Being economical....with the truth

[Polremy]

Ok. I promised I would write back today once I had done my shopping. I think I said I got away with 50euros a week.

I think that might have been a bit of wishful thinking there, or else I was thinking of £50!

Well, I think I did quite well today, anyway and got a few bargains.

Here goes: Leader Price total 40.69euros

For that I got a fair few meals: a pack of nine enormous chicken legs (sorry, not free range or bio or anything),

five tiny little beef steaks,

a pack of 5 0r 6 big pork chops

and a box of steak haches (we have visitors with three small girls coming over tomorrow for a swim and a barbie)

add to that a box of cheapie ice cream chocbars on sticks. (99cents)

then there were eggs, a pack of prewashed lettuce (mr polremy insists - one of his few vices)

and a jar of ketchup.

small carton of cream

pack of rice cakes (for me - dont eat bread)

2 bottles of gascogne white wine which I love, especially as it is only 1euro60 a bottle.

2kg carrots, 3 garlics, kilo of onions, bunch bananas, 2kg oranges, 3kg pack of apples

extravaganat pack of blinis (for smoked salmon, yummy)

rasoirs jetables,

and, to round it all off: a big thing of bleach and some toilet paper.

It's when I got to Carrefour that things went a bit wrong!

I think maybe it is too big.

In my defence, I had to buy some small packs of toiletries for our handluggage only trip to UK in a couple of weeks (about 5 euros)

needed hair colour (over 7 euros)

and they had some rather nice fitou and cotes de rouss on promo so I got 4 bottles of them.

oh yes. and the burger buns are a ripoff 12 cost me 2.40

Well, enough excuses - total at carrefour 51.77

That makes a grand total of 92.46 I think.

If you let me off the hair stuff and holiday toiletries that leaves about 80euros.

And..... I dont shop every week - I do Monday one week and Friday the next then miss a week.

So, that's it for 11 days .

80 divided by 11 x 7 = just under 51 euros for a week's shopping.

I think I have cooked the books there.

But I just might get away with it.

[Polremy]

ps Forgot to say - I got 1E12 added my fidelity card at Carrefour so that could be taken off my expenditure too I think.

[Jacqui Too]

What about : milk, butter, bread, sugar, cheese, toothpaste, washing powder, soap, shampoo, cleaning products?[:)]

I shop in the same supermarket every week and I never take a list, as long as they have not moved items[6] I do not forget things, as I buy mostly the same things every week, as I go round I look at all the things I usually buy and think do I need that this week! My shopping can vary by as much as £20 per week but I'm happy with what I spend. I've nearly always been thrifty with the weekly shop.

[Polremy]

ok.

milk - yes i got six uht cartons today at carrefour.

butter - we dont use it.

bread - i make it for mr polremy and have enough flour and yeast at the mo.

sugar, toothpaste, wash powder, soap, cleaning stuff - we have enough at the mo - got most of them last time.

cheese - got some feta at carrefour today to do a scrummy sounding recipe involving water melon which i also bought.

would have bought carrefour's no1 little tub of garlic and fineherbes cheese at about 69cents but they didn't have any. also sold out of their no1 goats cheese. (about time these tourists went home and left us in peace!)

shampoo - as well as the small sample thingies for our holiday i did get a big thing of shampoo and 2 showergels - buy one get one half price.

i agree that the bill can vary quite a bit from visit to visit.

see a bargain - stock up.

we also stick with the same tried and tested things but

I do tend to think "let's have something different - don't want to be boring old fogies - bad enough being old fogies"

so you are in England, Jacqui Too - how much do you think a weekly shop costs on average for you.

is france cheaper?

mind you, when the weather is warmer and the wine is cheaper, somehow you dont need to eat quite so much.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Polremy"] so you are in England, Jacqui Too - how much do you think a weekly shop costs on average for you. is france cheaper? [/quote]

Yes I am in UK, There are 2 of us, I do one shop per week in sainsburys 1 1/2 miles away, my weekly shop has varied from £48 -£75 in the last 2 months, the longest we have been in France at one time is 3 1/2 weeks but even so I think that costs would be about the same, bread in France from the local boulangerie is a fraction to what it is here e.g. French stick/fiselle(sp?) :sainsburys £1.05p Local boulangerie €0.35! and 100% nicer!! totally swings and roundabouts, not really cheaper in any country.

We don't smoke or drink at home except hubby has the odd beer, I never buy convenience foods, I like to know what I'm eating!

When I say the 'same things' I mean fruit, veg, meat, fish, cheese, etc. and within those, there are hundreds of variants[:D]

When in France I do my shopping differently (more time) I first go to leclerc and do a big shop then after that I use the local shop and boulangerie and I go to the markets when I can.

Last time I was over leclere had one of their 50% off weeks and I bought loads of magret (sp?)du canard, froze them and brought them back here for special occasions, yummy[:)]

Edit: We also have two small dogs and a cat so included in that is £ 6.16- £8.50 per week for their food

 

[valB]

I never let myself run low on hair laquer, hair dyes or any toiletries that are far more expensive over here. Apart from my Asda run in UK I always have a Boots/Superdrug run as well.  We have a lot of visitors each year and if I find I am running low they normally don't mind bringing me a few bits. As I do not like garden peas and the French peas taste like them I always bring back tins of...wait for it....PROCESSED PEAS..yummy. Yes, be mortified if you like but that is just me, also, packets of dried mushy peas as well.

[Iceni]

Most of our friends travel here by Ryanair so it is becoming increasingly difficult to ask them to bring us goodies. Though after 5 years there are very few things that we miss sufficiently to ask for them to be brung over. The only 2 that we need regularly are tea and giant rolls of clingfilm so the latter have to wait until someone has car space available.

We don't buy prepared food, any leftovers either return to the table next day or are frozen to go into winter soup thus we rarely have to throw away food. Meals are conjured up from that which is in stock rather than buying ingredients especially for a meal. Growing our own veg can lead to courgettes or haricots 3 times a day for weeks but Di is an excellent cook and finds ways to avoid repetition. This life style suits us which is all that matters.

p.s. valB - are you the same valB from Harrow and Stockley Park ?

John

 

[Nell]

I have been reading these threads about shopping costs with some interest. If I am totally honest I don't really worry too much about weekly shopping costs. I am more than happy to live here, not have to go to work every day and have time to cook from scratch and not use any pre-packed rubbish and E numbers. I don't buy any minced type meat - i have a small electric mincer/sausage maker and have great fun buying pork/beef/lamb/chicken when it is on special offer and making my own mince and my own sausage. The only exception to this is the odd Toulouse sausage bought from my local butcher as they are scrummy.... I find that if you make your own, you know what is in there and it works out much cheaper. I know lots of people make their owm bread and grow their own veg, but I don't think this saves much as bread is a very reasonable price and veg - You get a glut and then have to think of what to do with it to keep you going for a few months. To me meat in the freezer is the basis of all meals and the most costly part.

But after all that - the main reason I am posting a reply to this thread. = ValB if you can admit to bringing back cases of Farrows Marrofat peas and boxes of dried mushies - so can I.  I now know who to contact if I start to run short before my next UK supermarket run [:D]   I will have a go at basic veg on my plate but the OH !!! Unless it is green out of a tin or soaked and boiled to mush he is not interested.

 

edit - just noticed this is number 100 for me - way to go [:-))][:-))]

[valB]

Don't go for Asda processed peas. I brought back 24 tins and they were like Chick peas because Asda have gone very healthy and removed all additives, even the water they are in is grey.  Being a skinflint I am still using them and they don't even taste like processed peas so I will be glad when I have used them all.  Tesco's next time I think but I will check the tin before I buy.  To the previous thread, No I am not that Valb...I come from the West Country  OOOH  ARRR  "  E make I laugh E do.

[Iceni]

Silly question

Why not make your own mushy peas ?  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushy_peas

John

[Nell]

I do - I buy boxes of dried peas, soak overnight then cook as per the instructions you identified on wikipedia [blink]

[valB]

I buy boxes of dried peas that I soak overnight with bicarb so that is making my own. I do not buy the awful tins of mushy peas.

[BJSLIV]

I think fans of tinned mushy peas are going to be disappointed.

Due to new food regs they are required to stop using the green colouring by next year. As people don't like grey peas most manufacturers are likely to stop producing the tinned variety.

I suspect that many of the boxes of dried peas also contain some of the colourings so it looks as though it will be grey peas all round.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/article1027066.ece

PS Sorry about the source of the article, but though I remember reading the story in a proper newspaper, I can't find anything online.

 

[valB]

As I mentioned in a previous thread Asda have alresdy done this with the tinned peas and they are awful. We have been eating peas with additives for donkey's years so why do we all have to have this thrust upon us. If it's not broken don't fix it is what I say. Yes, eat healthy foods and I very rarely ever bought pre packed dinners always cooking with fresh veg  etc. but I cannot see that a small tin of GREEN peas are going to kill me.