Does anyone do a full shop at Aldi?

valk_scot

I prefer Lidl to Aldi and yes, I can do a full shop there. I do tend to go into Tesco a couple of times a week though...my DD is at swimming club then, I've got an hour to kill and it's whoopsie time. So I get whoopsies and worthwhile special offers at Tesco, the rest at Lidl or my local shops. But really, Lidl would do if I wasn't interested in Whoopsies. The quality is good, the prices are excellent, they have some amazing products and very few things I dislike. It is very short on convenience products and pre-packed choice but that's all to the good. I can cook pretty well and I don't mind peeling my own veg.

Doesn't have wholemeal flour though, or at least my branch doesn't.

rachelhen

Does anyone know what the super 6 are this week?

Uh-oh_2

I did a shop in Aldi and spent £36 the other week. Out of curiosity I duplicated it as best I could on the Tesco website: the same shop came to £51 and that was just swapping for own-brand products. :eek:

I'm convinced!

jennyo

rachelhen wrote: »

Does anyone know what the super 6 are this week?

I was in there today, but can't remember them all they are 69p, butternut squash, 2.5 k baking potatoes, mushrooms, can't remember the others but possibly leeks and apples. Had roast butternut squash for tea, it was lovely.

poodledoodledoo

I love Aldi for certain products - bread, marg, fresh chicken, mince, rice, naan bread, tinned goods, biscuits, washing up liquid, laundry liquid BUT there just isn't a wide enough choice of products to do a full shop and I personally have found some of their products a bit ropey. I've bought pork loin and beef steaks from there in the past that have been tough as old boots. Also, their selection of frozen foods is limited and on the whole rather pricey IMO.
What I tend to do now is split my fortnightly shop between Aldi and Asda and I've found this the best balance for quality and cost

paadzer

We only have a little Aldi here but it's a bit far from my village on the bus but even if it wasn't I probably wouldn't bother. I have a very cheap local green grocers (e.g. peppers 35p massive corn on the cobs for 35p each), I always get my bread reduced at the local co-op (4 big rolls for 10p so get a few packs of them each week, loafs for 10p and big baguettes for 10p) and meat reduced at the co-op. Basic Pasta and Rice at the supermarkets is about the same price or less than Aldi. I also tend to stock up when things I use often when they are on offer in the big supermarkets (e.g. shower gels, toilet paper, cooking sauces and cereal). I usually get multi-packs of crisps, hot chocolate and other bits at Poundland. Mind you I am only shopping for 1 so it's easier to manage and shop around.

DirtyDick

When I was at university I was paid £35 for spending an hour or so one evening as a part of a consumer focus group. We were paid in Scottish money, which is always a pain.

Anyhoo, I commented on the poor quality of the bread and the irritation with them only having trolleys - the lack of staff I assume helps reduce costs - but that the remainder was very good value. So far they haven't introduced baskets (we were told this was to do with the 'philosophy' of Aldi) and the bread still looks second rate. However, their pizzas are good - apparently they were 1st for good supermarket pizzas - and some of their wines and beers are very good value.

Nowadays, I still go there to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables and some of the delicatessan-style goods and other continental oddities, but couldn't do an entire shop there without restricting my diet considerably.

Mrs_Chip

I have had Asda pizza (only because someone used to always take it in for office 'do's') and I did not like it one bit. I don't shop in Asda as I don't like the quality - tried it and moved on. I only buy 'cheap' if the quality is good, and I found it hard to find any quality in Asda.

Lidl and Aldi have some excellent products, and some less so, but certainly more hits than misses, and if you shop between them you quickly learn what to buy where.

And I like the fact the shops are smaller, not so frenetic, and generally nicer to shop in (a turn-round from a few years back when they were shabby and not run very well).

ALIBOBSY

I used to work in asda and would never shop for fresh food items in there. It was well known amongst staff that all the meat was the cheapest they could get away with-anything that was spicy got the worse of it as it would be harder to spot.
Just as I started they were getting rid of the last of the proper trained butchers (from pre walmart) and he was utterly ashamed about the quality of the meat they had moved to.

To judge meat (or any fresh product)on its apperance is what the supermarkets pander to and have pushed.
Good quality and good tasting items often don't look as "appealing" as the supermarkets standard stuff-good beef should NOT be bright red.

I haven't bought meat from tesco or asda for years as the quality is so low. i do like the FR chickens at aldi and the lean mince is far nicer than anything the other stores do. Sainsburys aren't bad for meat, but obviously the price is higher.
The best meat is from a couple of good butchers we know-one local,one near OH works about 40 mins away which is award winning-you can see the details of where each peice of meat came from-the farm the animal etc etcand it is cheaper than the big 4. He does the most amazing ham, it is the best any of us have tasted EVER. So we are going to get a price for a whole one for crimbo.

Other place for food and veggies etc is the local farm shops although this isn't always available to ev1.

Aldis tom sauce-good as heinz, magnum washing up liquid-better than fairy (proven in which tests), washing powder is great and my kids have sensitive skin. The best thing about aldi is not the price per items compared to the big guys-often "value" type brands are cheaper, but the quality at aldi is miles higher ie normal levels/premium and often branded goods quality-although ours does milk cheaper than anywhere else around here. It is the fact there aren't all those extras and offers to temp you. As a mum less for the kids to hassle you about and the whole experience is so much less time consuming and stressfree.

If I need an item I can't get anywhere else I will do an extra top up at morrisons if required, but I could manage to do all my shop in local stores and aldis if I had to.

Have to admit we have our own chooks so have REALLY happy eggs here lol-if you ignore the initial set up cost it is around £2 ish per week for the chicken feed (plus scraps) for 20-21 eggs a week which are lovely FR and fresher than anything the supermarkets sell.

ali x

dmbw

we do most of our shopping there and i'm not kidding we get a trolley full for £40 we do still go ther places maybe once every 3/4 weeks now just to top up on other things as aldis selection of meats isn't fab nor is the frozen but for fresh stuff, cereals etc its fab. There coffees quite nice too and i can be quite fussy about cheap coffee.