Food shopping essentials

SarahButterfly

Full Member
After my first meeting on Monday I'm going to Sainsbury's to stock up on food.

I don't have a big budget so would like to stick to relatively cheap foods.

What are your SW essentials to buy when you go shopping?

I've already seen the Alpen Light bars on offer which look better value for money than the HiFi bars.
 
I always have passata in the house. I get the value stuff and i use it for curries, spag bol, lasagna, anything that has a tomato base. i tend to use it instead of a tin of tomatoes as the OH doesn't like tomato chunks in stuff.

Then there beans, mushy peas, and loads of frozen veg (not as tastey but lasts longer)

Spices, any you like to add flavor to bland dishes.

Hope this helps.

CJ
 
Having a range of spices and sauces such as chilli sauce, fish sauce, minced lemongrass, minced ginger, soy sauce, tomato puree or passata, different vinegars etc means that with very little planning ahead I can usually come home from work and throw something tasty together very quickly with little effort. I used to get frustrated buying bunches of herbs such as coriander, mint or thyme when I needed a few sprigs for a recipe and then wouldn't need any again for a while, so when I did the herbs I had bought had gone manky. Then I discovered that I can freeze them direct from fresh - just chop up a little before popping into the freezer. Okay, when they defrost they are a little mushy but still have all their fresh flavour.
 
Thanks! I already have herbs and spices which I bought a few weeks ago. We've got some tins of chopped tomato and tomato puree already which I can use instead of pasata.

I will stock up on veg- want to try butternut squash chips! And Mediterranean vegetable potato bake.
 
Some great ideas so far, and I also buy very low fat plain yoghurt (the tesco 0% fat Greek one is yummy and cheaper than Total), and very low fat cottage cheese, which is great on its own but also as part of "quiche".
 
Eggs! They are my staple! dry fried, poached, hard boiled, mixed with rice, on a bed of mushrooms and ham
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

I can't have lactose which is in milk so I'll have to see if there's any decent lactofree yogurt or cottage cheese, or soya versions.
 
Do you like quorn? Quorn mince and quorn chicken pieces are always an essential when I head to the shops. I find that on days when I'm badly prepared I can use them for curry, chilli, spag Bol etc. A

Fridge wise, skimmed milk, fruit, veg, salad, stir fry mix, muller lights, babybel cheeses.

Also, cupboard ingredients are passata, tinned tomatoes, mini cans of beans.

Loaf of wholemeal bread, eggs.

They're my basics really!
 
Tomatoes, mushy peas, potatoes, passatta, tuna, curry powder, rice and pasta my go to items in any supermarket :D
 
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