This week Dublin Live put Lidl's new "inflation buster" shopping menu to the test.
The "inflation buster" shopping list claims to "feed a family of four for just under €80" for a full week.
We took to our local Lidl store in Ballycullen this week and did a big shop using Lidl's list as our guide.
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The list claims to include all the ingredients you need for a balance diet.
We hoped to reduce our weekly food bill from €150 to €80 - however it didn't exactly work out that way.
This is the shopping list provided by Lidl (we made some substitutes to accommodate a vegetarian in the family - we had to leave out the medium fresh chicken to pick up some vegetarian options):
- Unsmoked back bacon joint - €4.99
- Irish lean beaf steak mince (650g) - €4.39
- Medium fresh Irish chicken - €4.19
- Southern fried chicken goujons - €2.99
- Medium eggs (18) - €2.85
- Irish pork mince - €2.49
- Rooster potatos - €2.49
- Whole milk (2 litre) - €2.29
- Bread battered haddock - €2.19
- Frozen raspberries - €2.09
- 15 Crumbed Irish ham slices - €1.99
- Eight assorted smooth fruits and berries yoghurts - €1.99
- Rich roast coffee - €1.79
- Orange juice from concentrate - €1.79
- Carrots - €1.75
- Nut bars - €1.59
- Oranges (1.5kg) - €1.57
- Funsize bananas (7pck) - €1.49
- Four minced steak and onion pies - €1.49
- Back bacon unsmoked Irish rashers - €1.49
- 16 Irish pork sausages - €1.39
- Sliced mild red cheddar - €1.39
- Funsize apples - €1.29
- Twin pack peppers - €1.29
- Italian tomato passata - €1.29
- Stonebaked double pizzas - €1.29
- 80 gold blend tea bags - €1.15
- Quiches - €0.99
- Corn flakes - €0.99
- Salad tomatoes - €0.99
- 12 potato waffles - €0.99
- Savoy cabbage - €0.99
- Penne rigate - €0.99
- Keaney's porridge - €0.99
- Quiches - €0.99
- Iceberg lettuce - €0.89
- Sunflower spread - €0.89
- Irish light milk 1% - €0.85
- Turnip - €0.79
- Real light mayo - €0.79
- Plain tortilla wraps - €0.79
- Funsize pears - €0.78
- White toaster sliced pan - €0.75
- Spaghetti - €0.65
- Yellow onions - €0.59
- Baked beans in tomato sauce (425g) - €0.50
- Garlic net - €0.49
- Peeled plum tomatoes - €0.29
- Processed peas - €0.29
- Garlic baguette - €0.28
- Sweetcorn - €0.27
- Red kidney beans - €0.23
Full price: €75.96
Here is how the week went.
Day one started out great, with porridge for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch, mince pies for dinner with mash and vegetables. All the food was delicious.
For day two we had Special Flakes for breakfast (Corn Flakes was on the list but we swapped it out), chicken goujon wraps for lunch and Spanish omelette for dinner.
So far things are going good and the family is well fed.
Day three was our favourite day with a delicious breakfast burrito, a simple ham and cheese toasty for lunch and some lovely meatballs and spaghetti for dinner.
By day four some essentials started to run low like milk, bread, ham and cheese. We had sausages, eggs, beans and waffles for lunch. If we are being honest, the waffles were not great. For dinner it was haddock, mash potato and veg.
On day five things really started to go downhill as we had run out of many items. We had porridge for breakfast, quiche for lunch, and bacon and vegetables for dinner. However, we were out of potatoes, yogurts, milk, bread, ham, cheese and a few other bits.
There really wasn't enough food left to continue the challenge so we had to go back and do another shop. So sadly the test was a bit of a fail.
The family agreed that it would have been more realistic to spend €100 for the week - which is still a massive savings on our previous shopping budget of €150.
We also stopped eating out to take part in the challenge which was a huge saving.
So while the Lidl inflation buster menu didn't quite pass the test, we will definitely be going back for our weekly food shop and use their shopping list to help plan our meals in future.
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