Supermarket Chat

[Gggshh]

Avoid Lidl as the one near us is always badly stocked, messy and the food isn’t good. Sainsbury’s is also close and I used to work there but it’s gone so downhill and the prices are ridiculous!

We mostly shop in Aldi and Tesco as we like Tesco nappies and Aldi milk for our bub! We usually alternate which one each week.

Saying that I find Aldi fruit and veg atrocious it barely lasts a few day’s so we always have to have our meals in the order of the veg going off

Avoid Lidl as the one near us is always badly stocked, messy and the food isn’t good. Sainsbury’s is also close and I used to work there but it’s gone so downhill and the prices are ridiculous!

We mostly shop in Aldi and Tesco as we like Tesco nappies and Aldi milk for our bub! We usually alternate which one each week.

Saying that I find Aldi fruit and veg atrocious it barely lasts a few day’s so we always have to have our meals in the order of the veg going off

Also agree RE going as late as poss we always go between 7.30-9ish and it’s usually empty

 

[Justreading]

I was trying to shop local pre Covid anyway but this has pushed me.
So I have a butcher delivery monthly which fills my freezer. Then I have a fruit delivery once a fortnight (theres loads and it lasts much better than supermarket fruit!)

Then I go to Morrisons once a month for the branded things I can't get in aldi which I bulk buy, then aldi for anything else which I only do every other week really anyway as I can space it out well.

I'll pop into a local shop for extra bread/milk.

 

[mochibean]

I prefer shopping in M&S / Waitrose because of the shopping experience more than the food products....

Yeah I get this, I find M&S and Waitrose quite relaxing! My closest Waitrose is so big but always so empty and it's just nice to walk around.

 

[Giggling Squid]

Yeah I get this, I find M&S and Waitrose quite relaxing! My closest Waitrose is so big but always so empty and it's just nice to walk around.

Exactly! Asda is my nearest supermarket but it’s so stressful, especially at the moment. They’ve both been so good with social distancing and controlling numbers ever since the whole covid thing, and I just feel more comfortable there so much prefer spending a little more to avoid the stress.

I actually got sworn at in Asda the other day for asking someone to brushed against me to try and grab something in front of me to keep her distance

 

[DCICassieStuart]

Tesco (for their onion rings crisps and finest ginger and dark chocolate biscuits)

I discovered those last year. VERY tasty

 

[coconochanel]

I just thought Id start a thread where we can chat all things supermarkets/food etc for eg....

What supermarket do you shop at?
any product recommendations?
and has where you shop changed since covid for eg maybe you shun the supermarkets and shop at your local independant shops?

 

[emm]

M&S and Dunelm bedding are made in the same factory.
And Moy Park chicken in NI supplies Sainsbury’s and M&S. Can get their stuff in their factory shop. Not sure what other supermarkets they supply but they’re the two that I’ve seen.

I remember (years and years ago) my mums friend was going through chemo, so obv really careful with everything. My mum had bought her some houmus. There was some food poisoning issue with it, ALL the supermarkets had it recalled, Morrisons, MandS, Waitrose , LIDL.... it was from that point my mum started buying cheaper (ready made) stuff as it is all from the same ingreidents

I’m an Asda gal. Love scan and go. I get in right old flap at the self checkouts so it’s nice to scan as I go along. Sometimes go to Aldi as well because you can’t beat them for price but we like some branded stuff that you can’t get from there.

I also find Asda the most secure (covid secure) safe place, not sure how where you are? But where I am they enforce masks, security person gives out hand sanitiser etc... only downside is i find all the veg in so much plastic

 

[watermelon sugar]

I like Asda & Tesco for clothes

Don't rate Asda for baby clothes though. Morrisons are the best for that and sometimes Tesco is good

 

[GlitteryKitten]

I do my weekly shop at Aldi. £30-£50 for two adults

 

[Tinkerbell cat]

Living in Belfast, we don't have Morrisons, Aldi, Waitrose But i live very close to a Tesco & M&S so we go there mainly. I absolutely love M&S. I am yet to have a bad meal from there, they do this chicken thing with a parmesan sauce. Their four cheese pasta is lovely and I really rate their cauliflower cheese... can you tell I like cheese? I do our weekly shop in Tesco, its one of the big super stores and its the highlight of my week now thanks to lockdown

 

[Jelly Bean]

I base my shopping on the parking. Tragic I know. It used to be Asda which I liked, then I moved a few months ago and it is now either Waitrose or Sainsbury's. There is an Asda where I am now but it is so grim - really narrow aisles (which I hate these days), expensive parking and really dark for some reason.

 

[under the ivy]

You do realise that M&S food is exactly the same as Aldi.. it's all the same, comes from the same place, just in different packaging.
I worked previously preparing food for M&S, Aldi, Morrisons and Asda. Meat, ready meals, the lot. All from the same place.

I've also worked for various supermarkets and can say it is all very much the same. I used to be such a snob too until I saw where it comes from and all that. Still a snob with certain things, like beans & ketchup it HAS to be Heinz. Any cheap beans or ketchup make me ill.

I will say Aldi and Asda are my go to because they're close and I can get everything I need. I won't shop at Morrisons after seeing the behind the scenes there, especially the cafe. Save yourselves and avoid Morrisons cafe. Won't say why but honestly I've never seen anything like it!

I’ve heard this before re: ready meals. Off topic but Next and Primark bedding are made in the same factory (abroad I assume).

 

[WilmaHun]

What about supermarket clothes? I like Sainsburys Tu clothing the best. I've had a few bits from Tesco F & F range too. I'm not a huge fan of Asda George and not yet tried Nutmeg at Morrisons.

 

[Bubblesdahling]

How many of you get your meat from the butchers?

Yes, we get some from the butchers. The rest in supermarket like mince, chicken breast etc. My butcher is lovely, the shop has been in the village for about 70 years I think. I bought our Christmas meat there and the turkey crown was the best we've ever had. He also does amazing ribs and bbq packs and since he started advertising on Facebook a few years back his business has boomed. He also supplies a couple of nice restaurants in the centre of town too.

 

[DCICassieStuart]

They are the ones!lol
i have to buy one box at a time cos I’d scoff as many as I bought
we found them by mistake (I picked up the wrong ones one day)
they are just the bees tits

They're amazing for the price.

 

[Lalla]

I started shopping in Aldi in lockdown 1, as it was the only place that had a decent range of stock when everyone else was sold out of loo roll and pasta! It also had far shorter queues than Tesco, Asda etc.

It definitely is cheaper than the main supermarkets. The only downside is they don't have a bakery so no fresh bread. Our Lidl has a bakery but is small and hasn't been refurbished in about 15 years so it always looks really shabby.

I stopped shopping in Morrisons last year because the shop is always so crowded and no one social distanced at all. Plus none of the staff wear masks even though they should be (I understand about exemptions etc but can't believe that applies to every member of staff!)

 

[Gggshh]

It does go off very fast, but that may be a good thing. A friend of mine is F&V manager for another supermarket chain and he told me that the reason that Aldi fruit and veg goes off so fast, means that it's probably not sprayed to death with chemicals and pesticides.

Food for though, so to speak.

I’d never thought about it like that! It doesn’t stop me buying it anyway!

 

[Giggling Squid]

I am a self-confessed shopping snob. I went to Aldi once when the one near us opened and i found the whole thing very stressful. I’ve not been back. We get an ocado shop delivery, mostly Ocado own brand (have done for years before anyone starts in unnecessary deliveries) and then pop to a combination of Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Asda and M&S for top ups between deliveries... not all at once, it varies between them depending on how the mood takes me and what we need

Oh and we go to a local butcher for all of our meat

 

[ChloChlo]

Butchers I used to use all the time but I became lazy a good couple of years ago, plus I moved out of London, where I would usually use ethnic food markets where I could get better value and goat or mutton, which alot of other butchers don't tend to sell. There aren't any in the town I now live in. I've recently been buying eggs and meat (specifically for roasts or fry ups) every so often from the market butchers on days when I'm bored. It is definitely something I'm considering doing more frequently again.

 

[SpiceWeasel]

I'm currently addicted to Aldi cream of tomato soup which is only 31p a can, can't tell the difference from Heinz!