# Working to eat



## meridian (18 Jun 2005)

I was just wondering what other people budget for food, We are a family of five, with 3 young children and seem to spend a small fortune keeping food on the table - any tips welcome.
meridian.


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## contemporary (18 Jun 2005)

shop in bulk, get the generics in lidl/aldi (juice, cheese, jams etc), the branded stuff in tesco's, use clubcard etc for points to reduce further bills, avoid the spars etc if possible except for emergencies


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## ClubMan (18 Jun 2005)

Some other tips - most of which I don't stick to myself! 

Use a shopping list   
Keep a diary of your grocery spending for a few weeks to see where the money is going   
Formulate and stick to a budget   
Try not to make impulse purchases   
Don't shop when hungry   
Keep a stock of non perishables as a backup for when your budget won't stretch to additional purchases   
Buy fresh produce and prepare meals rather than buying ready made meals as the latter generally work out significantly more expensive   
As above try to seek out the best value outlets/offers 
 Hope this helps!


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## DrMoriarty (18 Jun 2005)

We've five of the little ..ehm, darlings, so I know exactly what you're talking about, meridian. All of the above is good advice — particularly the point about avoiding 'convenience' stores like the plague..!


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## SineWave (18 Jun 2005)

Lidl and Aldi are great for the bulk generic purposes, but too often I come across people who have blown the saving on a "special offer", which they wouldn't have gone looking for in the first place, nor did they really need....................it then ends up stored alongside the SodaStream, FootSpa etc..


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## Decani (18 Jun 2005)

ShoppingBill.com might help.


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## Sue Ellen (18 Jun 2005)

Hi Meridian,

These previous threads might be worth a read:

Money saving tips/advice
Comparing prices for grocery shopping
Why are things so expensive in Ireland

and others in AAM Good Deals Key Posts


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## tomthumb (19 Jun 2005)

We used to set a budget of whatever and work around that.  It didn't mean not buying good food but more getting the best value, two for ones, whatever was reduced a bit, etc.   Cutting down on the luxuries (ouch) biscuits, etc. and buying fruit/veg at the local veg shop saved a mint on supermarket prices.   Also meals that meant cheaper meat and veg like casseroles, etc. instead of steak.   We combine a Tesco/Aldi shop each week buying the best value at both and are quite happy with the outcome and avoid the local shop as much as possible as 20 euro there vanishes with just a few items.


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## tonka (19 Jun 2005)

tomthumb said:
			
		

> We combine a Tesco/Aldi shop each week buying the best value at both and are quite happy with the outcome and avoid the local shop as much as possible as 20 euro there vanishes with just a few items.



Never use spar centra and the like, robbers . Our shop is now Tesco/Aldi but we do aldi fortnightly. I find Lidl a bit icky and awfully  crowded and find Aldi quality is that bit better on average and its easier to get thru with sprogs . 

Aldi are great for fruit and veg by west of ireland standards or else the local fruit n veg shop .

We use a local butcher for meat, we bought a freezer and buy a lot of aldi freezables as well as chuck the meat in.  

The one thing *I TOTALLY HATE* about Tesco and Dunnes is their Bob the Builder promotional ambushes for young kids, piled high where you cannot avoid it. I burst meself laughing one day when a tot crashed a massive pile of spaghetti cans in there with spiderman logos or something . Normally I take the 2 year old down the Dog Food and Booze aisles while Mrs T does the aisles where the Bob the Builder and Starwars sh1te is displayed .

Aldi has no bob the builder/starwars sh1te on display where two year olds will see them .....fair play to them , or chocs at the tills in their eyeline . Its a lot easier to get sprogs thru the place quick without a tantrum erupting .

In tesco I wait for stuff like the monthly 2 x Douwe Egberts coffee for the price of one specials , that kind of thing , and buy 10 at a time , lasts forever . Same with nappies and wipes, wait for brandname at 20c per nappy before I buy. Wait for giant bulk packs or multipacks of babywipes and buy (huggy wipes are great , pampers crap) 

Aldi nappies rock 19c each , super quality .  

Aldi chocolate rocks and the ice cream too  

Once you get use to the multipack method you save a fortune on branded stuff, some multipacks are monthly , some quarterly , some rarer.  

It takes about 3 months before you see the results or multipack shopping and then the price of the average shop drops but the cupboard at home does not look so bare  ....ever 

Aldi baked beans (great) were at 20c one week, I must have bought 50 cans  which lasted 4 or 5 months (I think)


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## DrMoriarty (19 Jun 2005)

> I find Lidl a bit icky and awfully crowded and find Aldi quality is that bit better on average and its easier to get thru with sprogs.


Forgot to point out this obvious rule of thumb.

Lidl/Aldi branches vary wildly in this respect. I presume that in this — as in so many matters — things are a bit easier outside Dublin... But whether it's the aforementioned, Tesco, Dunnes, or wherever... — _leave_ the sprogs at home, if at all possible..!

Took me a few years to figure this one out, but I (and my wife) swear by it. It would nearly pay you — depending on the going rates, of course — to have them minded at home for the duration. Particularly if you want to mount a commando-style, "get-in/get-out-quick", "pile-the-trolley-high" operation, once a month...


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## tomthumb (20 Jun 2005)

Please do leave the sprogs at home when you shop!!   My bill can go up by about 20/30 euro if they come so usually one of us stays home and leaves us shop in peace with the shopping list.  You can think more clearly without the distraction of little hands popping rubbish into the trolley and just the general added difficulty of minding a child/children and shopping for the week or whatever.


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## Vanilla (20 Jun 2005)

Something that we do, but may not be available to those living in a city, is that we buy our meat directly from a local ( in our case organic) farmer. She rears the animal, gets the butcher to cut and pack and we pay for half the animal. So that fills our freezer for a while. We have had some very nice veal lately and next think will go for lamb. Also we have another farmer nearby who sells freerange eggs- €1 per dozen. There is an organic farmers market nearby but unfortunately its on on a weekday, so we can't make it, but I believe the quality and price is very good for vegetables.


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## Purple (20 Jun 2005)

I do the Aldi every 2 weeks thing and buy from the local veg shop and the local butcher.
As for bringing the kids to the shop, I love bringing the smallest two (2 and 3) and don't find that they are looking for stuff as they have never been let grab stuff off the shelves and don't get a lot of crap at home.


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## WaterWater (20 Jun 2005)

In contrast to the above posters I find shopping in Super Value is great. There are regular special offers available in the likes of Dolmio sauces, Blue Dragon etc. However on a recent trip to Italy I stocked up on bags of the dry herbs that are added to pasta, spaghetti etc. Now all I have to do is purchase the cheapest tins of tomato sauce and add the herbs to make great spaghetti sauce. I also like shopping in Tesco in the evenings as they discount those items that are approaching their "sell by date". Bread and rolls are also discounted but make great paninnis.


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## Janet (20 Jun 2005)

I've recently started getting deliveries from Absolutely Organic - don't find it too expensive plus it's already paid for and delivered so I have to eat all the fruit and veg and not just get tempted in the supermarket by all the frozen pizzas etc.  Don't know how it would work out for a family though but as my main source of veg I find it great.  Get a mixed box of veg and fruit every two weeks for €20, less than what I'd pay in supermarket for organic but probably a bit more than I'd pay for just getting the cheapest in supermarket and the quality more than makes up for it.  Otherwise I buy fruit and veg in local greengrocer.  I try to avoid going to the supermarket at all now - just go to Aldi or Lidl every couple of months and stock up on pasta, biccies, tinned tomatoes etc.  Go to Tesco or Dunnes to stock up on toiletries two or three times a year - friends and little bro and sis are warned to let me know if certain items come up on special offer and I go and stockpile.  I also keep an eye on shoppingbill for speciall offers each week.

Went to the farmers' market in Airfield this weekend and bought some veg there and some fantastic organic strawberries, everything very reasonably priced if not cheaper than supermarket.  While there I also discovered soappods.  Husks from a particular tree which contain a soaplike substance inside.  You put eight or so in a little cotton bag crush them a bit to crack the husks and put that in with your wash instead of washing powder.  Can be re-used up to three times within a week.  I bought a sample bag and used it at the weekend and they seemed to work well, although I had no very heavily soiled clothes to really test them on.  According to the blurb, they work out far cheaper than traditional powders per wash.  Anyone else used these?


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## PGD1 (20 Jun 2005)

we have two kids, 5.5 and 1.75 years old. We spend about €180/week on shopping in a variety of shops, Superquinn, Dunnes, Tesco.

We don't buy processed food (much).
We only buy organic veg (and lots of it).
We usually buy organic or free range meat.
We sometimes have fish.

To be honest it's tough enough to keep it to €180. But if I'm looking to budget I don't really want to budget on food. In my mind cheaper food is unhealthy food.

It's all well and good buying beasn for 20c but don't they have sugar in them. If you are buying cheap versions of everything... then you are getting sugar and salt in most of what you eat. 

I like the Whole Earth range beans and tomato sauces. I also eat organic cereal (corn flakes) with no salt in them.

Although I have succumbed to buying Rice Krispies for the little lad to get him the light sabres.....


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## ClubMan (20 Jun 2005)

I'm surprised at people recommending organic fruit/veg/meat to somebody who may be having problems on a tight budget. While taste, the largely subjective issue of "quality" and - probably more importantly - environmental concerns are obviously factors influencing such purchases, as far as I know there is little or no evidence that organic is necessarily more nutritious or "better" for the consumer than other produce and the premium charged for organic over "regular" produce is often very, very hefty. In particular organic produce sold in many supermarkets is way overpriced, often only tenuously organic and arguably not even good for the environment given the amount of (usually plastic) packaging that they wrap the stuff in and cold storage they use when displaying it. In my opinion somebody on a tight budget would be better off sticking with regular produce bought from the most competitive outlets (e.g. meat/fish from butcher/fishmonger, fruit/veg from greengrocers/markets and other stuff from supermarkets).


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## Novice (20 Jun 2005)

Janet - where can I find out more about absolutely organic ?  Do they have a website ?  Is there a delivery charge etc.

Thanks.


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## ClubMan (20 Jun 2005)

Novice said:
			
		

> Janet - where can I find out more about absolutely organic ? Do they have a website ? Is there a delivery charge etc.
> 
> Thanks.



See .


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## joe sod (20 Jun 2005)

"Our shop is now Tesco/Aldi but we do aldi fortnightly. I find Lidl a bit icky and awfully crowded and find Aldi quality is that bit better on average and its easier to get thru with sprogs"

Yea I have to agree with you here I think Aldi have better quality than Lidl. their cheap french beers are better quality than Lidls or Tescos. I also think Tesco is a bit over rated I think Dunnes Store have better quality produce and are better priced than Tesco. Tesco seem to have the very cheap own branded products but I don't consider the quality to be very good especially in the fresh produce such as meat. In my opinion Dunnes Stores is better than Tesco


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## tonka (20 Jun 2005)

Dunnes always beat Tesco for meat . Tesco meat is simply dreadful in Ireland , its dreadful in the UK too but meat is dreadful in all supermarkets in the UK  . 

Note that Tesco have 2 if not 3 own brand ranges , I think Dunnes have a cheap and dear own brand range as well but I normally stay out of Dunnes food shops and cannot comment on anything in there  bar the FABULOUS Dunnes Stores Salads , not cheap but FABULOUS anyway. 

Blue Stripe Tesco stuff is yellowpack for the millenium, bar the blue stripe jaffa cakes/pastas/spaghettis which I have found edible the blue stripe stuff is utterly vile in my experience  

Metallic Silverand Gray is the higher quality own brand packaging . Some of that is  range is very nice .....like their pizzas for example...... but it can be pricey.  I keep an eye out for the 2 for the price of 1 specials in that Range .


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## PGD1 (20 Jun 2005)

I wasn't recommending organic. I was just highlighting how much I spend based on an "organic" shopping list. to put things into context.


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## ClubMan (20 Jun 2005)

Fair enough - I was just referring to a few different references to organic produce earlier in the thread.


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## Vanilla (20 Jun 2005)

Ditto- to be pedantic about it I wasnt actually recommending organic either- just that in our case the farmer we buy from IS an organic farmer. And the reason I mentioned the local organic farmers market was that I believe the veg are supposed to be very good value there. Not just for organic veg, but veg in general. However, having said that, I do consciously try to buy organic for the sake of Vanilla Jnr so as not to expose her to toxins or pesticides etc.Mr V and I are presumably lost causes, and just in case we're not, we add daily top ups of caffeine, sugar msg etc etc!


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## Janet (20 Jun 2005)

The reason I find it better to get organic fruit and veg delivered is because I feel like not only am I doing something better for myself but also because I've paid more than I would have paid to buy the same (non-organic) vegetables in the supermarket I make damn sure to use every bit of them - which is saving me money in the long run (because of not buying veg intending to be good then being lazy and buying convenience foods in Spar/Centra and ending up throwing out veg in the end) as well as forcing me to eat fresh food, something I try to do anyway but sometimes fail miserably at.  I completely agree that one of the most frustrating things about organic stuff in supermarkets is the amount of plastic packaging.

Quality is of course subjective but as I am training myself to eat more fruit and veg I am really noticing the taste of foods more and so many of the supermarket veg in particular just tastes bland and kind of watery.  My brother grew courgettes last year and they were so much nicer than the shop bought variety.  The original poster could consider growing some veg at home as well to cut down on costs of things like courgettes which tend to be expensive to buy but are actually incredibly easy to grow, and even cheaper to do if you have a garden and don't need to buy pots etc.  Or do it the even cheaper way like me and convince your younger siblings that gardening would be a really great hobby!


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## PGD1 (21 Jun 2005)

Yes, we have a large greenhouse and grow our own (organic) veg. Very useful for expensive items like courgettes and peppers.

We also grow strawberries and raspberries, which can be ridiculously expensive especially out of season. We just pop half of them into the freezer and use them all round the year. Yummy.


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## ClubMan (21 Jun 2005)

Thanks for the follow up comments/clarifications.



			
				Janet said:
			
		

> The reason I find it better to get organic fruit and veg delivered is because I feel like not only am I doing something better for myself ...



As far as I know there is no evidence to support the claim that organic produce is more nutritious, beneficial (to the consumer) or safer than regular produce.



> ... but also because I've paid more than I would have paid to buy the same (non-organic) vegetables in the supermarket I make damn sure to use every bit of them - which is saving me money in the long run (because of not buying veg intending to be good then being lazy and buying convenience foods in Spar/Centra and ending up throwing out veg in the end) as well as forcing me to eat fresh food ...



Seems like odd logic to me but each to his/her own.


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## Janet (21 Jun 2005)

Clubman, this is only starting to scratch the surface of some of the odd logic I use to get me through the day!  But I like to share just in case there are any similarly odd people out there 

Must take the time to look into the issue of whether organic is better for me or not - for the moment I'm going with the gut feeling that the less chemical residue I put into my body the better.  But please don't pick me up on this one, I'm totally unprepared to defend myself, not to mention my continued use of things like Domestos to clean the toilet with, Flash for the floors etc. which conflicts entirely with my desire to rid my life of unwanted chemicals!


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## ClubMan (21 Jun 2005)

Janet said:
			
		

> for the moment I'm going with the gut feeling that the less chemical residue I put into my body the better.



Last time I read about this issue I remember the issue of microbial (e.g. E.Coli) contamination of organic produce higher than that of regular produce being flagged. The point was made that far from being better for the consumer some organic produce could, in fact, be worse. I must re-read up on this issue again when I get a chance. Rational skepticism is useful in circumstances such as these.


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## PGD1 (22 Jun 2005)

I'd rather eat cowsh1t than some of the stuff that gets sprayed on.


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## ClubMan (22 Jun 2005)

[broken link removed] Don't forget that there are strict controls on the levels of pesticide/chemical residues that are allowed in regular produce and below these the health effects are negligible especially when produce is peeled etc. 

There is lots of reading material about this issue out on the web and elsewhere.  that might be of interest and which takes a skeptical view of the claim that organic produce is better (in terms of nutrition/contamination) than regular produce. At the very least it's worth keeping an open mind on the claims of the various vested interest groups in this sort of context, studying the evidence and coming to rational and fact based conclusions/decisions.


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## Vanilla (23 Jun 2005)

However for the other side of the argument, see this ClubMan: the devil can cite scripture for his purpose! There are arguments, seemingly scientifically based for both sides. I checked out the articles you linked, but one is fairly outdated now- its 7 years old: this is the one which seems shocked that organic farmers use animal waste to fertilize plants- shock, horror- as far as I know this is hardly news- and certainly isnt confined to organic food, and the most the other says is that organic food is not necessarily *more *nutricious than conventional- while mentioning some benefits to organic food, nonetheless.


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## PGD1 (23 Jun 2005)

I trust 2 billion years of nature over 50year old chemical companies.

On balance I think a couple of e-coli incidents is vastly more desirable than entire populations pumping themselves with chemicals, reducing sperm count, increasing cancers and who knwos what else.

We're just animals who have evolved to eat ONLY what nature has produced. Anything else hurts us.


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