I got to do the bank holiday big shop at Morrisons... and loved it !!

Morrisons new campaign

Under normal circumstances I'm banned from doing the weekly shop as I'm too easily distracted by BOGOFs and 3 for 2s. I go in for a pint of milk and come home with 5 boxes of bear fruit, 4 marked down low fat lasagnes (2 meat and 2 veggie) and a pile of bakery goods that have been reduced. It means we end up over budget and with a fridge, freezer and cupboards crammed full of impulse purchases.

Hubbie is far more disciplined than I am and rarely goes off list so I had intended to take him with me for our Morrisons Bank Holiday shop last week. In the end it was just me and the boy, but I managed to stick to the list - mostly - and we had a great weekday shopping trip in a pretty quiet store. It was with some trepidation I went with the toddler to the new and snazzy Morrisons at Fiveways (Croydon), but I was armed with a list and had been to this store before so I knew the layout well enough to avoid any traps that might lure me into a casual purchase of seasonal food items that we don't need.

The most welcome sign ever :)

It started well with the perfect parking spot in a parent & child space located safely in front of the store with no busy roads to negotiate. I'm stunned how many shops have the family spaces in places that provide hazards that Indiana Jones would struggle to negotiate.

Veg kept fresh by spritzing - fancy that ! 

Once in the store the toddler offered to 'help' by pushing the trolley, as it wasn't too busy I agreed and he loved putting fresh fruit and vegetables into the trolley for me. As ours is an innovation store it has the fabulous cold storage vapour thing that spritzes the vegetables to keep them fresh. My boy calls it 'smoke,' but was delighted when I said he could put his hand into it to feel that it was cold.

I had made a list of the usual items we buy and was stunned to find that Covent Garden soups, Tilda rice and fresh pizzas were half the price we normally pay. The fresh pasta and sauces were such good value I bought a few to freeze and keep - old habits die hard and all that.

Fresh pizzas 

Ready made rice (don't judge me !)

I don't often buy meat, but we had a barbecue planned as it was a long Bank Holiday weekend so I went to see the in-store butcher to ask for some help. I don't eat meat, but Hubbie and the boy do so I wanted to get the right things and the butcher was very helpful. Burgers, chicken and sausages chosen, we went to get the bread rolls. My boy asked the baker where the bagels were and he kindly pointed out the pick and mix section where we chose a range of rolls and bagels. I love a choice so this was great. Of course I had to buy all the ones my son had pawed at !!

Butchers and a deli !

Lots of rolls to choose from

Lovely Teresa helped us 

A quick check of the list revealed I'd managed to completely forget the french mustard that Hubbie had asked for so we went to get some help. The lovely Teresa walked us to the correct aisle and even agreed to a photo for this post.

Every member of staff we met was really helpful and kind to us. When my son set off an alarmed gate at the checkout and I was having a meltdown the incredibly patient lady serving us complimented me on my 'bouncy, pretty hair' and diffused the tension of the situation.

I love her. 

We don't usually shop at Morrisons - well as I said I'm not allowed to do the weekly shop - so this was a rare treat for me. My boy had plenty of room to roam and he even got to have a ride with Peppa and George Pig at the end. He was pretty helpful but I didn't get him any clothes despite his best efforts to convince me he had to have yet more Spiderman shoes. I loaded four massive bags for life filled with food into the car boot and we made our way home.

My boy choosing some clothes

Driving Peppa & George Pig 

Of course the purpose of our trying Morrisons was to see what savings we could make with their new low pricing so here are some simple sums I've done to work out what we spent on meals over the weekend:

Our pizza tea on Saturday night

Saturday Dinner:
Pizza and garlic bread      
£1.75 per serving

Sunday Lunch:
Barbecue                              
Meat £1.95p  & Veggie £2.30 per serving

Monday Lunch: 
Soup and rolls                    
60p per serving



It is safe to say we spent a lot less than if we'd gone out to eat and substantially less than our usual shop. Not only that, but we tried some new things that we don't usually eat - like grilling cheese on the barbecue as well as the usual burgers, sausages, corn cobs and asparagus. My boy has widened his repertoire of shopping skills and proven he can help and not demand a toy car in return. I've shown I can keep to a list (sort of), but sanity has now returned to the household and Hubbie will be doing the weekly shop again this week.

Long may it last :)

Disclosure: The lovely people at Morrisons sent us some vouchers - via Britmums - to shop and blog honestly about the experience. 

Today I'm giving thanks… for Christmas :o)

I went along to the Britmums Xmas do on Monday which I was very excited about as I don't have a work do any more what with not having a job right now. It was a great chance to catch up with some bloggers I know and to meet a lot of others who I don't know. The room was absolutely crammed with goodies and I have to admit that I did wonder how I'd find any room for fruit cake and mince pies so early on a Monday, but I did manage a mini mince pie and a chilled glass of very nice white wine too.

Morrisons provided the food and drinks and Neil Nugent who is one of the chefs there talked us through some of the most common errors that people make when preparing Christmas food. I took away these top tips:

• Never use foil on the turkey - it steams it and causes overcooking and dryness.
• Pick up the turkey by it's legs and shake them to relax it. I say this as a vegetarian - honestly, I'm not making it up - it means the heat will distribute more evenly round the bird.
• When making roast potatoes use Maris Pipers and don't boil the spuds, just simmer them so that you don't have mushy roasties.
• You can prepare all the veg before the big day and keep it in the fridge or freezer (according to Neil the freezer is a chef's best friend !)

The festive feel of the morning was helped by some little ones who were running around entertaining us. My favourite was a toddler wearing a santa hat who kept stealing the limelight from Jen and Neil when they were speaking. I hadn't been feeling too Christmassy before this event, but I've since booked my boy in to have breakfast with Father Christmas, he's going to a meet Santa event and we're going to see Reindeer and hopefully go on a husky sled ride too. The tree will be going up on Sunday and I've got far too many advent calendars !

I came away from the do with a stash of goodies including a chocolate Rudolph cake complete with chocolate antlers. My son loved the decorate your own gingerbread trees and the mini sponge cakes in Santa, reindeer and snowman shapes are a lovely alternative to fruit cake.

I was really surprised and inspired by the range on offer and will definitely be checking out the Christmas goodies in our local Morrisons.

Thanks Britmums for such a fab event :o)