Week 2 Shop.

 The second week’s shop was in one of the more cost-conscious supermarkets, Aldi. Aldi always market their cheapness. Plus, their middle aisle has such random stuff. This week, yoga mats and fire extinguishers. They have sold axes in the past. If you buy an axe, they will wrap it in a free bag for you. Axes don’t attract a bag tax.  

There are a lot of ingredients to carry over from last week; olive oil, coconut oil, mayo, cod, cheese, black pepper, and coffee. This week’s shopping list will pretty well replicate last week’s list for comparison. The source of meat will be changed, but it will be the same weight so that there will be enough protein and fat. Pork is one of the cheaper meats with a wide range of uses. The fattier, the better. Offal can be chosen instead of muscle meat. Offal is an excellent source of nutrition. But since many people do not buy offal, a traditional loin cut of pork will be used this week.   

There are only 18 items to buy for week 2. 

These are: 

 Pork Loin 1.5kg 

Cucumber 

Beansprouts 400g 

Bell Peppers 2 

Cauliflower 

Lime (Sainsbury’s) 

Courgettes pack of 3 

Onions pack of 2 

Mushrooms 250g 

One fresh coconut 

Punnet of strawberries 400g 

Sweetheart Cabbage 

500g Full fat Greek Yogurt 

12 free Range Eggs 

300ml single cream 

Aldi Italian Coffee  

Mixed nuts 200g 

Hazelnuts 200g 

250g (2 bars) 85% Dark Chocolate 

Sainsbury’s Thai Spice Mix 

The bill came to £22.86. I bought the beansprouts and fresh coconut on a whim. Pre-wrapped courgettes only were available. Ideally, I would buy them elsewhere. They will have to be used up as they will not keep. There were no single lemons in Aldi. And the spices on the shelf were not suitable for what I had planned. These items were bought from Sainsbury’s later. The peppers, cucumber, and courgette were from Spain. There was no label on the coconut. But it was almost certainly imported. Even in the extreme far south of the country, you don’t see many coconut trees. The rest was from the UK. I swapped the broccoli for a sweetheart cabbage for that reason. Double cream was unavailable, so I  substituted it with single cream. Shopping around would enable you to get what you want. And bring the price down further.  

 Doing the Numbers   

I spent £22.86 at Aldi.  The lime and spices from Sainsbury’s brought the total to £24.16.  This week’s shopping is mostly fresh food as there are cupboard items to use up.  The bag of hazelnuts are a larger size and won’t all get used up. Half of the pack will roll over to the following week. The same applies for half a bar of chocolate. They are a larger size and too much for a week. 

On the other hand, the coconut will need using up as soon as it has been opened. That was a bit of a rash purchase for one person. I will use half this week, some as fresh and some as ice cream.  I will make more ice cream with the remainder. If you have a dehydrator, it will desiccate and can be a snack. If you are a proper cook, there must be endless possibilities.  Ditto the beansprouts. I will use them as soon as possible. They will go-off in a couple of days.   

For the cupboard items, some will roll over to the next week: black pepper, olive oil coconut oil, coffee, mayo, cheese.  £6 can be deducted from the list, mainly olive oil coconut oil coffee, half a bar of chocolate, and nuts. 

 The total spends for two weeks is £39  for week 1.  £24.16  for week two.  A total of £63.16 over two weeks. There will be a saving of £6 on cupboard items, which I have bought that will not use this week.   

That leaves a total of £57.16  for what is actually consumed over these two weeks. This averages out to £28.58. Under £29 per week for real food, locally sourced, and keto. And with a couple of extra items. I  could have made it even cheaper by shopping around. The change in meat will mean a new set of recipes will be needed. This week also some favourite recipes can be made up, and some imaginative new ones using the latest ingredients.  

Talking of ingredients, it might be worth considering what the budget can stand. Everything this week was intended to be bought as a comparison shop. A lot of the foods were the same this week and last. At this time of year, there are garden vegetables such as lettuce and spinach ready to eat. There are rhubarb and strawberries, and the gooseberries are coming on rapidly. All of these are easy to grow at home with little effort in a small garden. They could save the budget, but more importantly will add to the variety of the recipes if used. I will make this week’s recipes will with the food that I have bought. Spinach leaves would be great in a salad. Or I could use them with mushrooms, cheese, and eggs to make Oeufs Florentine, for example. But, I can freeze the spinach this week—the lettuce I can give away. The lettuce would add to the cucumber salad. And the thing about seasonal fruits is the overlap of their season. Rather than strawberries, strawberries, and strawberries, I  could stew the rhubarb with vanilla. Or the rhubarb can be used separately.  Very soon, the gooseberries will ripen and to add variety to whatever fruit is purchased. Then blueberries and raspberries.  There might be enough without the need to buy fruit from a supermarket. And then there are hedgerow blackberries eyed up for the autumn. It’s a way to add variety on a budget.