Friday, 6 July 2018

Eating well for very little money

Hello. It was time for a Tesco late shop last night, haven't been for a few weeks. When I arrived at 7pm I saw a few of the usual faces hovering around the back door waiting for the yellow stickers to appear. When they did the man took them straight down to the front of the store to put them into the chiller cabinet. A mini stampede followed him. I know there is not usually very much for me in that load because it is mainly meat and ready meals, but I went and had a look anyway.  Whooppeee, I got some custard tarts, pack of four for 35p. 
Then it was head back to the other end to wait for the fruit and veg to come out. It was taking a while so I meandered over to the bakery and picked up large seeded baguette for 20p, and a pack of wholemeal buns for 16p. 
Eventually the trolly's were pushed out, but appeared at another door further away, they didn't deposit the food where they normally put it. There was that much of it they positioned it closer to the frozen food in the middle of the store. I asked a regular shopper why they had done that. He said they put it out anywhere now, you have to watch and follow them. That's a new system then. 
There was plenty for everyone, and even some left over for the charity collection at 9pm. Some great reductions. 








A quick breakdown of some of the food I got.
Grated carrot 8p. Mango 20p. Wild rocket 9p. Grapes 20p. Bag of potatoes 11p. Iceberg lettuce 5p. Strawberries 20p. Houmous 20p. Pasta salad 22p. Mixed bean salad 22p. Baby sweetcorn 9p. Romaine hearts lettuce 10p. Prepared veg 15p. Mushrooms 9p. Prepared fruit 20p. Fridge full, this will last a while.

This morning I went a walk around the park. Brenda drove us there, she is recovering from an operation so can't walk that far just yet. She usually takes Bailey and Maisie by herself every Friday, but she asked if I would go in case she needs to cut it short. It was lovely walking and chatting. When we got back to the car the park was full. Bus loads of children with their teachers, and three walking groups doing their Walk for Health walks. They do 1, 2, or 3 miles, depending on their ability.  Lots of brown grass.


Back home for lunch. I love this Pasta and pine nut salad, went down well with some tasty crusty seeded bread.

It's hot again so I am in for the afternoon. Thanks for popping in. Wind down for the weekend and enjoy. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

11 comments:

  1. The pasta looks yummy! Is produce always packaged in so much plastic in the stores where you live? It is quite startling to me, our produce is displayed loose in open bins, where you can use a plastic bag which they supply, but you don't have to. What a great variety of nice produce!

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  2. Frances
    Great shop Ilona. Happy to report an Aldi has opened nearby and I am getting food with 30percent off. Not as cheap as yours but for Netherlands this is good rarely see offers like this heth. So Aldi is now my no. 1 shop and I am having difficulty staying out of it!

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  3. OMG...once again...amazing shop. Impressed I am....

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  4. You get some great bargains Ilona. I don't shop too often these days as I spend more than I need to.

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  5. Great post Ilona, got some really good bargains! I love reading your blog & just wanted to pop by to say hello 😀 Have a wonderful weekend!

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  6. You have some very healthy bargains there Ilona.The only bargain I got at Aldi were some large wholemeal baps for 25p,all the rest of my shopping was normal price...but still alot cheaper than normal prices at all the main supermarkets!Ive still kept mainly out of the sun today cause I dont want to feel sick like i did yesterday!...Ive just gone into the garden to get my washing in and its just starting to rain!!.Hope that its nice tomorrow though cause a local village is having a yard sale,where loads of residents put out all their stuff that they are selling.Last time I went,I came home with quite a few bargains,for 10p and 20p!xx

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  7. Hi Ilona, I always enjoy your shopping scores! Wonderful deals on those items. I thought of you this morning as I was taking our dog out for our daily morning walk. Low temperature last night in Phoenix was 95. Sigh. So I got up at 5, walked outside to start the walk at 5:45, and it was 96 for the whole walk....the asphalt was cooler since the sun wasn’t up high in the sky so it was fine on my dogs paws. I can’t walk her after 8 am because the roads get too hot...the only good news is the low humidity!
    Thanks again for your blog, I love reading it even if I mostly only comment in the walking group post. :)

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  8. Ive just reread your post and you said that at 9pm the charity takes the stuff.This must be where the Junk Food projects come in,and they make brilliant food out of what is left over,for every one who wants to eat there.From what i have been told,there are these Junk Food Projects all over England and if you want you can make a donation or even help with the washing up instead!,And its all healthy food..I know because Ive tried some of it at a festival in Leicester.You can find these things on youtube,xx

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  9. One of the favoriete parts of the blog!! Shopping a good price and healty!!

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  10. Wow..good tasty finds for your sticker food. I'm enjoying fresh fruits of the summer. Cherries, grapes and berries and plums. Yum! We've been walking almost every evening. Nice dogs on your walk. Been high 70s F. into 80s this past week. It's summertime!☺

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  11. I tend to find that I get the best deals when I buy reduced fruit and veg as people tend to focus on meat products.
    My husband rolled his eyes when I appeared with 7 trays of mushrooms that were reduced from 90p to 20p. Undeterred, I lightly cooked them (whole in a dry pan) and then when they had cooled I bagged them and popped them in the freezer. I also collected the mushroom juices and froze that separately too. It's really handy just to pop them into sauces, risottos and stews and they defrost from the cooking heat. The mushroom juices just add a little extra flavour!

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