Is the Credit Crunch effecting your diet?

Principessa N

Minimins Addict
I've been thinking about food (how shocking :character00100:)
Well i'm having to stick to green days and mainly eat potatoes and dried pasta, because we can't afford to buy meat, even buying eggs is a struggle, being over £1 for 6. My OH is threatening not to buy fresh stuff at all because he can fill the freezer (with processed crap)for less money.
I was just wondering if anyone else was struggling?
 
Last edited:
Not struggling, as such, but then I'm veggie and always on green, so maybe that makes a difference?
I know what you mean though. Eggs are amazingly dear now. So's milk, and most fresh stuff.
 
i do prefer to eat green anyway but i cant say im particularly affected by the credit crunch personally
 
i tend to stick mostly to green days as its cheaper,and i feel fuller for longer.only really have a couple of red days a week as like you said its expensive..its scandolous the prices of fresh produce today..
 
i buy a lot from the green grocer rather than supermarkets i think that helps
 
The cost of food is amazing isn't it. I seem to spend as much now, when there is only me and hubby left, than I did when I had all the family at home. Perhaps I buy a better quality now than I did then - not sure why I spend so much. Thinking of getting a greenhouse and growing veg in back garden.
 
yeah i think your right, also farmers are selling fruit and veg at there houses now that seems to be happening alot down here..but its whether you can be arsed with that
 
nickinoniks are you going to group ??
on the website theres a feature on credit crunch and it gives u a weeks menu including shopping list coming in under £30
 
I know EXACTLY what you mean nickinonicks!

I'm a student and i'm having to stick to green days because I cant afford to buy meat. I get my eggs from the local fruit+veg shop because its only 99p for 10 eggs (!!!)

Rice is good... and pasta. I put my bread in the freezer so it lasts longer and I can just toast/defrost a slice here and there when I fancy it.

Beans (baked and otherwise) have been life savers. I still buy quorn because I absolutely love it and it fills me right up.

A good credit-crunch recipe:

PEA SOUP
1 or 2 onions
a clove of garlic
fry light
Stock cube or bovril
frozen peas (i used Morrisons Value garden peas)

1. In a large saucepan fry the chopped onion and crushed garlic in frylight until soft.
2. Make up a jug of stock and pour it over the onions and garlic.
3. Let it simmer for a while.
4. Chuck in as many peas as you like (depends how thick you like it) and simmer for 5 minutes-ish.
5. Blend in a food processor OR with a handheld blender.

Tastes absolutely deeelish with some crusty wholemeal bread and a bit of healthy extra cheddar.

:) Cheap!!!
 
I tend to go to Aldi and Lidl for my fruit and veg...far cheaper than other supermarkets. I buy a lot more own brands than I used to and bulk cook, so I freeze a lot of my things too...makes it cheaper in the long run.
HTH. My Hubby would rather by rubbish to fill the freezer with too as it is cheaper, but I have put my foot down!
 
i to stick to green days mainly cos red days are so expensie and i m always starving on a red day. i eat loads of eggs i get 15 for £1.50 from asda, or farmfoods just the supermarkets economy brand

Debs x
 
It doesn't bother me so much on green days as i find you can eat rather cheap on green days but red days are a pain, i like to do at least 3 red days a week as it helps me get a better weight loss, however meat is so expensive if you want anything of a decent quality. I have started shopping more at lidl, but even the chicken breasts are upwards of £4 for a pack of 4. I have been trying to use their pork escalops (about 2.30) and i have been using their lean steak mince at £1.99 (even though it is supposed to be extra lean mince). It is becoming a nightmare. I used to buy lurpak light for the family and it was £1.99, it is now 2.50 so i now use the lidl own brand of spreadable butter and it is much cheaper. Everything is going up.
 
I have to say that the cost of food is going up all over... even here in france... I have noticed so much that the cost of fruit and veg has doubled and I thought to start with they were expensive over here.

This is why I was moaning the other day in another post about how come it costs so much to be healthy!!!

I am going to try and grow my own veg next year as have a huge garden and will burn calories.. but I tend to stick to green days as someone said stay fuller longer... but veg is so costly.....

Maybe we need to bring back the days of bartering hahahaha... not sure what I would give though.....????
 
I knw exactly what you mean. We are on a very strict budget, and with the rising cost of food & petrol, tbh i don't know how we're gonna survive :(

We have 9 chickens, and it costs us about £10 a month to feed them. But we get on average 50-ish eggs a week from them. So if you take tesco's price for...

6 kent free range medium eggs - £1.49

it would equate to roughly £12 per week in eggs (omg i've never done the maths before - bonus! lol)

milk is our biggest killer! with ds (almost 3 yo) and dd (9 yo), with milk for cereal, milk before bed etc... plus milk for mine and al's coffees, we go through roughly 10-12 litres a week (which is about £6-7).

then once you add on things like cereals (which, btw have gone up astronomically!!!!), bread, margarine, cheese, and staples like pasta, rice and potatoes... that doesn't leave much for things like fruit, veg, yoghurts etc... and obviously treats just don't come into it usually!

it's so bloomin hard!!!! :( we seem to live on pasta and potatoes at the moment!!!
 
I agree with Taz and Karen - although I am spending more on actual food, I think that being more organised and planning the meals in advance saves money over the week. Before I just used to go shopping, buy what I fancied, then get home and not have any food there to make meals from - it was all bits and pieces and rubbish so I ended up with takeaways, chippy teas etc. Now I buy it all in one go for the week more or less so it's probably cheaper.
BTW I make a massive pan of vegetable soup every week, you can make loads dead cheap if you get the reduced veg in the supermarket that's just approaching sell by, as it doesn't matter if its in a soup.
 
Back
Top