Food - where have all the basics ranges gone in the UK?

Food.  We need it every day and yet it is the one thing that it is the most likely to be cut in terms of budget when times get hard.  It used to be possible to go to your average UK supermarket and be able to drop down to the value range on the usual basics.  These were no frills, not available on everything, but good value for feeding the family.  The supermarkets seem to have gone and silently removed these from the shelves over the last couple of years.  

At the moment all the focus in the news is on shortages on the shelves with the pandemic being blamed.  Yes, people isolating has caused problems in the supply chain BUT the bigger problem is the large number of foreign EU nationals who have gone home after BREXIT.  Yes folks it was our own governments policy as endorsed by fractionally over half the population who voted in the referendum.  Are you really surprised that people felt so unwelcome that they left the country?  We now have a national shortage of lorry drivers, builders, carers, nurses, doctors and a whole host of other occupations.  None of these people will be replaced quickly because they all have skills and qualifications that have taken years to learn.  Talk about own goal - thank you Boris for lying to people.

The food chain is something that we have been used to being constant and it comes as a shock to have shortages and seasonality playing more of a role, for people a hundred years ago this was everyday life; for us it is the end of our comfortable world.  It makes it a sellers market and the supermarkets can charge what they like.  Add that to the fact that a lot of people are struggling financially after months on furlough or losing their jobs it is a perfect storm. So when the basics range that you have been relying on disappears what do you do?

1) substitute, substitute, substitute- no recipe is set in stone; if you can substitute a cheaper alternative then just a few pence per meal can mean the difference between making the budget and blowing it.  My favourite tip comes from Jack Monroe who substitutes supermarket own baked beans in tomato sauce and washes the sauce off rather than use plain tinned pulses.  The difference is 10p per tin at my own supermarket.  Also most traditional recipes have some form of carbohydrates but rice, pasta, potatoes, noodles, can all be swapped to use what you have to hand

2) don't waste anything if you can help it - this means using those veggies whilst they are still in perfect condition, freezing things that are about to be wasted, getting to know a few stand by leftover friendly meals

3) watch those portions - good for the waistline and also the pocket and one that I can benefit from personally

4) team up with a mate to buy bulk sized packets and then split the goods and the price between you.  Supermarket tend to give better value weight for weight on larger packs; not so good if you are a couple or singleton as you either end up eating the same thing repeatedly or waste a load as you don't eat it before it goes off.

5) tinned and frozen are as nutritional as fresh when it comes to fruit and veg; another way of stopping throwing things away

6) shop your own cupboards- you probably have more food at home than you think.  Spend a while working out what you already have in the house; if you're lucky you can delay the "big shop" for a day or two, at the very least you can avoid adding to the tinned tomato mountain in the cupboard

7) Don't let brand loyalty/snobbishness rule what goes into your basket, try the cheaper alternatives, at the worst you'll know you don't like it

8) make a list, not just of things that you have run out of but of meals that you intend to make.  I don't call mine a meal plan as I like to be able to swap things around during the week but this is really what it is!

9) learn to cook your own.  Sometimes it is better to use the ready made version but often they are more healthy if you cook them yourself.  With You tube there has never been a better time to learn a new skill.

10) grow your own - but only if you already have all the kit.  If you are already a gardener then you will have the tools, pots, compost etc and it is only a packet of seeds but starting from scratch and you can find yourselves paying tens or even hundreds of pounds for a pretty meagre harvest.  Grow your own is also a skill and takes time to learn.

11) Learn from other people- yes sometimes the tips don't make sense to you but you never know there may be something you can adapt.

12) Learn the difference between "want" and "need", it may be that you are treating yourself more than you realise to things that cost money to help you through it all mentally.  Switch to cost free treats if you can, cut down the treats if you can't or switch to cheaper versions to save a few pennies.