Just found your channel. What an amazing amount of food. In my village there is a community food shop once a week. You have to pay £3 for a bag, then you can fill your bag with as much as you want. I always come away with lots of fruit and veg more than I could ever buy for £3. I don’t think people realise what community shops are, and think they are only for people who have no money, but in fact it is all about preventing food waste. I think you’ve done a great job here explaining that. So much food is wasted and we are told mainly because people either overbuy or just discard food they think is out of date. I’m looking forward to seeing what you make with it all.
At the community shop near me, you have to be interviewed by one of the great and the good who run it to ensure you are sufficiently deserving of their help. I'd rather give up just about anything to avoid that indignity.
Sorry to read this, our village hasn't any facilities, but 8 miles, nearest next does have one, no questions asked, only cctv & asked to take one bag a person, only 9/10 times I am there there is nothing! The nearest foodbank is 21 miles and no public transport. I live remote and yes have run my car on domestic & chippy fuel without problems. Up till now I was never asked, but looking at the foodbank visitors, they were sitting in expensive cars before alloeed in. Also they started to do difficult as i was allowed in before them, risking to have less choice. I did feel weird as I was adviced to take more as I was entitled more, and all was free.... Never felt a guilty pensioner, but the government and coming generations try to give you that feeling, already they have stolen my 65-67.5 yr gap, and the 5%less built up! I am simply entitled...
In Liverpool there is a zero waste scheme run by marvellous volunteers. They pick up food from supermarkets that would normally go to landfill and re distribute it to the community...
First time viewer from Ontario, Canada. Loved this video, Ali! What a blessing to find all that wonderful food for such an incredibly low price (free in a lot of cases!). Loved visiting Stirling on my last trip to the UK in 2011. Need a re-visit for sure! Many blessings.
Just found your channel today and can't stop watching your videos! I took early retirement and live in Glasgow and also cook from scratch every day for myself, using fruit, veg, pulses and very little meat. I don't eat cakes and biscuits either. Great to find a lovely Scottish down to earth lady like yourself giving sensible advice. Just subscribed! Amazing food shop by the way :) xx
I've just found your channel and it's great to find someone like yourself on the same wavelength in the UK! That Lidl box looks great, I haven't made it to my local Lidl for ages but I have discovered that my local Asian supermarket often sells things off for pennies when they're getting close to their date. Like you say, shopping frugally takes time and effort but I quite enjoy the challenge!
Aww thanks for the lovely comment. I do love a lot of US frugal channels but in the UK we don't have the same coupon culture or access to the big bulk buying stores. I do have a wee Asian shop here but I've never investigated it. I will now! 🙂
Wow, so much for so "Lidl!" These veg boxes are wonderful! Wish we had them here in the US, as well as the community food waste programs you described. It's such a shame when food goes to waste! You truly have and eye for a bargain, and I'm so glad to be part of your team...I know I'll learn so much from you. Can't wait to see how you use/prepare all the food you found! Hugs to Luna
I've been very lucky with the Lidl boxes. Honestly haven't been able to get one for months and then 2 fab ones within a week. I think now that I'm focussed I'm seeing the bargains. I'm also actively practising gratitude so maybe that's helping too 🙂
@@aliliveswellonlessI write From Hungary, itt is van lidl but I know no This box 😥☹️itt nálunk egy doboz 399ft.de még nem sikerült vennem 1x.sem üres volt a polc ahová ezt tették 🥶☹️👎
@@zsuzsadosane3863 Keep trying, you'll get lucky soon! Every single time I'm in Lidl I look for one. I haven't had one for months then I got 2 in a week! 🙂
@@paulinedrewery3759 For the boxes it seems to vary in each store and changes regularly to avoid people misusing them. My store is currently about 9am but it used to be about 11am. My store reduces other fresh items from about 5pm. Best ask in your local store to be sure 🙂
It is wonderful to know that the services you explained are available to you. In my suburb, we have Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and several high quality specialty shops, all of them quite expensive. House prices in my suburb starting from several million dollars (AUD). I do provide free mentoring and financial help using my own money, to less fortunate families and your video has been very helpful to me. It has been humbling and a great learning experience. Thank you.
An awesome shop and so great there are great resources available in your community. The food waste project sounds awesome and great that the more fancy supermarkets alsp donate to it. Enjoy the prawns, those look like a treat! 😍
Hi Ali, Well done on your Lidl box and the free food too. I scored well in morrisons last week when I got over £60 of meat, fish and veg for under £30.00 and then A lidl box that was full of lovely stuff that was vey fresh. I don't buy meat now unless it's reduced.
Wow, that is an impressive amount of food. I volunteer at a food bank (Canada) and I know we get a fair bit of food donated by supermarkets. But it is far from enough. We have to buy a lot of the food we hand out, at somewhat reduced prices. But what I see is food waste that is heartbreaking. We are not allowed to give out perishable food past BB date and yet we all know a lot of is fine for days or weeks beyond. I am currently eating tubs of “expired” yogurt which the food bank would have had to throw out. Most of it will be thrown out, as there’s only so much volunteers can use. We sure could benefit from these free shops in every community and keep food out of landfills. And people need to stop freaking out when something is past BB date. Cheers and happy bargain hunting.
.., I absolutely HATE the word ‘haul’ too. It annoys me when the Brits use it. Its ‘my shopping’ or ‘a shop!’ The ‘big shop’ or the ‘little shop’ … and ‘… managed to get some bargains today in the reduced section…’. 😉 You did well in getting such s great, healthy selection.
@aliliveswellonless Same in Ireland. You went to get your messages. Only came across your channel about hour ago. Looking forward to going through the rest of them. 🎉❤😊
Brilliant. We all need to be savvy shoppers now the price of food is ridiculously high. Thank you for sharing. You remind me so much of my pal Alison who shops like you. 👍👏🏻😁
Loved this 😃. Our small town here in the Scottish Borders has a food larder that is open to anyone but they do ask for a small donation if you can afford it. I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it and I go because I hate to see food waste so even if there’s nothing there I can use I still put a donation in the box 😊
The hate I've had for daring to use my food waste project has been unreal. Food waste has always been a pet hate mine even when I was in a comfortable financial situation
@@aliliveswellonless that’s terrible to hear that you get hate, what is it with people that don’t understand what food waste is. The clue is in the name it’s waste and if it doesn’t get used it goes in the bin, what is there to hate about that? The people that hate it have never had to make do and mend or struggle early on in their lives. I was born in the 60s and brought my kids up in the 80s in a recession, I didn’t know I was living in poverty back then I was just living and 5hats all I knew but it’s obviously done me no harm. Looking forward to more of your videos. X
I managed to get a great Lidl box it was really packed and fresh I shared with my daughter I think it’s a great idea. I look at the yellow stickers sometimes but not always great stuff left
What a lovely healthy shopping find. That box is amazing, I've only seen this type of thing in Tesco and it looks past needing binning. Looks like it's been in a compost heap and dug up again. I certainly wouldn't buy prawns at that price, no wonder they didn't sell. They'll be nice in an egg fried rice with some of your courgette and finely sliced bit of carrot.
Thanks! Sometimes the Lidl boxes do have compost level veggies too. This really was a lucky one. I just don't buy stuff like prawns any more. They have become an unaffordable luxury so that was a good find too :-)
As always, excellent video Ali. Thanks for sharing. The Zero waste places are a great idea - will def look into this. Hope we have these in NW England :)
@@aliliveswellonless Sorry Ali I should have said that although I have just discovered your vlog, I have been reading your blog for years and have loved learning from you how to save money and live well being frugal. Much respect Ali.
Just found your channel and how to survive on a low budget. Lidl certainly do put out a nice healthy box. We haven’t got a Lidl near us. I will look forward to seeing what you do with the produce you have received. I am 89 and live with my son.❤️❤️
Hi Ali, wow, that's amazing! I perked up when I heard 'yum yum' - I live in Canada now, but I grew up in Scotland and I loved yum yums! (Never had one with toffee in it though.) Anyway, the Community Waste Project is a marvellous idea, I don't think we have them here (we do have food banks). Have fun deciding how to use everything up!
The yumyum was delicious! Haven't had one in years! The Community Food Waste project started in lockdown as a way to stop the huge wastage but it's grown in strength over the last 4 years and I believe is a model for other places now. We've also got a tool library, a repair workshop and a reuse hub all under the Transition Stirling umbrella 🙂
Hi Ali, that is an amazing amount of food for very little money. Well done! I wish we had a food pantry of some sort in our village or locality but sadly not and I'm never quick enough to get either Lidl or Aldi veg boxes. It gets harder and harder to stay within the food budget too. We have an allotment but the weather has been awful and lots of crops have failed; either gone to seed or not come up at all. Even our potatoes were awful this year. How has your allotment performed? I look forward to seeing what meals you made from your bounty😊 Angie.
I'm trying very hard not to overspend in the supermarket but everything is getting more expensive and there's only so much you can cut out. My poor allotment has been rather abandoned this year due to timing of moving house. Soft fruit and rhubarb did well. I've got shallots doing ok. But that's it. I'm going to have to rethink it for next year. I'm currently sitting with my notepad trying to plan the best use of everything I've got today 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless you are very resourceful so I'm sure you will make good use of everything. A shame about your allotment but you can only do so much. Next year might be different when you have more time. We have found it a bit of a struggle this year as we're not getting any younger at 74 ! Funnily enough our onions are marvellous this year too. I think veg stew with onion, soup, hot dogs with fried onions etc will feature heavily this Autumn 🍂😁 BTW I only recently found you on here but recognise you from when I used to blog as pensive pensioner on Small Treasures. I loved your blog too. Personally, I ran out of steam when life threw me lemons and I found it really hard not to let depression overtake me. I didn't want to depress my readers too so stepped back. I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to your next video. Thank you Ali 😊
@@pensivepensioner1244 I'm still blogging as well! I've been on here a week so it's still all very new but I'm seeing that there are lots of us retirees on a very tight budget. Sadly the allotment was the one thing I let slip in all the moving/downsizing process 🙂
One of the problems is that different supermarkets vary the times they do the reductions, so you may think a habit has developed, then you find it's a waste of time. Down to who's on shift at times I think
Enjoyed your “haul” (agree terrible word) mad how many people in the comments don’t understand the concept of spending on a credit card and paying it in full to obtain points. I thought that was fairly common knowledge. Good for you!
Thanks for your kind comment! I have tried to be nice and explain how it works just in case people genuinely don't know you can do that. I went back and watched the bit in the video thinking I hadn't said that. But I did 🙂
@hitchjack. Not everywhere gives points on credit card. However strange that may seem to you. I'm in Ireland, have Visa card since 1986 and they've never had points, cashback or any rewards. The market is just too small. I've never carried any debt, so the only cost is the yearly government levy.
I wish we had one of those community waste shops near me. I’m of the generation that grew up in the time before ‘sell by labels’ were a thing, so I am not at all worried by out of date stuff. I have always trusted my judgement.
I've just found your channel Ali. I'd be interested in seeing you do s video on you turning you your fruit and veg into meals (ie siuos, stews, salads, crumble eyc). Hello from Nottingham, England. 👋
Have watched you for a long time I am a retired teacher incanada and you food is so much cheaper than here our prices are really scaring me now especially for younger families
It's so hard for families to feed themselves everywhere. Luckily there are some good projects where I live to help but it's really scary that they're needed. It must be so hard for them. Luckily I have the time to look for bargains 🙂
Well done on this lot! I spoke to the manager of my local Lidils and apparently they are varying the days and times they put out the £1.50 veg boxes due to the behaviour of some customers!
How sad that the behaviour of some individuals spoil it for everyone. I've seen a bit of snatching and grabbing in Tesco at the yellow stickers but not much, fortunately 🙂
Sometimes I dumpster dive and find perfect food. I check for damage or recalled but the sad thing is I used to work for a dollar type store and they would just toss and destroy things for lack of space. The stores have too much stuff and no shelf space for it.They made us chop it up and toss it out 😢 . That broke my heart. I didn't last 3 months . It felt so wrong.
I love watching dumpster divers videos! Here in the UK they brought in some regulations a few years ago to stop big supermarkets dumping perfectly edible food which is why community food projects sprung up across the country. The supermarkets aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts! They just don't want to be fined/taxed!!! But we the customers get the benefit 🙂
Im only about half way through this video so you might say so but bloody hell (excuse my language ) i had no idea about these boxes , im shocked, im going to have to look in to this , had no idea 😱
@aliliveswellonless. Hello! New sub here. Just to thank you again in case you missed my earlier comment. I had no idea about those community places - what a brilliant idea! I hate to see waste, one of my ex's was a "freegan" and I could not believe some of the stuff he used to get from Tescos, Coop etc. A lot of the stuff wasn't even out of date - they just needed the room for new stock. I'm going to see if there is a community shop in my area so cheers! 🍺 I thought the least I could do in return, was like and subscribe 😊 As for the negative Nancys....they drive me nuts! Luckily you will find they are in the minority. On the whole, people are friendly and want you to succeed 👍☺️
What a brilliant shopping day you have had Ali! I’d be very pleased with those wonderful finds. The food waste scheme you have there is a super idea. What a shame the whole country doesn’t have the same. I’ve yet to see a veg fruit box at my Lidl and frustratingly, the Lidl app doesn’t work on my old phone so can’t benefit from that. Looking forward to seeing what you cook up with everything. A question, what do you do with young Luna when you are shopping? Also, you have a lovely mixer there, do you use it much living alone? Thanks for this great video Ali. 🙂
Luna went to daycare today so I could take the car to the garage and go shopping. I don't go proper shopping in person very often so when I do I try to make it worthwhile!! My mixer is almost 20 years old and still going strong. It gets used every week to do some batch baking. Yesterday I made a banana loaf in it. If I can get reduced cream I make butter in it 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless ah, thank you Ali. I too don’t go in person shopping that often as I don’t like to leave my dogs in the car but also, trying to drive to different shops also take up petrol so mindful of saving a bit on the one hand and spending on petrol instead. Great to have a mixer like that to help with batch cooking. I’m thinking of investing in a freezer as the freezer part of my fridge freezer is so small it makes batch cooking impossible.
@@paulaevans2555 I'm really missing my second freezer. It makes such a difference to batch cooking and saving money. I had a small chest freezer in my garage in my old house but as I don't have a garage in this house I had to leave it behind (at their request) for my buyers. I'm trying to figure out where I could squeeze one in here 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless That’s exactly the same for me too Ali. I had a larder freezer in the garage but no garage here. I used to freeze bread and milk too so that also helped as less trips to the shop. Luckily, I have room here for a freezer, it’s just the initial outlay which I’m pondering! Hope you can find somewhere to fit a small freezer in too.
New subscriber here, I have just stumbled across your channel. I can't believe how much food you have got for so little! I will look into whether we have any community shops locally, thanks for the tip. Just to change the subject for a minute, I love the little house on your worktop, where did you get it from?
Wowee - very impressive. I do sometimes get a Lidl box and they are well worth it. My problem with trying to reduce my food bill is cutting out sugary treats 🙈. Thanks for taking time out to inspire others 🤎
Do you have a proper large freezer - that can save an awful lot, when the local food project is clearly looking to dispose/bin a lot otherwise. I try not to hoover up & deprive others, & will take the questionable stuff & chop off the bad bits
I've got a fridge freezer and a freezer. I only take stuff that I know I can turn into something. I know not everyone can cook from scratch for whatever reasons. I never take any ready meals as that might be more useful for someone who only has a microwave. And yep I'm happy to chop off the bad bits too!! :-)
There is a community food shop in my area in London but you have to pay. I don't know what you would get because I never tried it but I imagine it's a mystery every time.
Wow we spend about equivalent of £150 a week ( live in Tenerife) , 3 people and 2 dogs. We only buy store own brands and don't buy lamb, fish or anything expensive
I like apple compote. Do you know it? you peel and cut the apples in wedges and boil them with a bit of sugar and a cinnamon stick. They are ready when tender. You let them cool down and store it in the fridge. You can eat it for dessert or a snack and it is very gentle on the stomach.
Hi I wish we had a community waist shop in coventry city center UK . That sounds lick such a great thing to do for the community. We house food bank's but you have to do it on line. As I don't do on line I sometimes what till the Sunday ,AND there's one where you line up .and you just take what you going to us each week . I have also had lidl veg box's and made some nice meals out of it .Take care and all the best. 😊😊😊👍👍👍👍💟
Thanks! There might be individual waste food projects in specific areas within the city. That's how the Stirling one started then they combined their resources and got council support for a permanent premises. Keep looking, you might get lucky! 🙂
A yellow sticker fan I see. I've noticed some folks are shy of looking at them, they sort of drift past and give it the side eye and try not to look interested. I just go straight there and examine everything that's reduced, there's nowt wrong with being frugal.
Never seen this in Lidl or for that price ??The M&S vouchers come only every few months you would need to spend a lot of money to get £6 a month in vouchers? Here in the UK😮Sorry but out of date food is a No No for Health reasons😮 If it works for you though great🙂
There's a difference between 'use by' dates and 'best before'. Use by should be adhered to unless you want to take a chance but Best Before can safely be ignored. Best before literally means just that, It's still fine to eat, often fine long after the best before date has passed.
especially how food is processed veg don’t last as long now when date is out the vitamins is Lost i noticed this with veg i buy as lots are already old when put on shelfs fruit had little taste because it is already not as fresh when arrive
yeah but if you can afford to shop at m&s i dont think you should take advantage of the community charity shop! however if youre only doing this once in a while to educate others who have less money thats good of you
Lots of us sticker shop at M&S and other quality stores. We can't afford the full prices but if you walk through and spot a bargain why wouldn't you buy it?
I don't shop at M&S!! I use an M&S credit card which rewards me with M&S vouchers. Sometimes you can get great yellow sticker bargains in the 'posher' supermarkets. If you're looking for good food at reduced prices, look absolutely everywhere 🙂
@@Glory3823 No it's a credit card like any normal bank credit card. It just happens to reward you with vouchers every 3 months depending on how much you spend. I buy all my food shopping (in Tesco and Lidl), dog food, petrol, DIY supplies even some bills and pay it off every month. M&S have their Sparks card reward scheme just for spending in M&S. But the credit card is just a credit card and can be used anywhere 🙂
@@aliliveswellonlessThere's another channel like yours, Be free be frugal. Jill lives near Harrogate & she gets some great deals on y e llow sticker items at M &S, Waitrose & Sainsburys. Some are down from several pounds to 10p. Deals like that in Ireland are rare. 😢
There's frugal and there is simply stingy to the point you live in poverty with how much you spend on food a week £1 is outrageous. Even £15 is cheap but £1.70 is silly and not nutritional
I do a follow up video using this produce to create a nutritious week's menu using some other items. Of course it's not possible to live like this. This is a one off week that helps save money for other things like stocking up the store cupboard or freezer for times when you have no money
Did you actually watch the video??? You'll see how I used various ways to get all the food mentioned and then I did a follow up video on using that food to create a healthy £5 menu for a week.
I'm not trying to be a model for people who are poor and I am absolutely not well off!!! You are misunderstanding the aim of this channel. I have worked for years to get to this point. This video shows how I was able to use the resources I have available to me to get healthy food for low/no cost.
I'm struggling to understand how you have built up £6 worth of M&S vouchers?, if you are short of money why would you shop there in the first place? You have to spend an obscene amount to get a £6 voucher, just strikes me that this is all fake nonsense.
I use my reward CREDIT CARD not a loyalty card. 3 months of buying food, petrol, dog food, paying bills etc on my CREDIT CARD rewarded me with £6 of vouchers. My M&S credit card is a normal Mastercard. Lots of credit cards have incentives, mine just happens to be vouchers. Definitely not fake nonsense, always happy to explain myself 🙂
There's always one isn't there? I wouldn't even entertain comments like that - especially when you have taken the time and trouble to say what you paid for it/how old it is.....not like you should even have to justify anything to anyone! Try and take no notice of negative comments like that else it will drive you crackers! Good luck and thank you for a very informative video 👍😊
Normally when people do these types of low cost shops they end up with a load of unhealthy carbs, I’m thrilled to see your healthy haul!
Yep there's always ton of bread and cakes. I don't eat them any way. I stopped doing the Too Good To Go bags for that reason 🙂
@@barbsdee3831 Carbs aren't an issue for me but if they are for some people then they need to be careful about it
It isn't enough for a nutritional 3 meals a day though.
That is the most impressive "food haul" I have ever seen! Wow. I'm glad those free foods and marked down boxes are available to you.
It was an outstanding haul and will probably never be repeated 🙂
You are very kind to have dropped off the flowers for your daughter in law, what a lovely surprise for her!
You are what I call a very smart shopper😊
Thanks! I had a bit of luck as well 🙂
Just found your channel. What an amazing amount of food. In my village there is a community food shop once a week. You have to pay £3 for a bag, then you can fill your bag with as much as you want. I always come away with lots of fruit and veg more than I could ever buy for £3. I don’t think people realise what community shops are, and think they are only for people who have no money, but in fact it is all about preventing food waste. I think you’ve done a great job here explaining that. So much food is wasted and we are told mainly because people either overbuy or just discard food they think is out of date. I’m looking forward to seeing what you make with it all.
Thanks! We also have a separate food pantry where you can buy certain things for £2 but the food waste shop is all free and open to anyone 🙂
That’s a brilliant food box. What a bargain!!
At the community shop near me, you have to be interviewed by one of the great and the good who run it to ensure you are sufficiently deserving of their help. I'd rather give up just about anything to avoid that indignity.
Same where I am, you also have to queue for ages to go in, which I find embarrassing.
@@sayitlikeitis8759I see people in the queue who are wealthy, have much more than I have and are just greedy.
Sorry to read this, our village hasn't any facilities, but 8 miles, nearest next does have one, no questions asked, only cctv & asked to take one bag a person, only 9/10 times I am there there is nothing! The nearest foodbank is 21 miles and no public transport. I live remote and yes have run my car on domestic & chippy fuel without problems. Up till now I was never asked, but looking at the foodbank visitors, they were sitting in expensive cars before alloeed in. Also they started to do difficult as i was allowed in before them, risking to have less choice. I did feel weird as I was adviced to take more as I was entitled more, and all was free.... Never felt a guilty pensioner, but the government and coming generations try to give you that feeling, already they have stolen my 65-67.5 yr gap, and the 5%less built up! I am simply entitled...
So glad to see the big shops have stopped throwing away usable food and it is now being made good use of. About time.
Totally agree! 🙂
Oh, my goodness! You win the prize for low spend food shopping! Yay, you!
Thanks! I am over the moon and so grateful for my luck 🙂
In Liverpool there is a zero waste scheme run by marvellous volunteers. They pick up food from supermarkets that would normally go to landfill and re distribute it to the community...
Brilliant! Love that food isn't going to landfill 🙂
First time viewer from Ontario, Canada. Loved this video, Ali! What a blessing to find all that wonderful food for such an incredibly low price (free in a lot of cases!). Loved visiting Stirling on my last trip to the UK in 2011. Need a re-visit for sure! Many blessings.
Thanks! It really was my lucky day. I love living in Stirling, it's a beautiful part of Scotland 🙂
Just found your channel today and can't stop watching your videos! I took early retirement and live in Glasgow and also cook from scratch every day for myself, using fruit, veg, pulses and very little meat. I don't eat cakes and biscuits either. Great to find a lovely Scottish down to earth lady like yourself giving sensible advice. Just subscribed! Amazing food shop by the way :) xx
Aww thanks for the lovely comment! :-)
Every time I see a GB veggie box I’m just in awe, £1.50. Excellent deal week.
I've just found your channel and it's great to find someone like yourself on the same wavelength in the UK!
That Lidl box looks great, I haven't made it to my local Lidl for ages but I have discovered that my local Asian supermarket often sells things off for pennies when they're getting close to their date. Like you say, shopping frugally takes time and effort but I quite enjoy the challenge!
Aww thanks for the lovely comment. I do love a lot of US frugal channels but in the UK we don't have the same coupon culture or access to the big bulk buying stores. I do have a wee Asian shop here but I've never investigated it. I will now! 🙂
Wow, so much for so "Lidl!" These veg boxes are wonderful! Wish we had them here in the US, as well as the community food waste programs you described. It's such a shame when food goes to waste! You truly have and eye for a bargain, and I'm so glad to be part of your team...I know I'll learn so much from you. Can't wait to see how you use/prepare all the food you found! Hugs to Luna
I've been very lucky with the Lidl boxes. Honestly haven't been able to get one for months and then 2 fab ones within a week. I think now that I'm focussed I'm seeing the bargains. I'm also actively practising gratitude so maybe that's helping too 🙂
@@aliliveswellonlessI write From Hungary, itt is van lidl but I know no This box 😥☹️itt nálunk egy doboz 399ft.de még nem sikerült vennem 1x.sem üres volt a polc ahová ezt tették 🥶☹️👎
@@zsuzsadosane3863 Keep trying, you'll get lucky soon! Every single time I'm in Lidl I look for one. I haven't had one for months then I got 2 in a week! 🙂
When is the best time to get bargains from Lidl?
@@paulinedrewery3759 For the boxes it seems to vary in each store and changes regularly to avoid people misusing them. My store is currently about 9am but it used to be about 11am. My store reduces other fresh items from about 5pm. Best ask in your local store to be sure 🙂
It is wonderful to know that the services you explained are available to you. In my suburb, we have Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and several high quality specialty shops, all of them quite expensive. House prices in my suburb starting from several million dollars (AUD). I do provide free mentoring and financial help using my own money, to less fortunate families and your video has been very helpful to me. It has been humbling and a great learning experience. Thank you.
thank you Ali for all these good ideas,from the budget to the ethical,thank you.
An awesome shop and so great there are great resources available in your community. The food waste project sounds awesome and great that the more fancy supermarkets alsp donate to it. Enjoy the prawns, those look like a treat! 😍
I'm really looking forward to the prawns! I haven't had any for ages!! 🙂
Just found your channel love your positive outlook.
Hi Ali, Well done on your Lidl box and the free food too. I scored well in morrisons last week when I got over £60 of meat, fish and veg for under £30.00 and then A lidl box that was full of lovely stuff that was vey fresh. I don't buy meat now unless it's reduced.
Oh well done on the Morrisons deals and getting a good Lidl box! It's the meat and fish that cost the most so I only buy it reduced now too 🙂
Wow, you did amazingly well to get so much for so little.
I can't believe how I lucky I was today! 🙂
Wow, that is an impressive amount of food. I volunteer at a food bank (Canada) and I know we get a fair bit of food donated by supermarkets. But it is far from enough. We have to buy a lot of the food we hand out, at somewhat reduced prices. But what I see is food waste that is heartbreaking. We are not allowed to give out perishable food past BB date and yet we all know a lot of is fine for days or weeks beyond. I am currently eating tubs of “expired” yogurt which the food bank would have had to throw out. Most of it will be thrown out, as there’s only so much volunteers can use. We sure could benefit from these free shops in every community and keep food out of landfills. And people need to stop freaking out when something is past BB date. Cheers and happy bargain hunting.
Lovely Ali. Amazing haul.
I was very lucky! 🙂
.., I absolutely HATE the word ‘haul’ too. It annoys me when the Brits use it. Its ‘my shopping’ or ‘a shop!’ The ‘big shop’ or the ‘little shop’ … and ‘… managed to get some bargains today in the reduced section…’. 😉 You did well in getting such s great, healthy selection.
And if you're Scottish we call them 'messages' but that's a whole other topic!! 🤣 It was a fab healthy selection 🙂
@aliliveswellonless Same in Ireland. You went to get your messages. Only came across your channel about hour ago. Looking forward to going through the rest of them. 🎉❤😊
Brilliant. We all need to be savvy shoppers now the price of food is ridiculously high. Thank you for sharing. You remind me so much of my pal Alison who shops like you. 👍👏🏻😁
I really enjoy your channel. I have subscribed.
Loved this 😃. Our small town here in the Scottish Borders has a food larder that is open to anyone but they do ask for a small donation if you can afford it. I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it and I go because I hate to see food waste so even if there’s nothing there I can use I still put a donation in the box 😊
The hate I've had for daring to use my food waste project has been unreal. Food waste has always been a pet hate mine even when I was in a comfortable financial situation
@@aliliveswellonless that’s terrible to hear that you get hate, what is it with people that don’t understand what food waste is. The clue is in the name it’s waste and if it doesn’t get used it goes in the bin, what is there to hate about that? The people that hate it have never had to make do and mend or struggle early on in their lives. I was born in the 60s and brought my kids up in the 80s in a recession, I didn’t know I was living in poverty back then I was just living and 5hats all I knew but it’s obviously done me no harm. Looking forward to more of your videos. X
Can't grumble at that. 😃 Well done!
Thanks! I was really lucky that day 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless 👍😃
You were blessed 🙏
I really was ! 🙂
What a fantastic box!! I’m going to look at the M&S credit card as I didn’t know about the vouchers x
I managed to get a great Lidl box it was really packed and fresh I shared with my daughter I think it’s a great idea. I look at the yellow stickers sometimes but not always great stuff left
That's brilliant!! :-)
Hi there, I'm a new subscriber. I absolutely love your channel. Keep the videos coming. All the best 🙂
Just found your channel and subscribed. I'm a big fan of the veg boxes and the Olio App.
I'm so excited when I find a veg box and am doubly excited when it's a good one like this! 🙂
What a lovely healthy shopping find. That box is amazing, I've only seen this type of thing in Tesco and it looks past needing binning. Looks like it's been in a compost heap and dug up again.
I certainly wouldn't buy prawns at that price, no wonder they didn't sell. They'll be nice in an egg fried rice with some of your courgette and finely sliced bit of carrot.
Thanks! Sometimes the Lidl boxes do have compost level veggies too. This really was a lucky one. I just don't buy stuff like prawns any more. They have become an unaffordable luxury so that was a good find too :-)
As always, excellent video Ali. Thanks for sharing. The Zero waste places are a great idea - will def look into this. Hope we have these in NW England :)
Thanks! Hope you find one. If not, start asking where all the 'waste' food goes 🙂
Great video ❤
That's amazing!
Thanks, it really was an exceptional day for the bargains 🙂
brilliant haul!
You are growing fast, so congrats 👏.
Lots of bargains Ali, a good haul. I love your worktop in your kitchen. Thank you for the video I have only just discovered you.
Thanks! The worktop is old and rather damaged by the previous owners. Like the rest of this house!! 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless Sorry Ali I should have said that although I have just discovered your vlog, I have been reading your blog for years and have loved learning from you how to save money and live well being frugal. Much respect Ali.
Just found your channel and how to survive on a low budget. Lidl certainly do put out a nice healthy box. We haven’t got a Lidl near us. I will look forward to seeing what you do with the produce you have received. I am 89 and live with my son.❤️❤️
Be good to see what meals u made with this super good food shop :)
Oh think u have posted that too. Sorry was my first watch of ur videos :)
I've posted a few meals so far but will do a follow up soon 🙂
you might think of getting one of those trolley baskets
Hi Ali, wow, that's amazing! I perked up when I heard 'yum yum' - I live in Canada now, but I grew up in Scotland and I loved yum yums! (Never had one with toffee in it though.)
Anyway, the Community Waste Project is a marvellous idea, I don't think we have them here (we do have food banks). Have fun deciding how to use everything up!
The yumyum was delicious! Haven't had one in years! The Community Food Waste project started in lockdown as a way to stop the huge wastage but it's grown in strength over the last 4 years and I believe is a model for other places now. We've also got a tool library, a repair workshop and a reuse hub all under the Transition Stirling umbrella 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless Wow, those are all amazing initiatives!
@@patriciad.7309 We have a very active Transition community here. I'm so lucky! 🙂
Hi Ali, that is an amazing amount of food for very little money. Well done! I wish we had a food pantry of some sort in our village or locality but sadly not and I'm never quick enough to get either Lidl or Aldi veg boxes. It gets harder and harder to stay within the food budget too. We have an allotment but the weather has been awful and lots of crops have failed; either gone to seed or not come up at all. Even our potatoes were awful this year. How has your allotment performed?
I look forward to seeing what meals you made from your bounty😊
Angie.
I'm trying very hard not to overspend in the supermarket but everything is getting more expensive and there's only so much you can cut out. My poor allotment has been rather abandoned this year due to timing of moving house. Soft fruit and rhubarb did well. I've got shallots doing ok. But that's it. I'm going to have to rethink it for next year. I'm currently sitting with my notepad trying to plan the best use of everything I've got today 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless you are very resourceful so I'm sure you will make good use of everything. A shame about your allotment but you can only do so much. Next year might be different when you have more time. We have found it a bit of a struggle this year as we're not getting any younger at 74 ! Funnily enough our onions are marvellous this year too. I think veg stew with onion, soup, hot dogs with fried onions etc will feature heavily this Autumn 🍂😁
BTW I only recently found you on here but recognise you from when I used to blog as pensive pensioner on Small Treasures. I loved your blog too. Personally, I ran out of steam when life threw me lemons and I found it really hard not to let depression overtake me. I didn't want to depress my readers too so stepped back. I've subscribed to your channel and look forward to your next video. Thank you Ali 😊
@@pensivepensioner1244 I'm still blogging as well! I've been on here a week so it's still all very new but I'm seeing that there are lots of us retirees on a very tight budget. Sadly the allotment was the one thing I let slip in all the moving/downsizing process 🙂
Nice variety of things 👍
Thanks! It was a great box 🙂
One of the problems is that different supermarkets vary the times they do the reductions, so you may think a habit has developed, then you find it's a waste of time. Down to who's on shift at times I think
Good shop!
You did very well. Enjoy!
💕😀xx thanks Ali. I’m a new subscriber. 🥰
Thanks! 🙂
thats incredible
Thank you for sharing your healthy food haul. Perhaps you might want to prepare a few healthy recipes with the ingredients and make a video????
Yep, see the next video I did 🙂
Enjoyed your “haul” (agree terrible word) mad how many people in the comments don’t understand the concept of spending on a credit card and paying it in full to obtain points. I thought that was fairly common knowledge. Good for you!
Thanks for your kind comment! I have tried to be nice and explain how it works just in case people genuinely don't know you can do that. I went back and watched the bit in the video thinking I hadn't said that. But I did 🙂
@hitchjack. Not everywhere gives points on credit card. However strange that may seem to you. I'm in Ireland, have Visa card since 1986 and they've never had points, cashback or any rewards. The market is just too small. I've never carried any debt, so the only cost is the yearly government levy.
I wish we had one of those community waste shops near me. I’m of the generation that grew up in the time before ‘sell by labels’ were a thing, so I am not at all worried by out of date stuff. I have always trusted my judgement.
Yep sniff and taste! 🙂
New subscriber here…… really inspiring…..great content 🥰
Thanks! 🙂
I've just found your channel Ali. I'd be interested in seeing you do s video on you turning you your fruit and veg into meals (ie siuos, stews, salads, crumble eyc). Hello from Nottingham, England. 👋
Thanks! The video that wouldn't upload on Friday had some stuff I'd made. But yep will be doing loads of that in the future :-)
Great haul.
Thanks! 🙂
Have watched you for a long time I am a retired teacher incanada and you food is so much cheaper than here our prices are really scaring me now especially for younger families
It's so hard for families to feed themselves everywhere. Luckily there are some good projects where I live to help but it's really scary that they're needed. It must be so hard for them. Luckily I have the time to look for bargains 🙂
Brilliant! A few portions of salad & soup there some pieces of bread to accompany & split the yum yum into 2 desserts I think.
Food prices may be lower here but housing is very expensive in the UK.
@@sarahstrong7174 Sadly so true!
@@sarahstrong7174 Sadly the yumyum got scoffed in one!! 🤣
Well done on this lot! I spoke to the manager of my local Lidils and apparently they are varying the days and times they put out the £1.50 veg boxes due to the behaviour of some customers!
How sad that the behaviour of some individuals spoil it for everyone. I've seen a bit of snatching and grabbing in Tesco at the yellow stickers but not much, fortunately 🙂
They vary in areas
@@dianaprice8070 Yes there doesn't seem to be a standard policy. It looks like it's up to each individual store how it does the boxes
Sometimes I dumpster dive and find perfect food. I check for damage or recalled but the sad thing is I used to work for a dollar type store and they would just toss and destroy things for lack of space. The stores have too much stuff and no shelf space for it.They made us chop it up and toss it out 😢 . That broke my heart. I didn't last 3 months . It felt so wrong.
I love watching dumpster divers videos! Here in the UK they brought in some regulations a few years ago to stop big supermarkets dumping perfectly edible food which is why community food projects sprung up across the country. The supermarkets aren't doing it out of the goodness of their hearts! They just don't want to be fined/taxed!!! But we the customers get the benefit 🙂
Awesome work Ali.
Thanks! 🙂
Hi from hull UK, i subbed
Thanks! 🙂
I can never get bargains like this as I'm not in the shops very often as i live miles from a shop.
I do most of my food shopping online (Tesco) but occasionally venture into town. I just got very lucky this time 🙂
Well done🎉
Thanks! 🙂
Im only about half way through this video so you might say so but bloody hell (excuse my language ) i had no idea about these boxes , im shocked, im going to have to look in to this , had no idea 😱
Maybe a foldable trolley basket with wheels and handle would help with carrying. They are inexpensive at the thrift shops in the US.
I have NEVER managed to get hold of a veg box from Lidl! ☹️!
It really is luck. They seem to change the times they put them out regularly so keep trying. You'll get lucky eventually 🙂
Great 👍
Keep going, Ali. Some great bargains. ilona
Aww, thanks Ilona! I'm honoured you watched it 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless This is the kind of content people are looking for. xxx
@aliliveswellonless.
Hello! New sub here. Just to thank you again in case you missed my earlier comment. I had no idea about those community places - what a brilliant idea! I hate to see waste, one of my ex's was a "freegan" and I could not believe some of the stuff he used to get from Tescos, Coop etc. A lot of the stuff wasn't even out of date - they just needed the room for new stock. I'm going to see if there is a community shop in my area so cheers! 🍺 I thought the least I could do in return, was like and subscribe 😊 As for the negative Nancys....they drive me nuts! Luckily you will find they are in the minority. On the whole, people are friendly and want you to succeed 👍☺️
Aww thanks! So far I've not had too much negative stuff but they don't bother me. I've had lots of positive feedback 🙂
What a brilliant shopping day you have had Ali! I’d be very pleased with those wonderful finds. The food waste scheme you have there is a super idea. What a shame the whole country doesn’t have the same. I’ve yet to see a veg fruit box at my Lidl and frustratingly, the Lidl app doesn’t work on my old phone so can’t benefit from that. Looking forward to seeing what you cook up with everything. A question, what do you do with young Luna when you are shopping? Also, you have a lovely mixer there, do you use it much living alone? Thanks for this great video Ali. 🙂
Luna went to daycare today so I could take the car to the garage and go shopping. I don't go proper shopping in person very often so when I do I try to make it worthwhile!! My mixer is almost 20 years old and still going strong. It gets used every week to do some batch baking. Yesterday I made a banana loaf in it. If I can get reduced cream I make butter in it 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless ah, thank you Ali. I too don’t go in person shopping that often as I don’t like to leave my dogs in the car but also, trying to drive to different shops also take up petrol so mindful of saving a bit on the one hand and spending on petrol instead. Great to have a mixer like that to help with batch cooking. I’m thinking of investing in a freezer as the freezer part of my fridge freezer is so small it makes batch cooking impossible.
@@paulaevans2555 I'm really missing my second freezer. It makes such a difference to batch cooking and saving money. I had a small chest freezer in my garage in my old house but as I don't have a garage in this house I had to leave it behind (at their request) for my buyers. I'm trying to figure out where I could squeeze one in here 🙂
@@aliliveswellonless That’s exactly the same for me too Ali. I had a larder freezer in the garage but no garage here. I used to freeze bread and milk too so that also helped as less trips to the shop. Luckily, I have room here for a freezer, it’s just the initial outlay which I’m pondering! Hope you can find somewhere to fit a small freezer in too.
@@paulaevans2555 Being able to freeze stuff really saves money so it will be worth it if I can find somewhere to fit one in! 🙂
Just the celery or one of the eggplants would be $1.50 here in Maine, USA😮
It really was a bumper box! They're not always this good but you usually get an amount worth a lot more than £1.50 🙂
New subscriber here, I have just stumbled across your channel. I can't believe how much food you have got for so little! I will look into whether we have any community shops locally, thanks for the tip. Just to change the subject for a minute, I love the little house on your worktop, where did you get it from?
❤ Ur channel
Thanks! 🙂
Wowee - very impressive. I do sometimes get a Lidl box and they are well worth it. My problem with trying to reduce my food bill is cutting out sugary treats 🙈. Thanks for taking time out to inspire others 🤎
Do you have a proper large freezer - that can save an awful lot, when the local food project is clearly looking to dispose/bin a lot otherwise. I try not to hoover up & deprive others, & will take the questionable stuff & chop off the bad bits
I've got a fridge freezer and a freezer. I only take stuff that I know I can turn into something. I know not everyone can cook from scratch for whatever reasons. I never take any ready meals as that might be more useful for someone who only has a microwave. And yep I'm happy to chop off the bad bits too!! :-)
Nice 👍
Thanks! 🙂
There is a community food shop in my area in London but you have to pay. I don't know what you would get because I never tried it but I imagine it's a mystery every time.
Wow we spend about equivalent of £150 a week ( live in Tenerife) , 3 people and 2 dogs. We only buy store own brands and don't buy lamb, fish or anything expensive
New subbie…. Single adult here too and so happy that you live in Stirling, I’m looking at moving up in the next 18months from Norfolk
Brilliant! You'll love it here but I'm biased! 🙂
I like apple compote. Do you know it? you peel and cut the apples in wedges and boil them with a bit of sugar and a cinnamon stick. They are ready when tender. You let them cool down and store it in the fridge. You can eat it for dessert or a snack and it is very gentle on the stomach.
I do this. I also crumble a couple of biscuits on top and it's like apple crumble
It wouldn't feed me for a week.
Not on it's own it wouldn't but check my next video on how you could use it with a few other staples for around £5 :-)
I've never seen a fruit and veg box in my nearest Lidl but my mum has managed to get one in hers. What time of day did you go?
It's different every day and seems to be different in each store. Ask the staff in yours :-)
Hi I wish we had a community waist shop in coventry city center UK . That sounds lick such a great thing to do for the community. We house food bank's but you have to do it on line. As I don't do on line I sometimes what till the Sunday ,AND there's one where you line up .and you just take what you going to us each week . I have also had lidl veg box's and made some nice meals out of it .Take care and all the best. 😊😊😊👍👍👍👍💟
Thanks! There might be individual waste food projects in specific areas within the city. That's how the Stirling one started then they combined their resources and got council support for a permanent premises. Keep looking, you might get lucky! 🙂
A yellow sticker fan I see. I've noticed some folks are shy of looking at them, they sort of drift past and give it the side eye and try not to look interested. I just go straight there and examine everything that's reduced, there's nowt wrong with being frugal.
I'm straight in there too!! Lol!
Do you not have your state pension as well?
No not until I'm 67 which is in 9 years
Can you explain why you chose to retire so early?
@@dreamrider2126 There's a whole video on it 🙂
Canny woman 😊
Thank you! 🙂
How long would you be able to manage with this food ?
If I had nothing else I think I could easily live on this for a week. Maybe longer 🙂
Never seen this in Lidl or for that price ??The M&S vouchers come only every few months you would need to spend a lot of money to get £6 a month in vouchers? Here in the UK😮Sorry but out of date food is a No No for Health reasons😮 If it works for you though great🙂
There's a difference between 'use by' dates and 'best before'. Use by should be adhered to unless you want to take a chance but Best Before can safely be ignored. Best before literally means just that, It's still fine to eat, often fine long after the best before date has passed.
especially how food is processed veg don’t last as long now when date is out the vitamins is Lost i noticed this with veg i buy
as lots are already old when put on shelfs
fruit had little taste because it is already not as fresh when arrive
@@Glory3823 Totally agree. I use a lot of frozen veg for exactly that reason. It's picked and frozen at it's peak nutrition 🙂
It's £6 for the quarter so £2 a month 🙂
yeah but if you can afford to shop at m&s i dont think you should take advantage of the community charity shop! however if youre only doing this once in a while to educate others who have less money thats good of you
Lots of us sticker shop at M&S and other quality stores. We can't afford the full prices but if you walk through and spot a bargain why wouldn't you buy it?
I don't shop at M&S!! I use an M&S credit card which rewards me with M&S vouchers. Sometimes you can get great yellow sticker bargains in the 'posher' supermarkets. If you're looking for good food at reduced prices, look absolutely everywhere 🙂
@@aliliveswellonlesscredit card ? crazy surely you mean a award card like Sainsbury necter or Tesco award card ❤
@@Glory3823 No it's a credit card like any normal bank credit card. It just happens to reward you with vouchers every 3 months depending on how much you spend. I buy all my food shopping (in Tesco and Lidl), dog food, petrol, DIY supplies even some bills and pay it off every month. M&S have their Sparks card reward scheme just for spending in M&S. But the credit card is just a credit card and can be used anywhere 🙂
@@aliliveswellonlessThere's another channel like yours, Be free be frugal. Jill lives near Harrogate & she gets some great deals on y e llow sticker items at M &S, Waitrose & Sainsburys. Some are down from several pounds to 10p. Deals like that in Ireland are rare. 😢
There's frugal and there is simply stingy to the point you live in poverty with how much you spend on food a week £1 is outrageous. Even £15 is cheap but £1.70 is silly and not nutritional
I do a follow up video using this produce to create a nutritious week's menu using some other items. Of course it's not possible to live like this. This is a one off week that helps save money for other things like stocking up the store cupboard or freezer for times when you have no money
£1.76 for a weeks shop? I doubt it very much!
Did you actually watch the video??? You'll see how I used various ways to get all the food mentioned and then I did a follow up video on using that food to create a healthy £5 menu for a week.
A car? M and S credit card? You're well off and not a model for people like me who are truly poor.
I'm not trying to be a model for people who are poor and I am absolutely not well off!!! You are misunderstanding the aim of this channel. I have worked for years to get to this point. This video shows how I was able to use the resources I have available to me to get healthy food for low/no cost.
I'm struggling to understand how you have built up £6 worth of M&S vouchers?, if you are short of money why would you shop there in the first place? You have to spend an obscene amount to get a £6 voucher, just strikes me that this is all fake nonsense.
I use my reward CREDIT CARD not a loyalty card. 3 months of buying food, petrol, dog food, paying bills etc on my CREDIT CARD rewarded me with £6 of vouchers. My M&S credit card is a normal Mastercard. Lots of credit cards have incentives, mine just happens to be vouchers. Definitely not fake nonsense, always happy to explain myself 🙂
But a £400 mixer,!
No definitely not a £400 mixer. It's just an old Kenwood. As I've previously said it's almost 20 years old and I got it on sale back then 🙂
There's always one isn't there? I wouldn't even entertain comments like that - especially when you have taken the time and trouble to say what you paid for it/how old it is.....not like you should even have to justify anything to anyone! Try and take no notice of negative comments like that else it will drive you crackers! Good luck and thank you for a very informative video 👍😊