As a mum of 3 children, I know just how hard it can be to budget when you go shopping, so when I was invited to try out a brand new discount chain store, Jack’s Supermarket, I couldn’t wait to see how it compared, in quality and budget, and whether I could use their products to create a lovely recipe for my family.
Jack’s Supermarket may be relatively new but it is actually part of the Tesco family, named after Tesco’s founder Jack Cohen, and now has 12 stores across the country. They’re passionate about working with and supporting hundreds of regional farmers, growers and producers. That’s why, 100% of their fresh chicken, fresh lamb and fresh beef are British all year round, and 100% of our fresh milk is British too.
This was my first time shopping at Jack’s Supermarket, and luckily there was one fairly close to us at Westgate Retail Park in Wakefield. We stepped inside and were immediately invited by the scent of the fresh bakery which is right at the entrance. It is a surefire way to entice customers when you can smell freshly baked bread and pastries.
Jack’s Supermarket is fairly easy to navigate around. Fresh and fridge foods first so you can stock up on all those healthy foods, meats and snacks. This was where I came across the Fresh Five. The Fresh Five brings you new fruit and veg offers every two weeks, always at an outstanding value. So there is always something new and healthy to try with prices from as low as 35p! Whilst we were there, the Fresh Five included, sweetcorn, apples, onions, sweet potato and pineapple, so plenty of choice to be had.
After the first aisle comes the freezers on the next aisle, the WIGIG middle aisle and then cupboard and home essentials before you get to the counters. Now, let me stop here and talk you through the WIGIG middle aisle because it is just amazing. Every Thursday Jack’s Supermarket launch their new products in amazing deals on their aisle, aptly named ‘When It’s Gone It’s Gone’ or the WIGIG aisle. This area can be varied each week with a wide range of products so there is always something new to discover from homewares to electricals, from kids’ toys to garden furniture, all at unbelievable prices.
Now I came to Jack’s Supermarket with the mission of finding out if I could create a family friendly meal for my family on a budget. I set myself a limit of trying to stay within £10 for one meal, and to see whether I could make it healthier, whilst also being something the kids loved. I decided to opt for burger and chips, because whenever I ask my children what they want for tea, it’s usually some kind of fast food, and they end up being disappointed with the healthy meal I serve. So I thought I’d give burgers a go, but making sure I can make them as healthy as possible whilst also giving my boys what they want.
And as you can see, I did quite well. All of that came in at under £10, and most of it will last for more than one meal, so even better value. The pack of 4 fresh steak burgers were the most expensive item, but I wanted the quality of a steak burger, and buying fresh means even better quality. No added nasties, just steak and a touch of salt and pepper.
Again, the kids would usually opt for chips with any meal like this, but I took to making my own, with no greasy twist to them. Chopping up the potatoes and par boiling them, before placing them on an oven tray to roast in the oven, rather than being fried.
I always leave the skin on as it is the best part for you, and gives them that added texture. What’s more, there’s no messing with them, just the easy prep and then in the oven until brown and crispy.
Once the potatoes are prepped, the rest is fairly simple. Sweetcorn in a pan of boiling water with a sprinkle of salt and the burger in a griddle pan. I griddled the burgers for around 7 minutes on each side on a medium heat. This gave them a good charring on the outside and left them moist inside. I then set them aside to rest for 5 minutes, as I find steak burgers always taste better if they’ve had a few minutes to sit.
The it’s time to bet building the burgers. I slightly toasted the burger buns as my children prefer them that way, and then started layering. A blob of tomato chutney on the bottom piece of burger bun to give it a base, and then lettuce, the steak burger, sliced tomatoes, a slice of cheese and then the burger bun top.
And just look at that. A chunky, well flavoured burger, with sides. This meal, not only cost less than £10 for everything to feed us all, but it includes 3 of your 5 a day too, so has that healthy touch that we all want in our meals. What’s more, my children loved it. Burgers are their absolute favourite and so getting to make their own, and help layer them up, really made the boys feel involved, which I think made it all the more better too.
We really loved trying out Jack’s Supermarket, and seeing how it worked for us. And I’m pleased to say that their produce is not only of a high standard and great value, but they taste great too. I was surprised to see how much we could get for our money, and how much we saved on our weekly spend. It’s definitely a supermarket we’ll be coming back to time and time again.
Disclosure: I received a voucher to purchase these items for the purposes of writing this review, and was also compensated for my time, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.
This supermarket brand is new to me!
So it's like a Tesco Outlet! Well done to them for doing it. Shame there's not one near us….
This is so cool – I've never heard of this