Aldi anything to avoid?

[SweetPeaPods]

DH and I are having to make serious cut backs. One area we (or I) spend too much is on food shopping. So I’m going to start meal planning, taking a list, and start using Aldi and Lidl more. I’ve popped in to the local ones before but more for 1 or 2 things rather than a weekly shop. So hit me with your items to avoid please or anything I should really try. Anything that is the same as supermarkets or branded but repackaged would be much appreciated too! TIA

The only other issue I've had is with the plain wraps - the packets are meant to be resealable for freshness but our went green mouldy a month before the best before date.

We still buy them but use our own zip seal bags to store them in for freshness.

Yes, they never reseal and I have had them go dry or green - but then I live alone and only use about one a week!
Current pack has two left and went out of date 30th, but they are still fine.
I just live with the fact that bread products will need to be thrown away by me, due to being single and packs not coming in smaller sizes - though bagels are best for staying power.

I try my hardest to avoid Aldi altogether, even though it's the most convenient supermarket for me. I made a quick dash there after work one night after realising we had nothing in for dinner. Grabbed a lasagne as I wanted something I could just whack in the oven. It was absolutely revolting! My OH came home with a few bits from there the other week, including their version of Mini Eggs! They were horrible!
I hate how there's nowhere to pack your shopping into the bags at the checkout and you just kind of get everything chucked at you!

Lateral thinking answer: Avoid peak times if you can. Aldi and Lidl tend to have fewer staff so the queues get way long.

Fresh stuff only lasts a couple of dats and often bland.
Hardly any free from stuff if you have allergies
Careful your saving isn’t zapped by the aisle of random....
We saved more meal planning & internet shopping from sainos- less waste and better quality for main shop then an aldi run for the following which were way cheaper-
Nappies
Mature cheddar cheese
Continental meals
Pet food
Baking bits - flour, sugar etc

Sausages - gristly

I've used a couple of Aldis in the local area and the fruit & veg is great at one but crap at another.

I don't rate their pretend biscoff biscuits, but apart from those, I've never had an issue with anything else. Their meat is great.

I love all of Aldi - except the scented candles! But I live in Ireland and they use local suppliers for cheese and meat. I even love their mayonnaise- and I’m a total food snob.

Also the Almat washing liquid for clothes, the sensitive one. It is as good as Fairy sensitive and has won awards.

I’ve saved a fortune and we have not noticed any taste or quality difference. My kids prefer most of their stuff.

I hate their tea though - but I’m a total tea junkie.

Fake monster munch -rank!

Their fish fingers are not nice

For some reason i think their bananas dont taste very nice but been happy with most other things. I usually have to top up witha few bits and pieces if i go to Aldi.(not tried Lidl as not sure where our nearest one is) Also beware of the terrifying speed they scan/throw the food at you at the til! Its almost impossible to pack into bags!

I hate how there's nowhere to pack your shopping into the bags at the checkout and you just kind of get everything chucked at you!

You're not supposed to pack at the tills though.

Their equivalent of the Nature Valley cereal bars; the cheapest ground coffee (the £1.99 Ethiopian blend is nice tho); the strawberries I bought last week. If you like your chopped tomatoes properly chopped avoid them (DP and DD complained about this).
Our nearest Aldi is small so it's difficult to look at things properly when it's busier times so I would recommend going at a quieter time.

I love the Moser Roth chocolate.
As for other food, we tend to buy from the 'specially selected ' range and find it to be perfectly acceptable. Not that we go often as it's about half an hour away.
I don't use Lidl, even though there's a huge one nearby. We tried it for a while but, apart from the fresh bakery, found the food to be poor quality and a very limited selection.

Do all my shopping at Aldi, do have access to all the other stores, Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsburys but it is my favourite. Can't think of anything I don't like but there are some things that I have to go elsewhere to get like certain spices, stock cubes.

We call the middle aisle

The Shiny Aisle of Shite....

I have never been to ALDI but my sister in law in Ireland shops there and bought me lots of LACURA and le Mara skincare from there for a Christmas box (very inexpensive) I normally use Clairns skincare and I am converted ! What a difference it has made to my skin for very little cost. Good luck with budgeting

It's fine, the veg does seem to go off quicker but otherwise there's no major issues with their substitutes however they dont stock many things

Most of their stuff comes off the same production lines as main brands. There is the story of multipack crisps from aldi opened up and filled with walkers packets. I know the baby food is made by heinz and I had a friend who worked in a biscuit factory. Occasionally he would have a huge box of rejects you would find packets from all the supermarkets including aldi and there were also packets made by the leading brands. I guess the majority of stuff is exactly the same as main brands.

Dc like the multigrain hoops, fruit wheat cereals, brioches and the frozen potato waffles. I tend to use Aldi for tinned/packeted food, but buy meat and fruit/veg from the market. Their tinned sweetcorn is fine. My friend also got me some Moser Roth strawberry and violet creams for Christmas, and they were lovely.

Potatoes . So full of black bits . I will usually hoik out any bruised bits but I would've been left with no potato

Oh and I bought some of their Magnum Dishwasher liquid tabs (not the solid ones , they're ok)

The gel ones smelled like a rank manky dishcloth .........after the cycle my dishes smelled like a rank manky dishcloth .

Disagree with the gravy, we specifically buy Aldi’s as we love it!

Do agree their ketchup is rank though. Cereals are very good, ditto crisps.

The veg/fruit is hit & miss in ours. Meat is fine, if I think it may not be used in time I just freeze on the day I buy.

We love their fresh stuff. I always buy a bag of spinach and a bag of rocket and it lasts until the next food shop. Love their biscuits, baby stuff, shampoo, cleaning products, bread, coffee, alcohol. Tried their own pimms today and was fab! We have found the meat hit and miss and I've had to bin a few things but that could just be my branch. Everything else is great though.

Shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath are rubbish.
Bread not rubbish but look out for dates as it usually only has a couple of days before sell by.

Ex Aldi employee here I can confirm that a significant amount of stock comes from same supplier as M&S (we had branded fresh stuff accidentally sent to us by accident so the staff got it for free)
Having worked for another major supermarket as well as aldi I can tell you that they are tight as shit on the quality of fresh products. There will always be one person who has a horror story tho which is the same for every supermarket. Personally I liked the coffee, chocolate and meats. I wasn't as keen on the s&v crisps as I like mine v strong but everything else was fine