UK ppl.. where do you shop & what 'easy' food do you buy?
glc1990
Posts: 22
I shop at Sainsburys or Iceland mostly, as they are right at the top of my road so they're easy to get to. I don't really like Iceland though but it's cheap.
What are some of the healthier convenience foods/ready meals you buy from the places you shop? I like those Innocent Veg Pots but they are high in sodium and expensive at £4 a pot - I only buy them when they're BOGOF/half price. I also like the sitr fry packs from Sainsburys as they're quick to throw together when I'm home late from work but stir fry more than a couple of times a week gets boring for me.
Normally I cook from scratch but I get home late from work 2-3 times a week and I need something I can heat up quickly. I like pretty much all food except mussels (gagging at the thought of them!!!) and quinoa.
What are some of the healthier convenience foods/ready meals you buy from the places you shop? I like those Innocent Veg Pots but they are high in sodium and expensive at £4 a pot - I only buy them when they're BOGOF/half price. I also like the sitr fry packs from Sainsburys as they're quick to throw together when I'm home late from work but stir fry more than a couple of times a week gets boring for me.
Normally I cook from scratch but I get home late from work 2-3 times a week and I need something I can heat up quickly. I like pretty much all food except mussels (gagging at the thought of them!!!) and quinoa.
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Replies
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I shop at Morrisons, Aldi and sometimes Tesco as they are my closest places. Aldi is brilliant for cheap veg (my local Aldi and Morrisons are across the road from each other so I tend to get my veg at Aldi first then nip across the road for other stuff from Morrisons). I am also the "yellow sticker" queen, i.e I am one of those people who always heads first for the reduced items :blushing: - usually the only time I allow myself to buy the Innocent veg pots
If you cook from scratch anyway, why not batch cook curries and stews so you always have home-made frozen "ready meals" on hand? I tend to make them veggie then throw in chicken or prawns at a later stage. Soup - again, I generally prefer to make my own in batches, but the fresh chilled soups are good for convenience. Often the Glorious and New Covent Garden brands are half price for £1 a carton or on 2 for £3, and the supermarkets do their own versions too (I know Morrisons does anyway).
Some of the supermarkets now seem to do their own versions of the "fresh" ready meal type things ie a bit like the Innocent pots but with chicken and noodles for example. A guy at work regularly brings in Asda's own version which are only £2 a pot.0 -
I second the cook in bulk so you can have your own home-made ready meals in the freezer. You can control how much sodium/salt goes into it as well as tailor it to your own tastes.
Otherwise, stirfry is good - you can mix it up a bit with different noodles/prawns or chicken, or different sauces (home made if you can be bothered!)
Otherwise, my go to quick meal is to bake a salmon fillet (takes 20 mins, if that), steam up some broccoli/green beans and boil some noodles. Seasoned with a bit of chilli/soy sauce/lemon, it really is super quick, tasty and wholesome with hardly any washing up. I can jump in the shower while it's cooking, too. Win.0 -
I don't have a car or anything, so I order my shopping online - I do a monthly shop at Ocado.
I make stuff in bulk and freeze it so I can defrost it in the microwave when I get in after a long day and can't be bothered. Things like spag bol, veggie chili and stews.
I love online shopping and looking on the offers page - I buy mostly from this and get a lot of soup, and things for bulk recipes on offer At the moment I keep buying chickens that are on offer to put in the freezer for cooking later and separating up to add into quick things too like stir fries etc0 -
Asda does really cheap veg and meat.
Frozen prawns are a great source of protein and low fat you can probably get that at Iceland.
Get your lean meats at butchers when they have offers on, generally just look and see whats on the market.
The trouble is that anything that comes as a prepackaged meal is most likely loaded with sodium which isn't a good thing.0 -
Morrisons for me, though Aldi does have cheap veggies. I cook sweet potatoes, stir frys, make curries and freeze them. I also love cauliflour "rice".0
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I use musclefood.com and buy a lot of the jerky for snacks and zebra/kangaroo steaks for tea
Their protein packed ready meals are quite tasty too0 -
I buy in Sainsbury's and Lidl mainly. Lidl has good offers on weekend so sometimes I buy in bulk and freeze.0
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I shop mostly in Tesco. I usually get cooked sliced chicken breast and the handy veg bags which I take to work for lunch everyday - microwave for 3mins and it's done. I also get whole cooked chicken breasts sometimes for a quick meal with veg or salad. Also get lean turkey breast steaks - under the grill for 12mins and they're done. Tesco also do microwavable quinoa and bulgar wheat mix like uncle bens rice which I quite like.0
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I shop at Morrisons.
I don't have ready meals (small, not worth the money, high in salt....etc) but I like easy to make meals too, especially after work. If I'm lazy/tired and don't want to spend much time cooking I usually make stuff that cooks in the oven and needs little prep time.
Things for me that I buy often that create easy meals:
- Frozen peas/green beans/carrots
- Frozen fish
- Lamb/beef burgers.
- Mince beef
- Any meat really (it cooks itself in the oven, don't need to do anything except put it in there!)
- Sauces (I'd like to make my own though in bulk and store them so that I don't have to buy them and I still get the flavours)
- Pasta
- Rice
It's not really the foods I think as much as the meals you choose to make. Getting fresh meat and veg and cooking from scratch doesn't have to take much effort at all. A lot of stuff just cooks in the oven or saucepan by itself while you sit back and relax. The only thing you have to do is cut stuff up before, judge the timing fairly well and put the stuff together on a place. Sauces can be added and heated up in minutes. Pasta bakes are awesome because you literally just put it all in the dish (I add meat, veg, the lot!) and make sure it's well covered in the sauce and wait for it to cook. Sauces can be made from scratch 1 day a week or less, and stored easily for when you need them.
Failing that, if you want it really fast, the slow cooker can become your new best friend. Prepare in the morning (even that doesn't take long, just throw lots of things in!) and dinner can be served the minute you get home.0 -
Mostly Lidl and Aldi as they're near enough for me to talk to and not too big (I hate huge hypermarkets - I can never find anything!)
I agree with earlier comments about their fruit and veg, good value and healthy. I buy the little pots of olives that Lidl do, as they're good for snacking and not too expensive. I usually don't go past the crisps or sweets as it's easier to avoid temptation!!
Aldi do some nice soups in plastic tubs (in the chiller section) and I try to have one of those in the fridge for the 'i can't face cooking' evenings. I also keep a few home made meals in tupperware boxes in the freezer.
Having said that, if I have some quorn pieces in the freezer and some cashew nuts and lentils in the cupboard, and a selection of veg, then I can usually come up with something, if I can get motivated enough :-)0 -
When living in the UK I shop at tesco and sometimes morrisons only cos the shops are near to me. Haven't been there for 8 months but used to love stir fry in tesco, chicken, rice, veg0
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I get some of my fruit from Lidl and co-op.
I get microwave vegetables from Marks & Spencer, as well as ready cooked chicken breasts and thighs.
I get poached salmon fillets from Asda, 4 fillets for £8.
I get sweet potatoes from Asda and I go to Waitrose to get my duck eggs which I hard boil and keep in the fridge ready for snacks.
I also go into Marks around 7pm when they reduce the bakery breads and some of their other foods.
I get my low calorie popcorn from Boots or Tesco and also I love the microwaveable baby new potatoes in herb butter from Tesco. My trainer used to eat those too. I always have a stock of baby plum tomatoes too and I get those from either Lidl or Marks.0 -
I shop at Sainsbury (and top up whereever is convenient which is usually Waitrose as they are near work). Waitrose low fat ready meals are great standbys if I don't have anything at home, but they can be expensive.
Personally, I just eat a lot of chicken & fish - I buy the 3 for £10 meat on offer and freeze. Rough chop carrots, bell peppers, courgettes etc light drizzle with oil and roast (adding chicken breast for 25 mins or fish wrapped in foil for 15) - no pots and pans or washing up if you line the roasting pan with foil
Best buys are the Hairy Bikers diet books - they have loads of simple recipes and things you can cook in batches at the weekend then eat during the week. Please note that I hate hate hate cooking, but can cope with these recipes!0 -
Bunp0
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I mostly shop at Tesco, sometimes Sainsbury's, and go to Aldi for bits and bobs I know are cheaper there (currently berries for with my breakfast - strawberries and blueberries are about half the price as in Tesco).
I don't really do "easy" foods - I love to cook, and if I don't have time I make my boyfriend cook instead! Although last year, when I wasn't trying to lose weight, there were a few nights when I had to work late and we ended up getting takeaway/fish and chips, so I need to be prepared for those I suppose.
The only ready made things I tend to have around are tins - soups (I love Baxter's soup - the minestrone is less than 160 calories per tin and claims to be 2 of your 5-a-day as well) and baked beans and stuff.
I can normally come up with something using what's in the fridge and cupboards, to be honest, but if I'm desperate then beans on toast or soup aren't bad options.0 -
We get Sainsburys online delivery.
I generally cook from scratch, but when my husband's on late shift I do sometimes go for something quick and easy as we have 3 kids, so it's not always easy cooking when it's just me. The youngest is nearly 4 months, the other two 5 and 3. Sainsburys do a healthy range called My Goodness, so I sometimes get a couple of those. Their quick cook pasta is good too. I used to have a smaller portion of that with a big salad.0 -
I dont there's much difference between the UK supermarkets.
Eggs are a great staple - so many things you can make quickly from them.
Fish and veg is another of my quick meals - most supermarkets ahve a reduced shelf where you can often pick up a fillet of trout or sea bass. Wrap loosely in in some baking parchement and microwave or steam or bake in the oven until the flesh is opaque. Serve with steamed veg like asparagus, pak choi, brocoli.0
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