Asda's Just Essentials range of budget food items has hit the supermarket's shelves in recent weeks. Its bright yellow packaging makes the range almost impossible for shoppers to miss.
And its cheap prices also make the range stand out at a time when millions of customers are having to cut their cloths accordingly as the cost of living crisis hits hard. A pack of tea bags costs 31 pence, a can of chicken soup can be bought for 24 pence, giant blocks of cheese are available for £3.65, tins of rice pudding can be picked up for 34 pence and plain flour will set customers back 58 pence.
But, while the prices are clearly low, do they genuinely offer real value for money or are they too good to be true? Heather Pickstock from SomersetLive decided to put the Just Essentials range to the test by rustling up a meal for two suitable for a muggy late summer / early autumn evening.
Preferring not to spend a session in front of a hot stove, she picked up a cheese and bacon quiche for £1.40, a tin of new potatoes for 36 pence, a tub of coleslaw for 45 pence and a garlic bread baguette for 32 pence. Supplemented by condiments already in her fridge and a side salad made from tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers she had been growing at home, Heather went to work cooking up a meal.
She said: "The quiche, which could have fed three or four, was quite nice. It was basic and the pastry was a bit thin, but you get what you pay for. But it was perfectly palatable and a third of the price of many others on offer.
"I warmed up half the new potatoes, slathered them with a knob or two of butter and sprinkled them with some home grown mint. The other half I made into a potato salad.
"The garlic bread was standard. Perhaps could have done with a bit more garlic butter. The let down for me was the coleslaw.
"I have to admit I am a fan of the more premium ranges which are a lot more creamy. But this was basic stuff and I wasn’t keen.
"It seemed rather watery and lacking flavour. I think it may have been a better option - and possibly as cheap - to get the veggies to have made one myself."
Wanting the complete meal experience, Heather finished things off with a chocolate mousse from the Just Essentials range. She bought a pack of six for 66 pence - working out at 11 pence for each dessert - which she described as "a steal" and "an ideal treat for kids".
Summing up, she said: "Overall it was a perfectly nice summer dinner - although I did add to it. And for a grand total of £3.19 - or £1.60 each for two people - I am not going to complain. Especially as there was quiche left over for lunch too."
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