To ask if you shop in Aldi/Lidl what you eat?

[Topsyshair]

As in a rough weekly meal plan, all meals.

Also do you solely shop there and do you cook from scratch or use jars/ready meals?

I ask because I'd like to start shopping there to save money, and because everyone raves about how good it is, but I've never really been able to find everything I need. I also find that some of the branded stuff is as cheap if you buy it on offer, or for example the smart price version is cheaper than Aldi's.

I want to give Aldi/Lidl another go but need convincing I think.

There’s a few things I find I can never get so have to go elsewhere, usually leeks and rice noodles. I don’t like their crisps either and I always buy branded cleaning products and toiletries elsewhere but that’s just because I have brands I prefer for cleaning etc.

A generalised weekly meal plan would be

• Chicken Stir Fry
• Steak Chips and veg (Lidl steak medallions are amazing and cheap)
• Spanish Omelette
• Chilli Con Carne
• Toad in the hole
• Chicken wrapped in Parma ham and veg
• Sunday Chicken Roast and all the trimmings

All of the ingredients I get from Lidl, minus the rice noodles/leeks. We also always have a large selection of things for lunches in the week for work, sandwich fillings, pastas etc and a wide range of breakfast items.

We also love their speciality broccoli as it’s much cheaper than tenderstem from all the other supermarkets, fruit and veg is all of very good quality and the bakery is lovely too!

Thanks, it's things like certain herbs I often find they don't have, or as you say branded toiletries, I end up getting fed up going to different shops and give in.

I buy all my branded cleaning products and usually most of my toiletries from Poundland! So then I just have to go to Lidl for the food side of things. Perhaps going to another supermarket and stocking up on herbs and spices etc is a good idea!

I top up from a big supermarket monthly for coffee, paneer cheese, non dairy milks, frozen fish etc but shop in either aldi or lidl every week. An average week might be home made pizza, fish and chips, lentil chilli, tuna steak and roasted veg, risotto with halloumi, jacket spuds, curry. Himself will have gammon or chops.

Ok - breakfast lidl do own brand weetabix and muesli porridge includung those microwave sachets.
Greek yoghurt.
Fruit

Lunch - rye bread. Lots of really nice good value ham and cheese.

Good pizzas esp the posh ones. Lovely dips and olive snacky bits. Great crackers - the rosemary ones are divine.

I buy mince, chicken thighs pork steaks duck to cook. Usual veg, potatos pasta rice. Just the usual fresh produce. They do specials on foods from certain regions. I try stuff and have favourites like stuffed aubergines and this greek sauce.

I find that Aldi has got better as time has gone on - you can now get almost everything there as long as you aren’t bothered by brands. Risotto rice and nice cordial are 2 things I end up getting from elsewhere.
Typical week might be:
Chicken and couscous
Fish pie
Chilli or lasagne
Tuna stir fry (their tuna steaks are good)
Sausage and mash
Pulled pork or a roast.
They aren’t great for ready meals and jar sauces etc but if you cook from scratch it’s just a case of getting used to not having such a vast choice.

I tend to do weekly shopping in Aldi but go to asda once a month to get the bits I can't get in Aldi.

Great for basics if you cook from scratch but also does some real treats and brands.
Great basics in Lidl include:
spaghetti -20p
Penne-30p
Angel delight- 30p
Greek Yoghurt -£1.50 for a giant tub
Chocolate- from 30p to £2.00 depending on brand.
Pizza- 2 x pepperoni for £1.50
Cheese-£1.50 for a pack

Real treats I have got from there:
Truffle oil
Sunflower seeds in chocolate
Salmon en croute
olives in lemon and garlic
Chocolate ice cream
Reeces peanut butter cups

Aldi has a great selection of wholefoods.

I am a complete convert and only go into other supermarkets under duress. Tescos is a complete pita with their automated tills. Sainsbury's and Waitrose seem like daylight robbery in comparison.

The general shop is much cheaper there. Usually every item is at least 10p cheaper.

We principally use Lidl however I get frozen prawns /salmon and the large packs of chicken from Aldi.

We do mix of using sauces or cooking from scratch. Both are cheaper.

Thanks you're all making me so hungry with all those nice sounding meals.

I think I'll have to give it another try, I do remember that their dips were dirt cheap and their coleslaw, cooked meats etc.

I can't shop solely in Lidl due to the lack of nice toiletries and unperfumed stuff, no Long Life or Cravendale milk, no good cheeses, dishwasher tablets are foul and highly perfumed, and often find that the fresh produce is either going mouldy or costs more than elsewhere, is often the same price.

For other household members, beer and gin but not the mixers or ready mixed as it contains sweeteners, meat products for those that want them, packaged ready to use salmon.

The packaged bread is no cheaper than elsewhere and the bakery is covered in flies, sleeve fluff and sneezes so only use that on rare visits.

The atmosphere is horrible, customers shove you out of the way and the aisles are too narrow. Morrisons is cheaper/the same price and has more space to move around.

I find the cleaning products and toiletries to be just as good as branded.

We use Lidl and Aldi for most of our fresh food. We don't use any ready meals or jars of sauces. I also order on Suma Wholesale for things that I buy in bulk (eco washing up liquid, lentils, oats, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, etc). I occasionally pop to Waitrose for things like vanilla bean paste.

I particularly like the lean meatballs and burgers that Aldi have. They are only 5 percent fat. Much better than Sainsbury's and Asda's but not particularly cheap. I normally have to shop at Asda as well as Aldi for certain branded items we like.

I spend £45-£55 per week to feed our family ( 2DDs and me and DH)
I have to nip into Sainsbury's or Tesco too though as Lidl doesn't always have what I need (for some reason our Lidl is averse to stocking leeks!)
Each Thursday eve I write a menu for the coming week (starting on a Friday, that's when I have the time to shop!) and I write a food list of what I need for each meal.
I don't use their washing powder or conditioner though as I find it doesn't smell nice as long as branded stuff so they get bought on offer in Sainsbury's or Tesco. Likewise dishwasher tablets.

we do Lidl, Aldi and farmfoods. Our meals on rotation tend to be

Fish chips and veg
Spag bol
Sausage, tomato and pepper pasta bake
Butter chicken and rice
Spaghetti carbonara
Cheese toasties and tomato soup
Pizza and salad
Special fried rice with prawn toast and chicken curry
Roast dinner
Chicken/burgers , corn cobs, wedges
Sausage, mash, peas and gravy with yorkies
Sausage and beans on toast ( topped with cheese)
Broccoli and cauliflower cheese topped with bacon bits
Chicken fajitas and salad

I am sure there is more but that's the general gist. We add a lot more soups/casseroles/stews in the winter.

I shop in Lidl but top up in a big supermarket for herbs, crisps etc
I find aldi good for ready meals but Lidl better for basics (their own brand higgedy pies are brilliant)
So typical Lidl week
Breakfasts;
Granola and yogurt
Waffles
Bagels
English muffins.
Main meals;
Chicken burgers (chicken breasts using their bbq marinade)
Jacket potatoes with sausages/ribs or pulled beef
Stews
Curry’s (their curry sauce with the spice on top is lovely)

Thai green curry sauce is good
Chicken marinaded with tikka paste, salad and rice
Vegetable chow mein (their pre cooked noodles are great)
Vegetable Risotto
Just normal stuff.
The ketchup, mayo, bbq sauces etc are great, lovely chutneys and marinades.

Premium Cat food is nutritionally very very good value
Bathroom cleaner is brilliant
Compost bin liners are great
Window cleaner good
Deodorant, shower gel (their men’s gel with the yellow /gold border in a black bottle smells Devine) are all brilliant.
I use Aldi’s toilet cleaner
Aldi’s biscuits are lovely
They also have a good veggie range.

I was genuinely struggling to feed my family but now I have a bit spare.

I find Lidl and Aldi excellent and only use Tesco or Asda occasionally for things I can't get elsewhere. Even better now the stores are being refitted. Good cheeses and veg locally (they source things locally - eg in Scotland, Aldi McCallum dairy is actually Graham's, the big independent dairy.), I am assured that Lidl dog and cat food is excellent by the resident zoo thought the dogs prefer dry food and treats from Aldi. Brilliant on the booze side. I understand that all Aldi beauty and household cleaning stuff is animal friendly but I need to find out about septic tank friendliness. Ignore the brands - they regularly win blind taste tests.

Ooh I feel lucky that our Lidl and aldi have leeks!

Either shop in Lidl or Aldi and a typical weeks looks a bit like this...

Filled pasta with pasta sauce and garlic bread.

Chicken and vegetables

Sausage, mash (ready made) and beans

Fish, chips, peas and sweet corn

Roasted vegetable pasta

Pizza

I only shop in them. We eat regularly - spaghetti Bol, frozen veg and chicken nuggets or fish fingers, various assembled food - chicken lattice type things, loads of raw fruit and veg, loads of airy stuff, pizzas, looking at this my kids need a diet shake up!

The only thing I go elsewhere for is coffee and coffee syrup and fruit winders

We go between a few shops - Aldi for the majority, Asda or Tesco for non-frozen quorn products and baby fruit pouches and then B&M or Home Bargains for Zoflora and incidentals such as Mayflower and Blue Dragon sauces.

Our shops are walking distance and we tend to do smaller shops every couple of days - the fruit and veg doesn't last long at all and you have to be careful that you check it hasn't already gone off on the shelf.
Also none of the food - fresh fruit/veg is anywhere near as good as m and s but it is soooo much cheaper. (We raid the discount bin at m and s and fill the freezer!)

We do all our shopping in Aldi, bar the v occasional thing like lazy chilli and deodorant!

Our usual meals include:

Chicken and chorizo pasta bake
Jambalaya
Fajitas
Spag Bol/chilli
Fishcakes
Salmon and roasted new pots/veg
Thai green curry (they have a packet kit)
Tuna steak
Sausage and mash
Stir fry
Meatballs and pasta/rice
Home made curry
Salmon Wellington (frozen)
Fish and chips and mushy peas
Sausage and bean casserole
Stuffed pork tenderloin wrapped in Parma ham