Rising prices and obesity

[Bar Wench]

I've always said that it was more expensive to eat proper food and cook from scratch and have been told it was a load of rubbish by many people it seems that finally my views are or on the way to be proven.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7597703.stm

PRICE RISES BY CATEGORY
Meat and fish: +22.9%
Store cupboard/general: +15%
Fresh fruit/vegetables: +14.7%
Laundry/washing/paper: +14.4%
Drink: +6.8%
Pet food: +6.5%
Bakery/cereal: +6%
Frozen food: +5.8%
Household: +4.4%
Health & beauty: +0.4%
Ready meals: -0.4%
Dairy: -1.8%
Baby food: -2.5%
Source: Verdict Research

If you eat crap ready meals you are avoiding inflation and I was of the opinion that they were cheaper before aswell!

Pack of four croissants: +47.4%
Original/Bolognese pasta: +46.2%
Ham (125g pack): +45.4%
Chicken breasts (skinless): +42.6%
Basmati rice (500g): +42.1%
Medium whole chicken: +41.9%
Mayonnaise (400g): +40.6%

Lean protien all rising by nearly or over 50%!



My salary certainly hasn't risen inline with such ridiculous increases in price! When does the "shopping basket" of items that caluculates inflation get released?

We are told to cook from scratch, eat healthily, exercise, how on earth is an average person meant to do that when the average price of ingredients is rising so much?
Original/Bolognese pasta: +46.2%
Ham (125g pack): +45.4%
Chicken breasts (skinless): +42.6%
Basmati rice (500g): +42.1%
Medium whole chicken: +41.9%
Mayonnaise (400g): +40.6%

[Nick]

Grow yer own? Mind you, you are stuck with seasonal.We are living entirely on squirrels and apples at present 

Sorry. It's in the commons 

We do stretch to a chicken once in a while (but free range now heading in the direction of a whole lamb from local farmer)

I imagine DS's profits are spiralling

[Snoopy]

I confess that with a butcher in the family we are not overly bothered by rising meat prices tho' we have reduced our meat consumption (which is a good thing anyway) and tend toward the cheaper cuts. lil Bruvver will never accept payment from me for any meat he provides but I do not like to take advantage. Our overall food bill is on the upward curve anyway as the little boys have, in the past 6 months, started to eat more and more (A standard loaf lasts 1 day in this house). Our answer has been to revert to my childhood and the sort of food my mother used to prepare has been our guide. Filling, nourishing and wholesome. So, although we are spending more on groceries than we have grown used to in recent years out of a fixed income, as a percentage of our income we are still spending much less than my parents did or, for that matter, than I remember spending when I was raising the first litter.
We do seek out Framers Markets, Local Producers and we do use the Cheaper Supermarkets (Lidl and Aldi) more than we used to.
Bolognese Sauce ~ I would not buy if my life depended upon it. Tin of Tomatoes (17p) Pinches of various herbs (? but too small to bother about ~ anyway we grow many on the window sill) Couple of teaspoons of Paprika or Cayenne pepper, a chopped onion and a clove of garlic (8p) two chopped streaky rashers of bacon (20p) A cup of minced beef (40p).  Blitz in blender, heat and pour over cooked pot of Spaghetti (1 pack 19p which we use all of for one meal for 5) Sorry but I do not see that as expensive. I pre-prepare the whole sauce (10 mins work) and heat it through in the time it takes to cook the spaghetti (another 10 minutes) How hard can it be?

[Nick]

Quite. Why on earth buy pasta sauce? The stuff in jars is full of chemicals anyhow.

[Snoopy]

It is perfectly possible for us to put a meal in front of the five of us for under £1.50 every night of the week. I will confess that I hold a cash and carry card and buy things like rice in bulk (£22 for 20 kilos) and we use 2.5 cups full per meal for five of us so a sack lasts at least 6 months. Ditto for pasta (Penne) but basic Spaghetti we get from Asda (Smartprice 19p a 500 gramme pack).
Currently paying 90pence a block for local made butter (it went up from 75p this week) and from the same creamery I buy cheese (which we use a lot of) at £8 for a 2.5 kilo block. That amount of cheese will last us three weeks.
Yesterday I bought two free range Broiler Chickens from local farm shop for a fiver. OK they will be cooked in a slow cooker for some time but they will have flavour, texture and no fat or injected water. We wil have one on Sunday and the other is in the freezer.
We buy Asda cheap sliced white bread for the children who, as I have said, eat their way through a loaf a day (mainly as toast) and make our own "real" bread, either as Loaves or Rolls which actually (forgetting the cost of a breadmaker) works out cheaper most sliced bread.

I think the message is shop around, take time to cook properly and don't buy anything from Sainsbury, Waitrose, M&S and the like.

[Nick]

 

[Snoopy]

Mrs S#2 has just returned from Lidl. She went for fresh fruit and veg. Large and perfect Cauliflowers (Lancashire) 39pence each, Large Savoy Cabbage (Lancashire) 39pence each, Bunch of Spring Onions (Spanish) 20pence, 1 Kilo fresh tomatoes (Spanish) 65pence, 500 grammes Green beans (Dutch) 49pence, Iceberg Lettuce (Lancashire) 65 pence.
It pays to shop around.

[Nick]

Did Mrs S#1 get anything while they were both there?

[Darwins Selection]

I imagine DS's profits are spiralling

It has been a very hard year as always 

[Snoopy]

Did Mrs S#1 get anything while they were both there?

Mrs S#1 lives, fortunately, on the other side of the UK. Coast to coast so to speak 

[TG]

We are certainly spending more Saturday morning quality time in Aldi and Farmfoods rather than Sainsburys at present. 

[Pastis]

We are certainly spending more Saturday morning quality time in Aldi and Farmfoods rather than Sainsburys at present. 

Time. Distance travelled as well. There's more to dealing with rising prices than the transaction at the till. If all the variables such as retail prices, transport costs, time spent etc remained constant then it would be rational, prudent and wise to stick to a plan of shopping around, home cooking etc.

Trouble is, all the variables have gone tīts up, round here at least. I was questioned the other night how come I didn't use public transport to get from a certain A > B. It's actually cheaper time and cost wise to get the car out...

Strange days, eh.

[Snoopy]

We are certainly spending more Saturday morning quality time in Aldi and Farmfoods rather than Sainsburys at present. 

Time. Distance travelled as well. There's more to dealing with rising prices than the transaction at the till. If all the variables such as retail prices, transport costs, time spent etc remained constant then it would be rational, prudent and wise to stick to a plan of shopping around, home cooking etc.

Trouble is, all the variables have gone tīts up, round here at least. I was questioned the other night how come I didn't use public transport to get from a certain A > B. It's actually cheaper time and cost wise to get the car out...

Strange days, eh.

Strange indeed ~ there are very few journeys that the five of us can make that aren't cheaper by car.