The Final Day - "A BT or BS Sandwich?"

They say you can’t put a price on an experience, but in this case, we’d have to disagree. This “experience” cost Keli a total of £8.64 for her weekly food shop, and me, a total of £9.97!

Keli:

“Hallelujah it’s the final day!” This was my first thought this morning before I realised to my distress, that I had run out of my morning treat - the yummy yogs! Lunch was celebratory, I ditched those vile Bullet Bagels and had a TV wrap with some tinned chopped tomatoes and cheese. This forms a pretty tasty pizza normally and actually to be honest even with the mild “buttery” tasting cheese it wasn’t that bad. After realising that everything flavoured tasted like “ready salted” I decided to actually try out the ready salted crisps. No they weren’t anything like Tyrrells or my fav Kettle crisps but they weren’t inedible. This pretty much sums up my TV experience this week. Most of the food hasn’t been particularly fantastic but then again, you get what you pay for, and we've not paid a lot! There are certain products I would definitely avoid (i.e the Noodles, Bullet Bagels, Loo Roll, Jelly), others I’d certainly buy again, and often (Squash, Pasta, Onions, Potatoes), and one thing that I loved (Fromage Frais). Feeling positive, I cracked open the TV Vodka and made myself a Value tipple. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty revolting, but to be honest, if I had used normal Pepsi or Coca-Cola instead of the flavourless TV Diet Coke it wouldn’t have been half bad. We are students after all and TV Vodka should be a recognisable bottle in our household – and from now on it just might be! I’ll give this week 5/5 for the experience (it has been pretty amusing and we have had A LOT of laughs), and 2/5 for the food (well I have to be honest, most of what I tried was rank and didn’t exactly get rave reviews!)

Val:

I can’t believe it - we’re finally here! Yes, I know it’s only been 5 days, but 5 days might as well be 5 years in food time! I’m definitely feeling much better this evening though - I don’t know whether it’s because my body knows it’s getting its food back in about 10 hours, or the 6 tablets of Paracetemol I downed yesterday, but whatever it is, I’m not complaining! So, break down of the day’s menu: I started with TV Wheat Biscuits for breakfast, I avoided them yesterday, but was in a rush this morning, so they were the easiest option. For lunch, I decided to be a bit more adventurous and have a BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich. Of course, TV doesn’t offer lettuce, so it was more of a BT sandwich. The TV Bacon didn’t look particularly appetizing in its greasy plastic packaging, but once I got it frying, and saw the lean rashers shrivel into crispy bacon goodness, the packaging seemed like a distant memory! Dinner consisted of Cheesy Pasta. It’s pretty much as simple as it sounds – I cooked the pasta and melted grated TV Cheddar Cheese on top! I figured it was best to end the week on a high and go for a safe option. All in all, this week has proven to be a very fun and educational, though definitely “once in a life time” experience (because let’s face it, I’m not going to be doing this again!). Keli and I actually surprised ourselves and found some really good buys that we’ll definitely be getting again in the future, and of course some…well…slightly less “good” buys. The experience gets a 5/5 for me, and considering my food averaged out at less than £2 a day, I’ll give the food a solid 3/5! I think I’m going to take the £38 I saved on food shopping this week, and treat Keli and I to the biggest  and most fancy buffet in London we can find!

Bacon - Try

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, the TV Vodka cost a total of £8.29 (yes, that’s right, it cost 35p less than what Keli spent on food for a week!) 

Day 4 - "Bullet Bagels"

After the positive TV dinner experience last night Val and I woke up feeling happy and ready to try more of what Tesco’s Value range has to offer. Not phased by their utterly awful Toilet Roll we decided to try out TV Conditioner instead of our usual beautifully packaged gorgeous smelling Herbal Essences and L’Oreal. Read on to see what we thought of that “experience” (only way to describe it!) as well as seeing what we thought of our food.

Keli:

Definitely feeling more satisfied by my food last night I woke up without the “Oh great more TV food” feeling that I’ve been blessed with for the past 3 days! Breakfast consisted of those little Yoghurts I can’t stop raving about alongside the Toast. Yes, the Toast was bad as I remembered, although luckily for me it didn’t crumble – I think it’s because it’s going slightly stale – yum! Next, was lunch; after enjoying the TV Potatoes I thought I’d have a basic Potato salad made with the un-ripe Tomatoes from yesterday, sounds appetising I know!  To accompany this, I thought I’d have a Bagel, seeing as I have so many left over. Now I’m currently in the process of asking Tesco to change the name of this product to “Bullet Bagels”, as I feel this is a name that is far more suitable. Meanwhile, I am also going to speak with the government about classifying these as a weapon. Why you ask? – Well if you haven’t guessed by the name - I’m pretty sure that if you threw one of these at another person it would do the same damage to their skin as pelting them with bullets; they’re that hard and tough! This lunch wasn’t good by any standards but it didn’t produce any compulsions and all those carbs filled me up for a few hours. For dinner I decided to have a go at making a TV Stir Fry. Now I’m a veggie so this was pretty easy. I used the 10p Curry Flavoured Noddles (like Val I needed two packets) and I bought a massive bag of TV Frozen Stir Fry Veg Mix. Shockingly the noodles were more repulsive than I ever imagined – even after watching Val’s face last night as she ate hers. The veggies tasted alright although they looked ridiculous. After I defrosted them and fried them, they shrivelled up so much they became unrecognisable! The claim on the front of the packet that the beggies are a “colourful mix” is a massive lie - they all ended up an off-grey colour with a tinge of grimey green, which was pleasant! To make matters even worse, I couldn’t find TV Soy Sauce so was forced to use the “curry flavour” sachets that came with the noodles as a dressing. Two words; Never Again! Now, I came over all house-wifey the night before and whipped up some Strawberry Jelly (setting in image below)for Val and I to “enjoy” tonight. At first, I couldn’t believe the jelly’s 6p price tag – what a bargain I thought - but my excitement was short-lived. Basically, if you think of what 6p gives you in terms of typical jelly ingredients (i.e. sugar, colourings, flavourings, and pig’s stomach), you’ll be able to imagine what this actually tasted like. The only thing that I get to look forward to tomorrow is the TV Vodka Val and I brought for our celebratory last supper tomorrow night! Today comes in at a miserable 1/5 – only saved by those yummy Yogs!

Val:

So I woke up this morning with a blocked nose and a sore throat – someone sneezed on me on the tube yesterday (delightful I know!), and considering how useless my immune system is as a result of my new diet, I'm not surprised that it was enough to make me sick. I mean, I’m practically depriving myself of food - my all time favourite thing in the world - so I’m already in a sour mood, but then to top it off, someone just comes and sneezes on me! Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let my feverishness phase me, so headed down to the kitchen this morning for breakfast, which today was French Toast. I figured that if the TV Bread was just going to dissolve in my fingers like yesterday, then I might as well try frying it with some eggs to see if it made a difference. Now, I know we said we weren't going to try TV's Caged Eggs, as we're firm believers in “free range” products, but I figured that it’s one time (and honestly, I couldn’t stand eating bland Wheat Biscuits for breakfast again!) It was probably the most satisfying breakfast I’ve had yet - I couldn’t “taste the difference” between what I made this morning and the French Toast I normally make with other eggs. Lunch however, was a completely different story! I decided to have the Value’s 74p Ready-Made Lasagne Meal which turned out to be a real treat! Amazingly, despite the fact that the pathetic portion of 300g has more than a 1/3 of the amount of salt a person should have in their entire day, the Lasagne tasted like nothing! Amazingly, TV has managed to make EVERY flavour of their crisps (and even their  “Curry Flavour” noodles!) taste like “Ready Salted”, yet they can’t make a Lasgane taste salty! So, I finished my dissatisfying lunch and headed to uni feeling dehydrated (thanks to all the additonal Sodium Chloride in my system), and dreading dinner. For dinner, I decided to go for a safe option of TV Frying Chips and Yorkshire Puddings with gravy using TV’s Gravy Granules! An odd combo I know, but I needed to use the Yorshire Puds and the chips came in a bag of over 2kg, so I figured I better start on them! All in all, it turned out to be quite a scrumpcious dinner, which was made even better when I got to see Keli’s facial expression when she tried her first mouthful of noodles! Although breakfast and dinner were good, lunch was hideous, and as I’m sick and feeling sorry for myself, I give today a 3/5.

But we’re not done quite yet; as Keli mentioned, we tried TV’s Conditioner today, and I think this has to be my favourite find so far. Not because it was a good conditioner by any means, but because the bottle literally says: “No fancy formula, still detangles your hair”. Need I say more?

TV Stir-Fry Veg Mix - Avoid
TV Potatoes - Buy
TV Gravy Granules - Try
TV Yorkshire Puddings - Buy
TV Frying Chips - Buy
TV Strawberry Jelly - Avoid
TV Ready-Made Lasagna Meal - Avoid
TV Caged Eggs - Try
TV Conditioner - Avoid!

Day 3 – “It’s like I’m eating hair!”

Today was day 3 of our TV experiment, and Keli and I thought, to mix things up a bit, we’d try a few new products from the gourmet Tesco Value range. So, we started the morning by swapping what we’d had for breakfast (i.e. Keli had what I’ve eaten for the past two days, and I had what she’s eaten – I know, we’re wild!) and we tried out a few new bits and pieces – along with TV loo roll……

Keli;

It’s mid week and I could not be more unenthusiastic about food if I tried, which is incredibly strange for me, as normally it’s on my mind 24/7! For breakfast I had Val’s Wheat Biscuits, they tasted how they looked: dry, plain, and grey- but actually not all that dissimilar I thought, from the normal brand (I’m not a cereal fan). I definitely missed my yogurts and will sure be reverting back to my TV fav find tomorrow. I really fancied a health kick today food-wise, I think the epic failure of the Crisps and “Chocolate Chip” Cookies yesterday made me realise the need for fresh produce. So for lunch I opted for a TV Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. Now normally I consider this meal a treat - I choose the nicest looking Moz I can find and always get some really juicy ripe Tomatoes. Sadly, when you’re using TV products the only option is to use “ripen at home” veggies and the most basic looking cheese. Although I bought the toms at the weekend they were nowhere near ripe enough today, which to be honest only added to the watery bland taste of the Value Mozzarella. In all honesty, if I had left the Tomatoes another week it might have tasted better, but there is no excuse for that cheese. Italians would literally spit on us if they ever came anywhere near it! It lacked everything fantastic about moz; firm yet tender texture, glossy appearance and most important the flavour of cheese! Dinner, however, was much better. Val and I shared our TV version of Spaghetti Napolitana, you can read our description below. All I will say is it’s the first time I have felt really full without having that lurking vomitus feeling in my gut – all around a nice experience! We also tried out TV Flapjacks for our evening desert/watching a movie snack. Nothing in comparison to home-made, but not inedible…Overall I’d give today a 4/5, perhaps I’m just turning nice/slightly delusional resulting from my body’s lack of nutrients!

Val;

My morning started with the very exciting Buttered Toast and Yoghurt. The bread was a real treat - I particularly enjoyed when the top half of the slice just crumbled in my fingers as I pulled it out of the toaster. The Yoghurt however, was really quite yummy; it pretty much tasted like the other yoghurts I normally buy. It then got to lunchtime (or as I now like to call it - my least favourite meal of the day!) and Tesco Value Curry Flavoured Instant Noodles were on the menu for me. However, one packet was hardly going to be enough to fill me, so I loosened the purse strings and dished out the extra 10p for a second pack! Nevertheless, after having tried my first mouthful of the “noodles”, I felt like I’d been conned out of that 10p! Now, I don’t know how to adequately describe this, but it literally tasted like when you get a strand of hair caught in your food…except it was a whole bowl of hair! The “curry flavour” was another replica of their crisps where every flavour just ends up tasting like “ready salted”! For dinner, we decided (after the disaster that was Monday’s pasta sauce) to make our own fresh Pasta Sauce, Napolitana style, using TV ingredients. Considering that the sauce was pretty much made up of: TV tinned tomatoes, salt, pepper, onions, garlic, and water, it tasted really good! We combined our successful sauce with TV Spaghetti, cooked with 1p Stock Cubes – yes you read correct 1p per cube – and they tasted as good as high range equivalents. Throughout the day we both drank TV Double Strength Apple and Blackcurrant Squash, and just like the Lemon flavour, this was perfectly nice and definitely worth buying to save money. Overall I give today a 3/5.

** Also we have had some comments about trying out other TV products, not just their food. So to make sure we please all of you – and to get a good idea of the TV range – we decided to purchase some TV Toliet Roll. At around 50p for 12 rolls we thought what could really go wrong……. We clearly overestimated TV’s products after a few (that meaning 2 or 3) successful TV finds. We worked out that although this loo roll is so cheap, it might not be that economical. The rolls are much much smaller and the paper is so thin that you find yourself using 3 or 4 times as much. Thus, in a large household, you would go through rolls and rolls in a day.

Spaghetti – Buy

Flapjacks – Try

Apple & Blackcurrant Squash – Buy

Curry Flavoured Instant Noodles – Avoid (Unless of course you’ve run out of dental floss!)

Tinned Tomatoes – Buy

Fresh Tomatoes – Try

Mozzerella – Avoid

Garlic – Buy

Onions – Buy

Day 2 – “What?! There’s only one chip in my chocolate chip cookies!”

We are now deep into our TV experiment. Here are our food diaries from that all important second day of eating ONLY Tesco Value products. We are aware that today is Pancake Day but we have decided to celebrate next Tuesday as we really did not want to use TV Caged Eggs (they alarming don’t offer a Free Range option. Naughty Tesco!)

Keli

I decided to spice up my breakfast and try out the TV Fromage Frais. The Brown Toast was the same, and actually seemed to be thinner and paperyer than yesterday (even though it claims to be medium sliced!) However I am happy to report a major success with the yoghurts. These taste the same as the leading brand and according to the label are free from artificial ingredients and favours ect ect. Finally a TV product that I can really enjoy! Lunch was again a Bagel but I decided to try the Cheese and Onion Crisps – I was feeling adventurous after the resounding success of the yogs. Unfortunately my positivity was dashed after trying these. Firstly the bag was so small it does not count as a food. Secondly I could not tell what “flavour” they were, could have been pickled egg to me. Which brings me onto the final point – the smell, this caused the person sat next to me to say out loud; “eww what is that smell”. Enough said.  After last night’s epic failure of a dinner I decided to ditch the jarred sauces and make something from scratch using some TV veggies. I went for classic British Mash with a homemade Onion and Mushroom Gravy. This was actually really good and tasted exactly as it would if I had used my regular products. For snacks throughout the day I was not feeling particularly healthy so I opted for TV Chocolate Chip Cookies. The actual biscuit bit was nice, tasted just like the top brand equivalent yet there was a major flaw with these chocolate chip biscuits; a distinct lack of chocolate chips.  On average I found 2 per biscuit, and you of course needed a microscope to see these and the taste buds of a Catfish (FYI they have taste buds covering their entire bodies!) to even notice them. Overall an improvement with breakfast and dinner, but the score has been brought down a lot by those “Cheese and Onion”  Crisps and “Chocolate Chip” cookies, so I give today 3/5.

Val

After yesterday, I have to be completely honest, I wasn't feeling as excited about my meals as I normally do! Nevertheless, today's food actually proved to be quite successful (or perhaps it's because my expectations weren't as high!) I started with my Wheat Biscuits for breakfast which were, as described yesterday, alright. For lunch, I had a very nice P&J sandwich - the Peanut Butter and Jam is really quite good (then again, how can you really muck up peanut butter?!) I accompanied my sandwich with the Tesco Value Double Strength Lemon Squash which was actually quite tasty. It was very sweet - and the bottle looks more like something that contains liquid to clean your toilet with than something to drink -  but I'd definitely buy it again! Considering how delicious the "Salt & Vinegar crisps" were yesterday, I chose not to have a snack today, and figured the smaller lunch would build up my appetite and maybe make dinner taste better!

Now I don't know if it was my semi-starvation at lunch, or that my menu choice for dinner tonight was just better, but whatever it was, my dinner was GOOD! I had two large Jacket Potatoes with Baked Beans on top! The potatoes were really delicious - they cooked in the right amount of time, and tasted like all other potatoes I've had before. However, the winner for today has to be the baked beans. I literally couldn't "taste the difference" between the usual choice of Heinz and the TV version. So maybe it doesn't "always have to be Heinz"! All in all, I'd give today an impressive 4/5!

Our Ratings

Fromage Fraise- Buy

Potatoes – Buy

Baked Beans - Buy

Double Strength Lemon Squash – Buy

Mushrooms – Buy

Onions - Buy

Chocolate Chip Cookies – Try, if you don’t really like chocolate in your choc chip cookies!

Cheese and Onion Crisps – Avoid

Day 1 - "This pasta sauce tastes like sugared water!"

As many of our readers will know,  we are one day into our TV (Tesco Value) experiment. This means everything we eat has to be a Tesco Value product. We will be detailing out how the experiment is going each night. As we eat different bits and pieces we will do our own food diaries – although some nights (to be even more economical) we will club together and eat the same TV dinner.

Keli

So today I ate for my breakfast a classic – Toast and Jam. The Tesco Value Wholewheat Brown Bread was actually alright. The Strawberry Jam was sugary and synthetic tasting but I kind of liked it! All around generally fine, we will see how sick I get of this in a few days time. Lunch was a buttered bagel. Pretty basic and boring but this was my choice as I was in such a rush to prepare my lunch – tomorrow I am going to try their crisps (although I’ve been warned they taste like sawdust). I had dinner with Val, we shared massive plates (as you can see in the picture) of Cheesy Tomato Pasta using penne, pasta sauce and cheddar cheese. We drank apple juice and had some green olives on the side. Now the Penne was fine, as was the apple juice- neither of us could tell much difference (if any at all). The Tomato Pasta Sauce however was probably one of the most unpleasant things I have eaten, ever! It tasted like sugared water! Not tomatoes. Not herbs. Not even a sauce of any kind. But like syrup- and really bad tasting syrup. The cheese too was not much of a hit - it tasted like grated, unsalted butter! I then had a Chocolate Mouse for a snack afterwards. Now if anybody has ever eaten cocoa powder neat you have pretty much tasted a TV Choc Mouse, as this is basically what I thought it tasted like. So far I rate the day’s food overall 2/5 – on the plus, I did my food shopping for at least 4 days for £5!

Val –

Right, so I started the day with three Wheat Biscuits which is basically Tesco’s really bland way of describing Wheatabix. They were actually alright - not as good as Wheatabix, as they don’t really have a very distinct flavour, but more, a distinct texture. For lunch, I had an extremely satisfying P&J sandwich! The Strawberry Jam was surprisingly good, and though the Peanut Butter could have been better, it was much better than I was expecting. The White Bread that I had it with however, was not very nice. It kind of crumbled and then dissolved in my mouth, rather than…well…breaking down in the way other bread does. I accompanied my already very healthy lunch, with a mid-afternoon snack of a packet of TV’s Salt & Vinegar Crisps. They were crap! They were, without a doubt, the WORST crisps I have ever had in my life! They didn’t taste like anything, they can barely be called crisps! Keli described tonight’s dinner that was…an interesting experience. All in all, I think today gets a 2/5, as breakfast was alright, lunch was good, snack was crap, and dinner was, well, like I said, interesting…

Our Ratings

Penne Pasta – Buy

Tomato Pasta Sauce – Avoid (like the plague!)

Green olives - Try

Mild Cheddar – Avoid

Chocolate Mouse – Avoid

Apple Juice – Buy

Brown Bread – Try

Strawberry Jam – Try

Bagels – Try

White bread – Avoid

Peanut butter – Try

Salt and Vinegar Crisps – Avoid!

Tesco Value – Try, buy, or avoid?

As students in the second most expensive city in the World, being broke is a concept we’re all too familiar with. Whether it’s falling victim to London’s high street, or “treating” ourselves to one-too-many meals out, somehow viewing our bank balance is never something we really look forward to!

For Keli and I, this is largely to do with our food shopping. Though we may be willing to compromise on such aspects as: fashion, entertainment and nightlife until we can afford the more luxurious alternatives, food has always been an area where we have been incredulously unyielding.

Nevertheless, over the weekend when Keli and I went for our usual weekly food-shop, a packet of “Tesco Value curry-flavoured noodles” caught our eyes. It was hardly the food’s plain and colourless packaging that grabbed our attention, nor its bottom-shelved placement (that forces buyers to bend down awkwardly to reach it!), but rather its 10p price tag. Now Keli and I have of course seen Tesco Value products numerous times before, but this was the first time that it really made us stop and wonder how much money we could save if we were to purchase Tesco Value products rather than the usual branded items we go for.

In the past, we have avoided Tesco Value products believing that there must be a reason why the prices are so low, although neither of us have tried out a fair amount of Tesco Value products to make such a conclusion. It is for this reason that next week (starting March 7^th); Keli and I are going to embark on a little experiment, and “TV” (Tesco-Value) our food shopping. We’re going to provide detailed shopping lists and menus for the week’s breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and the prices for each item we buy. By the end of the week, we’ll see how much money we save, and if indeed it’s money worth saving! Until then, bon appetit!

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland*!

As that magical time of the year draws nearer (yes, Christmas is only 1 month away people!), Londoners fall victim to all the Christmassy sights and sounds the city has to offer. One of our personal favs and a must for all students and non-students alike is the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland!



The fair that just opened last weekend and will remain open until the 4th of January offers several unique and exciting attractions, including: London's largest open-air ice-skating rink, a giant ferris wheel, and a German food market. 


Tokens for the rides are a reasonable £2, but are only valid on the day of purchase, so make sure you don't buy more than you'll use! The giant ferris wheel, though it offered some fab views over London, really wasn't worth the price of £8!

The food at the fair was, as always - delicious! Treats ranged from typical German bratwurst and hotdogs, to waffles covered in cream, and gingerbread men. And of course, a trip to Winter Wonderland wouldn't be complete without some mulled wine and a sweet crêpe to keep you warm!


Enjoy!


* For more info, please visit: http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/