Is it really possible for a family of four to get a full week’s worth of groceries and save big at the same time?
Well, according to Iceland, you might be able to save big on your weekly grocery shopping as the supermarket giant offers customers the opportunity to save big on their weekly purchase.
The frozen food supermarket has been offering shoppers a variety of discounts and savings in store and online, with up to 50 percent off big name brands.
This means shoppers can save more money with your essential store.
With the cost of living and prices rising across the country, it’s probably more important than ever to stick to a budget and save wherever possible.
That’s why we decided to test the promise of Iceland and find out for ourselves if shoppers really can get an entire grocery store for much less.
We tasked our reporter Rachel Williams with heading to her local Iceland and picking up a full week’s worth of food, including entrees, side dishes and desserts, which would cover a family of four for five days.
What do we buy?
(Image: Rachel Williams)
On my way to my local Iceland, I walked in with the intention of buying items to make a different dinner for all five days.
She also knew that she wanted to choose some items, particularly sides and desserts, that could be used more than once during the week, as she knew this would keep costs down.
This is what I managed to get…
- 2kg of potatoes – £1.75
- Garlic & Herb Kieves (pack of four) – £2.50
- Anglo Bubbly Popsicles – £1.00
- Flumps Ice Pops – £2.00
- Barratt’s Strawberry Milkshake Popsicles – £2.00
- Barratt’s Milk Bottle Lollipops – £1.00
- Bird’s eye chicken nuggets – €1.50
- Brioche Rolls (pack of four) – £1.00
- Pork loin steaks (four packs) – £3.25
- Quarter Pounder Burgers (pack of four) – £3.25
- Gammon Fillets (pack of four) – £3.25
- Frozen Mini Corn Cobs – £1.00
- Frozen mixed vegetables – €1.00
- McCain Spiced Wedges – £0.89
- Cheese slices – £1.00
- Colman’s Cheese Sauce Mix – £0.75
Total before discounts = £27.14
Added offers
3 for £8.00 on meat and poultry
Grand Total = £25.39
Full list of dinners we could do
(Image: Rachel Williams)
As you can see from above, the total price for everything I managed to get was just over £25, which isn’t bad considering I wanted to make sure there was a good selection on the weekly menu.
The above menu also includes complementary items that other households may already have in their cupboards, including fries and cheese slices for burgers.
To stay on budget, a selection of popsicles were picked up as they are family friendly and they had quite a few in the packs, thus enough to cover an entire family for the week.
And, if you have kids, you know they’re going to want more than one, so you can at least have some leftovers for them if they’re good.
To show that you can make five different meals with the purchased items, I have shown the different meals that can be made over the five days.
Monday
Main: chicken nuggets
Side dishes: spiced wedges and mixed greens
Dessert: Barratt Lollipops
Tuesday
Main: Gammon steak
Side dishes: boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables
Dessert: Barratt Lollipops
(Image: Rachel Williams)
Wednesday
Main: Burgers and brioche buns
Side dishes: spiced wedges and mini corn on the cob
Dessert: Barratt’s Ice Lolly Selection
Thursday
Main: Garlic and Herb Kieves
Side dishes: spiced wedges and mixed greens
Dessert: Barratt’s Ice Lolly Selection
Friday
Main: pork loin steaks
Side dishes: Potatoes and mini corn on the cob
Dessert: Selection of Barratt ice lollies.
(Image: Rachel Williams)
how we did it
When it comes to doing your grocery shopping for less, Iceland is well known for offering lower prices that are good for families.
Despite already offering low prices, I was quite surprised that I mostly managed to stick to the £25 budget while getting a full week’s worth of food that would cover four people.
So it’s possible to keep costs down while still getting enough food to cover a family of four.
If you want to know how I managed it, here are my best tips…
(Image: Rachel Williams)
Download the Iceland Bonus Card App
Before my trip to Iceland, I made sure to download and sign up for the Iceland Bonus Card app, which offers discounts and deals in store and online.
Customers registered to this app will be able to gain access to even lower prices in store and can find deals on a range of different items, including three Barratt ice lollies for just £5.
Look for multi-buy deals on top items
One thing I always do with my grocery store is look for multi-buy deals, particularly on entrees, as that will keep costs down and also mark some items off the list.
While in Iceland I managed to get the 3 for 8 on fresh meats and poultry where I got pork loin steaks, ham steaks and burgers for less than £10.
This ticked three mains off the list and then all I had to do was find just two more mains.
It’s worth noting that some stores will offer more than one multi-buy deal, but this was the only deal available in my local Iceland.
(Image: Rachel Williams)
Look for price reductions and lower prices.
Yes, prices in Iceland are already low, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find even lower prices on certain items if you look around.
For example, I managed to get half the price of Birds Eye Chicken Nuggets at £1.50 (was £3.00) and McCain’s Spiced Wedges for just 89p (was £1.79).
Sometimes big name brands can be discounted, compared to similar non-brand items, like I saw Icelandic frozen chips for £1.00 and Icelandic chicken nuggets for about the same price, but less than the Bird’s Eye box .
(Image: Rachel Williams)
Get items you can use throughout the week
This is probably something many of you already know, but choosing items like chips, potatoes, and vegetables that you can use again throughout the week is good advice.
For this store I was able to purchase frozen vegetables, potatoes and spiced wedges that could be used with different entrees throughout the week.
And you never have to be repetitive, especially with potatoes, as you can make boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, and home fries – the possibilities are endless.
Opt for multiple packages
Aside from looking for multi-buy deals, I’d say looking into multi-packs of frozen items is another good way to ensure you have more in your freezers for less.
The nice thing about frozen foods is that they come in quite a lot, so I chose a four-pack of kievs and a large pack of chicken nuggets, as this ensured there was enough for the whole family.
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