More Food (Not a Haul!) Shopping

 It seems this has become a regular thing...............unpack..............take photo........put away.

There was one purchase between the last shop and this one as I went to the nearest Co-op for the local 'Lane Farm' sausages .......but although they had their bacon they didn't have any sausages, so I got the other local pack 'Taste of Suffolk'...........which I could have got in the village shop although they would have cost me more. I divided into 4 x 2, wrapped and put in freezer without thinking about a photo. They were £3.29 for 400g.

 I'm odd because I buy the cheapest of cheap bacon (£1 bacon bits from Asda) but wouldn't dream of buying anything other than good local sausages.

Aldi had so many gaps and absences on their shelves that I had to go to Asda anyway even if  I'd not been going into town and needing to get my £1 parking fee back. 

Most noticeably missing at Aldi for the last two visits has been their decaf ground coffee and wholemeal bread flour.

From top to bottom. 4 Pints milk £1.65; rice £1.25; 400g extra mature cheddar £2.45; Asda Wholemeal flour £1.45; 2 x Asda decaf ground coffee @ £3.50 = £7; 6 white rolls 45p; 2 peanuts £1.18; Ham trimmings 400g £2.49; Carrots 37p; 1Kg nectarines £2.35; Head of calabrese 86p;

Total £21.50. 

Running total for month. £24.79 +£37.81 + £3.29 + £21.50 = £87.39

I very rarely buy meat but I do like ham but these packs of bargain ham trim don't often have a long date, but they did this time  so made me 4 main meals and, with the bread rolls, 4 other ham roll meals. (The bread from the bread-maker makes lovely toast but not so good for sandwiches)

That Asda coffee is £1.01p more than Aldi's when they last had some, I think it's something that has gone up in price a lot which is maybe why Aldi didn't have any. Last time Aldi had wholemeal flour it was 89p so the Asda is 56p more.

This shop was done last Saturday and I've done no food shop since but I may well make some scones today and buy myself  some clotted cream for a Bank Holiday weekend treat again......it's become a 'thing'!

A Bigger Shop

Thank you to everyone for comments yesterday, as several readers said ....the things in that list are needed in many areas of the US if evacuation from home was necessary - my point was that it said "an evacuation bag" and it was a very long list to fit in a bag!

Anyway.............

Another fill-a-blog-post-with-shopping-photo................

 Some from Asda but most from Aldi- a more than usual spend as a couple of things were over £3 each. I can remember when it was just meat that would have been more then £3 for one item!

Top to bottom - Frozen things - 2 x Sweet potato fries £4; vegetable spring rolls £1.72; Tempura prawns £2.38; 2 Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers £2;  Ditto 2 Pies £2.50; Rapeseed oil; £3.00; 500g pack value bacon bits £1;  Allinsons White Bread flour £3.40; 2 Peanuts £1.18; Yeast 65p; Willow spread £1.07;     6 Eggs £1.49; Extra Mature Cheddar £2.45; This weeks something different treat 6 fruit Yogurts 95p; Heinz tomato ketchup £3.99; Cheese thins biscuits  95p; Pack 7  Cheese minis 99p; 4 Wholemeal baps 75p; 6 mini apples 99p; 1Kg Nectarines £2.35.

Big Spend of £37.81

Running Total for August £37.81 + £24.79 =  £  62.60

I use Allinsons bread flour mixed with the Aldi cheaper bread flour for a better rise in my bread-maker. The frozen Chinese bits have gone up in price a lot. I eat just a few with stir fried veg but will have to use less. They are still cheaper than having a take-away. I've not tried the Linda McCartney pies before so will see what they are like. The bacon bits are divided into 5 portions before freezing. Hopefully these are the last eating apples I'll need to buy for a while as my own should be edible at the end of the month (I tried one the other day - they are definitely Not ready yet!)

After the children had all left home Col and I had a discussion about tomato sauce. I said that because we didn't use much we might as well just have the cheapest of cheap. He said that because we didn't use much we might as well have the best. He won and I've bought Heinz ever since! Still don't use much and a huge bottle lasts me months....maybe even years!

First Food (Not a Haul) Shop of August + More Heat

 An Aldi shop on the way home after  deciding to have a look at the mid-week car-boot sale for a change last week. Just 20p spent at the boot sale and £22.50 at Aldi.

Cauliflower (from their special 6 offers) 79p; Cheese and onion rolls £1.69; 2 x ground coffee @ £2.49 each = £4.98; 2 x Peanuts @ 59 each = £1.18; 1kg Nectarines £2.39; 3 Tins plum tomatoes @ 43p = £1.29;400g  Extra mature cheddar cheese £2.45; This week's treat - 6 Choc mouses 85p; Egg Noodles 95p; Self Raising Flour 70p; Plain Cooking Chocolate £1.59; Butter  £1.99.

Thinking there were still several left in the fridge when there weren't, I didn't get eggs so had to pop to the village shop on Friday so adding another £2.29 for half-a-dozen.

Total food spend for the first week of August was £24.79

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The East of England is due to be one of the hottest parts of the country later this week with temperatures in the +30℃, possible 36 - yikes! That's very high 90's ℉. This is the 5th official heatwave of the year and is unheard of. I found a fascinating page all about recorded heatwaves on wikipedia. And this is what determines a heatwave here. 3 consecutive days above..................

28°C: London and parts of southeast and central England

27°C: Parts of the Midlands and East Anglia

26°C: Lincolnshire down to Dorset and parts of Cheshire

25°C: Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, southwest England, and northern England

The rain that was forecast for the 17th has gone from the charts - nothing there until 21st now and that's less than 50% chance.

I think any food shop I do this week will be Very Early morning!

The Last Week of July from the 25th

 After the church tour last Sunday..............

Pink Dots on a map!

The last week of July was HOT again, Wednesday was exceptionally steamy, not encouraging for going far at all........

First of all a catch up with food shop photos.

This was the 4th food shop of July on the 25th

 

Cherries 65p(were still on offer); coleslaw 79p; 1Kg nectarines £2.39; peanuts 59p;  2 x Prunes @£2.49 = £5.58; pack 2 Naans 69p (I cut these in half before freezing); 4 pints milk £1.65; Melon £1.49.

Total £13.83

Then I had to go into town on a market day for sunflower hearts for the birds, as the goldfinches had been feeding their babies like crazy, so needed to spend £5 at Asda to get my £1 car park fee back and called at Aldi on the way in for a couple of things that are cheaper there.

Pack 2 little gem lettuce 95p;6 mini apples 99p;pesto £1.49; 6 large eggs £2.29; 2 peanuts @ 59p = £1.18; pine nuts £1.69. Quickly into the freezer went ice cream £1.62 and pack of 2 Linda McCartney vegetarian ¼lb mozzarella burgers £2

Total £12.21 

 

 As mentioned in yesterdays July financial round up - food for home including above was around about £128, but there were also  meals out with and without family and one coffee out to add to that so it turned into a very expensive food month. 

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Garden bin was emptied so I started filling it again with all of  this years old  raspberry canes. I thought about  getting rid of the raspberry bed if summers are going to be so dry making the seeds so hard that I can't eat them, but they went into the freezer for jelly making so not really wasted.

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Good Grief - Balsam Hill are advertising their very posh, very expensive artificial Christmas trees on TV in JULY - it shouldn't be allowed!

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Despite holidays and grandparent duties there were still enough people at the over 60's Keep Moving Group to cover costs which is good.

This week I'm grateful for

• Still being able to use hose to fill water butts for watering food crops
• Plenty of good reading
• Vegetables from the garden and greenhouse
• Finding things to fill blog posts this week - not sure about next week!

The 2nd and 3rd Food Shops of July

 I said "no more food shop posts" but the photos were there so might as well use them.....filling a blog post again.

Second food shop of the month was on the 11th

 Asda first then Aldi. I'd put ice packs in my cold box in the car so the Asda things were OK while I did a whizz round Aldi before heading home.

There were so many things missing in Aldi, which is unusual. I don't know if it was because I was so early or their deliveries were late or the shortages talked of  for months have finally happened.

1kg Nectarines £2.39; 6 apples £1.39;  6 ordinary meat sausage rolls £1.55; 2x dried prunes @ £2.49 = £5.58; 2 x decaf ground coffee @ £2.49 = £4.98; Extra Mature Cheddar 400g £2.49; Large pack of back bacon £4.69;  Tortilla chips 57p; Pack 6 mini cheese bakes 99p; Peanuts from car boot sale £2. Not in the picture are two things from Asda as they went straight into the freezer ...... Flora cholesterol reducing spread £4.60 and Linda McCartney burgers £2.48.

Total Spend £31.71.

I bought 2 decaf ground coffee as they've not had any the last two Aldi visits. I wanted Aldi's pack of 6 cheese and onion rolls but they didn't have them or the vegetarian frozen sausage rolls either - so got ordinary meat ones which aren't so good (I put in freezer and use two at a time as the main part of a meal with vegetables, they are handy for a speedy meal). I usually get a pack of the cheap  bacon bits from Asda, but they didn't have any so spent out more on a huge bacon at Aldi which I split into smaller packs before freezing.  All in all my spend was more than it could/should have been.

Just to make things worse the car-boot sale peanuts had to be thrown out, even though they were still in date. As soon as I opened a pack I could smell they'd gone a bit rancid, and one mouthful told me I was right. (No point keeping them to take back as the guy selling isn't always there and it's really a case of 'buyer beware'.)

 Running total for July £26.80 + £31.71 = £58.51

3rd Food shop on the 18th

All from Aldi. Carrots 44p; cherries 65p; mini potatoes 59p; nectarines £1.39p; 2 x peanuts @ 59p = £1.18p; pack 6 jammie cartwheels 99p; extra mature cheddar £2.49; multigrain crackers 85p; eggs £1.49; 4 pints semi skimmed milk £1.65p.

Lovely to get the cherries from the "supper six" fruit and veg offers, I love them but they are usually so expensive to buy. This packs usual price is £1.39.

Total spend £11.88

Running total £58.51 + £11.88 = £70.39

The 4th  July shop has already happened and photo to follow......maybe. I thought that would be the last shop but the birds have munched their way through all the sunflower hearts very fast so I need to go into town on market day and that means paying £1 for car park and having to spend £5 in Asda to get the parking fee back so there will be an extra food shop after all.

First Food Shop of July

 This shopping-photos-to-fill-a-blog-post is getting to be a regular thing - I'm just not having enough adventures and with the weather forecast telling us we are in for another week of very high temperatures I doubt I'll be going far this week either.

At least last weeks trip to town was a few degrees cooler than the week before. I went to Aldi first on my way into town and then into town centre for a couple of things including the library, then frozen stuff from Asda that I didn't want to get at Aldi as it would have been in the cold box (even with ice-packs) for a bit too long..

Some things are rather hidden in the photo but this is the complete list...roughly left to right......... Aldi's calabrese still looked yellowing like the last couple of times I've been in, so I got a savoy cabbage instead for the weeks 'greens' 79p; 6 apples £1.39 ; 4 wholemeal baps 69p; pack 2 little gem lettuce 49p; cooking chocolate £1.59; chocolate chips £1.19; cheap choc chip cookies 65p; 3 peanuts @ 59p =£1.77; Soy sauce 55p; tin plum tomatoes 43p; 4 pints semi-skimmed milk  £1.65; Strong white bread flour £1.09; Packet jaffa cakes £1.00; Extra Mature Cheddar cheese 400g £2.49; Soft cheese 89p; 2 packets Colmans cheese sauce mix @£1.00 each = £2; Brown Sugar £1.64; 1Kg Nectarines £2.39; Frozen Fish in batter pack of 4 £2.49; Ice cream £1.62.

Total Spend £26.80

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Two really good games at Wimbledon on Saturday - there were probably more but these were the two I properly watched. First Arthur Fery battled his way to a win, coming back from being down so many times and finally winning in 5 sets. I think they said the first British Wild Card to get through to the 4th round  in many a long year (or maybe ever- they had too many stats to remember!) Then the Dimitrov/Berrittini match was equally good, I didn't really mind who won.

On Sunday Djokovic won again of course and then Jannick Sinner got through - again not easily. Today Arthur Fery plays Grigor Dimitrov who is getting back to playing after a year of injuries. It could be one-sided as Dimitrov is so experienced or Arthur - who is 12 years younger might be able to play really well again.  

I didn't stay up for the England/Mexico match - I'm not silly! But was amazed to wake up this morning with the radio telling me England had somehow managed to win. That was a nice surprise, I didn't think they stood a chance as Mexico had never lost a game playing in their National stadium.

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I saw my 9 year old EGD yesterday, a month ago we were practising her times tables ready for a test and she did well - getting all right. She wanted me to write some for her to do again but she got the answers quicker than I could write the numbers! I'm glad they learn times tables to be able to get the answer straight away, as we did back in the 60s."Off by heart" we called it. It went out of fashion when my lot were at school. It's quite a useful thing to be able to do at any age, unlike some of the things we did in Maths which were never used again!

Final Food Shop of June

Might as well do another food shop photo to round off the month................

The world and his wife were outside Aldi at 8am on a very hot morning waiting for it to open to get shopping done and home again.

I was there too - lots of empty spaces in the fruit and veg section due to a late delivery but I got the things on my list. I noticed the icecream/ice lolly freezers were decimated!

Left to right. Bunch beetroot £1.39, Tender-stem broccoli £1.45 (their heads of calabrese were looking sad and yellowing just like the week before).1Kg nectarines £2.39; 6 mini apples 99p; mango 69p (one of their on offer special 6 - they are usually 88p); 2  peanuts @ 59p = £1.18; crumpets 45p; 6 medium free range eggs £1.49; 4 pints semi skimmed milk £1.65; ground coffee 1 decaf and one normal @ £2.49p = £4.98; mayo 89p; and off the edge of the photo is a pack of six small packs of mini cheese bakes 99p.

Total for these was £19.19p

For the month ..............£50.42 + £13.35 + £19.92 + £19.19 = £102.88 - Much the same as May even though I'd been hoping for less.

With photos of the food shopping all month I could see what fruit and veg I'd had during the month, seems like a goodly mix.

 A Cauliflower.                                        Apples

Tenderstem broccoli                                Nectarines                                

Beetroot                                                   Strawberries

Potatoes                                                    Mango

Carrots                                                      Prunes

Cucumber                                                 Canned peaches

Salad Leaves

Head of calabrese

Peppers

Onions

Mange Tout

Frozen Sweet potato Fries

Frozen peas

Canned tomatoes

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According to the Met Office forecast the exceedingly hot weather has gone and yesterday's high was 26℃ rather than the 37℃ of Friday. The coming week should be in the mid 20's too but  the long range forecast says we may well get another hot week in July.

Back Tomorrow

The Third Food Shopping Trip of June

Filling a blog post with shopping photos seems to have become a regular thing. That's the problem with not going very far or doing anything exciting.

So here it is ..........last week's  Aldi food shop and some things from Asda to get my £1 car park money back.

From left to right - pack of 4 nectarines £1.39;Cauliflower £1.19; Beetroot £1.39; Tin  Sardines 47p; Carrots 1Kg 69p; Potatoes £1.05; Butter £1.99; 400g Extra Mature Cheddar £2.49;  6 Eggs  £1.49. 2 Willow Spread @ 97p = £1.94; Castor sugar £2.25. Not in the photo are 1 dozen small bottles of lemonade that I keep in the car £3.58 - they will last until the end of the year or even longer.

Total £19.92

The Aldi shop came to several pence more than I wanted to spend because the calabrese that I'd planned to buy looked horribly yellow and unlikely to last long so I got a cauliflower instead (40p more). Their small 44p packs of carrots seemed to be very poor -  small  wrinkled things  - they wouldn't have kept well either and their baby potatoes (75p a few weeks ago) were only in larger packs for £1.05 - in fact their choice of potatoes and pack sizes was well down on the usual.

I'm not sure what had gone wrong at Aldi because as well as the calabrese head turning yellow and the small carrots looking old, when I started to cut into the cauliflower only a couple of days after purchase it was  going mouldy and black inside. I was only able to get one meal from it.

Usually their fruit and veg is pretty reliable - I wonder if they'd had problems with in- store temperatures. If they did last week it will be even worse this week because the extreme HOT 'Amber Alert' weather is due to land on us today. Yesterday wasn't too bad there was a bit of a breeze but  I was glad I didn't have to go far - just a 100yds up the road to get a much needed hair cut and then to the other side of the village to the pharmacy at the Health Centre. I took my bike - it was cooler than walking and it's downhill on the way home.

Stay hydrated folks - we're definitely not used to high 30's ℃

Back Tomorrow

Halfway Through June

 Well, the weather didn't warm up much for the weekend, which was the promise earlier in the week, there was  a really cold wind on Saturday. Maybe by the end of the this week it will be better.

 I hoped for a fairly low spend June and at  half way through, how's it going?. 

The garden waste bin had gone up £2 for the year but thankfully the Car Tax was still £20 - I had visions of them moving more goalposts from it being free two years ago to anything they fancied charging!

So all the main expenses have been paid and the total spend including charity donations, dentist, garden waste bin, phones and broadband, car tax, one lot of diesel for the car, incidentals including multi surface cleaner for floors, sunflower hearts for the birds and a new stool for the hallway (for sitting on for all ages to put on shoes) plus the one big food shop (and the two fancy cheeses and taking YD and EGD out for our regular Sunday lunch).And that totals just over £600. There will be more odds and ends of course and Electric bill at the end of the month.

Then I did  the second food shop of the month at Aldi on Saturday after a quick tour round the car boot sale where all I found were some Maltesers. (There are some Eastern European guys who somehow seem to have a stock of cheap chocolate every week!?)

After the big shop at the start of June I didn't need much. From left to right...........Salad Leaves 65p; Strawberries £1.99; 4 Nectarines £1.39; Bunch Beetroot £1.39; Cucumber 99p; Pack 6 Mini Apples 59p; Pack Fruit and Nut mix 59p; 2 x  Peanuts @ 59p = £1.18; 1 Kg Onions 99p; 6 Eggs £1.49; Tin Peach Slices  45p; 4 Pints milk £1.65.

Total £13.35

During the rainy weather last week I got around to looking at some of the 'Frugal' youtubers again. I really can't understand why some people go food shopping every couple of days - and it's not because they don't have a car to use. It's mid month and I've only food shopped twice - apart from buying the special cheese last week.

And some people picked up on one frugal blogger who seemed to have a real muddle in the kitchen cupboards so had no idea of what was there, but reckoned she was a 'prepper'! The comments recommending she sort her cupboards and write a list were soon deleted. 

Of course I have no right to criticise - as I haven't the patience to be a you tuber myself! Better shut-up!

At least the weather was fine for the women's tennis final at Queens Club yesterday. Emma Raducanu played well - but only in the second set, but she still lost out. I've looked at the weather forecast for the week ahead and there shouldn't be rain which is good as I'd really like a few afternoons of watching the Men's matches. There will definitely be one Brit in the second round because Arthur Fery  has drawn fellow Brit Toby Samuel for the first round. Cam Norrie has the hardest first round match against the  4th seed.

Back Tomorrow.

Big Shop

 Filling a post with food shopping again!

Two weeks after my last proper food shop and the first one for June was a big shop. Restocking cupboards, buying lots of lovely summer fruit and all the ingredients for making a big batch of Thai red fish curry as most of the 12 portions of Quorn Korma curry made way back in January have been eaten.

Almost everything was from Aldi but then I popped into Morrisons to get a couple of things that Aldi don't have.

From left to right.............. Salad leaves 65p; Large pack of nectarines 1kg £2.39; strawberries £2.15; 2 x packs of 6 mini apples @ 59p = £1.18; carrots 500g 44p; mini potatoes 75p; head of calabrese 79p; Large bag wonky peppers £1.69; mangetout 200g £1.19; pack of 7 mini cheese biscuits 99p; 2 x peanuts @ 59p = £1.18; 2 x tins plum tomatoes @ 43p= 86p; tin peaches 45p; spaghetti 500g 33p; pack 6 cheese/onion rolls £1.75; 4 wholemeal burger baps 69p; 1.5kg plain flour 70p; 2 x tins coconut milk @75p = £1.50; 400g extra mature cheese £2.49. 1 decaf ground coffee £2.49; 2 x ground coffee @ £2.49 = £4.98; shortbread biscuits 95p; fig roll biscuits 59p; 2 x Dried prunes @ £2.79 =   £5.58; Thai red curry paste £1.29; 2 x Lemon meringue pie mix @ 85p = £1.70; Flora  cholesterol lowering Proactive spread  £3.75; 2 x Frozen Sweet potato fries @ £1.99= £3.98;  Icecream £1.35; Basa fish fillets £1.75.

Total spend was £50.42  blimey! hopefully not a lot else will be needed for the rest of June except eggs and fresh stuff. 

As the photo didn't really show all the shopping very well I decided to video it  then took me an age to remember/find out how to upload to youtube and now I've no idea if it works or not. I'd forgotten I even had a you-tube channel! It's just a couple of short bits from the meadow at Clay Cottage, a tour round the garden there in 2019 which is only 7 years ago but I must have aged since then ( errrr yes Susan you are 7 years older!) as I doubt I'd manage all that gardening now. The most recent video -  an even shorter bit of the view over the village is from 2024 and I don't even remember making it.

I would never have the patience to have a youtube channel that's for sure.

Back Tomorrow

Just In Case...............

................I was short of ideas for blog posts in May and knowing how many people love shopping pictures,  I grabbed the camera each time I'd  unpacked everything onto the worktop.

This was the big first May shop, everything from Aldi except for the large bag of sugar which came from Asda as they have Silver Spoon which is British and a bigger bag.

 

Celery 75p, Salad leaves 65p, 2 x 6 apples @ £1.19 = £2.38, 3 x peanuts at 59p =£1.77, tin fruit cocktail 89p,6 Cheese and Onion Rolls £1.75, Multigrain crackers 89p, Mayo 89p, 1.5Kg wholemeal bread flour 99p, 100% peanut butter £3.99, Shropshire Blue cheese £2.79, Tub Clotted cream £1.99,Tin Pink salmon £1.45, Tin Sardines in Sunflower oil 49p, 2 x Butter @ £1.99 = £3.98,  2 packets ground coffee - 1 decaf one other @ £2.59 = £5.18. 2Kg Granulated Sugar £2.15. Finally.... Frozen food was 2 x sweet potato fries @ £2.15 each = £4.30,Petit Pois Peas £1.09.  Essential Range oven bake Fish in Batter - Pack of 4 £1.99. Meat Free Veggie Burgers Pack of 4 £1.39.

Total spend £41.75

Comments...............The clotted cream was for my Bank Holiday treat of home made scones, compost jelly and clotted cream.The tin of  salmon ready for making a batch of salmon/broccoli/ pasta bake. The milk and butter also went into the freezer for later. The Essential range Fish is almost as good as the more expensive pack and smaller portions which is good.

Swapping UPF laden Pringles for peanuts for a savoury snack  isn't necessarily good for my health as I seem to have become quite addicted to peanuts! although  it is cheaper and not an UPF of course. 

Next shop was to Diss for Aldi but also for Morrisons as I needed to stock up on the Chinese party bits that I have with stir-fried vegetables, which Aldi don't stock and I'd eaten the last of the batch made Quorn spag bol sauce from the freezer so wanted Quorn mince and Linda McCartney Mozzerella burgers.

I ended up spending a few £ extra as Morrisons had clearance packs of their mixed frozen Indian Party bits so I got a couple of those too to go with my batch made Quorn korma curries. I also fancied a change from my usual stir-fries and bought a chicken chilli thing from the chilled shelves which was enough for two so I ate it for my main meal and second meal too.

From Left to Right ......Head of calabrese (which supermarkets insist on calling broccoli - No it isn't!) 79p; 6 Mini apples on offer 59p; Pears£1.49; Carrots 500g 44p; 4 nectarines £1.79; Mixed nuts £1.75; Dried prunes £2.79;  4 Pints Milk £1.65; Leeks £1.39; Tin essential range peach slices 45p; 400g Extra Mature Cheddar £2.49; Then the Frozen things at the far right ............. 500g Quorn Mince £2.95; Pack 4 Linda McCartney Mozzerella Burgers £3.50; Pack mini spring rolls £1.50; 2 x Indian Party Mix Selection @ £2 each(reduced from £3) = £4; Pack mini Prawn toasts £2;  From the chilled counter Sweet Chilli Chicken £5.50. 

I detoured on my way home to call in for the farm gate eggs - 6 eggs £1.25 and while I was there I went into the Co-op to see what they had reduced and found a pack of stir fry veg to go with my chilli chicken..... reduced to £1.71 but it rang up as 71p so an extra bargain. Enough for two meals again. A nice change from my regular carrot/onion/pepper stir fry........... it had mange tout, broccoli spears, onion, green beans and pakchoi.

Comments........... The head of calabrese was to go with last week's tin of salmon to make a batch of salmon/broccoli/pasta bake.

 It's good to have a change - but the sweet chilli chicken wasn't anything very special so I wouldn't bother with it again. 

Total Spend £37.03

Third shop of the month, stocking up on a few things where I was down to just one in the cupboard.

Mainly Aldi again and a couple of things from Asda, just over £5 to get my £1 parking fee back. The Asda car park doesn't belong to Asda and is in town and I needed to go into town this time rather than just the out of town Aldi.

From left to right ..Salad 95p; Red Pepper 70p; 3 x peanuts at 59p = £1.77; Penne pasta 500g 41p; Mozzerella 69p; Extra Mature Cheddar 400g £2.49; 2x Fig Roll Biscuits @ 59p = £1.18; Tin Fruit Cocktail 89p; 1.5Kg Wholemeal Bread Flour 99p; 4 Pints milk £1.65; Drinking Chocolate £1.90;  Tub Skimmed Milk Powder £3.45.

Total £17.07

Comments..............I'm getting through more milk as I take some for the Keep Moving Group (I do get my money back from the kitty). The pepper was  for adding in when making a big batch of Quorn spag bol sauce - I made 10 portions. The mozzerella is cut in half and put in the freezer for topping home made pizzas.

And Finally for end of May Bank Holiday weekend and the rest of the month everything from Aldi.

2 x Mini apples @ 6 for 59p = £1.18; 2 x 4 Nectarines @ £1.79 = £3.58; Celery 75p; Cauliflower £1.19; Peanuts 2@59p = £1.18; Clotted Cream £1.99; Mini Roule cheese £1.49.

Total Spend £12.25

Finally wasn't quite finally! as I bought half a dozen eggs from the local farm gate for £1.25, then the cup-a-soups and tea bags from the boot sale for 50p each and then a random tin of corned beef for 50p too - more house clearance.

Total food shop in May  £110.35 but there are  20+ meals now in the freezer and the cupboards look healthy so June should be back to the usual £ 80-90ish for me at home and maybe plus a meal out.

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When and Where I Food Shopped in March

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.

Total spend £10.66 - (I decided it wasn't worth the extra to buy from The Grape Tree and anyway peanuts are cheaper so I shall be alternating) 

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!

Resorting to a Photo of Shopping...

Thanks everyone for comments yesterday. .....the boring boot-sale photo and today because I'm short of blogging topics, I'm resorting to a picture of shopping .......another boring topic! but curiously fascinating to so many people - including me although...................

I looked at 2 minutes of a frugal youtuber unloading her frugal shopping before deciding that I'd seen enough of someone saying she was frugal while buying things that aren't (in my opinion anyway!) Of course they might be vital to her existence, even coca cola!

I don't know who the youtuber was as I couldn't find it again. I really shouldn't watch even 2 minutes of these as mostly they make me cross!

My shopping ...............

Everything from Aldi again. Vegetables were salad leaves, purple sprouting broccoli, celery, mini potatoes(British from Norfolk - well done Aldi), baby plum tomatoes. Fruit in season British apples and pears . Into the fridge -  4 pints milk,  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. Total spend £30.89.

............with no coca-cola!

Sorry folks, seems I'm getting cranky and boring!

Shopping, % UPFs and a Closer Look at Ingredients

 Long Number Heavy Blog Post Warning!

Food bought during February...................

Small shop - Leeks, eggs, Burger baps - 3 items

The picture below ............UPFs 4 things out of 13 bought the list is here

Burgers, Linda McCartney Mozzarella Burgers are considered ultra-processed foods (UPF), typically falling into Nova group 4 classification. While vegetarian, they contain ingredients and additives characteristic of industrial processing, such as methyl cellulose (E461), flavourings, and rehydrated textured soya protein. 

Key details regarding the processing of these burgers include:

• Ingredients: Primarily composed of rehydrated textured soya protein (65%), rapeseed oil, mozzarella cheese (9%), and various stabilizers/flavourings.
• Processing Indicators: The presence of methyl cellulose and added flavourings are clear markers of ultra-processing.

 Pringles are the worst..............,

Pringles are a classic example of ultra-processed food (UPF), made from a reconstituted dough of dehydrated potato flakes, corn, rice, and wheat starch rather than sliced, whole potatoes. Engineered for hyper-palatability, they are fried and laden with additives like MSG, emulsifiers, and refined oils, often leading to rapid consumption and potential health risks, including inflammation, weight gain, and metabolic disruption.

 The others two ultra processed  things not quite so bad - Hovis biscuits and Tortilla wraps.

Below are 17 items for the 3rd food shop of February the shopping list is here. 4 items are UPFs - Stuffing mix, tortilla chips, fig biscuits and someone pointed out that the soft cream cheese also has a couple of odd ingredients. 

Key Benefits of Citrus Fiber in Cream Cheese:

Citrus fiber is used in cream cheese as a natural, clean-label stabilizer and emulsifier to improve texture, enhance creaminess, and prevent syneresis (water separation). It acts as a fat replacer and thickener, allowing for better yield and a creamy mouthfeel without the need for chemical stabilizers or added gums. 

Key Considerations for Guar Gum:

Guar gum is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA and not considered inherently bad for the general population in the small amounts used in food. As a soluble fiber, it may help manage blood sugar and cholesterol, but excessive consumption can cause digestive discomfort like gas, bloating, and diarrhoea. 

Rye Flour.

The  final main food shop contained 3 UPFs  out of  15 items purchased the list is here. Frozen sweet Potato fries (borderline), cheese and onion rolls and the Dunkables biscuits.

I wondered about the noodles? 

Does the potassium carbonate in noodles make them an UPF..........

Extensive research into the effects of additives on food products and the nearly 100-year history of using potassium carbonate in food has yielded no results published to prove the risk of this chemical compound for human health. At the Food and Drug Administration, all carbonate salts are on the list of safe substances. So far, no evidence has been provided on the possibility of side effects due to the use of compounds such as potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or potassium bicarbonate.

 

And finally going to the Opticians where I used to live so went in the Co-op to get celery, salad leaves and cheese except they had no celery so I got spring onions instead. Spend £3.98 - jolly expensive for 3 things but no more UPFs.

Adding everything up.......... roughly 53 different  items of which 11 are classed as UPF....More than I thought. Although I'm not worried because I'm not eating them all at once and anyway...........

Based on recent data (2023-2025), the average diet in the UK and the US consists of approximately 53% to 60% ultra-processed foods (UPFs) by calorie intake.

Average Consumption: For many, over half of daily energy intake comes from UPFs

Surely I must be  around 10% a day which is probably OK.

There are several easy swaps to be made if I want - usually involving making things myself rather than buying or, as I'm not strictly vegetarian, buying more meat products rather than 'fake' meat products.

Total food spend for home in February just over £88 which is down on usual and just means next month will be more! No coffees/cheese scones but I ate out once treating YD and OGD to a meal and then fish and chips takeaway for us when doing Nanna duty.

Not sure I shall do these food photos again through March....maybe if I'm looking for ideas for blog posts.