UK people - supermarket choices.

hougt

I always get my chicken from Costco if you have a card/know anyone with one. Last tray cost me 12.50 for 11 decent sized breasts that are not pumped full of water like supermarket ones (George forman is a great test for how much runs out). I then bag them up in 2s or 3s and freeze

laurajayee

I've food Aldi or Lidl, but often local greengrocers are the cheapest for buying individual items.
So fair enough 4 peppers from Tesco are on offer for £1.50 or whatever, I never end up using 4 so buying 1 from the greengrocer is cheaper than buying 1 from a supermarket. I think think just depends on whether you have a cheap local greengrocer or an organic one which can end up being far more expensive.

Farm foods meat is often cheap and good quality, but you do need to buy large amounts to save the money.

Shop around in markets and local shops is what I'd suggest and avoid supermarkets where possible as they are often most expensive.

helenmelon29

I shop at Tesco mainly as the car park and the trolleys are the best for me and my baby! (Morrisons only has a couple of baby trolleys and parking is awful!). I usually do 1 big monthly shop, then each week in my dinner hour from work I buy the fresh bits & bobs - I have started to do a weekly meal plan and only buy what we need (to try and save money & waste). So today I went to Marks & Spencer & Iceland and got milk, fruit, salad, bread etc.

I get my mince & chicken through my brother as he has a restaurant so gets local produce a good bit cheaper. (my OH is a sheep/pig farmer so we have lamb and pork already at home). So I guess we are very lucky with that stuff.

I sometimes go to Asda too, but end up spending more!

plantboy2

Just went to Tesco to buy some coffee and thought I'd have a look for deals. It's appalling. The "Value" shelves were packed with junk food - microwave burgers, cheesestrings, crisps, biscuits, confectionery, cheesecakes - all processed crap. The freezer sales section was the same - all deep fried, ice cream, etc. No fresh produce "sales" section, no wholefoods sales section. They proliferate obesity with no shame.

Still bought my coffee from there....

tattygun

I don't think there's much between the major supermarkets. Where ever possible u try to support the local green grocer or buy at a farm shop, better produce and usually better value.

Bella_Figura

For fruit, veg, herbs, spices, flour, sugar, pulses, cheese, bread, coffee, tea, stock cubes and spreads such as peanut butter and honey I always go to the market (I'm lucky that Norwich has a fabulous outdoor market 6 days per week) as the food is way cheaper, fresher and usually more local than I've found in any of the major supermarkets. Also, the fruit and veg in the market tend to be seasonal as well as local, so by shopping there I avoid the supermarket-pitfall of being tempted to buy asparagus in March or strawberries in December and then finding they've come all the way from New Zealand!

Pulses I always buy dry from the market, because that way they're dead cheap...spices too. I pay about a tenth of the price I'd pay for a can of pre-cooked pulses or a jar of Schwartz spices.

Milk I get from the milkman - it's more expensive than the supermarket, but I like the returnable bottles!

I also grow a lot of my own veg in growbags in the garden, and I have herbs and salad leaves growing in pots on all my windowsills, and a mushroom log in my airing cupboard. I have a tiny garden, but it's amazing how much veg I can fit into a small space.

For meat and fish I buy from my local farmer's market...the meat and fish are locally produced, and whilst they're not as cheap as the supermarket, I tend to buy less and make it go further by serving in casseroles and bakes etc.

Eggs I get organic free-range ones from the many houses and farms that sell them by their garden gates on my daily walks...I guess this may not be easy if you live in the city not the countryside...

That leaves groceries, such as cereals, washing powder etc..... for those I tend to shop at Sainsbury's because it's the closest supermarket to home. I'm not wedded to Sainsbury's though - I'd equally well shop at Morrisons, LIDL or Aldi...the only 2 supermarkets I won't use are Tesco and Asda, Tesco because I think it's on a campaign of world domination and Asda because it's part of the equally huge Walmart chain, and I don't like to play a part in increasing the profits of corporate giants!

MeanderingMammal

Tesco for staples, Riverford Organics for fresh on a home delivery box scheme.

I'm uncomfortable with Lidl and Aldi after I was stayning with friends and salads were still crisp after having been open for a week.

ChristyJade

Shop mostly at Morrisons, they have weekly deals on Fruit and Veg that are usually pretty good, and so can always try something different every week. And they are the best at reducing items I find! We go on a Monday evening and get so much reduced stuff!! Recently got 4 Pork Steaks for 40p!!! Cottage cheese for 14p, and got loads of deli meats for 15p per 150g this week! Lovely...

Sometimes nip into Lidl, but never have everything I want for a weekly shop, and Tesco is closest so go there on occasion, but I just don't like tesco that much, don't know why...

Birmingham Market is the best though for meat and veg! If I could I would go there every Saturday and stock up for the week

Ben_1960

I eat an awful lot of fresh green leafy veg, bananas and strawberries. for me Aldi and Lidl beat the bigger supermarkets for price. I also notice that their veg seems to have a longer shelf life. However Asda for me is nearest so I use it.

I have discovered that my local high street greengrocer is 20% cheaper during summer months on quite a few items especially strawberries, raspberries and green veg. They are also much better looking veggies and fresher, so I have started dropping in there just before Asda and then getting what they cannot provide at Asda.

Jason3589

tend to use aldi or lidi. If l use supermarkets l go for their value range, its just as good. I tend to get my fruit and veg from local shops or markets, far cheaper and not full of pesticides

ivormorgan

We have them all near me except an Aldi. Morrisons is getting pricier and the quality of the fruit, veg and poultry has been disappointing lately. I tend to get my fruit and veg from the local market, it's cheaper and easily as good. Tesco is on par with Morrisons for everyday groceries - price wise and range. Not middle-class enough for Waitrose and Sainsburys never have enough manned tills on a Saturday. We have an Asda which is like the bowels of hell, I refuse to go in there, which is a shame becuase the one where I used to live was superb.

niki87lewis

Asda, but I go to a local farm shop for fruit, veg and eggs :-)

girlinagirdle

Honestly....having shopped at them all we've settled on the Waitrose Essential range as best choice and VFM and I include in that veg (including tinned toms), fruit (bags of their essential range frozen fruit make a mean fruit smoothies), protein (fish, cheese and I don't eat meat so not sure how I would feel about that) and carbs like fresh pasta/noodles when we need them. Works for us.

We supplement that with herbs/more exotic veggies from our local Turkish/Polish/Iranian supermarket. I live in a part of London though where our high-street isn't totally dominated by the big four (yet). We do have a lidl and aldi that are hit and miss.

Also a big fan of veg boxes. Having to cook what we are given has changed how we cook, forced us to think more about our food and explore new recipes. Now I can do things with a butternut squash that don't involve making it into soup (but do include fatayers and curries) and celariac holds no fear - although it took a while to get there!

Rossa59

Shop mainly at Sainsburys once a week. Used to shop at Morrisons but found the fruit and veg didn't last for very long. Sainsburys may be a bit more expensive but quality is better so we don't throw out as much stuff. Always get the longest 'use by' date you can even if it's at the back of the shelf or the box underneath the one on display.

Own brand isn't always cheaper if a branded name is running an offer. Same applies to pack sizes. We find that sometimes the smaller packs work out cheaper than the bigger, so called economical, packs. Check the price per kg to compare. Other thing to check is the weight of the contents. A lot of manufacturers have reduced pack, tin, bag sizes but kept the same price. So you're paying the same but for less. You have to be a lot more savvy these days to make sure you're getting a good deal.

Check out your local independent shops and markets too. We have a very good Q butcher that we go to once a month. A lot cheaper than the supermarket, saves at least a tenner a month even after petrol costs to get there and the meat is all local. They list where it's from so no horse meat pretending to be a beefburger.

We have Asda and Aldi too. All the supermarkets are within 1/2 mile of each other. We check out the price of foods we buy a lot of online and pop into one of the others if Sainsburys doesn't have the same offer. Morrisons is the exception but will be online later this year.

Our Morrisons has just re-vamped their store and it's a lot better now. Even has 'chilled' displays that blows out cold air over the herbs and unusual veg like 'tiger' aubergines and yellow courgettes (zucchini). Think they'll give Sainsburys a run for their money now and we've decided to go there more often.

My stepmother lives near a Waitrose so sometimes we shop there. Their own brand can also be worth checking out and for 'luxury' items you can't get elsewhere, like Lapsang Souchong loose tea which we drink. Great ice-cream too! I rate them better than M&S. (I'm an ex Chef)

Hannah_Hopes

Asda for fresh veg/fruit sometimes Morrisons if I want something a bit different
Aldi/Lidl for breads/cooked meats/canned
Butchers on a Saturday afternoon for bulk buying meat for freezer for few weeks/months
:bigsmile:
Oh and if there's a market near you, go check it out they can be cheaper than Asda by far especially with the fruit

mamamia29

Marks and Spencers for their 3 for £10 meat offers. Good quality food!
Find Tesco is getting over priced lately

genghis54

I tend to use Lidle,Asda and Tesco as they are all quite near, I find Morrisons and Sainsburys a bit pricey,

Hannah_Hopes

Marks and Spencers for their 3 for £10 meat offers. Good quality food!
Find Tesco is getting over priced lately

Oh yeah M&S do some good meal deals sometimes for two and their stir fry selection, they can be relatively healthy and the meal for two tends to feed four of us when we want a treat

andypandy1109

i use morries and asda for my bigshops but use Lidle every week for my fresh

i like lidle as they are .sweedish i think but they dont put rubbish in their food...preservatives sweeteners ect...it is a lot cheaper too...

i poarticually like their creme fresh 30 less fat but really has a good taste you can also get 1000g nat yog cartons and 1000g greek yog as well as all flavours.

fruit and veg are often on offer but cheap[er to start with.

try their own brands you will learn to like them

all meat is bought from a farm shop would never pay supermarket prices for meat....its fresh cheaper and you can choose what you want to pay for an item...we stock our freezer up every couple of months or so so buyin gin bulk reduces the prices too

swaymyway

Can't beat Lidl/Aldi for price and quality - especially on fresh stuff like fruit, veg and meat.

farway

Can't beat Lidl/Aldi for price and quality - especially on fresh stuff like fruit, veg and meat.

have to agree, but I think quality will very much depend on local management, chucking out squishy toms, for instance