Some foods are still relatively cheap….

vegansrock

Bananas are actually quite cheap. A good snack.

Had my toast & banana for breakfast 😋

I’ve just had peanut butter and mashed banana on toast for tea.

Local butcher closed last year, sadly. There is another one in the shopping centre but it just seems too commercial for me. Window displays of prepacked sausage,black pudding kind of full breakfast stuff and prepacked chops, chicken etc. Just puts me off.

I think it often depends on where you live. We moved 70 miles last year, leaving behind a superb vegetable stall in the market of our local small town. It had a huge range of vegetables for other cuisines and the queue looked like the United Nations sometimes there were so many different nationalities there. Prices were very reasonable.

We now live in a similar town, in the main vegetable growing area of this country, there is one paltry vegetable stall in the local market, very limited range of stock and more expensive than the supermarkets. One town has Waitrose and Lidl in the town centre, the other Waitrose and Sainsbury's.

Usedtobeblonde

I don’t like sweet potato in any form, nor do I like pulses.
I would rather save on quantity not affordedness.
If I eat cheaply, and I am not extravagant or a spendthrift my family will spend any inheritance on exact what they want , even extravagantly so I intend to eat whatever food I want or like and forget the cost.

Good for you girl😃 and me too.

vegansrock

Bananas are actually quite cheap. A good snack.

Godd with any meal!

It's true that there are some basic foodstuffs that are not expensive. Thanks for reminding me. I'm 79, and not terribly well, but you've reminded me that I'm being lazy about my food buying. Time for a rethink, esp as my spending on food has gone up so much

i tend not to eat many carbs like potatoes but i do like a baked spud sometimes with vegan cheese and beans. there are so many things like pulses and pasta which are so cheap. i know it gets said often but if children were taught properly at school they would know how to make basic items instead of ready meals. what could be cheaper than pasta with a sauce made of tinned tomatoes with seasoning sprinkled with cheese?

That's not cheap, try home bargains

JamesandJon33

I don’t eat potatoes or very much pasta. ☹️

That's right, too many carbs are not only bad for you but they turn into sugar. Amazingly the government don't know that being as they are trying to get school dinners o consist of beans and lentils.

Scribbles

Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, a carrot or two and a big onion plus a little grated nutmeg make a very warming and filling soup.

I made exactly this last week! But immediately before serving, I crumbled in some blue cheese which was about to go out of date, it was delicious.

Charleygirl5

I haven't seen a "proper" butchers shop for 20 years. I live in London!

I live in London too. There are some excellent butchers about. Try googling to find one near you as they tend not to be very near supermarkets.
I usually go to one in Essex Road which is very close to a great fishmongers. Not cheap but very good quality.

Liver (lamb's) is very cheap, I have a recipe "in Piquant Sauce". Served with a bit of green veg, and a pile of mash, lovely.

Oh, and our cat loves liver, but she can take it raw, then pesters us for the cooked version.

We have a great local butcher in the village, nearest greengrocer/nursery is a few miles away.

At the moment the cheapest things are the blackberries in the hedgerows, apples from my tree and very soon......rosehips and sloes........

Can so.eone tell me what to do with Swiss chard? My neighbour grows it on his allotment and sometimes offers me some. How do I use it?

Witzend

MayBee70

I’ve only just discovered sweet potatoes which are incredibly good for you ( I only started buying them for the dog but now love them baked and chipped). And I’m learning how to do things with chick peas.

I wish I liked sweet potatoes. 🙁

I do too but they are too sweet for me.

DrWatson

Liver (lamb's) is very cheap, I have a recipe "in Piquant Sauce". Served with a bit of green veg, and a pile of mash, lovely.

Oh, and our cat loves liver, but she can take it raw, then pesters us for the cooked version.

I love liver with bacon and fried onions, it is a good source of iron.

Nanny27

Can so.eone tell me what to do with Swiss chard? My neighbour grows it on his allotment and sometimes offers me some. How do I use it?

They were talking about it on last Fridays Gardeners World I think…can’t remember what they said, though.

I sometimes grow chard, I treat it like fresh spinach - will sub in any recipes for spinach - or if you're using as a side veg, I just sweat it with a tiny bit of butter until it's wilted, season with pepper.

I've noticed over the years that chefs latch on to these cheaper items of food eg meat and fish, make lovely recipes and the prices go up and remain up. Watch this space now for sweet potato and chickpeas.

Sweet potatoes have a low glycaemic index -great for weight loss and diabetes .

Warbler

At the moment the cheapest things are the blackberries in the hedgerows, apples from my tree and very soon......rosehips and sloes........

Don't! You are making me nostalgic and sad. Until 2 years ago that was my life, apple trees in the garden, blackberries calore, sloes and greengages in the hedgerow.

Then we were 'sensible', sold the house and large garden and left the village that made a car a necessity for so much of life's essentials. We now live in the centre of a small town, with everything within a short walking distance, but, oh how I miss the countryside that used to wrap around me.

We are very fortunate that we have an independent butcher in our village. Not only that, but they own the farm 2 miles up the road. Nearly all the meat comes from there and only goes as far as the abattoir 5 miles up the road and back.
They also get the other products that they sell from suppliers within the county. A rare thing.

Nanny27

Can so.eone tell me what to do with Swiss chard? My neighbour grows it on his allotment and sometimes offers me some. How do I use it?

As spinach.