Great What/What Not to Buy at Lidl, Aldi and Netto Hunt

smithc

You can buy some fantastic sports gear from Aldi - look out at the end of Nov for Ski suits - £40 and they are great value. They also do great thermal wear - I have had quite a lot of gear from them and it wears and washes really well. They use a brand called 'Crane Sports' and are well recommended. Thursdays is the day they get new stock in.

Christine
Bury, Lancs

mitziwaltz

Farm Foods is another cheapo place to stock up, although some of their stuff is crap--pizzas for a quid but it's not real cheese, yuck!
That said, if you are a vegetarian they have hands down the best prices on Quorn and similar "meat substitute" type of stuff -- 2 for £3 for beefy chunks, chickeny chunks, chickeny filets, etc. I do a mean Sunday lunch with the beefy bits and lots of veg in gravy over Yorkshire pud, and the ground beef-style Quorn or similar (RealEat is another brand they sometimes have) is great in burritos and enchiladas. And lower in fat/calories than meat as well as dead cheap.

We have a Netto nearby, here's my Netto list:
keep an eye out for good brands of beer on special
crisps for bag lunches
odd bits of stuff that was probably too "gourmet" to sell somewhere else--nice pesto sauce, sundried tomatos in olive oil
peanut butter--sometimes they have a type without any added sugar, and their own brand is much less sugary than most branded PB. Tastes likes peanuts, like it should! (and costs about 89p)
cheeses--selection changes, sometimes very good deals
mine sometimes (not often) has free-range eggs at cheaper prices than battery-hen eggs usually are
biscuits
canned mac and cheese (ugh, but my teenage son likes it) and baked beans OK
their weekly specials can be quite good for things like DVD players--they have one at £19.99 right now--folding chairs, towels, extension cords, slippers, just any old oddball stuff. Some of it is crummy but have a look, cos I have found some rather nice stuff on occasion. Just bought a nice clock/radio there for my son's birthday for £4.99...

rlpowell

Additionally
If you go to France use the continental branches of these stores, some items are the same price in € as UK in £. Booze in Calais Lidl is particularly good value (don't go for the ultra cheap, but the middle grades are fine and give away prices compared to UK). There are at least 3 Lidl in Calais, and all the cheap stores are to be found in most French towns. In France Lidl DO take credit cards, so use them, particularly the good exchange rarte cards such as Nationwide

PS Know your UK prices, a few items are actually dearer in France

kiranj

LIDL
My top things to buy are:
Cooked meats (very good!)
Dark chocolate (I'm very fussy about chocolate, but this stuff beats Lindt any day. And it's almost as good as Tesco Finest)
Spinach (but only when it's on offer)
Bagged salad
Any fresh stuff is very variable. But ok if you hit the store on a good day
Cheese slices (although I started to find that it was going off very quickly!)
Ice-cream
Amaretto (half the price of the proper stuff, and just as good!)

endaria

oh, and the sparkling mineral water from lidl's is not the cheapest around (25p for 1.5l, compared to 18p per 2l for tesco's discontued but inferior product) but i really like it and prefer it to other brands. the smaller bottle size is easier to manage when on the hoof than the 2l bottles.

rdpeat

I am a Lidl fan but looking forward (saddo) to a new Aldi opening next year.

To buy:
tinned fish esp. herring fillets
tinned kidney beans
passata di pomodoro
tinned garden peas
low-fat plain yoghurt
99 p expresso coffee (unless you must have strong coffee)
veggies but watch for over-ripeness
electrical tools (cheap and functional)
fruit juice drinks (fine choice with no added sugar )
balsamic vinegar
low fat tinned rice pudding (the best - according to a rice pud expert)
parmesan
blue loo stuff
nuts (luxury selection in bag)
rolled oats (for porridge) - the best
tinned toms
many of the real German or Italian speciality food products

What not to buy:
for your own long term health stay off the tempting sweet stuff (nice chocolate)
dried cat food (my cats don't like it)

I translate the instructions for use of many of the hardware products appearing in Lidl from German to English (for the supplier) and have been so impressed I have even bought a few myself. I think they represent good value for money and the motors are usually quite powerful. Any feedback on the instructions gratefully received but do it by e-mail - don't stick me in the public stocks.

Ray

Lelly

We do a lot of shopping in Aldi, we have no netto or lidl.
ALDI Good for
Sparkling spring water,
Wine (afriend of mine who KNOWS said he'd never had a bad bottle from Aldi) Bread,
Smoked salmon,
Gravad salmon-this comes with honey mustard which is great also with Sausages-which are also good in Aldi
Salsa
Tortillas
Tortilla chips
Stollen
There are others but most have been mentioned
I bought a jaguar sewing machine from them years ago..its the best one I have ever used it was reduced to £70...well worth it, well used too

Lelly

PS Great idea for a thread!

dora37

We love

Wholemeal Batch bread (tastes lovely and much cheaper)
Jammies (Cheaper and nicer than Jammy Dodgers)
Oaties (Cheaper and nicer than Hob Nobs)
Bubble Bath (Cheaper & just as good as Tesco)
Smoked Bacon (Cheaper and MUCH better than Tesco)
Strawberry Conserve (Best Strawberry Jam EVER!)
Scoots Chocolate Raisins (Plump raisins and the children think they are the nicer than any other)

I have found the fruit and veg (in particular) to be excellent.

Have bought quite a lot of the specials
Waterproof trousers
Rucksack
Blue Tooth Headset
Steam Cleaner
Childrens Musical Instruments
And all have been excellent quality and value for money.

What I think I like most about Aldi is how quick I can get in and out and easy parking!

charlytune

WHAT TO BUY:
pesto
gnocchi
cat food (tins)
mozarella (proper squishy stuff)
feta
brie - it won't ripen but it's still miles better than most supermarket stuff
biccies, low fat crisps
wholemeal batch loaf
potato cakes
frozen potato waffles
...and there are some really drinkable bottles of white wine around the £3.50 mark, had a pinot grigio last night

WHAT NOT TO BUY:
romano pasta sauces
crumpets
cat biscuits - my 2 cats flung it about the kitchen floor instead of eating it
tinned toms are a bit watery

also have found cheddar is a bit hit and miss