food shopping on a budget.

looksee · 14-08-2011 01:26PM

Don't go grocery shopping when you are hungry!

rossie1977 · 14-08-2011 01:28PM

if it hasn't been said, supermarket own brand stuff is much cheaper than known brands, tescos value brand is cheapest they have 30 cent for 2litre of dunnes/tesco water e.g 97cent for 1.5kg of tesco value oven chips (at least €3.25 for the same size mccains bag)

Witchie · 14-08-2011 02:06PM

StonedRaider wrote: »

Don't know if people realise that KoKa/instant noodles that come with that small satchet of flavouring is full of msg c

Then don't use the sachet! I sometimes use the noodles when making a stir fry and add some sweet chili sauce. The other week I got some pork belly strips for 98c in tesco, added some onion and peppers, some chinese spice mix and sweet chili sauce together and served with noodles and my sons said it was one of the nicest meals they ever had.

I agree with others, hunt for bargins and be creative. One thing I suggest though is to buy yourself a treat item so you dont feel deprived. My thing is cheese so i always make sure I have some of my favourite (extra hot mexicana btw) in the fridge and it makes me feel less poor!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 14-08-2011 02:55PM

Anyone mentioned dumpster diving yet...? *runs*

Squall19 · 14-08-2011 02:57PM

whatdoicare wrote: »

My weeks shopping for 3 people this week was 25 euro and I bought a huge steak and sausages!:P Love Aldi!

25 euro for one week! For 3 people!!

So 8.33 euro for a weeks shopping for yourself.

You have steak, sausages, milk, pizza, eggs, fruit, veg etc.

What do you drink?

I would like you to show me your menu for the week, breakfast, lunch, dinner, evening snack.

Because know way in hell are you eating normally or else your math is all wrong.

jenizzle · 14-08-2011 03:19PM

I've been surprised by the really good quality of fruit and veg from Aldi - got a load over the last few weeks from the 39c super saver deal (like a tray of mushrooms that usually cost €1.20 or so).

Definitely cook a big pot of stuff from scratch and freeze it. It's also nice to look in the freezer when yer really stuck and find a portion of the lovely lasagne you cooked 2 weeks ago sitting in there. Omnom!

Amirani · 14-08-2011 03:26PM

There's been some really good tips in here so far.

I'd recommend buying chicken fillets in bulk dividing them into separate sandwich bags with about 3 in each and put them in the freezer. Get a couple of round steaks, some decent quality mince and full pork joints can be cheap on occasion.

Stock up on rice, pasta and potatoes. All of these are cheap and can be used in a variety of ways.

Frozen vegetables are great value. Get a couple of bags of garden peas, mangetout and whatever else you like.

Get some cooking sauces. Few Indian/Chinese/Italian.

If you don't have a lot of time to cook, the whenever you get a chance make a big stir fry with 3 chicken fillets, rice, frozen vegetables and a cooking sauce. Whatever you don't use stick in a lunch box and freeze it. You can do the same with a big Spaghetti Bolognaise. If you're competent enough I'd suggest trying to make your own sauces.

Capt'n Midnight · 14-08-2011 07:30PM

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

It's mad the amount of people who are really against the very idea of shopping in Aldi/Lidl. Until they actually try the stuff.

The 1 Litre of milk in Lidl/Aldi is Irish and 75c
not too sure about the 2L so I spend the extra 1c on the cartons

Dunnes / Supervalue / Tesco own brands don't seem to be Irish so I avoid if I can. Avonmore and Premmiere are both produced by Glanbia and you'll see them priced at 10c in the difference - brand snobbery.

There was a show on RTE radio about who makes the own brands. IIRC Bachelors make the beans for Dunnes, not too sure if the beans are the same ( one hopes ) the Dunnes beans use different sauce watery stuff.

Fruit and Veg is normally sourced in the markets so the 39c Aldi Irish mushrooms 250g are probably the same as the ones costing more than a euro elsewhere. Note mushrooms don't keep too well so don't stock up.

If you drink lager then certainly look at other brands. You can get 500ml 4% for as little as 67c in a multipack. And that includes all the VAT and excise duty that the LVA are complaining about.
If you can resist temptation , get multipacks and stock up when there are special offers. If you want brand names Tuborg might not be the most wonderful thing out there but you'll often get a six pack for a fiver or 24 for twenty.

steve9859 · 14-08-2011 07:58PM

EverEvolving wrote: »

Dunnes Stores do 2 packets of meat for €6 and I've found it's better quality and you tend to get more than the Tesco one. (yes I'm one of those loons who lifts every packet checking for the heaviest!)

Tesco and dunnes meat seems cheaper for the weight, especially when there are offers. But remember that they inject water to make it seem heavier. Chicken is the worst. The best illustration is when you fry it - then all the liquid comes out in the pan. If you get meat from the butcher, the pan/grill will be dry (except for your oil). Moral is to shop on a weekday and get quality meat from the butcher. No water = you need to buy less = cheaper

Neyite · 14-08-2011 08:17PM

If you make up stuff in bulk, and freeze in the plastic chinese takeaway containers you can have some great meals for the weeks you are broke. you can make up curries, stews, soups, pasta sauce, mince beef & gravy, chilli, jambalya, and just microwave them when you want.

You can make up lasange or cottage pie in disposable foil containers from tesco also.

Veg soup with heaps of spuds will get you through a lean week.

wild_cat · 14-08-2011 08:23PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

The 1 Litre of milk in Lidl/Aldi is Irish and 75c
not too sure about the 2L so I spend the extra 1c on the cartons

Dunnes / Supervalue / Tesco own brands don't seem to be Irish so I avoid if I can. Avonmore and Premmiere are both produced by Glanbia and you'll see them priced at 10c in the difference - brand snobbery.

There was a show on RTE radio about who makes the own brands. IIRC Bachelors make the beans for Dunnes, not too sure if the beans are the same ( one hopes ) the Dunnes beans use different sauce watery stuff.

Fruit and Veg is normally sourced in the markets so the 39c Aldi Irish mushrooms 250g are probably the same as the ones costing more than a euro elsewhere. Note mushrooms don't keep too well so don't stock up.

If you drink lager then certainly look at other brands. You can get 500ml 4% for as little as 67c in a multipack. And that includes all the VAT and excise duty that the LVA are complaining about.
If you can resist temptation , get multipacks and stock up when there are special offers. If you want brand names Tuborg might not be the most wonderful thing out there but you'll often get a six pack for a fiver or 24 for twenty.

I think that extra 10 cent on the Glanbia goes towards giving the farmers a higher price for the milk. I'd be careful enough about the milk in lidl all the same. I've good reasons to believe that its produced very near to the border if you get what im saying.

Capt'n Midnight · 14-08-2011 09:55PM

wild_cat wrote: »

I think that extra 10 cent on the Glanbia goes towards giving the farmers a higher price for the milk. I'd be careful enough about the milk in lidl all the same. I've good reasons to believe that its produced very near to the border if you get what im saying.

If you re-read my post you will see that I was saying that glanbia were charging 10c more for one of their brands than another.

As a result Irish milk prices in 2010 were up by 30% on 2009 — from 23.1 cents per litre to an estimated 29.7 cents. These prices are expected to remain firm at least until the middle of 2011, giving a further milk price increase of 5% to 10% in 2011.

With production costs down and output prices up by 30%, average net margin was up by a whopping 1030% in 2010. In 2011 it is expected that margins will grow by a further 7% to 15%, depending on the size of the milk price increase.

30c a litre to produce - as for the rest of the price ? the creameries and retailers are creaming it

http://www.examiner.ie/business/farming/all-time-high-for-irish-farming-143285.html

BTW wholesale prices to compare to supermarket markups
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/agri-foodindustry/tradeexports/dublinwholesalemarketprices/

the groutch · 14-08-2011 10:43PM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coffee-Snacks-International-Speciality-Food/b?ie=UTF8&node=340834031

some potential bargains, just make sure to filter by SuperSaver delivery.

food shopping on a budget.

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