Meals in the SW magazine

jaylou

Gold Member
Now I'm not one to penny pinch, and I have no problem spending my money on good food but looking at the price of the ingredients for some of the magazine recipes has shocked me!

The Greek lamb cutlets with tzatziki - it uses 4 small lamb cutlets per person - the price in Tesco of 6 lamb cutlets is £11 :eek:

Quite unbelievable!!

I know the magazine is all about showing what food we can have, but I think it would be good if SW put a costing per head next to the menus, like other foodie magazines do.

Why is lamb so expensive??

What do you all think to the recipes?
 
I agree :-( stuff like that I tend to save for special occasions, or a weekend when it's just me and OH (usually just after pay day lol)
 
The Greek lamb cutlets with tzatziki - it uses 4 small lamb cutlets per person - the price in Tesco of 6 lamb cutlets is £11 :eek:

Quite unbelievable!!


Why is lamb so expensive??
Hi Jay
images
!!

I don't get the magazine, but I can tell you the sheep farmers certainly do not get the high prices.

Large supermarket groups buy lamb at such low prices that we have Welsh friends who have had to give up farming sheep.

Goodness knows what happens to it by the time it hits the shelves to warrant the high prices you pay.
 
It's quite shocking Sue - you can't move for lambs round here (honest!!) so I would have thought it would be reasonably priced.
The even more annoying thing..... a lot of the lamb in Tesco is New Zealand lamb! Where does ours go?

I think I may pen an email to the magazine re pricing the menus.....
 
Yep, I've had that before and by the time I'd trimmed it I was left with about half of it!
The summer lamb stew last month used almost 2lb of lean lamb. I used pork!!
 
I love lamb, but it is a rarity for me to buy bits like chops, racks or steaks, as it is way too expensive to feed four.

The last time we had racks was Father's day for a special occassion, and the two racks to feed the four of us was £18:eek:

Normally if we are feeling lamby, I buy either a shoulder, which my father expertly bones, removes most of the fat and rolls for me. Or, If whole legs are on offer, I have become quite an expert at butterflying it.

Tomorrow, as there are only three of us eating, we are having a Carvery leg of lamb from Tesco (British) which cost £8, and we will have quite a lot of lean lamb each, so good value really.
 
I was pleased to see the magazine doing a red and green 7 day menu though - instead of always being EE!!! xx
 
I'm always disappointed that alot of the SW recipes in the magazine and books use muller lights (which include gelatin) and gelatin ! :(

I find that really annoying (although I understand that you cant please everyone all of the time).
 
"I'm going to check out Aldi and Lidl.I go for a walk every day so might as well take my backpack and walk to them instead of the other way to town."

If you're going to Aldi you might check out their lamb shanks in rosemary and mint sauce, in the freezer section, two to a box and individually packed. Although pre-cooked and 3.5 syns each on EE or Red Days they are absolutely delicious and you can eat everything (except the bone!). I use the boil in a bag method with mine, and though not that cheap price or syn wise, worth every mouthful!
 
But the recipes with gelatine in can be substituted with Agar-agar or vegetarian gelatin.

Muller lights are readily available, I think if SW had to source vegetarian alternatives for every recipe, the mag would be cost prohibitive.
 
EB - there was something in the last magazine which said they would be doing more red and green due to "popular demand". So we should see more of this.

Although the big push is still on EE at groups and my consultant the other week said SW want everyone on EE!!
 
It is ironic that lamb is so expensive when the UK is bursting at the seams with sheep. Maybe it's worth buying from local butchers. I doubt they get their lamb from New Zealand. Though I have to say £11 for 6 lamb cutlets seems excessive somehow... Hmmmm... Generally with things like meat, I think buying from butchers and buying veg from green grocers cut prices but not quality. In my ideal world, I'd live within 2 minute walking distance from a green grocer, fish monger and butcher so I could buy things fresh every few days. Now that would be great!
 
Good post honeyoc.
I do use my local butcher and the lamb is very local, in fact he has a list of the wall as to where it's bought that week. He is expensive though. Beef is cheaper in Tesco but I still buy his beef because of the traceability and quality. The diced lamb really is quite fatty though, but then lamb is fatty.
I think I'll pop in tomorrow and see how much his lamb cutlets are so I can do a comparison.
 
Havent managed to get the new mag my consultant doesnt seem to have it for another week might buy it from shop instead:rolleyes:
 
Having had a look through my SW magazine, I was quite disappointed with the recipes this time, as I feel they are for special occassions or treats, not everyday food, I may be the only one but I was disappointed when I saw the recipes - they should maybe take into account we are still in recession and there is still a huge percentage of the country losing their jobs etc. We could do with a bargain issue!! :)
 
I quite like the recipes, although it's not as good as the last one - I've made the haloumi and lentil salad and the coronation pasta salad and I have the stuff to make the beetroot hummous too.

I guess it's the price and quantity of the meat in some of the recipes which makes them so expensive.
 
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