Out of curiosity I thought it would be interesting to see what Value/ Just Essential ranges were available in Supermarkets again after many disappeared during covid. I went to AL = Aldi. M = Morrisons. AS = Asda. My plan was to see what recipes I could come up with and what it would cost eating meals based on these things for a few weeks. Some items I've bought are not Value Range but the best value I could find.
Points to note..........
- This is only an experiment just for fun.
- But for health reasons I want to eat 3 helpings of fruit each day, which might be more than the 'average person' or might not (have no idea) so will be adding fresh fruit each week - whatever is cheapest or some canned fruit.
- I'm unable to eat any sort of dried pulses or chick peas etc which might have made cheaper meals.
- I'm going to be using some things from the cupboard as only small amounts will be used and I already have them open in the cupboard.
- I'm not going to estimate to the penny what's used each day, instead I'll see how long the various things last.
This is what I found online.................
How much should a single person spend on food per week UK?
The average grocery bill for 1 person in the UK sits at around £140-£150 per month. This means that on a weekly basis, the average grocery bill for one person in the UK should be around £35.
Figures in surveys dating to January 2023 say an 'average' person spends roughly £47 a week on food including £13 eating out
Over a few shopping trips I bought and stored the following
Frozen
AS. 1kg Mixed vegetables 72p
I took some photos of things bought in February and what I already had including prices............
AS. 1Kg Frozen Mixed Vegetables(peas, diced carrot and the tiniest bits of cauliflower) 72p
AS Frozen 15 Yorkshire Puddings 50p
AS. Frozen 520g White Fish Fillets (7 Pieces) £2.50
Total £3.72
AL. Self Raising Flour 58p (Cheapest price same everywhere)
M. Grated Italian Style (AKA Parmesan) cheese £1.67
AL. Bread Flour £1.15
AL. Peach Slices 34p
M. Potatoes 35p
M. Carrots 35p
M. Gravy Granules 32p (missed off photo on right)
M. Mayonnaise 49p (ditto)
AS. Corned Beef £1.90
AS. Beef Pasty 45p
AS. Baking Fat 95p
M. 6 Crumpets 39p
AL. Mozzarella 69p (I cut this in half before freezing)
AL. Tin Tuna 55p
Total £10.18
M. 1kg 'Wonky' Potatoes 95p
AL. 250g Tomatoes 69p
Total £1.64
AS. Salad Style/Feta Cheese 70p
AS. Spaghetti 28p
AS 2 x Tins Grapefruit at 88p = £1.76
AS Coffee My jar was ⅔ half full at the beginning of the experiment so approx 50p (Full Jar 100g 83p) If anyone wants to work out how many teaspoons of coffee there are in 100g I'd love to know!
AS Willow Spread £1.50
Total £4.74
M Rice Crispies 375g. 99p
AL Tomatoes 2 x 28p =56p
Eggs £1.25 (from roadside stand at farm, have just gone up to £1.25 from £1)
AL Pineapple 79p
Total £3.59
TOTAL UP TO HERE £23.87
From My Store Cupboard/Fridge
Salt, Pepper, Curry powder, Seasoning, Baking powder, Sugar, Yeast, Tomato puree, Home made Marmalade, Chutney, Rice (1kg =£1.35), Rapeseed oil(1litre £2.50), Vegetable Stock Cubes (2 years Out of Date!)
In the freezer I also have a pack of mini naan breads from Aldi, they no longer sell the mini and I have no idea how much they were. On the Asda website are mini naans at 4 for 59p although they are not in stock locally. So I'm guesstimating my pack of 6 were 90p.
I've got half a jar of olives in the fridge that need using = 40p
Total now................£25.17
Home grown
Peppers (from freezer), Onions, Parsley, Chard.
I'm adding on £4 to cover all the odd bits and bobs above. Which makes a grand total ready to start of...........................£29.17
That was most of the shopping done and plans sorted so now to document how I get on. (or IF!)
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I'm really looking forward to seeing the results on this one, Sue - thanks for doing it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm interested too and will be following. We do buy some value range things, but not all....e.g. I wouldn't buy value tea bags or loo paper. Thankful that we don't have to - not everyone has that choice.
ReplyDeleteHaving read the comments below I've checked and last year I averaged £138.01 per month, including toiletires and cleaning materials.
DeleteEeek - I spend more than that!! I suppose it doesn't include cleaning products, toiletries, etc though.
ReplyDeleteWhat you're doing is really interesting and I look forward to how it all goes. xx
Just food for the average quoted
DeleteGood experiment, will be interesting to see how you make out.
ReplyDeleteGoodness. Food must be somewhat cheaper in the UK than here in New Zealand. I live frugally and have vegetables from my garden at present but Year to Date I have averaged NZD $105 per week = £53 (according to my bank) I live alone. I wonder if NZ Government does a similar calculation here. Cost of living is a hot topic politically and it is election year! Margaret S
ReplyDeleteI live alone in England Margaret and believe me I spend loads more than this on food each week as do, I bet, most people.
DeleteAn interesting article published by 'Which' has shown own brand product prices have risen higher than main brands, they are still cheaper, but supermarkets are ensuring they get their mark-up. Thanks for doing this, as a couple I don't think we spend much more than a single person spend.
ReplyDeletePrices are definitely rising. I shall watch your experiment with interest. Nescafe say a 100g jar of instant coffee should make around 55cups.
ReplyDeleteI’m going to enjoy following what you make with the foods and stores you have. It’s our daughter and so -in-law’s birthday next Monday and I will make a meal for them after work. It will be interesting to see how that bumps up our food budget for next week. Both have requested a lemon cheesecake for dessert so I am going to use Asda’s own ingredients to make it. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the price differences between here on our island and over there. We only have two local supermarkets to choose from and the prices are definitely much higher than yours.
ReplyDeleteThe joys of Island life!
DeleteDiscount supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl always have specials and fruit and vegetables are very inexpensive like 49 Cents.
ReplyDeleteOn the surface your prices appear to be much much cheaper than for our store brand goods….just for interest I’m going to check next time I’m shopping. And yes, same as in most countries prices are rising ever so slowly
ReplyDelete"they" say that two of your 5 A day should be fruit. However. I easily eat three servings of fruit a day, but you do have to be very aware of sugar levels. And I'm sure you know that if you are going to have a glass of juice that it counts as one serving, and you should only have one serving of juice due to the high sugar. Although they continually tell us that whole fruit is best.
ReplyDeleteI recently read an article on the BBC website comparing value to branded. Depending on the item the nutritional content in value brands was so minimal it wasn't worth eating them. spaghetti sauces for example, were apparently so full of water and thickener there was less than 20%. vegetables in them.
Due to my circumstances, I have to rely on expensive deliveries. I do shop the special offers before I shop for anything else. And I meticulously check my order for short dated items which they are very good on refunding. However, if I I lived nearer, I would definitely shop in places like ALDI and Lidl.
I would be so depressed if I had to eat like this. Buying, preparing and eating food should be a pleasure. I spend around £100 a week on food for three hungry adults and we eat well with never a supermarket shop in sight. Mind you we do eat a lot of proper tiny green Puy lentils (delicious to bulk out a homegrown spicy tomato and sweet pepper sauce served on the best quality brown basmati rice), home grown borlotti beans (essential in ribollita soup) and homemade houmus (going to try growing chick peas in the veg plot this year - I hear they like a hot dry summer). Last night we had roast leg of pork (£10), homemade stuffing (leftover crusts of bread, one red onion, splash of rapeseed oil, one egg, herbs from garden), roast potatoes from a £5/10kg sack from the farm, kale from garden, local apple sauce and roast local parsnips from our village shop. Husband and I worked together in the kitchen to produce this dinner and it was much enjoyed and appreciated by all three of us and the highlight of a very cold March day. Sarah in Sussex.
ReplyDeleteIt's OK - I'm not asking you to eat like this!
DeleteI don't know if you have ever looked at my old blog but we spent many years on our smallholding being almost completely self-sufficient in fruit, vegetables, milk, meat and heating.
Life is very different now alone.
I too would be depressed if I had to eat so much processed rubbish. Life’s too short.
DeleteAnon above makes a good point about the sugar and acidity in fruit. I certainly would be worried about the effect on my tooth enamel if I ate three portions of fruit a day. At my first dental appointment after childbirth almost 30 years ago my dentist told me never to give my children fruit juice to drink and to only give fresh fruit as part of a meal, ie not as a snack. I recently heard that looking after your teeth is now part of the pre-school curriculum, so worried are they about the state of our children’s teeth. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and very detailed - like you I can't eat beans and pulses, which is a nuisance because they are so nutritious and reasonably price with no waste.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I was today x years old when I discovered you could freeze mozzarella! NEll
ReplyDeleteI just go to one grocery store that is nearest my home. I don't drive to several stores as gas adds to your costs too. I often buy the store brand or whatever is on sale but it depends on the product.
ReplyDeleteYour value shopping provides very good buys. I like fruit too and because berries are not in season I'm buying frozen in economy size bags. Shockingly, for a 3 Lb. bag of mixed blueberries, blackberries and raspberries on sale I spent $12.49, this bag is usually $14. I bought 2 bags. Last week my total grocery bill for the week was $153.00. I recently heard US grocery stores are going to start competing for customers and prices will reduce. No sign of this appears today!
ReplyDeleteI just can't get over your food prices, really. My last bag of plum tomatoes cost over 2 pounds. A bag of onions will cost about the same, and it is a small bag, with perhaps six onions. When I go to the grocery store, (Aldi's for me, it is the only discount grocer we have) I always spend between 60 to 80 pounds. Generally,do it weekly. We bought 100 lbs of potatoes to last us the winter, and I stock pile meat for the freezer when I see it on sale, so the weekly shopping is generally to supplement what we have on hand.
ReplyDeleteA teaspoon of instant coffee at the strength I drink it comes in at 2g, I know that for a fact ... I've done quite a few challenges. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhile you are doing this prepare to be bombarded with all the usual comments from people that you didn't even know read your blog, and from those that are usually polite, telling you that you are eating the wrong foods, in the wrong way, that everything is so cheap and you are so lucky, that they can do it better, that you'll ruin your health and basically that you are just wrong!! It's wearing to the point of submission at times ... but never be worn down.
Good luck it's going to make for interesting reading.
After 10 years I still forget how seriously some people take everything!
Deleteerg. I am embarrassed. I began my comment with 'I can't believe how cheap food is there.' No offense was intended, but I apologize. It was meant as an observation only.
DeleteGosh you are brave,sticking your head above the parapet with this post. My spending is similar to yours, no meat or alcohol, just apples, pears and berries for fruit, nothing like bananas or pineapple, too high in sugar. Lots of veg, either frozen or in jars like beetroot, fresh leafy greens, a little fish and occasional egg. Single pensioner on a single state pension. Like Sue from smaller life says, you will have negative comments but your shopping seems normal to me. Good luck, Sarah Browne.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, thanks for trying it. I follow atomic shrimp on YouTube and he now and then does a budget challenge for fun. He gets pushback from people who don't get it and think he expects everyone to do this. Noooo, just a little experiment like yours.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more.
I hope I don't get over a thousand comments like he does!
DeleteWhat a fun foodie adventure you have embarked on! By the look of some of the comments, I think I will be enjoying the comments as much as I'll enjoy what you are writing :)
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteIt sounds like good fun to me 😊👍 I'll follow your experiment with interest. Our h/k budget comes in at £50 per week at the moment and that includes washing powder, dishwasher tablets, toilet rolls, toothpaste etc so I would guess around £40 per week to feed 2 of us as well as the occasional guest. I look forward to your posts, Sue 😁
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to following your experiment. I bet you are going to have fun figuring out all you can do.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I’m really looking forward to this project, Sue. However, WOW to the - I wouldn’t eat that much processed food - brigade. I’m sure that these people are fortunate enough to have large areas of land to grow their own plants and raise their own animals. Quickly followed up by the necessary knowledge to preserve those plants and the skills and funding required to kill and butcher your own livestock, before preserving that too. Followed up with adequate storage space for the above. If you live in the U.K., even if you cook entirely ‘from scratch’, unless you are doing the above, then you are using ‘processed foods’. I will have a delivery of lamb from my local farm next week, they won’t throw a dead carcass on my driveway, it will have been ‘processed’ by a local butcher. Some of these people have zero understanding of food pathways. In the U.K. almost everyone eats processed food. Cheese, anyone? This is a a brave topic Sue, don’t let the uneducated get you down. Teflon vest at the ready. X
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting experiment. Those prices are just wow. I don't think I could find anything - even basic ranges - with prices that low! I'm not sure why food here in America is so expensive. It always has been, but is worse now.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. It would appear you are shopping very wisely, making informed choices and going to places with good prices! What an interesting experiment.
ReplyDelete