Shopping Tips – 23 February 2015

Here are my shopping tips for the week beginning 23 February 2015. They include all the major supermarkets in Ireland. If you’d like to be included or have a product deal you’d like highlighted please do get in touch. Details are below.

Yesterday put paid to any plans of working outdoors and I ended up on a short visit North of the border. The exchange rate isn’t brilliant at the moment so even though fuel prices are down, making it cheaper for us to visit, value isn’t what it used to be. For anybody wondering, I found fresh fruit and vegetables to be roughly about the same price, meat was slightly more expensive in the supermarkets. Specialist ingredients though were cheaper and this because the major supermarkets tend to have a better range than we see down South.

ALDI

The Super-Six fruit and vegetables this week for 49c each are: cabbage, conference pears, pomelo, mushrooms, salad potatoes, and tomatoes.

The Super-Six meat offers for €4 are: 500g chicken fillets, medium whole chicken, 600g stewing beef, 800g beef mince, 340g dry cured bacon fillet steaks, 320g lamb leg steaks/lamb stir fry.

Aldi have been in touch to let me know about their new range of ready-to-cook meals under the “Secret Chef” label. I’ve not had a chance to try any of the products out, they were launched in the last week. If anybody does and has an opinion on value/flavour please let me know!

I’ll be making a beeline for Aldi on Thursday as they have loads of gardening/propagation equipment on sale. This includes 40L of organic compost for €2.99 which isn’t bad value. Mother’s Day is just about 3 weeks away. On Sunday Aldi will start to stock cards and small gift items, so if you want to be ahead of the game, it’s well worth checking out.

DUNNES STORES

The current special offers finish in Dunnes tomorrow, February 24, so my list from last week still applies.

There’s a fish and wine sale on at the moment so you can save as much as 50% on selected cuts of fresh fish bought at the counter. There are also savings to be had by buying pre-packaged fish, but not as much value. Once you buy the fish fresh, you should have no problem freezing it for up to 2 months, providing it’s sealed well before sticking in the freezer.

The €3 for 1kg of Odlums plain flour, 6 free range eggs and a squeezy lemon bottle is still on offer. This is great value I think and worth picking up. I believe it’s not signposted in store at the moment but it’s definitely in their special offer leaflet so don’t be afraid to ask!

Mix & Match 3-for-2 on most of the Blue Dragon range. I’m not a big fan of prepared sauces but this brand also does great condiments and noodles so it’s worth checking out.

LIDL

The fresh offers this week are: 3 Mackerel Fillets for €2, 3 Mediterranean style chicken fillets for €3.99, 2 Cod Fillets €2.99, 2-for-€3 pack of Beef Meatballs, Turkey Breast Steaks €3, and cooked marinated pork loin ribs €2.

Also on offer: Broccoli for 49c, Organic Bananas for €1.19/kg, Parsnips for 49c, and Butternut Squash for 49c.

There’s a waterproof, bluetooth bathroom speaker with a suction cup for tiles on sale today for €12.99. I like the idea of a waterproof speaker. Certain members of the household like to take their phones into the bathroom to play music while in the shower and I’m sure they are going to destroy the innards with steam. This is a far better alternative.

The new range of budget clothing goes on sale from Thursday. There’s a ladies trenchcoat in 3 different colours (red, black & tan) for just €19.99. I wonder what the clothing range will be like?

SUPERVALU

The SuperValu offers finish on Wednesday. So my comments from last week apply below:

Mix and match 2-for-€1 offers are: celery, large flat mushrooms, butternut squash, lemon net, carrot/parsnip/sweet potato tray.

The 2-for-€2 offers are: broccoli/carrot/cauliflower tray, grapefruit net, green apple bag, pineapple and twinpack peppers.

I really think that SuperValu have brilliant fruit/veg selections on offer every single week. Brilliant combinations.

Philadelphia cream cheese 170g tubs are just €1 this week. This is a reliable cream cheese if you’re a fan of homemade cheesecake or even a baked potato with cream cheese and herbs. They tend to come with long dates on the pack so worth popping a few extra into the basket if you can afford them.

TESCO

The following items are 2-for-€3: Carrot and Swede For Mashing, range of own brand 150ml salad dressings,Jacket Potatoes 700g, Broccoli 335g, Seasonal Babyleaf 100g, Rocket 100g, Cabbage and Leek, Prepared Butternut Squash, Organic Garlic 3 Pack, Pomegranate Seeds 80g, White Potatoes 1kg.

You can also pick up Green Cabbage 39c, Lemon Net 3 Pack 59c, and Country Crest Brown Onions 1kg for 39c.

In my local (big) Tesco Extra store there’s a Euro-Store section located near the bottled water and soft drinks. Keep an eye out there for some good bargains. I managed to pick up some handbag tangle-teasers for €1. These hairbrushes had a protective cover for the handbag and are great value I think.

EXTRA NOTES

When it comes to the fruit and vegetables be careful of what you pick up. That goes for all supermarkets. In 3 different supermarkets I visited last week the vegetables on special were below quality. I don’t mean from a point of view of shape or size – neither bother me in the slightest. In some cases the vegetables were past their best and would have to be used immediately and in 1 store some of the product was rotten. There’s nothing as frustrating as doing the whole shop, coming home, then unpacking to discover that some of the items you bought aren’t fit for consumption.

If you have a deal or a discount you think would be worth sharing here then drop me an email (wholesomecook-at-gmail-dot-com) to be added to the list for consideration. Note, this does not guarantee you get included! These are my own personal choices and I’m not sponsored in any way (monetary or benefit in kind) to provide this information. This blogpost is based on my own personal research and please don’t reproduce it elsewhere.

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