With no end in sight to the cost-of-living crisis, people have been trying to find ways to make their food shopping cheaper. But while prices have mostly been soaring, Asda recently launched their Just Essentials range of more affordable goods.

Consisting of everyday essentials, it is already proving popular. But with lower costs, is the taste tolerable? Reporter Chantal Weller put it to the test by living off the products for a day...

Firstly, it's clear the new Just Essentials range at Asda is proving popular - with most of the shelves empty when I went to do my food shop after work on Wednesday.

Now I have tried some of the range, I can see why it has been such a crowd-pleaser amid the cost-of-living crisis.

My shop came to a grand total of £14.68. You might think that's a lot - but when I broke down the cost of each meal, I was shocked at how cheap it was.

For breakfast I went for one of my favourites - granola and yoghurt, a filling and healthy option to start the day.

What stood out for me with this breakfast, was the pleasing price of the granola. At just £1 for a one kilogram bag, it went straight in my trolley without a second thought. Although it was a basic mix with only raisins and the dried oats, I was far from disappointed and I think I will be making a switch with this one.

Next up was yoghurts. I got a 79p pack of six which included three strawberry flavour, and three peach flavour. Once again, a bargain.

I opted for the strawberry option and while I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't convinced on the taste.

It was a nice consistency and wasn't watery, but there was only the ever-so slightest hint of strawberry in that yoghurt, and when I say slightest, I mean it.

Now if I'd have added some actual strawberries I think it would have been fine - but on its own, it wasn't for me. However, alongside the granola - which I cannot fault - it was a decent breakfast.

Breaking it down by the total granola used, plus the price of one yoghurt, it cost just 17p. I rate this breakfast a 6/10.

Next up was lunch, and I was excited to try this one. I decided on a chicken and salad sandwich, with lettuce and tomato. This one went down a treat, coming in at an approximate total cost of 31p.

The chicken was one of the most expensive things in my shop at £1.80 for a 240g pack. But this is cheaper than any other supermarket that I have seen and I couldn't fault it, so it was a winner.

It was thick cut pieces and tasted fine.

The tomatoes were crisp and flavoursome and the lettuce was passable.

I had been sceptical about the bread because of the weight of the loaf when I picked it up. That might sound odd but when I compared the weight of this loaf to a Kingsmill loaf, it was about double the weight.

This threw me off and I wondered why it was so much heavier. But when it came to the taste, the wholegrain loaf was OK and for 39p for a loaf of 22 slices, once again I was not complaining.

All in all, this lunch option was tasty and filling, so I would rate it a 7/10.

Next up, I had a snack of some chocolate and an apple.

The chocolate was certainly no Cadburys. But, it was the sweetness I needed to satisfy my craving and, for 33p, I was impressed with this creamy bar. The chunk sizes were good too - not thin like the Molly's range at Tesco which is a similar price. I would definitely have this chocolate again and would rate it a 8/10, mainly because of how cheap it was.

When looking for another snack I went for Gala apples and my first thought was they looked just as good as the Tesco Finest range.

They are big, beautifully red apples which didn't feel squishy - something I was fearful of when picking them up. Costing 90p for a pack of six, I definitely favour these apples over my regular £1.20 pack from Tesco. They are crisp, refreshing and had a decent flavour.

I think the apples are going to have to be a 10/10!

I also had a glass of diet lemonade which cost 26p for the two-litre bottle. It tasted fine and was refreshing. For the sake of 26p, I'd probably have it again.

Before I did my shop at Asda I had planned to make something for dinner like a spaghetti bolognese. But all the meat was sold out, so I thought it would be interesting to try a ready meal for 90p.

There was spaghetti bolognese, macaroni cheese, or sweet and sour chicken with rice - but I went for a family favourite of lasagne.

It took 40 minutes to cook in the oven from frozen and its initial appearance was actually better than I expected, but there was not much cheese on the top.

Luckily I had given in to buying a block of mild cheddar cheese which only cost £3.65 for 825g. I was really hoping this cheese would taste good because of how amazingly cheap it was - and I can safely say that I will be making the switch. This cheese was flavourful and didn't taste cheap at all. I would definitely recommend trying this cheese since it's a more expensive item on the shelves.

Alongside the lasagne (with extra amazingly cheap and yummy cheese) I had a salad which included, lettuce, tomato and peppers.

The peppers came in a pack of three, costing £1.15 and consisting of a yellow, red and green one. For the salad with the lasagne, I had some of the red pepper and it was tasty as expected.

Now for the main event, the 90p lasagne. Although it didn't look anything special, I was surprised that it actually had some flavour to it.

The meat was okay, except there wasn't much of it - and after looking on the packaging I found out it was just 14% mince. The sauce the meat was in was flavourful, but slightly sweet which was odd but not awful. The white sauce on top was not the best and it actually didn't taste of anything. The consistency was like egg whites which is not what I want on top of a lasagne.

The pasta was fine, but again nothing special. I did find with this dinner that the more I ate, the worse it got, so I didn't eat it all. The best bit was probably the salad.

Overall I would rate the lasagne a 3/10. I would get it if times were really tough, but I will not be choosing to make a switch with this one.

I thought it was only right to try a dessert option too, so I decided on the strawberry cheescake coming in at 68p. My initial thought was "wow, this looks surprisingly good".

When it came to the taste, it was actually pretty good - just the right level of cheese flavour. It wasn't stodgy - it was lovely and creamy and the strawberry swirl throughout it was refreshing.

The biscuit base was also nice and soft. Overall I'd rate it a 8/10 and would definitely recommend this one if you're after a treat.

Overall, there are definitely a few items which I would choose to switch to - including the granola, cheese, salad, chocolate, apples and chicken. I'd make these swaps because of the price and taste.

But the ready meal, bread and yoghurts I would leave on the shelves.

The supermarket giant is clearly looking to draw new customers in, as it has also launched Asda Rewards,a loyalty scheme where shoppers can earn vouchers and save money on future shops.

Whatever you think of it, Asda has grabbed people's attention with the Just Essentials range and I think, mostly, it is living up to the hype.

What I ate during my day of living on Asda's Just Essentials range

Breakfast: Strawberry yoghurt (79p); granola (£1) - 17p per serving

Lunch: Chicken (£1.80), lettuce (45p) and tomato (75p) sandwich (39p) - approximately 31p per serving

Snack: Apple (90p) - 15p per apple; chocolate (33p) - approximately 3p for two squares from the 100g bar; lemonade (26p for two-litre bottle)

Dinner: Lasagne - 90p; salad (peppers £1.15 for pack of three) - 21p per serving. Total dinner cost: £1.11

Dessert: Cheesecake (68p) - 11p per serving

Total cost of shop: £14.68

Much left over? By the end of the day I still had the majority of the produce left, except for the lasagne ready meal. What is left over would certainly last me a week at least.