Martin Lewis says to go down a quality stage in your shopping... I urge you, do NOT try out the value range of.........

[Flamesparrow]

tea bags!

It is NOT a good saving. Tastes like hell in a bag.

DH only likes the smell of Persil non-bio [sigh]

I buy big boxes of powder and use a very stingy scoop in each wash

ASDA's Extra Special cod is much cheaper if you buy it from the freezer.

washing powder is best bought from the nearest cash and carry. We've saved a fortune sdince joining costco. I buy stuff when on offer in bulk. Meat is cheap from the local butchers, and we don't eat too much of it.

I don't really like buying basics anymore. I used to buy fruit and veg mainly as basics, as it doesn't usually taste much different. But there was a pg on tv not too long ago where they had a family living from basics for a while. They tested some of the food and the fruit and veg sold as basics or economy was actually lower in nutrients.

Sainsburys gold roast instant coffee is as nice a Kenco in my opnion and about half the price.

Farm Foods do 18 readymade yorkshire puds for £1 and they're yummy. Sainsburys own yorkshires (chilled) are not so good..

do not ever ever attempt smartprice fishfingers

like orange mulched cardboard

the following value/smart price items are eaten often at Lulu Towers with no complaints:

tinned tuna chunks
tinned tomatoes
tinned kidney beans

creme caramel , fromage frais, natural yoghurt

pasta shapes and spaghetti

yorkshire puddings

apples, carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers

i still buy asda's own washing powder as it smells delish

value tea and coffee is false economy

lidl's fairtrade instant coffee is good though

Value washing up liquid is false economy because it's crap.

Value nappies - tried them once, never again.

Value coke and lemonade - vile.

Value bread - like pulp.

However value tinned tomatoes, orange juice, cereal - all fine.

On another thread somebody was saying tha Lidl's own nappies are very good.
My children are eating Tesco's own coco pops without complaint and I'm using Tesco's own Rich tea biscuits in my rocky road recipe without any problems.

Jsut remember that I have some Asda smart price Muesli. I use it for porridge. It's OK. And it cost about 57p for enough to feed a shire horse for a week.

Coffee - I cant do instant (sorry not my cup of tea) So I buy Sainsury two for one or two for £2 - one stock up madley deeply.

My logic is that if I can have a good decent pot of coffee at home I will not bother with a starbucks or whatever when I am at at £2 per cup.

I like sainsbury own french or after dinner keeps me awake.

Don't do crisps have convinced dd to have popcorn instaed as she has a make and pop corn works out much much cheaper and far healthier (unless of course you add salt or sugar by the bucket full)

sainsburys value stuff/basics range is great

we are munching through loads of basics large pack apples and carrots and mushrooms which are all shapes and sizes!

also good are the basics tomato tins, biscuits, own brand dishwasher stuff.

Asda smartprice dishwasher tabs - £1.79 for 30, and do the job nicely, thank you.

Dh's personal favourite - smartprice sponge puddings in a tin - about 45p. Not so sure about it myself..!

lidl and aldi's disposable nappies and wipes are excellent and v v good value for money

tinned tomatoes cheap is fine

tinned butter/various other beans fine

cheap coffee (tastes like floor sweepings)

cheap blocks of noodles (what are they called? I call them ramens, anyway they are great DS loves them with a bit of cheese, ham, and peas)

value flour (fine no real diffrence everyone still eats my cakes/muffins/pizza dough w/o a complaint)

balsamic vinegar (value is fine not quite as nice but DH never noticed)

calue sweetcorn (I don't like it but DS dosent' seem to care)

value butter (ok for cooking with but not so great just on toast or sandwiches)

value porridge oats (no diffrence unless you accidentally get the ones with really big flakes then its hell on earth.. though they do make great flapjacks)

value orange juice (sorry can't do that it tastes vile.. tropicana only in this house)

sainsburys basic cornflakes are a bit odd but near ideentical to sainsbury so organic cornflakes

i really don't think that cheap tinned tomatoes are a bargain, they are just watery. i get two or three different meals out of one tin of valfruta italian. they are also reduced at waitrose atm.

Aldi tinned tomatoes are 33p and not watery at all (used to be 19p not too long ago though!)

If you find they are too watery add a squirt of puree - still works out cheaper.

lol fishie. You are too posh for this thread ;-).

I haven't tried many value things but here's my tuppence worth:

Cheap things that are horrible -

cheap tinned tomatoes - they have watery juice and lots of manky green stem end bits ime.

Cheap coffee.

Cheap cheddar - ugh.

Cheap cornflakes - inedible.

Cheap crisps

Cheap things that are okay -

tinned kidney beans

fake versions of things like Penguin biscuits

porridge - not tried the value stuff but the big bags of supermarket homebrand are fine

Sainsbo's honeynut cornflakes, not value, just homebrand

Sainsbo's gold coffee

martin lewis can bugger off
my life is dull enough, I'm not giving up heinz/tetley/branston etc etc
and yes we are skint, but jesus lifes too short to eat crap

I agree with ssd. I have tried to give up the brands but all the own brand equivalents have more salt,sugar,e-crap etc.
And what is with the no-sugar squash (of any brand)? aisles and aisles of the stuff? At least sugar is a natural product unlike the frankenstein 'sweeteners' they replace it with...

But lots of value stuff isn't crap at all. Or it's not crap if you use it in the right way. For instance Basics cheese is not particularly good just to eat on crackers but it's absolutely fine in a cheese sauce or a quiche. Basics tuna is mushy but fine in a pasta sauce or bake.

Cheap coffee is definitely a false economy, though.

Re the value ranges in fruit and veg, it's worth looking at how much loose fruit and veg is. I noticed last week that Basics tomatoes are pretty much the same price as loose tomatoes and if you get the loose ones you can pick a bunch of ripe ones instead of getting hard ones that are only good for cooking.

Since ds's are recovering from illness and we have spent most of day chillin in front of tv i can confirm tesco value biscuit barrel pack (900g) are perfectly edible. Managed to polish of them between 4 of us - yummy health food for poorly children

Please don't touch Sainsbury's basic tuna; it's so vile that even my cats wouldn't eat it.

i agree that saving on food by buying economy crap= it is not good for us on the long term ie health

For example the thought of buying economy meat- ie salamis, sausages, frankfurts, burgers... horrifies me...

it is all processed food- with a very tiny percentage of meat and shit loads of fat, bowels, brains, cartilage and so on..
which cannot be good for us or our children.

we have to have some standard, even if our families "dont notice the difference", when offering food to our loved ones.

besides i believe that all the meaty products mentioned above are not essesntial for our nutrition so better be avoided!