Days 24-43

Truth be told, I lost count awhile ago. I apologise for my extended absence, work, life etc.

To make up for the Tesco visits documented previously, I went to the Unicorn grocery co-op in Chorlton, south Manchester on Sunday March 9. Chorlton seems like a nice little town, it has a good vibe, a variety of interesting independent shops and restaurants, and the Unicorn is closest thing Whole Foods I've seen in the UK that isn't an actual massive corporation.

It's bigger than the Windmill co-op and has quite a variety of items. It is vegan, so that's why I couldn't find any cow's milk, plenty of soy and rice options though. Unfortunately the veg choice wasn't huge, I know it's the end of season in the UK, so some items will be missing, but the carrots and parsnips were about as thick as my finger :/ . The butternut squash and swede I got were fine though. They're big on yeast/wheat/gluten-free type breads. I went for an organic herb loaf, which did seem to have yeast and wheat in it, hurrah, and it was quite herby. It lasted pretty well most of the week though.

Other than that, I've mostly been going to the Bread Shop in Aigburth for everyday items like cranberry juice and sandwich rolls. Husband's patience is starting to fray a bit, he's very much ready to go back to Tesco. I think he's concerned we've spent a lot more than usual on food over the past month. I haven't been keeping close tabs on this, I would say yes, it's probably more than what we would spend at Tesco, but I wouldn't say it's dramatically more. I might see if we can compromise a bit, sticking with the greengrocer and butcher as often as possible and maybe doing Ocado/Waitrose orders once a month so we're not going to Tesco as often. I wish there was a Waitrose closer by, I'd just do my shopping there, but the nearest one's in Formby, which is a bit of a trek.

Still, I think we've done quite well overall, I'll come back with further thoughts over the weekend.

Days 24 - 29

We had a bit of a breakdown over the weekend. A couple of husband's friends had come to stay for a few days, and though they were out most of the time, I hadn't planned on having extra stuff around for breakfast. Also I worked six days last week, so I was just concerned with getting stuff the two of us needed when I could. So Saturday morning, husband goes out in search of bacon sandwiches, or similar, for breakfast. None of the places to eat nearby are open at this hour (around 8.30). So to Tesco he went and came home with croissants.

Then on my way home from work I found out he had come down with some sort of stomach bug, and needed medication. It's about 6.30, and the nearest chemist (Boots) was already closed and I imagined that most of the other ones in the area would be as well. So back to Tesco, and got some bacon (the poshest I could find ;) for Sunday morning.

Sunday morning arrives, he needs more meds. I also discover we're nearly out of tea. Visit number 3 achieves both of these. W only buy fairtrade tea though, so at least we were able to get that.

Thankfully, he's starting to feel better, he was in a pretty bad way until Monday evening. I've been trying to get back on track; milk from a corner shop on Monday, sliced bread from Matta's yesterday. He bought a few things from the Co-op yesterday on his way home from work. I haven't seen one near us in Liverpool, which is too bad as I'd prefer to shop there if I could. Searching online, there are a couple in Wavertree and one in Childwall, which are only a couple miles away, so I will keep that in mind for the future.

Off to the butchers in a bit, we're in need of sausages and bacon again.