Sainsburys basic. Any recommendations?

[fudgelover]

I need to cut my food shopping bill. Each week I seem to spend more and more. I shop at sainsburys,just because that is the one nearest to me. Can anyone recommend any of the sainsburys basic range.

Ready salted crisps multipack. Good size for children.
Chocolate cerealbar, chocchip cereal bar. The oat&rasin cerealbar is not so nice.
Biscuits such as borbons/custcream
Large prawns

Rice
Kidney beans
Mozzarella/mozzarella balls

Also look in the World Foods section. You will find tinned toms, chickpeas, coconut milk and Indian crisps and snacks at much cheaper prices than in the usual tinned veg section.

Oh and the chilled, individual cheese and tomato pizza is the only pizza DS will eat.

I was buying the Basics individual peach or strawberry yogurts but found that the six pack of red or orange fruit yogurts at 99p is almost as good value and much nicer.

I used to buy Basics fromage frais for DS because they have less sugar. They were fine.

I have noticed that the Basics butter isn't always the cheapest on the shelf. The price must fluctuate according to supplier.

Creme caramels. Mmmmmm

Part baked baguettes
Jaffa cakes
Fromage frais
Mozzerella
Honey
Parmasan alike
Naan bread
Pitta bread

The only bad thing so far is the tinned sponge pudding

I find their dishwasher tablets fine. Always use them

We bought the basics rolled lamb shoulder, or something similar. Very cheap for lamb and tasted great. managed to get two meals out of it :)

Oh yes, and the big packs of toilet rolls! Nine for £1.96 I think and I actually prefer them to the luxury super-thick stuff.

Oh yes, I'd second the part baked baguettes, mozzarella balls, choc mousses (absolutely identical in ingredients and nutritional ratings as their more expensive mousse - I checked) crème caramel and nachos. But as none of these are strictly necessary in a diet, I guess there's basics and basics if you're on a budget.

I had to spend less and less on food due to my husband illness with a budget cut by 80%. I explored a lot of Sainsbury's basics products but of course they are more good Sainsbury's basics I never tried because I never buy them.
I like Mozzarella Cheese, tuna chunks basics (tin), digestive biscuits, pasta shapes, sponge scourers at £0.20 x 3, can change very often at this price, medium wholemeal bread, cotton wool pads, soft cheese, fish fingers, custard creams, double strength orange, cheese & tomato pizza 12” 440g is very good, full flavour cheddar cheese 1kg bizarrely 625g no so good when I tried, Mushy peas, Italian hard cheese, chicken curry (frozen) enough for 2 and good, soap basic, here is the must because I am allergic to a lot of ingredients and could not find a soap with a little fragrance and this one does not give me allergy at £0.20, normally I had to pay £4.00 for soap to be eczema free.

YY to fruit and veg. Frozen basics fish is pollock - great in a sauce, though I prefer to defrost it before cooking it as pollock tends to be watery. Basics fish fingers are also pollock - a bit grey but my go to for a fish finger sarnie.

Basics tissues are too rough for longtime snotty noses, but great for sticky hands and faces. Basics handwash is fine, but soap is cheaper and lasts longer.

And yes, the basics mozzerella is fab and gets great reviews on the website. The italian hard cheese does the tangy job it needs to.
DH likes the instant hot chocolate - fairtrade, too!

Adding to the urge to heck out places like poundland and home bagains for cleaning products, though their stuff is often specially sized to be cheaper - the mitchum roll on you can sometimes get in Sainsburys for £2 is more than twice the size of the poundland/savers/home bargains/B&M version.

Am normally fussy about garlic bread but Sainsbury's basics is good.

All biscuits. Chocolate is okay esp for baking. The dark has higher cocoa content than the non basics own brand. Butter. "Cheddar" and "Parmesan" are acceptable but not as nice as real. Mozzarella perfectly decent -but obvs isn't buffalo mozzarella.

Friend was a great fan of the chocolate mousse. Natural yoghurt is fine.

The ham on their deli counter is nice and was cheaper than a lot of their packet ham, esp if it's reduced.

Basics loo roll is fine once you're used to it. Kitchen towel.

Bake it yourself breads. I hate the basics loaves but I think that's because I ate them as a student too too too much. I think they cornflakes were okay.

Pasta, rice. Tonnes tomatoes. Fruit and veg. Had a maggot in a basics pepper once but I rang up and they gave me £20 in vouchers so wasn't put off by that! Tomato sauce Is only about 20% tomato so I would avoid that one! Make your own or buy from lidl or Aldi.

Pure concentrate fruit juice isn't as nice as Tropicana/fresh own brand but is much cheaper. Value fizzy water also fine.

Another friend used to love the smoked salmon cut offs.

Tesco dw tablets are fine, but Lidl's are better. Asda/Tesco/lidl value bio washing liquid is also fine, haven't tried Sainsbury's.

I'd say the pasta was very good if it was being used in a bake together with sauce and cheese, but a bit bland when used in something like Primavera with the sauce added at the end.

All the fruit and veg is fine, of course (including tinned toms, kidney beans etc). Ditto flour.

I don't mind the 35p bread (DH doesn't like it). Fine for toast and sarnies.

Houmous is really nice. Baked beans good. Rice is OK for every day but I wouldn't serve to guests (very starchy, even when rinsed).

Orange juice fine, kitchen roll and tissues fine. Tried the 35p toothpaste and it's fine (I'll go back to a more powerful one though). Ketchup is great! DH says marmalade is fine and yoghurts OK.

The pasta, though, is utterly vile.

As a student I used to eat the basics ready mash all the time. I can't stand smash or any other ready mash, not even the Sainsbury's own, but really enjoyed the basics one. then again my taste buds were probably destroyed most of the time