Good Friday and The Results

This is how it started........... 

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.

But first I have to admit to making a mistake! 

I used Value Range Penne Pasta  (something I always have in the cupboard) which is 41p for 500g in 6 meals instead of spaghetti for 28p which is what I'd priced and  included in a photo and NOBODY NOTICED! So I've added 13p to the total. But I'm disappointed you weren't keeping a closer check on my experiment!!

What I ate.......... 

Breakfasts were toast and marmalade, or rice crispies or canned grapefruit 

Second small meal was sandwich using  1 round of the sliced bread and either egg/ cheese/ chicken/ sardines/corned beef/tomato. Or some fruit or crumpets.(or both depending how hungry I was feeling)

Then I made 2 lots of plain scones, a small sultana sponge and peanut biscuits  for snacks and also ate the rest of the peanuts as a snack.

My Main Meals

1. Fish Curry and rice
2. Pasta Salad with Feta
3. Quiche
4. Quiche
5. Quiche
6. Quiche
7. Pasta salad with Feta
8. Corned Beef Hash
9. Tuna, Pasta and Broccoli Bake
10. Roast Chicken Thigh Joint etc
11. Ready made Beef Pasty
12. Chicken Stir Fry
13. Omelette
14. Fish Curry and Rice
15. Minced Pork Patties 
16. Chicken stir fry with Fajita seasoning over Pasta
17. Tuna, Pasta and Broccoli Bake
18. Pizza
19. Potato, onion, bacon and tomato layer bake
20. Roast Chicken thigh joint etc
21. Fish Pie with mash topping
22. Toad in the Hole
23. Fish Curry and Rice
24. Sausage Rolls
25. Leek and Bacon Pilaff
26. Baked Potatoes
27. Leek Fritters
28. Tuna, Pasta and Broccoli Bake
29. Roast Chicken Thigh and Roast Vegetables
30. Pizza
31. Vegetable and Cheese Pasty

What I bought

I also used 4 packs of 8 Nescafe decaf Cappuccino sachets for my evening coffees.

What I used from things already open in the cupboards - I guesstimated and added £4 for the odd bits of these things used.

Looking online I found the following figures quoted

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

My total spend for the food eaten over 31 days was £74.23 + 13p = £74.36p. So around half the average. I didn't really go without anything and mainly things were made from scratch using fresh ingredients. 

I can think of a few ways that it would have been even cheaper and of course if the value of the remaining ingredients that I still have are deducted it does come in at less than that £74.

The only really bad thing was the Asda Value Range minced pork - never bought before and will never be bought again! (In normal life I usually buy local sausages and bacon that are produced about 15 miles from home and rarely buy any other pork products or lamb or beef) . Some products were rather bland or tasteless but not inedible.

I did have coffee and cheese scone out at the church a couple of times and a coffee at the Suffolk Wildlife Trust Booksale but I've put all those in the Charity part of the accounts!!

And I can cheerfully say that despite the comments that said............and I quote..............

"I would be so depressed if I had to eat like this". and "I too would be depressed if I had to eat so much processed rubbish. Life’s too short."

I didn't get depressed at all! 

Now I shall go back to normal and will probably treat myself to a Chinese Takeaway in celebration!

Back Tomorrow

Sue