Spudzillas

Matt and I don't live anywhere near a grocery store, so we've decided to order our groceries online and have them delivered. We did it once in DC and we really liked it. We get two very large deliveries a month of non-perishable boxes and cans of things, and supplement in between with visits to the nearest real grocery store for more fresh and quickly perishable things like milk and bread.

The pros are:

--The convenience of not having to carry huge loads of groceries, especially liquids.
--Always being able to cook pretty much whatever you feel like without having to go to the grocery store first.
--Not having to deal with crowded grocery stores (in the UK everywhere is crowded).
--Having a fully stocked pantry gives you a very warm and comfortable feeling.
--It's relatively inexpensive. If Matt and I went to the nearest grocery store on the bus, the bus trip would cost us £3.60 ($7.20). Having your groceries delivered only costs £4.00 ($8.00), so we're okay paying 40 pence extra.
--It allows us to use the cheapest grocery chain, instead of the more expensive ones which are the only ones nearby. The cheapest seems to be Tesco. If anyone remembers from Ireland, Matt used to live on Tesco Value Brand pizzas, only €0.49 ($0.75). We don't buy those anymore, but Tesco has lots of good cheap staples.
--It's easier to compare prices when you're looking online because they give you unit prices and if something has a cheaper alternative, they suggest it to you.

The cons are also numerous, though far outweighed by the pros. One of the biggest cons of grocery shopping online is that you can't physically see the food item in front of you before you buy it. Sometimes you don't read a label properly or you enter the proper weight or number. A friend of mine said she and her flatmates once accidentally ordered 20 cans of tuna. I once ordered a box of mushrooms three times the size I thought it would be.

The latest mistake is probably the worst I've ever experienced, but if I'm honest, I should have seen it coming. I wanted two sweet potatoes, because neither Matt nor I are too keen on sweet potatoes but I thought they might be good to have around. I ordered two of a variety or brand name called 'Spudzilla' and was shocked when I received TWO of these:




The worst part is the veins all over the outside!!! By the way, that is a normal sized dinner plate and normal sized silverware. So, Matt and I are going to be eating a lot of sweet potato for the next few weeks!