The supermarkets loss-leader vegetables are a brilliant way to make the Christmas dinner a very budget conscious affair. Each of these vegetables, 2kg potatoes, 1kg carrots, and a red and a green cabbage were just 5p each.
The 'supermarket wars' as they are known at Christmas time, have been going on here in England for quite a few years now, their main aim is for the supermarkets to get you into THEIR doors and not their rivals, and hopefully once there you will be spending lots of money on the other foods that they have actually increased in price in the run up to Christmas Day. I guess it works sometimes, although some canny people do visit multiple supermarkets to pick up the various other vegetables on offer, before settling back in their favourite one to do all the shopping.
It's being stressed loud and clear this year that it really is the supermarkets absorbing the price cuts and not the farmers ... I do hope that this truly is the case.
Anyway as soon as I got home with my shopping and my 20p worth of vegetables I set to, to make sure that they would last as long as possible. First they were all left to 'breathe' for a while out of their plastic bags. Then the carrots were checked over and laid on a double layer of kitchen roll before being popped into a Stayfresh bag ready for the fridge.
The potatoes had a similar treatment. I was not impressed with the quality of the potatoes at all to be honest, but hey for that price does it really matter!!
They are now all safely stashed in the fridge. Just because these were cheap to buy it does not mean that anything will be wasted in my home.
I didn't pick up the other items on offer as I don't really like parsnips ... or those little green round bullets that are the food of the devil.
The rest of my shopping looked like this, including a few things that I really needed and a few treats for myself. The Iceberg lettuce is an absolute beauty it weighs so much, I have never had a lettuce that heavy in my life ... another vegetable bargain.
My receipt for posterity.
Now apart from nipping out for some fresh bread on Christmas Eve that is my shopping completed. Alan has an order from Booths to pick up that morning which includes a couple of little desserts that he has treated us both too, and then he also is all done and dusted.
Sue xx
Well done, that is absolutely the right way to shop at this time of year. We do something similar - I'll go out tomorrow for some extra salad leaves and bananas and that will be it - my little basket of pre-Christmas food will look very strange!
ReplyDeleteI used to love a leisurely stroll around the supermarket on Christmas Eve with just a shopping basket rather than a trolley, picking up the few necessary bits and seeing all the frazzled people loading up their huge trolleys will-nilly. I know ... I'm strange and cruel. :-)
DeleteBrilliant shopping. Today my daughter is taking me to Booths, I am looking forward to visiting a supermarket I've not been to before! Small pleasures...
ReplyDeleteWe've just taken my son and his fiancé around our Booths and into the café, they both really loved it. Definitely small pleasures, but aren't they the best sort. xx
DeleteYou've done well with your shopping!
ReplyDeleteI was happy with my purchases, juts enough treats for it to be special and enough vegetables to see me through the next week or so. I do still have quite a few bags of frozen veg to use up as well.
DeleteI hope the supermarkets are playing fair with the farmers, too. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be what a lot of people are saying on social media, some of them seemingly in the know. I do hope so.
DeletePersonally, I love a good sprout! We've already eaten them for a couple of meals last week :) Well done on your bargain veg. I bought potatoes, carrots, parsnips and a swede for 15p each last week. Really happy with the quality too.
ReplyDeleteAngie
You and Alan both, I have never really liked them. When I was little I used to eat them raw, IF I could persuade my Mum to give me a couple before she boiled them to death. :-)
DeleteI bought a huge bag of sprouts as we love them. I did as you have done and unwrapped all the veg, lined the fridge boxes and hopefully all the veg will last a week. Turkey joint is defrosting ready to cook on Wednesday morning. I have a cheesecake to make which I’ll do tomorrow-must stick a note on the fridge to remind myself! Catriona
ReplyDeleteAlan has decided on a gammon joint and it's currently residing in his fridge. His plan is a couple of slices on his Christmas dinner, a couple of thick slices for the freezer and then some finely sliced slices for sandwiches over the next couple of days. It's almost as though my training of him is complete!! ;-)
DeleteI did it!!! I went to Booths (in Knutsford) Great fun had by all
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, it is good to shop somewhere new ... but you were brave to do it while everywhere is so busy. Our plan for the New Year is to try and discover some 'new to us' supermarkets in our local-ish area. I know there is a Waitrose not a million miles away. :-)
DeleteI'm at that stage with food shopping where if we haven't got it we'll do without it!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering what your special puds are 😀
Alison in Devon x
It's these: https://orders.booths.co.uk/gorgeous-cheesecakes-vegan-chocolate-orange-cheesecake.html
DeleteWe had one each last year, this year he's ordered us two each. :-)
I've just looked at the ingredients!! While my tastebuds might see it as a 'treat', will my stomach?