Aldi Virgin

vasseur

Their frozen pizzas are delicious - especially the square one with the goats cheese and plum sauce.

Other things I can recommend:-

Mayonnaise - good as Hellmans
Ginger bubble bath - smells wonderful
Face cream
Wipes
Pull-up nappies - about £2 a pack cheaper compared to P*mpers or H*ggies and just as good.
Cheese
Chicken
Mince - very good value for 1kg
Smoked salmon packs
Parma Ham packs
Cook-in curry sauce
Cous-cous
Brioche Rolls
Zinfandel Rose
Super Noodles
Creamy desserts

valk_scot

I could do almost all my whole shop in Aldi or Lidl. They carry less lines overall but there's less duplication too....not five different brands of tinned soup times ten flavours times two sizes for example. There's a higher proportion of actual ingredient items to pre-made meals and though there's a good selection of fruit and veg you won't find there's different levels ie Finest/standard/Value and you tend to get them as the whole item rather than chopped up and packaged in different ways. Ditto a chop is a chop and a meatball is a meatball, not twenty different types of meatball. So it looks like there's less choice but once you get used to it, the difference isn't so wide as you first might think. And the themes and special ranges do move around...it's Greek week in Lidl atm for example so I bought halva and stuffed vine leaves but they won't be there next week. Something else will be though.

andrewmp

What is their premium washing up liquid like? Supposedly "better" than fairy?

Starrystarrynight

We get most of what we need each week at Aldi. My OH was really pleased at the selection of well priced cut meats, as he likes to take sarnies to work.
With lots of the products, it's clear which brand they are 'imitating' (for want of a better word!) I buy their version of Skips and they are just as nice.

tallulah73

Brilliant! thanks so much for all your replies. Ive never been so excited about doing the food shop before.:j

DCFC79

tallulah73 wrote: »

Brilliant! thanks so much for all your replies. Ive never been so excited about doing the food shop before.:j

Also when at the checkout when its your turn the trolley goes a set way(makes it easier for you i guess) with the trolley handle away form the till assistant. They scan the items fast to keep they're items per minute at a suitable level.

Let us know if you like it or not, how you get on.

TimBear

I do all of my shopping in Aldi and love it!

I second the recommendation for the frozen pizza; I haven't tried one I didn't like!

Deli meats/cheeses are great and very cheap.

Fromage frais is 12 for 89p and yummy!

I use a liquid detergent with a fabric softener and I think they cost £2 (ish!) and £0.90 (roughly) respectively for a 24 wash size bottle, and both are great. Nice smell and do the job well. Ditto bathroom cleaning products.

Also, their plug ins are amazing! £1.99 for the actual plug in with one refill, and then 99p per refill after that. People always comment on how nice my house smells! Definitely a lot cheaper than your Airwick etc brands, for smells that I really enjoy. I buy a green one which is freesia and something, a blue one which is called 'Relaxing Spa' and a yellow one which is vanilla. I haven't tried the lavender though as I know I wouldn't like that.

Their version of 'McCoys' crisps are yum and really cheap, and lots of the biscuits and cake options are lovely and really well priced.

The beauty and toiletry products are great too. I've tried their hand creams, deodorants, hair colour, bubble bath, toothpaste...all great and really good value.

TimBear

Oh! I meant to also add that they often have random things on offer - this week I bought a double bed kit including a duvet, two pillows, mattress and pillow protectors for £13.99! You won't find things like that stay there from week to week but you can often find a bargain if you look on the middle aisles.

frugal_shopper_2

Very rare I get to Aldi these days as there isn't one I can get to easily although that may change soon as they have now finally got approval to build one nearby albeit at a cost of £7 million & it has to be built to a very specific design.
I always preferred Aldi to lidl when I had the choice between the 2. Fruit & veg quality seems to vary quite a lot from one shop to another, it usually looks good but the produce from one shop will always keep well but the produce from another shop will only last a few days it's probably due to storage conditions. The ground coffee & the dark rum are both particularly good.

rising_from_the_ashes

dottydeb wrote: »

The checkout system, is quick. Usually involves your shopping going back into your trolley and then you have to go and pack. That, takes some getting used to. And can be a pain, if you have loads of stuff. But you get through the checkout in record time, usually.

DCFC79 wrote: »

take some getting used too - Its pretty easy,

Yeah, but they take no account of difficulties it presents for disabled people etc

The stores near me (all of them, in several different towns) have got rid of the small trolleys and now only have these huge - very deep - ones.

I have a back problem and TBH it's difficult enough to put the stuff into these gigantic trolleys in the first place then take it out once, pack it & put it back - without having to put it in the trolley at the checkout, unload it again, pack and put in the trolley again.

I love both A*di and L*dl and like different products at each but I don't go to either very often for this reason.

I did ask once if I could pack at the checkout and explained why, to get a load of eye rolling and sighing - it was if she didn't believe me and thought I was just being difficult.