Aldi! I am thinking of converting!

maman

ellie99 wrote: »

I use a credit card in aldi, I think all the Scottish stores take them

And in some parts of Wales too. It says so at the bottom of their posters.

LadyCoupon wrote: »

I always liked Aldi, but last week we went there, hadn't been in ages and bought lots of fruit and veg amongst other things. The apples were bad and the carrots were mouldy by the second day, disappointing.

I had those carrots too, went black in a couple of days. I put it down to the very hot weather. I peeled, diced and froze mine and been using them in casseroles.

Generally you have to watch the f&v as there are no sell-by dates. If I see them putting it out fresh I'm delighted.

I've gradually increased what I buy from Aldi over time as I've tried things. This is what I'd recommend (in the order my store is laid out). If it's not on the list it may be because it's not something we like or I haven't tried it.

pain au lait
chocolate
pasta
tomato puree
rice
fruit & veg
mushy peas
tinned carrots
red beans
tinned tomatoes
gammon joints
pork cubes
FR chickens
ginger nuts
caramel wafers
softener
Magnum washing up liquid
bleach
moisturiser (day cream)
serum
mouthwash
paracetamol
cooked meats (generally Torchon ham but others are good too)
parma ham
marinated salmon fillets
Austins (fake Pimms )
orange juice
anchovies
frozen Thai fishcakes
fish fingers
antipasti (sun dried tomatoes, peppers)
stuffing mix
camembert
vinegar
crème fraiche
cream
milk
FR eggs
cornflour
meringues
oven chips
frozen peas
frozen fruit (mixed berries etc)
herbs and spices
lemonade

I'd recommend trying all of these. You could print out a shopping list from mysupermarket from Tesco and take it to Aldi with you if you want to be sure of prices.

I still have a few brand favourites that I buy from Sainsbury's as it's the next closest to my home.

Scritti

masonsmum wrote: »

Hi folks, I am getting married in 12 weeks and to say money is tight at the moment is an understatement, so I was thinking about starting my shopping in Aldi, I am currently a Tesco shopper as we have one local in the village, Aldi is in the nearest town which is a 15 minute drive away, so need to consider whether it will be worth my while!

We are a family of 4 our boys are 7 and 2 - I have heard good reports on fruit and veg, cereal, just wondered if any more recommendations?

Who can give advice on Aldi shopping both pro's and con's? I think I will find it hard to covert with things like Lurpak butter, Lenor Fabric Softener so any advice would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks in advance everyone!

I'm a fairly recent convert to Aldi and I love it!! I live about 2 mins away from a Lidl which is also good but Aldi sell a lot more stuff so you can do a full shop and will need very few things from the traditional supermarkets.

I too used to use mainly Tesco but only get a few things there now (highly recommend using the My Supermarket website and seeing which "savvy buys" are on offer before you go).

Not only is there a perfectly lovely Lurpack "substitute" in Aldi, there are LOADS of other things which are a blatent copy of Branded items and are nearly all just as good and a lot cheaper.

I'll try not to bore everyone with a long list (but I think I'll fail) but here's some of what I regularly buy off the top of my head. Take it for granted that it's all great quality and between about 25 - 50% cheaper than the branded items in Tesco, Sains et al...

Almat Washing Powder (though I actually prefer the Lidl stuff)
Fabric softener (about £1.30 and smells lovely)

Mouthwash (great and MUCH cheaper than the brands)
Toothpaste (fine and about 60p!!)

Alergy Pills - about one fifth (!) of the price in the other supermarkets and has kept my hayfever under control all summer.

Breakfast Cereals - They do LOADS and every single one that I've tried has been identical to Kellogg's or whatever.

4 Pints Milk - £1 (ker-ching!)

Multivitamins - MUCH cheaper than buying from Boots etc

Bread - Large range of different kinds. The Toastie sliced loaf is 75p and always fresh and lovely. Can't believe I paid about £1.30 a loaf from Tesco for so long!

Magnum Washing-up Liquid - 99p for 1 litre and it's as good or better than Fairy Liquid (see the results from Which! Magazine for absolute proof!)

Kitchen Foil - £4 in Tesco for 30m, £2 in Aldi for the same quality.

Chocolate - Aldi basically have 3 ranges of chocolate...

Dairyfine - Pretty crap chocolate but their Snickers & Mars Bar copies are lovely.

Choceur - Very nice range. You can get some gorgeous 200g bars (the white choc is very yum) for about a quid so almost half the price of Cadbury's.

Moser Roth (sp?) - The "posh" stuff (as far as supermarket choc goes). Not my cup of tea but much cheaper than the posh bars in other supermarkets and a few people I know swear by everything in this label).

Bacon - Beautiful!

Cola - Crap but if you can get to Lidl, their Cola tastes almost identical to Pepsi and it's about 40p for a 2L bottle!

1.5kg Free Range Chicken - Amazing quality for the price! Absolutely beautiful.

Aldi version of Robinson's Fruit & Barley drinks - Gorgeous! Taste more of real fruit than Robinson's and at about 80p is half the price!

Corale Baked Beans - Very nice (but I find most supermarket own brands are nice and about the same price anyway. I'd actually say Morrison's beans are the nicest IMO but not much between them).

Veg - Can be hit or miss. I've bought mushrooms that were clearly on the way out and had to eat them that day. Then again, their baked potatos are always gorgeous - ate one tonight in fact and it was scrummy even though I bought them over a week ago.

Tinned Sweetcorn - Half the price of Tesco et al and just as nice (much better than the Supermarket's "Basics" range of sweetcorn).

Sliced meats - all the ones I've tried have been cheap and yummy. Are we spotting a pattern yet??

Pickled Sliced Beetroot - Identical to the brand / supermarket stuff and about half the price.

Biscuits - Whoa! Amazing! Bourbons are about 35p (for a double size pack!), Custard Creams are even cheaper (also for a double pack), the Rich Tea copy is about 23p (!) and tastes almost exactly the same as McVities. I look at the prices in Tesco now and can't believe what I used to pay. Warning - all the Aldi biscuits are lovely and so cheap that you may put on weight if you don't limit what you buy!

Olive Oil - £3 for 1 litre (bargain!) and was ranked equal number 1 best (for basic Olive Oil) by an Olive Oil taster & expert on Superscrimpers recently!

Jam - Very nice (but Lidl wins this one, their jam is just beautiful).

Tomato Ketchup - Much cheaper than Heinz and just as nice.

Pizza - Lots of different ones from as little as £1 and they are all gorgeous.

Tea Bags - £2 for 160 bags. Just as nice as any of the brands IMO.

6 Large Free Range Eggs - £1 (bargain).

Crisps - Aldi sell rip-offs of Wotsits, Monster Munch, Quavers and some others I don't remember. 10 packs for £1. And I think they are identical to the brands!

Quiche - About £1.30 and - again! - absolutely yummy.

Ice Creams - Large range of ice creams, ice lollies, Cornetto copies, etc. And all cheap and really yummy. I'm even boring myself now!

Yogurts - Loads to choose, all about half the price of brands and all identical as far as I can taste.

Pate - My newest Aldi discovery. Didn't even know that I liked pate but tried this (about 55p!) and I'm addicted to it. Absolutely scrummy on toast or a seeded bagel (Ooh - Bagels - just 80p in Aldi compared to about £1.20 in Sains and Tesco and exactly the flippin' same).

There is probably lots more I can't remember right now! My advice is to just try everything once and see if you like it. I've not yet bought anything I didn't like enough to actually finish it and most things are so incredibly cheap that it's worth taking the risk. I now make sure to try at least one new thing every time I go. My Tesco shop is now down to just a few items.

The person I live with is a total slave to brand makes, Tesco, Waitrose etc. I came home with a car boot load of food the other day. She went "blimey, how much did that lot cost?". It was £33. I only went with £50 and actually thought I might have to put something back 'cos the trolley was full to the brim. I was gobsmacked when I got the total. This was the point when I realised just how much I LOVE Aldi. My housemate had just had a Tesco home delivery and she said she had about the same amout sent and it cost £120! Enough said.

Hope you do try Aldi and save as much money as I have over the past 6 months or so. Managed to pay off my £1500 overdraft recently and shopping at Aldi went a long way towards making that happen.

Again, sorry for the longish post but I hope that helps a bit.

Bella_b

According to a survey Aldi was voted Supermarket of the year! I don't have one that close but have a Lidi, I always enjoy going to Aldi when I get the chance! I love their Lacura makeup line! Lipbalm & blush is amazing! I've heard rave reviews about the night cream too! Cotton pads are great but I prefer the Lidi ones just a tiny bit more but that's me just being picky. I like their specials & think they have good deals & products.

I shop regularly at Lidi & elsewhere as many do! I would shop at Aldi more if there was one a bit closer. In Portishead where I go sometimes there is a Lidi's opposite a Waitrose store & many people shop at both. I buy the veg regularly at Lidi & have never had a problem it.

AnnieO1234

If you're really serious about money saving take a look at the girlcalledjack blog. I know it's to the extreme but some of te recipes really make sense. I experimented with it the week I threw away 120 litres of food from the kitchen that had been left to waste. It's a real eye opener.

The biggest thing is food planning and making sure you don't overcook portion sizes. I've always looked at recommended sizes say 50g or 75g of rice and pasta and then added one for the pot - always ending up binning it unfinished from the plates after dinner.

Don't discount the essentials lines, Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsburys all do good basics.

Try and get into spices and fresh herbs too to jazz up simple, cheap dishes.

Good luck!

X

Sewsosew

There are loads of things I like from Aldi but we only manage to shop there every 6 weeks or so.

Our favourites are
Acura roll-on deodorants
Almat laundry liquids
Washing up liquid (magnum?)
Specially selected ground coffee
Wines (especially Toro Loco)
Often have bargains in beers
Butter - we freeze it
Sliced cold meats
Yogurts
Tinned marrowfat peas (my husband loves them)
Jams
Cornflakes (my husband says they are close to Kelloggs in taste and about a third of the price)

If we consider anything new then we only buy one to try.

sharond101

We like

jam
decaffeinated coffee
decaffeinated teabags
rolls
Hovis bread (75p)
White seeded batch loaf
tortillas
rice crispies
weetabix
ready oats
cream crackers
tikka sauce
specially selected pesto
tomato puree
tinned tomatoes
fruit vegetables
tinned corn
chinese style ribs
cold meat
chorizo ring
pate
coleslaw
whole chickens
turkey mince
beef mince (higher quality one)
chewing gum
chocolate
chewy sweets
tortilla chips
prawn crackers
mulitpack crisps (6pk for 69p)
washing up liquid
nappies
toilet cleaner
bleach
eye cream
face serum
moisturiser
mature cheere
frozen chicken breasts
frozen breaded chicken
pepperoni frozen pizza
maris piper frozen chips
ketchup
burger relish
wholegrain mustard
raisins
mayonnaise
dog treats

Milk IMO not so good. Twice it has gone off before it's date and it often leaks in the fridge if put on it's side.

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

We are recent Aldi converts, although have been using Lidl and Costco for a couple of years already, hardly ever venture into Sainsburys these days, and even less frequently into Tesco.

The following have become regulars in our trolley in Aldi:

Gin
Chorizo slices
Black Forest ham (we also buy this in Lidl)
Hayfever tablets
Tinned sweetcorn - agree with previous comments about quality
Sesame seed crispbreads
Rye crispbreads
Strawberry crisp cereal - lots of big strawberry pieces - only eat it a couple of times a month so a box lasts me quite a while
Chestnut mushrooms - also buy these in Lidl
Bananas
"Lighter" cream cheese
"Lighter" cream cheese with garlic and herbs
Cheese twists
Onion and chive twists
Dishwasher tablets
Tomato puree
Tinned tomatoes - although currently stocking up on the KTC ones at 4 for £1 in Morrisons
Kidney beans

It's not the most convenient shop for me to drive to which is why we haven't really given it a go until recently. I tend to go once a month/every six weeks and stock up.

lovefullshelves

I've got to agree with everyone! I've always bought bits at aldi but recently I've done alot more of my shopping there and my food budget is dropping!
Love their:
Hummous 65p yummy
large white rolls, as good as the hovis ones OH loves and only 52p instead of £1
Kitchen roll is great, roll on deo too. We only have their 23p rich tea as they're nicer than mcV's. (Scritti is right , they're so nice you can tend to eat quite a few!)
OH loves the ham, the cheese is lovely!
I'm def a fan! Not been dissappionted yet!

mum26

We love Aldi too, they are very good, honestly give them a try and see what you think.

We especially love:

The cereals
the gold tea bags
the sweets (shame face lol)
choc digestives
dishwasher tablets
passata cartons with herbs etc
the fresh herbs
sometimes the fruit and veg is excellent, sometimes not so use your judgement
the frozen triple pack of margharita pizzas are a brilliant standby and gorgeous topped with some procuittio (sp)
fizzy drinks, juice cartons etc
the wine!
We've had nothing bad really and it is much cheaper for good quality, just be careful not to bump your bill up with all the interesting bits in the middle,lol!

The first time I did a proper weekly shop solely at Aldi we then input the details into the Asda grocery website and the same shop there (using asda own brand as comparison) would have been £30 more.

duchy

My Al;di is literally five minutes walk away so I'm a bit spoiled.

I tend to meal plan around their ranges as I can't be bothered with the faff of driving to Tesco and treking around a big store.

I don't buy their fruit and veg to keep as it does seem to have a short shelf life but other than that there isn't anything I can think of that is inferior to the other supermarkets and in some cases superior.

If you are "brand fixated" then it can be hard trying new products as we have had years of adverts programming us that certain brands are superior but I'd rather try stuff for myself and decide