cheapskate question...

Kirsten

Kirsten

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Seasons greetings all.
We are setting off [in the car sadly] to self catering /ski holiday next week. I dont ski so am Chief chef; being joined by 3 teenage grandchildren , daughter and Son in law. All eat like locusts ; so I am planning to try to budget the menus- [Kids coming by plane with hand luggage only ] without loading car to roof [that ship has sailed we are taking their stuff and bedding for all...]
Can anyone who has been to France recently advise about relative cost of food in supermarkets ? We won't be able to use cheapo ones as the ski resorts are not shy of charging; and nearest Aldi will be Grenoble . Dont want to take lots of stuff we can buy there but also want to be able to economise on what we can .
We all veggies so planning a lot of pasta- cheese *- tinned pulses-Oat milk etc. Free range organic eggs hard to find? Tea and baked beans obs coming with us, making cake/mince pies - realise even with my Scottish ancestry madness to take fresh vegetables [or is it ?] Many thanks for any recent shopping tips xxx
** I KNOW its forbidden to take dairy products so obviously will not be hiding vast amounts of organic farmhouse cheese in car :xThumb:.]
 
Generally most things in France are more expensive than the UK, except wine. Fresh veg is local and what is in season, however some fruit will come in from Spain, Italy and so on. Quite a lot of Grench food is organic and there are some branded ECO. You can get tea bags like Liptons but if you want Yorkshire or Tetleys take them with you. There are English sections in most supermarkets but there is a big premium to pay. Take tea bags, marmite, marmalade, HP sauce (there is plenty of tomato on the shelves), digestive biscuits, bisto, paxo, Worcestershire Sauce, English mustard.
There is loads of cheese in France, even Cheddar.
 
Where are you going skiing? Alpe d'Huez?

There are supermarkets like Casino (essentially Spar) in Borg d'Oisans.

If you plan to carry food for 7 people for a week then I'd guess that the cost in fuel to transport all that extra weight would outweigh any cost saving in buying it in the UK.

If there are specific things you can't live without that are either impossible to find or sold for a huge premium, such as those Verteuil Man listed, then bring those.

See if there are any local markets as they're normally pretty good for fruit/veg/nuts/cheese
 
yes thank you -alpe d…I know the big supermarket in bourg but 2years ago it seemed v expensive if i bought everything there ..plus ordeal of going up n down to bourg means i but fresh stuff in alpe d huez so even more expensive ..just wanted to check what recent price hikes have meant for shopping -and yes know and live in french cheese but bring cheddar for cooking . thanks both xx
 
Kirsten said:
Seasons greetings all.
We are setting off [in the car sadly] to self catering /ski holiday next week. I dont ski so am Chief chef; being joined by 3 teenage grandchildren , daughter and Son in law. All eat like locusts ; so I am planning to try to budget the menus- [Kids coming by plane with hand luggage only ] without loading car to roof [that ship has sailed we are taking their stuff and bedding for all...]
Can anyone who has been to France recently advise about relative cost of food in supermarkets ? We won't be able to use cheapo ones as the ski resorts are not shy of charging; and nearest Aldi will be Grenoble . Dont want to take lots of stuff we can buy there but also want to be able to economise on what we can .
We all veggies so planning a lot of pasta- cheese *- tinned pulses-Oat milk etc. Free range organic eggs hard to find? Tea and baked beans obs coming with us, making cake/mince pies - realise even with my Scottish ancestry madness to take fresh vegetables [or is it ?] Many thanks for any recent shopping tips xxx
** I KNOW its forbidden to take dairy products so obviously will not be hiding vast amounts of organic farmhouse cheese in car :xThumb:.]
Click to expand...

Charging them all £10 a meal should cover your expenses….😆😉
 
The supermarket at Puy St Vincent last Easter was eye watering.

It was much, much cheaper down the valley.

Always find the packets of stuff like spaghetti bolognese are 5 times the price in the UK. We always take loads of them, the tomatoes and fresh veg plus whatever meat you like doesn’t tend to be too bad then.

One of the reasons we left a bit early was the supermarket on the resort required a second mortgage. I would check it out on the way up and just accept you will have to drive down every few days.
 
We took a lot of biscuit type energy bars from the UK to take out on the slopes as eating in mountain ski cafes is also expensive.

Lentils are a really good one to carry for a vegetable dhal along with spice packs ( Coleman’s etc do some) to just add flavour to whatever you are cooking. They are cheap to buy and easy to carry to France. Fajita kits seem cheaper in the uk.

French supermarkets often have good ( and different) veggie stir fry options in the freezer section which we don’t seem to see as much of in the UK. They often are found in the veg area of the freezer section not marketed as vegetarian but often simply as a side dish.
 
Spent a month travelling down through the alps then across to the Atlantic coast and month travelling back up this year. I shop in Waitrose normally - so that should indicate the prices I am happy and used to paying. France was a lot more expensive- the veg especially. The Alps were very expensive! But always have been….

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Verteuil Man said:
There is loads of cheese in France, even Cheddar
Click to expand...
Not found a decent mature Cheddar in France yet. Always end up paying through the nose and getting Cathedral City or Pilgrims Choice from the 'English' section. It could just be that I dont know what I am looking for of course. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
pelican said:
Put them all on diets for the week!
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They would eat me ! discarding veggie lifestyle....

Verteuil Man _ I agree re UK cheese Tho I do love some French cheese not a fan of Goat [to put it mildly ]
Just Smiffy I could charge what I liked if they had any Money !
CA -Jenben I will now feel justified in ignoring any scorn from teens about bringing - so to speak - coals to Newcastle , and start packing pasta and lentils under the car seats Googlebot I hate the drive up and down- go at 0 mph and get lots of hate from fellow travellers ! xxxx
Thank you all .. have foolishly asked the kids if they want cakes and have obs got requests for 3 different faves and mince pies... will be spending the solstice cooking :xrofl::xrofl::xdoh:
 
To be honest some of the point of bringing stuff from home is so you don’t have to spend every day sourcing stuff to cook (y)

Curry pastes are useful to carry too.
 
A tight fisted approach. I am your man.

Lidls/Aldis Cassoulets with a baguette should one staple meal. Spoil it with vegetables and tinned potatoes if you wish. We would be hitting the lentil gravy "dirty" beef tins but also getting the beans with imitation sausages. Filling and warming. Normally cost about 2 euros a tin and feeds 2 (with the bread) Other tins include ravioli and canneloni

Breakfast would be cereal with Greek yoghurt as the most cost expensive and purchasing bulk prior to climbing the mountain by getting the refill packets.

For the the other cooked meal, Auchan are pretty good for bulk purchases where you can get 10kg of different meats (Chicken pork etc) or 40 chicken kievs then get different seasonings and bung your pasta on top of that. 2 minute Noodles with sliced meat and and various veggies and seasonings (thai or chilli or sweet and sour) (available at good and bad lidls) is another cheap quick meal. If you have the fridge knocking up a big pot of mince onions and mushrooms in a gravy for a couple of days worth could sort out a chilli con carne/bolognese with just the staple rice/pasta to add pretend it is good by getting garlic bread or three.

Bargain of the lot is the triple pack of frozen pizza from lidls which was less than 2 euros (yes 3 pizzas for 2 euros). Get the 4 cheese variety and then purchase toppings such as salami, mushroom and an emmentahl triple pack of grated cheese to top it off, add garlic bread.

This should allow more finances for wine and getting different types of peanuts to mix up to soak up the grape juice later in the evening
 
Have the French Lidl / Aldi etc joined the UK Xmas veg wars where the price of staples are 7p ie 2Kg spuds, 500g carrots, Brussels, cabbage (red & white). Worth checking online and going into first one over the channel, or stock up afore ye go.

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We have found Cauliflower, broccoli & blueberrys about twice the price of the UK other veg & fruit about 30 to 50% dearer.
 
I would squeeze some of those curry sauces in the really strong sachets that you get in B&M or Farm Foods, not the dried ones. A couple of those with lentils and veg make a great curry. Very filling as well after a day skiing. Makes a change from cheese and pasta.
 
To be fair, I wouldn’t want to drive up and down either if I could help it.

The engine braking on the motorhome isn’t very good and being at the max weight means I go very slow or cook the brakes, annoying the locals and car drivers.

However I am also very tight, I even considered walking! 😆

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Googlebot said:
The engine braking on the motorhome isn’t very good and being at the max weight means I go very slow or cook the brakes, annoying the locals and car drivers.
Click to expand...
I thought you had a Comformatic, I always found it very good too good it you use the UP button.
 
Lenny HB said:
I thought you had a Comformatic, I always found it very good too good it you use the UP button.
Click to expand...
No, it’s a manual.

By far the worst vehicle I have owned for engine braking.
 
Kirsten said:
Seasons greetings all.
We are setting off [in the car sadly] to self catering /ski holiday next week. I dont ski so am Chief chef; being joined by 3 teenage grandchildren , daughter and Son in law. All eat like locusts ; so I am planning to try to budget the menus- [Kids coming by plane with hand luggage only ] without loading car to roof [that ship has sailed we are taking their stuff and bedding for all...]
Can anyone who has been to France recently advise about relative cost of food in supermarkets ? We won't be able to use cheapo ones as the ski resorts are not shy of charging; and nearest Aldi will be Grenoble . Dont want to take lots of stuff we can buy there but also want to be able to economise on what we can .
We all veggies so planning a lot of pasta- cheese *- tinned pulses-Oat milk etc. Free range organic eggs hard to find? Tea and baked beans obs coming with us, making cake/mince pies - realise even with my Scottish ancestry madness to take fresh vegetables [or is it ?] Many thanks for any recent shopping tips xxx
** I KNOW its forbidden to take dairy products so obviously will not be hiding vast amounts of organic farmhouse cheese in car :xThumb:.]
Click to expand...

Are there no FOOD BANKS in France, if not, why not? 😄

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