It got me thinking about something Frugal Queen mentioned on her FB page last Thursday. She said she had stopped buying fruit as it was too expensive. This is my current fruit bowl after my delivery. A leftover banana and 2 avocados that cost £1.50. That was a splurge as I love avocado 😋🥑 I did buy some strawberries too. At £3 for 400g they're also a luxury. But I do have a decent amount of frozen fruit in the freezer so it's not as bad as it seems.
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I was reminded of the Good Life episode where Tom was trying to sell their surplus veggies and realised they had grown the 'wrong' crops to sell. People wanted luxury items like berries and asparagus not carrots and cabbages, It's maybe not clear in the above photo but there are 5 more wee asparagus spears sticking up along with some strawberries that are almost turning red. My home grown luxuries!
Here are the first of my back garden rasps. Usually I have to fight the birds and squirrels to get to them first!
My blueberries will be turning blue within the next week. Sainsbury's are selling them at a special price of £4 per 500g punnet and could be grown as far away as Argentina or South Africa!
I'm rather lucky to have all this fruit and more available in my garden or on my plot. It's made me more determined to harvest and preserve it.
So if fruit has become a luxury item for Frugal Queen, what is now a luxury item for you?
Meat. I still buy it because I really enjoy it but I buy less of it and buy it less frequently. Cream used to be on the menu fairy frequently but not now. Most of my savings though have been by down shifting to cheaper (non) brands.
ReplyDeleteYep meat is a big one. I've not bought beef for at least a year and even then I think it was a yellow stickered frying steak. Meat is def a luxury when you're on a budget
DeleteMy biggest saving has been M and S closing in Hamilton and moving to a food only outlet in the retail park. I’m boycotting them as they have decimated the town centre by moving out, the new shop is not within realistic walking distance for us. However, we no longer have wee treats from there and all my cooking is from scratch via home delivery. I could not give up fruit and veg but we try to eat seasonally where possible.We use frozen fruit and veg eg blueberries are much cheaper frozen than fresh. Catriona
ReplyDeleteTown centres are decimated by the big companies moving out :-( We have a wee independent greengrocer but his stuff is expensive. I eat mostly frozen veg and salad when it's in season or grown in my garden.
DeleteI would give up something else before fresh fruit,would miss it too much. yesterday I got 6 apples for 89p doesn't seem too bad (asda mini apples) and 8 flat peaches from a boot sale for £1.20
ReplyDeleteYep I would give up other stuff before fresh fruit, although I'm mindful of where it comes from. Melon, grapes and pineapple are def luxury fruit items for me.
DeleteYes I agree, I would not give up fruit.
DeleteWhat about her health?
I know she saves a lot and would rather save less, but each has to do what is best for them
She didn't mention any more than that but I'm sure she eats tinned or frozen fruit, much cheaper than fresh. Vegetables are more important and I know she def eats a lot of them
DeleteI would never give up eating fresh fruit but don’t buy alcohol, meat, posh jams and chocolate and once the sun dried toms are finished, won’t replace. I shop at Lidl and if it isn’t there, I go without. Salads from the very small garden at the moment. Sarah Browne.
ReplyDeleteI've stopped buying alcohol (although I get it in gifts) and only buy a small amount of meat to last me the month. I'm shopping more and more in Lidl and yep, if it isn't there I go without!!
DeleteMy fruit this week has been apples and strawberries free from Olio. Two mangoes, a punnet of apricots and two bags of oranges from the Lidl box. The whole box was £1.50 and also had lots of salad and veg. Butter is definitely becoming a luxury.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try get a Lidl box this week, they're great value. I don't buy butter as I'm dairy free but I've noticed my sunflower spread is unavailable and the olive oil one has jumped in price.
DeleteQuite frankly, any food seems to be a luxury at the moment! Pollie
ReplyDeleteSadly that is so true!!
DeleteMeat would be first to go, we eat a lot of fruit and veg. At the moment we are managing.
ReplyDeleteYes, I suspect meat would be the first thing to go for a lot of folk
DeleteI'm not a huge fruit eater really, a couple of bananas a week and perhaps half a dozen apples in the fridge and I'm happy. I'm much more of a vegetable girl. However, I am enjoying English strawberries this year while they are in season and I think that's the answer really, if you can eat locally and in season the cost is just about bearable. I am jealous of your Blueberries, I had three bushes back in Wales and I would harvest some every other day during their season, adding them all to a box in the freezer, and would usually get enough to be able to add a few to cereal bowls or to yogurt all year round.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I do with my blueberries!! I'm not a big apple eater although I like them baked/stewed. I go through phases of liking bananas. And I love satsumas when they're in season. But I mostly like any type of berries in my porridge/overnight oats (depends if it's Summer or Winter!) and in smoothies.
DeleteVery interesting comments. I presume they are mostly in the UK. Avocados are a luxury for me and I only buy them on special. Bananas are my staple fruit, then apples but they have gone up a lot recently. You can still get reasonably priced lettuce here but potatoes have doubled in price in the last month!
ReplyDeleteUntil now I've not tracked the price of fruit and veg but it does feel like everything is creeping up in cost
DeleteFor me it's avocados. I adore them and unfortunately it's one thing I can't grow here... although I do have three avocado saplings that I grew from the stones. They are unlikely to ever bear fruit.
ReplyDeleteI love my avocados too!! It's the air miles that make me feel guilty as well as the cost.
DeleteFruit and veg are the staples of our diet. These are the main things we buy and eat! Growing raspberries and rocket for me seems a great thing to do as both are expensive and you don't get much and they always use plastic!
ReplyDelete