting British exporters rather than importers. For stuff coming in, the UK still hasn't implemented most of the border checks that it is required to carry out under WTO rules.

In other words, the most direct effects of Brexit on food prices are still to come. If I were the current UK government I'd probably leave that particular timebomb for the likely incoming Labour administration.

Where Brexit has made a difference already is in things like the shortages of both farm workers and truck drivers. And of course those have definitely contributed to increased prices.

It is true that pasta with a very basic tinned tomato sauce is cheap and quick, as is egg friend rice and dahl as a meal, but it is not a healthy diet. It is very carb heavy and frankly boring as fuck. I know, I have eaten like this week after week in the past.

And the middle class people on here would not feed their families these meals week after week and month after month. They have these meals as quick easy food in between more interesting meals.

Don’t be utterly ridiculous.It is absolutely not an unhealthy diet and carbs in that context are perfectly healthy. Not boring either. Chilli, garlic and a bit of fresh Parmesan makes pasta sing, I love Dahl, ditto egg fried rice….

Errr I feed my family these meals week after week. I have to. There is nothing wrong with it. There is some ridiculous food snobbery on here.

I would feed my family pasta and sauce, porridge for breakfast, etc if that’s what I could afford. I’m not in a place where I need to now, but I have been in the past and plain, cheap, nutritious was the order of the day.

@Bumblebeeinatree Fresh parmesan makes it much more expensive and was not included in your original recipe.
You really eat a basic tomato pasta, dahl and egg friend rice on rotation for months and months?

And before you leap on about the cost of Parmesan. Aldi do a reasonable slice quite cheap that can last a long time if you use it sparingly which we should be taking cholesterol levels into consideration.

The days of salmon and asparagus tips, strawberries etc in winter are gone. It was ridiculous anyway.

There is a massive middle ground between a very basic tomato pasta and asparagus tips.
And you eat other meals as well I assume?

I buy parmesan from ALDI. It is fine, but no I would not say it is incredibly cheap.

Yep we have jacket potatoes too. Dahl is lovely with boiled veg, mango chutney on the side maybe a bit of flat bread, egg fried rice is lovely, kale and chilli pasta is gorgeous…. You just need to collect some veggie recipes you like. Honiton is really nice.

Where are you finding ham and custard creams at 20p???

Ah so you don't just have a big bowl of dahl and you add veg to the pasta. It sounds as if your food budget is similar to mine. If you are really poor, and I have been, these kind of meals are too costly.

You only need a little bit on top as strong and v hard.£2.99. Will easily stretch 2 weeks or more. A basil plant is 79p and lasts weeks and will regrow if you look after it. We have chives in the garden. Aldi cream cheese with chives is nice on jackets and in sandwiches….

Nope. Wonky veg is very cheap. Carrots are next to nothing…