• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Simply Being Mum

Simply Being Mum

Family Life Simply Done

  • Home
  • About
  • Other Stuff
  • Contact

Going Back To Basics

July 1, 2012 by SimplyBeingMum

We survived our 4-day impromptu processed food diet. Just.

Time to go back to basics.

This is an experiment I’ve had planned for a while. Looking for the ideal week to try it out, this week seemed as good as any. Better in fact, as we had just emptied a fridge of ready-meals.

Having recently reduced the weekly grocery spend by 50%, I’ve been very impressed with the quality and price of products at the supermarket I’ve been using.

But, there’s been a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. I’d like to eat more local produce whilst supporting local farmers.

Reusable bags in hand, I whipped round the farm shop I’d visited a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t tally up prices as the items hit my trolley. Instead I stuck to my grocery list of the basic ingredients I’d drawn up to feed the family for the next 6 days.

I’m getting pretty good at this. My bill came to £49.94.

I resisted all temptation to pop the produce in plastic bags, and even remembered to take a container for the minced beef. Although the server insisted on plastic wrapping the container (?), which I thought a little strange. There’s no getting away the obsession with plastic wrapping cucumber, even here. Once again it came wrapped. I may stop buying it.

Overall I was pleased with my purchases and my shopping experience. The butcher gave me some time to chat through the meat products and their heritage. And above all I got to meet Lucy. Check out Facebook!

I did have to pop elsewhere on the way home to buy a few items that are a must here at Chez Wright.

This increased my bill by a further £3.74. And I’ll need additional milk also.

How basic am I going? I’d say 80% basic with some shortcuts such as cereal, cordial and chocolate. I’ll be making meals from scratch, as well as baking bread, cakes and biscuits. I will, however, be saving hand-making pasta and yoghurt for another week, when I’m feeling more confident. And I doubt I’ll ever be a dairy farmer, so it’s a given I’ve purchased milk, butter and cheese. As for flour…you get the picture!

I’ll be posting more about the experiment on Tuesday (plus a giveaway). It’s going well so far. The Kids love getting stuck in…

There are added benefits to making from scratch – I even managed to turn baking biscuits into a maths lesson.

Filed Under: Cooking From Scratch Cost Experiment, Life simplification, Meal Planning, To Buy Or Not To Buy, What I Do Buy Tagged: back to basics, baking biscuits, cooking from scratch, farm shop, groceries, home baking

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sarah@everydaylifeonashoestring says

    July 1, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    Looking good so far Jo! And how was the other Plan B?!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 1, 2012 at 9:20 pm

      Thanks Sarah! As far as Plan B..B went …well at the risk of dispelling any illusion that I might be even slightly civilised, I not only consumed dry cider via a camping mug on a muddy field, but also went moshing in the pit. On the way back to the car my welly stuck in a paper cup that has been abandoned and I ended up face down in the crowd… I had a great night!

      Reply
  2. sarah@everydaylifeonashoestring says

    July 1, 2012 at 6:58 pm

    Looking good so far Jo! And how was the other Plan B?!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 1, 2012 at 9:20 pm

      Thanks Sarah! As far as Plan B..B went …well at the risk of dispelling any illusion that I might be even slightly civilised, I not only consumed dry cider via a camping mug on a muddy field, but also went moshing in the pit. On the way back to the car my welly stuck in a paper cup that has been abandoned and I ended up face down in the crowd… I had a great night!

      Reply
  3. Lauren says

    July 1, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    That’s looking much more like a Wright shop, looks lovely in fact.

    I took all of my produce out of their plastic wrappers (bought loose where I could) as soon as I got it home this week. All decanted into plastic tubs and stacked neatly in the fridge now. Next stop is glass containers!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 1, 2012 at 9:22 pm

      Thanks Lauren… I had a few pyrex containers but one by one they all broke. It’s on my to-do list to repurchase. The farm shop was surprised but accommodating about me using my own, so onwards and upwards eh?

      Reply
      • simplybeingmum says

        July 1, 2012 at 9:23 pm

        Oops Lauren – for some strange reason I typed Laura and pressed send! No idea why realised my daft error immediately and edited! It’s all that talk about moshing above!

        Reply
  4. Lauren says

    July 1, 2012 at 8:22 pm

    That’s looking much more like a Wright shop, looks lovely in fact.

    I took all of my produce out of their plastic wrappers (bought loose where I could) as soon as I got it home this week. All decanted into plastic tubs and stacked neatly in the fridge now. Next stop is glass containers!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 1, 2012 at 9:22 pm

      Thanks Lauren… I had a few pyrex containers but one by one they all broke. It’s on my to-do list to repurchase. The farm shop was surprised but accommodating about me using my own, so onwards and upwards eh?

      Reply
      • simplybeingmum says

        July 1, 2012 at 9:23 pm

        Oops Lauren – for some strange reason I typed Laura and pressed send! No idea why realised my daft error immediately and edited! It’s all that talk about moshing above!

        Reply
  5. anexactinglife says

    July 1, 2012 at 11:47 pm

    Lovely looking food and it sounds like the show was ace!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:55 am

      Thank you, and yes it was!

      Reply
  6. anexactinglife says

    July 1, 2012 at 11:47 pm

    Lovely looking food and it sounds like the show was ace!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:55 am

      Thank you, and yes it was!

      Reply
  7. doingitsimply says

    July 2, 2012 at 1:03 am

    Well done Jo! Looks far more satisfying than your grocery shop last week – and more fun too!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:55 am

      Cheers Clare – p.s – your link to the blog isn’t working for some reason?

      Reply
      • doingitsimply says

        July 3, 2012 at 11:46 pm

        Just testing that link out Jo – I think I fixed it…

        Reply
  8. doingitsimply says

    July 2, 2012 at 1:03 am

    Well done Jo! Looks far more satisfying than your grocery shop last week – and more fun too!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:55 am

      Cheers Clare – p.s – your link to the blog isn’t working for some reason?

      Reply
      • doingitsimply says

        July 3, 2012 at 11:46 pm

        Just testing that link out Jo – I think I fixed it…

        Reply
  9. Rachel says

    July 2, 2012 at 3:56 am

    Okay, but what was the menu for this week?

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:56 am

      Hi Rachel – all will be revealed Tuesday. This post was getting too long so I split it into 2.

      Reply
  10. Rachel says

    July 2, 2012 at 3:56 am

    Okay, but what was the menu for this week?

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 2, 2012 at 10:56 am

      Hi Rachel – all will be revealed Tuesday. This post was getting too long so I split it into 2.

      Reply
  11. Lili@creativesavv says

    July 2, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    Hi Jo,
    Doesn’t real food look so good! I love your buying meat using your own container! I’ll have to see if my butcher will do that for me. And the cookies look yum!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 3, 2012 at 11:10 am

      Thanks Lili – I’m going to replace my pyrex containers this week and take them along. I also have an idea for the fresh produce, but I’ll save that for a post in the future – if I can pull it off!

      Reply
  12. Lili@creativesavv says

    July 2, 2012 at 3:10 pm

    Hi Jo,
    Doesn’t real food look so good! I love your buying meat using your own container! I’ll have to see if my butcher will do that for me. And the cookies look yum!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 3, 2012 at 11:10 am

      Thanks Lili – I’m going to replace my pyrex containers this week and take them along. I also have an idea for the fresh produce, but I’ll save that for a post in the future – if I can pull it off!

      Reply
  13. Sharon says

    July 3, 2012 at 5:38 am

    Very interesting idea and the groceries look so fresh and appetizing. Do you have a recipe for the chocolate icing on the cookies? Looks yummy!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 3, 2012 at 11:10 am

      Hi Sharon – It’s just melted chocolate. How simple!

      Reply
      • Sharon says

        July 3, 2012 at 11:40 pm

        Simple and delicious! I’ll be trying that for sure!

        Reply
  14. Sharon says

    July 3, 2012 at 5:38 am

    Very interesting idea and the groceries look so fresh and appetizing. Do you have a recipe for the chocolate icing on the cookies? Looks yummy!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 3, 2012 at 11:10 am

      Hi Sharon – It’s just melted chocolate. How simple!

      Reply
      • Sharon says

        July 3, 2012 at 11:40 pm

        Simple and delicious! I’ll be trying that for sure!

        Reply
  15. Mandy says

    July 4, 2012 at 3:03 pm

    Hi Jo, I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I too thought Aldi really wasn’t for me. I was sure they wouldn’t have some of things we buy. Today I did my first shop and was so so surprised. Yes they had prosciutto and yes they had fresh basil and considerably cheaper than Asda/Sainsbury’s/Tesco’s. I have just cut my grocery spend in half by switching! My husband isn’t totally convinced on some of the Aldi brand stuff but we’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 6, 2012 at 11:26 am

      Hi Mandy… So glad it’s working for you. It did for me. I like quality, and Aldi do provide that. It just takes a while to get your head round it. A game I played with the Hubby was to ask him what he thought of the item without saying where it was from. He would like it, I’d then say – it’s from Aldi and cost …. however much less than the alternative.

      Reply
  16. Mandy says

    July 4, 2012 at 3:03 pm

    Hi Jo, I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I too thought Aldi really wasn’t for me. I was sure they wouldn’t have some of things we buy. Today I did my first shop and was so so surprised. Yes they had prosciutto and yes they had fresh basil and considerably cheaper than Asda/Sainsbury’s/Tesco’s. I have just cut my grocery spend in half by switching! My husband isn’t totally convinced on some of the Aldi brand stuff but we’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 6, 2012 at 11:26 am

      Hi Mandy… So glad it’s working for you. It did for me. I like quality, and Aldi do provide that. It just takes a while to get your head round it. A game I played with the Hubby was to ask him what he thought of the item without saying where it was from. He would like it, I’d then say – it’s from Aldi and cost …. however much less than the alternative.

      Reply
  17. Hetal@Real World says

    July 5, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Yummy cookies!!!super like.. pls share the recipe of cookies..

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 5, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      I will…soon…;-)

      Reply
  18. Hetal@Real World says

    July 5, 2012 at 11:09 am

    Yummy cookies!!!super like.. pls share the recipe of cookies..

    Reply
    • simplybeingmum says

      July 5, 2012 at 12:50 pm

      I will…soon…;-)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Basically A Menu-Plan Plus A Reader-Donated Giveaway | Simply Being Mum says:
    July 3, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    […] Post navigation ← Previous […]

    Reply
  2. Basically A Menu-Plan Plus A Reader-Donated Giveaway | Simply Being Mum says:
    July 3, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    […] Post navigation ← Previous […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to SimplyBeingMum – one mother’s personal website documenting the journey toward a family life simply done.Here you will find a collection of recipes, ideas, musings and philosophies related to families who feel a pull toward a more conscious, mindful and simpler way of life.

You don’t have to homeschool or bake your own bread daily to hang out here. At whatever stage of your journey, you are on, you are very welcome. I personally still have a long way left down my own path and find that by blogging about it, it helps to keep me on track.

Please stay a while, have a meander around, see what takes your interest, and do join in the discussion.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 594 other subscribers

Recent Articles

  • Let’s talk fairytales and cake
  • Simple Indian Butter Chicken and Naan Bread Recipe
  • That Was Then, This Is Now
  • Tips For Reducing Air Pollution Outdoors
  • Reading a bookWhat Will You Do For 1 Day?
  • The Most Wasteful Time Of The Year
  • Old School Food Waste Friday
  • Spicy Butternut Squash One Pot Recipe
  • Slow Cooker Five Bean Vegetarian Chilli Recipe
  • Apple, Fig and Pumpkin Cheesy Crumble Recipe

Topics

Copyright © 2023 · Simply Being Mum. All Rights Reserved. Contact | Design by Pixelloop.