How much of a shop can be done at Aldi/Lidl?

suki1964

dreaming wrote: »

I've read this thread as I have been thinking recently about trying Aldi/Lidl for shopping as I have noticed quite an increase in my grocery bills lately. I normally shop at Morrisons, which is just a 5 minute drive for me, however just lately I have noticed that, apart from price increases, there is also a distinct shortage of stock on the shelves. As I now have an regular activity which takes me near both Aldi and Lidl, I thought I would try them. Previously it was the distance which stopped me from going there, plus I'm not very keen on shopping so I like the fact that I can whizz round my local Morries (until they change it) and get what I want, and the thought of having to "find" things in a new place puts me off (I know, I know - first world problems etc.). Anyway, what I am asking is if it is significantly cheaper to shop at A or L rather than Morrisons? Most posts seem to compare Tesco/Sainsburys/Waitrose but not Morries. I am a fairly plain eater (breakfast=porridge/crumpets; lunch=sandwich (cheese/ham/egg); dinner=lasagne/risotto/chilli/omelette/meat and veg - all homemade) and live alone. I think I would have to buy cat food elsewhere as I have an old, fussy cat, but that's about all I am "faithful" to brandwise. Any thoughts? I am going to pay a visit this week to one of them, then try the other the next to compare.

Yes

Plus you have the pleasure of being in and out in 15 mins for a weeks shop

Lidl cat food is excellent if your cat will accept the change. Grain free etc, for the price of a budget food. Litter is less the £2 a sack

If your shop is mainly high processed food then perhaps lidl isn't the place for you ( we don't have Aldi so I cant comment) but as a scratch cook, Ive no problems with the quality of lidl products and feed us 3 extremely well on what could be considered as fresh air

MrsSippi

Wow, thanks for all the replies. Sorry for not checking in sooner, I have been away. This thread has been massively helpful and I have picked up some great tips so thank you.

We have got a Lidl a 10 min car drive away and an Aldi 30 mins away (so I don't mind going there once or twice a month and stocking up a bit). Personally I find with our nearest shops that I prefer aldi for everything except their fruit and veg, which is diabolical quality. I've stopped buying it from there as it all went mouldy within a day or two :mad:

I've even found that the quality of the fruit and veg in lidl as slipped a bit recently which is disappointing but I'll stick with it for now.

On the other hand I have got a bit lazy and been buying everything from lidl recently as its a bit closer but want to get back to using aldi again. I can always get a few extra bits in lidls when I get fresh stuff every week.

Our grocery spend has been getting a bit out of hand recently (mainly due to lack of proper meal planning - I get fed up with doing it all the time and think I've hit a bit of a wall) so really need to get back on track, especially as we have reviewed finances recently and we only have a teeny £200 pm left over which is bloomin' tiny so really can't afford to be eating into this

I'm going to test all this at the weekend as that is when I will be doing my bigger shop at Aldi so think that with a bit of planning (coupled with the fact that I've stocked up on toiletries for the next couple of months) I can stick solely to aldi and lidl and get a handle on my shopping budget again. Fingers crossed....

kerri_gt

suki1964 wrote: »

Lidl cat food is excellent if your cat will accept the change. Grain free etc, for the price of a budget food. Litter is less the £2 a sack

I shall tell that to my moggie who used to eat it...then decided to turn her nose up at it and will now not touch it.

Aldi cat food she will however eat....obviously...because I don't really have an aldi that is overly convenient to get to, so it's trip to Sainsbob's for cat food for her (our local Tesco Metro is next to useless for ...well just about anything).

suki1964

kerri_gt wrote: »

I shall tell that to my moggie who used to eat it...then decided to turn her nose up at it and will now not touch it.

Aldi cat food she will however eat....obviously...because I don't really have an aldi that is overly convenient to get to, so it's trip to Sainsbob's for cat food for her (our local Tesco Metro is next to useless for ...well just about anything).

Mine is the same, tucked into it with gusto, I would even do a 40mile round trip to get it, then he decided he didn't like it any more and will now only eat Felix

Cats - who would have them:rotfl:

Pollycat

suki1964 wrote: »

Mine is the same, tucked into it with gusto, I would even do a 40mile round trip to get it, then he decided he didn't like it any more and will now only eat Felix

Cats - who would have them:rotfl:

I'll take him off your hands.
He sounds like my type of cat.

dreaming

suki1964 wrote: »

Yes

Plus you have the pleasure of being in and out in 15 mins for a weeks shop

Lidl cat food is excellent if your cat will accept the change. Grain free etc, for the price of a budget food. Litter is less the £2 a sack

If your shop is mainly high processed food then perhaps lidl isn't the place for you ( we don't have Aldi so I cant comment) but as a scratch cook, Ive no problems with the quality of lidl products and feed us 3 extremely well on what could be considered as fresh air

Thanks - cat is probably the main snag in the plan but I guess I can call into one of the others for his food (I always check where it is on offer anyway and stock up). He doesn't use a litter tray except when he has been ill.
I don't buy very much processed food - just a few tins for emergencies. Just usual beans (all sorts)/tinned tomatoes/lentils etc. for making lasagnes/bolognese/chilli - plus fresh meat, cheese etc. I have switched over to mostly frozen veg. as living on my own I found I was struggling to use up fresh veg. quickly enough without eating the same thing for days on end. I don't mind 2 days running (love 2nd day lasagne) but there is a limit. Anyway, as I said, I will probably give them both a whirl over the next couple of weeks. The last time I tried Aldi it was very busy and like a rugby scrum for some things so I just wanted to leave. Maybe I just picked the wrong day/time to go.

suki1964

Pollycat wrote: »

I'll take him off your hands.
He sounds like my type of cat.

Unfortunately he isn't well and we are having to come to a decision. Hes only two and has been in and out of the vets every week since June

He has feline Herpes which is coming out as eye ulcers which are extremely painful for him


Anyways to keep on topic, Im just back from my lidl and OMG, they seem to have gone completely Irish and have introduced lots of new products, all made from Irish produce, this on top of their French promotion week. I have to admit I went a bit mad and my bill came to a whopping £38 but Ive enough food in the house to see out a siege I think

Oh and something else thats new to us, they are putting in electric car charging ports so you can charge for free whilst shopping

PLRFD

Awwww poor moggy I’ve not heard of that.

kerri_gt

suki1964 sorry to hear poor mog isn't keeping well - I think in that case he's allowed to be as picky as he likes.

what kind of things did Lidl have for Irish food? I am out of the grocery budget until Wed but might pop in after that (though I did a load of batch cooking the other weekend and we're pretty well stocked with everything else so I'm not sure I need much really)

VfM4meplse

PLRFD wrote: »

Awwww poor moggy I’ve not heard of that.

Just as well. Ocular involvement is particularly nasty, and unfortunately not confined to pets.