Lidl Full Shop - The Haugh Family - Week 4

I had quite an eventful Lidl shopping trip this week, in that I had to make two trips! I am usually a 'one big weekly shop' kind of mum but this week we had to make a mad premature dash to the cashier half-way through as my daughter desperately needed the bathroom all of a sudden! Although this sudden urge didn't come upon her until we had visited the ice-cream freezer section...I wonder!

 

The Lidl Neopolitan ice-cream sandwiches had to be my favourite purchase this week €2.35 for 10 large individually wrapped packets. Just 23 cent each, I mean seriously, where else would you see this incredible value?

 

 

I did stock up on lots of fruit before we hit the ice-cream section you'll be glad to hear. The punnet of red grapes was especially a good price at €2.19 versus the €2.99 I'd normally pay. I was delighted to buy a net of three really large lemons for just 99 cent, they hadn't been in stock the week before so I decided to buy a second net just in case.

 

I had to pick up some branded items this week as they are firm household favourites and change is a gradual thing you know?! I was really pleased that I didn't have to go to a second supermarket and I could buy my Yoplait Frubes, Nature Valley Crunchy breakfast bars and Dairygold butter in Lidl.

 

 

We are heading away on holidays soon and after the recent sunny spell, I had heard that the Cien sun lotion was very easily absorbed into the skin and provided excellent protection from the sun. So I bought a few bottles of SPF 30 for the kids and I was pleasantly surprised to see they were only €3.99 each. I will definitely be re-stocking in Lidl over the summer months at that price.

 

 

In fact the whole personal toiletries section was excellent value, saving me at least €5 by replacing branded goods with Lidl's own brands. The only thing I was disappointed not to find was my favourite Colgate Pro Relief toothpaste. I got three lip balms for €1.59, less than the price of one of these in my normal supermarket. I also bought a packet of dental flossing sticks (6) for €1.99 which I normally buy for twice that in the pharmacy. I picked up some moist toilet tissue (makes hygiene so much cleaner for the kids) for just €1.69 and it is normally €3 in other supermarkets. Again another huge saving was on the mouthwash for just 79 cent, less than a quarter of what I would normally pay.

 

 

I had a cheat night this week for dinner with the Irish football match on and bought the award-winning chilled lasagne (€3.89), two garlic bread french sticks (€0.75), low fat potato salad (€1.19), plum cherry tomatoes (€1.49) and Meadow Fresh baby leaf salad (€1.99) which fed my family of 4 for under €10.

 

I then went all out Italian and bought three different special fresh egg pasta tortellini packs that were filled with pumpkin, ricotta and pesto, and prosciutto ham. I love buying fresh pasta as it cooks so quickly in just 4 minutes, which is essential for a working mum who comes home to a starving family.

 

 

The cheese section was also very tempting but I settled on a grated mild white cheddar as the kids aren't mad on Parmesan cheese for some reason. I could have camped out in the cheese section though, so much to choose from and ever so tempting.

 

I bought some salmon fillets and a tray of Connell Farm Free Range 12 large eggs to make the kids favourite tea of scrambled egg with a poached salmon threaded through.

 

 

I also invested in a jar of mild curry sauce so that my other half could re-heat one of my batch cooking containers of chicken and sauce for himself and the kids when I was out to dinner with my friends. I sneak a tin of chickpeas into the pot when I'm cooking for extra protein, dietary fibre, iron, zinc and B vitamins. I tell the children that they are tiny baby potatoes as if they heard the "pea" word they might turn up their noses to this superfood!

 

 

I do the same with my breakfast muffins that I make with a large bag of Oatilicious oats (1,5kg for just €1.39) together with some raisins and hidden nutrients in the ground linseed and chia. These are great lunchbox and picnic basket fillers. 

Another very successful week's shopping that came in at €103. It would be hard to stay away from the significant value that Lidl has to offer - if I could just get my Colgate toothpaste and fresh deli-style guacamole in-store, then I wouldn't ever have to go anywhere else for top-up shopping!