Lidl - What products do you buy?

mysecretalias

My other half and I are making a trip to Lidl after work today - we've just brought a house and with a baby on the way we want to try and do some bulk buying as well as stocking up on anything cheaper than Tesco (which is where we usually shop).

What I wanted to ask (as I've noticed on Lidl's site you can't really see the products!) was:

What products do people buy from Lidl that they would recommend in terms of quality and price? (Be it food, drink, household bits etc - we need everything!!! :eek:)

So far from my research all I've found is: Jam....:D

If it's really good I might think about moving my regular shop to Lidl instead - not sure how much money we would generally save by doing this though as I've never been in a Lidl!

dlusman

Long ongoing thread at -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3743609

though it can be difficult at times to work out if some people are talking about Aldi or Lidl

mysecretalias

Thanks - yes I did come across that one and a few others before posting, but like you mention I struggled to figure out which of the two shops people were actually talking about, and mostly it seems like a debate/argument about most of the products!

The only thing I gathered from that thread was Jam and to possibly stay away from the Ketchup! So not very helpful to be honest!

So I thought I would start my own so that others can advise me what they buy specifically from Lidl without having any sort of debate about items, etc!

DPJames

The fruit is only good for chucking on the compost heap once you get home. No lie, I've even bought rotten, furry tomatoes off the shelf before and only realised once I got home. It takes tomatoes ages to grow mouldy fur, so they must have been on a shelf for ages. And he apples, bananas etc are just as bad. No doubt thousands will tell you Lidl fruit is awesome and they've never had any problems. But I don't touch the stuff anymore.
And as for everything else, just give it a try. Substitute what you would normally get with stuff you find in Lidl, and see what you think. But you may have to hunt for stuff, it's all a bit random really.

Oh, and the checkout experience is also terrible. So be prepared for that!

dlusman

For everyone who loves an "own brand" item from Lidl there will be another person who hates it.
The only way you are going to find out for YOUR tastes is to give everything a go at least once.

Personally I have never had any problems with Lidl fruit or veg.
And nothing wrong with the checkouts if you do it properly - put stuff back into your trolley and do the packing on the benches behind the tills.

BitterAndTwisted

It must vary from store-to-store as I've never had any fruit or veg that wasn't in tip-top condition.

Lidl is my nearest supermarket so I get nearly all of my regular shopping from there. Things I think are cheaper and better quality than elsewhere are:

Own-brand mayo
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Baked beans (currently 4 for a pound)
Cheese
Laundry detergent and softener (Doussy)
Cleaning products
Cakes and biscuits
Kensington brand tea-bags in the red box
Ground coffee (I can't find any coffee anywhere else at £7 a kilo)

I don't eat meat but I understand from my sister that their ham is good as is their raw meat.

If you have a good idea of what you usually pay in your other supermarket I suspect you'll find that Lidl's products are cheaper but where the prices are the same the quality will be as good or better. That's my experience any way.

mysecretalias

Thanks. I don't really want to turn this into a debate/argument about good and bad service etc like the other thread seems to be, which is why I started my own.

I was just after quick replies from people to say 'the Jam is good' or 'dry pasta is much cheaper and tastes the same' etc

So anyone who has suggestions along those lines please feel free to educate me, thanks.

mysecretalias

Bitterandtwisted that was exactly what I was after, and funnily enough we cross posted....thank you so much.

Now I finally have the beginnings of a list

DPJames

The wafer ham is good, cheaper than Asda's. And perfect for the kids sandwiches in their packed lunches.

mysecretalias

Thanks DPJames - don't have any kids yet (apart from the one I'm currently growing) but I do like ham in my sandwiches so might get this for lunches next week

Polaria

What I buy at Lidl in no particular order:

• Passata (£0.32 vs Tesco EV £0.43!!!)
• Chopped tomatoes
• Ginger nuts
• Shortbreads
• Chocolate covered digestives
• Vitasia Coconut milk – really high quality
• Chopped tomatoes
• Tinned sweet corn
• Curry sauces – the ones at 0.79
• Pasta sauces
• Lean minced beef
• Chicken breast
• Domino soft dried apricots
• Dried prunes
• Unsalted pistachios
• Pumpkin / sunflower seeds
• Cloudy lemonade
• Cottage cheese
• Vanilla ice cream – the one in the blue tub.
• Creme fraiche
• UHT semi-skimmed milk
• Cornichons –sweet chilli flavour – OH swears by those!

Pasta: Tesco wins on this one: EV Spaghetti £0.20/ EV pasta shapes £0.29 – I think it’s £0.49 at Lidl
Fruit/vegetables: the quality seems to vary widely across stores, so take the time to check.

Pol