“I tried to use Iceland for my weekly shop – and this is how it came out”

Reporters say she usually struggles to shop every week but has found the Icelandic supermarket chain has made the produce available for a five-day period – with mixed results

Can Iceland supply enough groceries for a full store for a week? A reporter in Liverpool tried it amid the cost of living crisis.

Elle May Rice, from the Liverpool echo, pointed out that the supermarket chain is often overlooked on comparison sites, probably due to the fact that it specializes in frozen food. However, the store carries fresh groceries.

She said: “I’ve done a big shop from Iceland before, but I usually go to a nearby shop to pick out the items myself. This time I couldn’t make it in person, but I managed to use Iceland’s online delivery service.

“I usually struggle with what to buy at my grocery store, since there are so many options and being a picky eater I tend to make last minute decisions about my meals. This time, however, I sat down and created a five-day meal plan with some success.

“Since I never eat breakfast until I get to work, I usually settle for pastries or fruit. For the days I’m home I tend to stick to muesli, which made it pretty easy to pick up breakfast from Iceland. I left with a six pack of pain au chocolat (£1.25), a giant 36 pack of Weetabix (£3) and a selection of fruit.

“Lunch is usually a quick snack for me when I’m working from home or traveling on the days I’m in the office, so it was important to me to make sure I had things that came quickly and are simple. I can get hold of soup, noodles and ingredients for sandwiches relatively cheaply.

“There was a wide range of fresh food online with lots of offers. I’ve added fresh chicken fillets, an Icelandic salad selection pack, hummus and flatbread to my online shopping cart. I also managed to purchase a fajita kit and noodles and jars of noodles and curry sauces.

“Iceland is known for its frozen food selection so I was excited to see what I could get my hands on. As I often work late hours I was pleased to find a number of products that would make tea brewing easier.

“I quickly added a Cathedral City Mac n Cheese frozen dish (£3), Birds Eye four Steamfresh Family Favorites Mix (£1.90) and Island six White Rice Steam Bags (£2.60). I also grabbed a frozen Slimming World dish Try it, I went for the Slimming World Pizza Chicken (£4.50).

“With a full online basket of pre-prepared meals, I felt ready for the week ahead. My full shop came to £49.40 after taking advantage of some of the deals available online.”

She added: “I found the quality of fresh food in Iceland disappointing. While the site offers a wide range of fresh produce, ranging from meat and poultry to salads, fruit and bread, the quality of the items proved less than satisfactory upon arrival.

“Some products, such as fruit and chicken, were exactly as promised. However, the salad and bread are past their prime.

“Luckily, I had made lunch as simple as possible, planning ahead for simple sandwiches, soup, and pasta. I was hoping to someday have hummus and pita bread as well, but that wasn’t to be – I ended up just swapping out the bread for pita bread instead.

“I would never claim to be a good cook but I’ve managed to put together a large pasta casserole for four for under £7, fajitas for two for just over £3 and a curry for two for around £5 , all together were pretty decent.

“The Cathedral City Frozen Mac n Cheese I treated myself to turned out to be brilliant and full of flavor. It had the added benefit of being a very quick and easy tea at the end of a busy day.

“The Slimming World Pizza Chicken consists of two chicken breasts with tomato and herb sauce, cooked and sliced ​​pepperoni sausage, diced red onions, tomatoes, and red and green peppers. I paired the chicken with some veggies and it was brilliant, flavorful and The £4 price for the chicken was a little high but for the ease of popping it in the oven it was worth it.

“The canned food, kibble and chicken were great and worth the money. But Iceland definitely needs to step up its fresh food game before it can compare with supermarkets like Tesco and Asda.

She continued: “Despite the disappointment on the fresh food front, shopping was fairly easy – preparing meals was the hardest part of it all. If you do your weekly shopping in Iceland – especially online – I would recommend planning ahead and see what you can get.

“The best thing I found about online shopping in Iceland was that many of the deals available – most of which encouraged bulk buying – were that I could buy multiple items that I knew would last longer than the one to come week, such as the giant box of Weetabix and the frozen bags of rice. That meant I could put those products away and they’d be just as good next week or so.

“If fresh groceries are a critical factor, it might be worth shopping those necessities elsewhere before heading to Iceland for your closet and frozen foods.”