Category: Price Comparisons

  • Mitchell O’Brien’s €1 and €2 meal menus: Pizzas

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    peter
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    One of our readers, Mitchell O’Brien, sends us this excellent guide to feeding a family on a budget. We eagerly await his next installment: As I am a keen amateur chef and with money becoming tighter, I’ve been trying to mind the meal budget without compromising on quality, variety and the fun of eating for…

  • Sunday Times report: Grocery prices on the increase and it could be our fault

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    rercy
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    It was this time last year that Cheapeats covered a price comparison survey by The National Consumer Agency of Ireland that showed a drop in food prices in Ireland in the first half of 2009. Well, it would seem that dream is over and prices are creeping back up across the board. All was revealed…

  • Skipping dessert

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    peter
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    Why spend a fortune on dessert? They’re rarely spectacular, especially in some Chinese, Indian, and Italian restaurants, where they’re often pre-bought and formulaic. One regular offender is cheesecake, which can and should be one of the most delectable of sweets – but mostly isn’t. I used to feel a meal out wasn’t complete without dessert,…

  • Fish: save the planet or save a penny?

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    peter
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    Last week at Lidl, I noticed two almost identical packets of fish fingers sitting side by side in the freezer. One was priced around €2.15, the other closer to €3. Identical in taste, the main difference lay in the origins of the fish. The more expensive option was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, meaning…

  • Self catering in Ireland

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    peter
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    After one too many bouts of self delusion – “put it on the credit card and it’s free” – the one or two trips a year to pricier hotels or spas had to come to an end. It was always beyond my means. I still wanted a break away, and in gorgeous Ireland. But hotel…

  • Pricewatch: The cheapest supermarket?

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    peter
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    Since we started working on CheapEats last year, we’ve tried to bring you details of bargains and special offers in supermarkets, along with news and features on local shops and smaller producers. But, as Conor Pope points out in today’s Pricewatch, there are serious practical difficulties. In the UK, the enormously popular mysupermarket.co.uk provides real…

  • FairTrade choices

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    peter
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    FairTrade Fortnight runs until March 7, and this year’s theme is the Big Swap. Organisers are encouraging people to swap their usual shopping choices for FairTrade products. I always buy FairTrade whenever I can: bananas and chocolate being one of the staples. It was great to see Cadbury make thier Dairy Milks a FairTrade product,…

  • A Space for Sandwiches

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    Jean
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    By Catriona McGrath Since Peter is ‘ill’ with what he claims is swine flu, I will kindly fill space on CheapEats.  Fortunately for him, I’ve been looking for a forum for my sandwich rant. Like many people I’m a fan of the sandwich. Stick pretty much anything between two slices of bread and I’m fairly…

  • Concentrated Juice vs Non-Concentrated Juice

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    peter
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    Yesterday’s Irish Independent ran a taste-test on concentrated orange juices, and Superquinn’s Euroshopper option came out top of their list. Juice is one of those things I spend more money than I should on. I know that they are much, much cheaper, but concentrated orange or apple juice just don’t taste the same. Concentrated orange…

  • Pricewatch: Restaurant Death Watch

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    peter
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    Last week, a queue of angry creditors phoned Joe Duffy to complain about unpaid bills from Dublin’s Town Bar and Grill. The popular restaurant now looks to be on the brink of closure. There’s many more restaurants staring into the abyss, including Eden and Tante Zoe’s in Temple Bar. Of course, it’s a very hard…