One of my favourite questions to ask my friends on a routine basis is “what are you having for tea tonight?”. When pondered and answered, it is if a very small crack into a different world has been momentarily prised open. It almost feels like when Lyra and Will visit Cittàgazze in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I don’t want to wail “a whole new world” but I will if you need me too.
Sometimes, my friends will gift me a great answer – they’re having their favourite dish! Or, they are rustling up a signature bake with a traditional twist. Often, they will enthusiastically announce they’re trying to cook up something new and exciting; or opting for a failsafe takeaway via Deliveroo. What other people are eating has always excited me. Does that make me weird?
A few years ago I was obsessed with ‘Grocery Haul’ and food vlogging videos. From Tesco to Trader Joes; trust me when I say I watched it and want it all. I’ve always loved knowing what other people put in their cupboards or stock up their fridges with; what bargains they found at the supermarket and what dishes they can thus create from them. So, as I had a monthly food shop delivery recently I thought I would share my own.
This was the labeled ‘big shop’ that my boyfriend and I do every couple of months. I’ve said it’s our ‘monthly shop’; but it is very irregular and sporadic that we get a shop of this size. We buy our staples and our basics and then we top up our fridge with fresh fruit and bakery bits when and if needed. This shop was done online via Asda and cost us £142.37 in total (£71.19 each). When we are not getting a delivery however we usually shop at Aldi.
As I am no longer a vegan (a blog post you guys may like?) there is no special dietary requirements in our food shop. Almost all items are Asda’s own, but when branded I have linked:
Fruit & Veg
- Courgettes
- Aubergine
- Baby plum tomatoes
- Closed cup mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Red onions
- Butternut squash
- Sweet and baking potatoes
- Baby spinach
- Avocados
- Plums
- Peaches
- Bananas
- Garlic
Fresh Meat & Fish
- Pork sausages
- Unsmoked bacon
- Chicken breast fillets
- Lyon’s Smoked salmon
- Roasted mackerel fillets
Cupboard Essentials
- Pasta & Sauce packets
- Supernoodles – Beef & Chicken
- Beef and Tomato Pot Noodle
- Sunflower oil
- Baked Beans
- Mushroom mug soups
- Orza pasta
- Cocopops & Chocolate Mini Weetabix
- Asda’s own version of Krave
- 28 x variety pack of crisps
- Bourbon biscuits
- Super sour snakes
- Tassimo coffee pods
Sauces
- Tomato and garlic puree
- Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala curry sauce
- Tomato Pasta sauce
- Szechuan and Hoisin Stir-fry sauce
- Tomato Pasatta
- Dark soy sauce
- Heinz Tomato ketchup
- Reds True BBQ sauce
Bread & Bakery
- Patak’s Plain naan breads
- Toastie white bread loaf
- Plain bagels
- Flour-dusted sliced rolls
- Pain au Chocolates
- Plain flour
Fridge stuff (dairy etc)
- Large snack pork pies
- Cheese and onion quiche
- Cottage cheese
- Feta cheese
- Philadelphia (caramelised onion, jalapeño and Milka)
- Greek yogurt
- Sunflower spread
- Provitamil oat milk
- Free-range eggs
- Apple juice
- Sugar-free Tango Orange cans
- Old Jamaican Grape soda
- Vegan vegetable feast pizzas
Frozen
- Sweetcorn
- Vegan Cauliflower popcorn
- No Bull steak-style burgers
- Quorn mince
- Hot & Spicy chicken wings
- Haddock fillets
- Basa fillets
- Summer berries smoothie mix
- Mango smoothie mix
- Onion rings
- Crinkle-cut chips
- Garlic mushrooms
Household Items
- Multi-purpose cleaner with bleach
- Dishmatic refills
- TRESemme Conditioner
- Radox shower gel
- Toilet roll
As you can see; I am definitely ready to consume all of the cheese. While we don’t plan our meals, we do have ideas of vegan burgers as well as fish curries on the cards. I cannot say no to a cheeky smoked salmon and avocado bagel or a Quorn mince spaghetti bolognas either. Did I mention at any point that I love food?
ELLA LOUISE SCOTT 