Whoop Whoop (that was an ironic whoop whoop!) lots of shopping photos but apologies - this is a long post full of lists! I gathered all the shopping photos together and realised it was a looooong post but thought it might be interesting to see what was bought and how much it costs, before prices shoot up again.
First was just a very small quick shop and was actually on the last day of February but I'd already done the February shop post and done the accounts in my book so put it down as March. I went to Diss because my planned change away from the weird ingredients in Pringles, when something with crunch is needed, is a change to nuts. I wanted to compare Aldi to The Grape Tree (No Grape Tree in Stowmarket). Not comparing price as I knew the latter is way more expensive than Aldi but it was more the quality that I wanted to check.
Prunes, carrots and value range cashews from Aldi £4.42 , eggs from the roadside stall have gone up to £1.25 for six and the bigger bag of cashews from The Grape Tree were £4.99.
My proper first shop, a week later was a lot more, everything from Aldi except the tea-bags.
Not pictured as they went straight into the freezer are two Linda McCartney mozzarella veggie burgers, Thankfully British apples and pears are still around. Aldi yeast has gone from 8 sachets in a cardboard box to 6 sachets in a pack wrapped in film for the same price I think. A big cauliflower and leeks - again British. Self Raising Flour, Penne pasta, noodles, a bar of cooking chocolate and choc drops(for the next batch of brownies) and dried prunes. For the fridge... 1 dozen eggs, Cheddar and Stratford Blue cheese, mozzarella ball (which I cut in half and freeze for topping pizzas), 4 pints milk and 250g butter. Salted peanuts (Cheaper than cashews, bought to use as a snack instead of Pringles) and from Asda (have to spend over £5 to get back the £1 car park fee) a huge box of tea-bags - they'll last me most of a year! Junk food from QD was a couple of packs of the Dunkables broken/misshapen chocolate biscuits - the ones I had back in February had a good mix of all sorts of chocolate biscuits.
Total spend £40.31
Another week later
Everything from Aldi again. Vegetables were Salad leaves, purple sprouting broccoli, celery, mini potatoes, baby plum tomatoes. Fruit in season British Apples and pears . Into the fridge Extra mature cheddar, Shropshire blue and 'salad' cheese (aka feta). For the freezer 2 packs of sweet potato fries, petit pois peas and fish in batter. For the store cupboard - wholemeal bread flour, cashews, multi grain crackers, ground coffee, jar of olives and stock cubes. 4 pints of milk also into the freezer. Total spend £30.89
The next week I went to Diss to do a tour of the charity shops and to look at the new B&M. There is one in Stowmarket but it's on the edge of the town centre and I usually can't be bothered to walk right through town and their car park has to be paid for with no way to get the money back, unlike the car park at Asda.
There were a couple of things I needed so did a small shop while in Diss at Aldi and Morrisons.
The only things I got in B&M was the Fray-Bentos steak and gravy pie for £2 to put in the cupboard for when I next wanted a meat meal - been a long time since I had one of these (they are £3 in Morrisons) and some mini easter eggs ready for egg hunts with grandchildren when ED and the two boys are up from Surrey just after Easter. They're not counted in food spending so not in the photo.
From Aldi - veg was a savoy cabbage (cut off the photo by mistake), 2 little gem lettuce and a red pepper. I got 6 more apples as they were one of their specials '6 reduced price' this week.. For the fridge just cheese and a pack of crumpets to go in the freezer. For the store cupboard I bought more ground coffee, didn't need it but apparently it's one of those things that are going to shoot up in price. I would have got de-caf too but they didn't have any. Also peanuts.
Into Morrisons where they have rape seed oil, (which I always hope might be locally grown). Cooking oil is another thing supposedly liable to shoot up in price due to the current ongoing war- Aldi only have sunflower and 'vegetable'(which could be anything). Rapeseed oil is canola in the US and Canada. Carrots that I forgot to get in Aldi, and two lots of plums which were on some sort of extra special offer at 52p punnet. A bargain treat all the way from South Africa.......the opposite of local!
Total spend £18.37
After the car boot sale a couple of weeks ago I went into town for Superdrug and to take some books back to the library and needed to spend £5+ in Asda to get my car park £1 money back again. 3Kg Allinsons bread flour £3.40 and value range drinking chocolate £1.77 to mix with a tub of expensive Divine Drinking Choc that I 'found' in the cupboard - way past it's BBE date and it was discontinued it in 2024 but sealed and still good.
Total £5.17
The only things bought from the boot sale last weekend were these two small boxes of shortbread fingers for 50p each which is way less than shop half price- still well in date too.
£10.66 + £40.31 + £30.89 + £18.37+ £5.17 + £1 = £106 .40
Add £1 for Rhubarb from a house in the village and eggs from roadside stall £1.25 = £108.65
Finally, I called in at Aldi as I wanted something that was advertised as being in the middle aisle for my Sister's birthday. No luck with what I wanted - they were not in until Sunday (and turned out to be unavailable anyway) but they did have just two packs of decaf ground coffee, which I couldn't get from Diss - so I bought both - £2.99 each = £5.98
So March food shop was £108.65 + £5.98 = £114.63, slightly below average (February was even lower at £88)
No doubt that two lower months just means April shopping will be more, and ED and two boys are here for a couple of days so I'll need some extra different things and hopefully will have enough of interest to blog about other than Shopping!
