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.

This week:

Breakfast: Greek yogurt, fruit, honey
Toast with peanut butter (peanut butter from Holland and Barrett)
Cereal

Lunch: minestrone
Various sandwiches, fruit, salad etc.

Dinner: salade nicoise
Chorizo and olive pizza with salad
Mint and feta omelettes
Turkey escalopes (turkey from elsewhere) with new potatoes, broccoli, courgettes and tomatoes
Spicy fish stew
Felafel with flathead and salad
Lemon and saffron chicken.

I've shopped in Lidl for ever, even when it was seriously uncool. For a while it was Waitrose and Lidl but Waitrose soon lost out. Waitrose and Lidl bcs they're small shops btw.

I admit I used to schlepp about getting the equivalent of leeks elsewhere - actually gf products; but now both Lidl and Aldi do gf products so it's all under one roof. These days if they don't have something I do without. I definitely can't be bothered to go to another supermarket.

I just love Lidl. Who would go anywhere else?

The Lidl Greek yoghurt it very tasty but it's not 'live' like total. Is the Aldi Greek yoghurt live does anyone know?

broomstick Aldi have just started doing a peanut butter which is EXACTLY like Meridien - no added palm oil, sugar or salt. I’d swear on it being the same stuff repackaged.

Breakfast - Greek yogurt and berries
Porridge
Weetabix
Waffles and berries
Croissants and berries

Lunch
Sandwiches or wraps with:

Hummus salad
Soft cheese and cucumber
Cold meats
Feta and olive salad

Soup made with random veg, crusty bread.

Tuna and cheese pain

Salad with cheese or meat

Dinner:
Roasted veg lasagne
Risotto with salmon or prawns
Fishcakes, new potatoes, broccoli
Sausages, mash and veg
Pizza
Pasta bake

Lots of other stuff too. Don't need to go elsewhere. I get toiletries and cleaning products from pound shop or home bargains.

@shednik how does one make "Tuna and cheese pain"?

Asking for a friend

I've just done our weekly shop there today (2 adults).

This week we will have;
Spag Bol with garlic bread
Chilli con carne and rice (sometimes we have tortillas chips aswell)- we often do a big batch of both of these and freeze them for later on in the week also.
Sausage with veg
I cook a gammon and use that all week for sandwiches and salads. We will also have it with potato wedges and beans one night.
Beef stew
Fish or fish cakes with new potatoes and peas.

We cook our meals from scratch- no packets sauces etc but Aldi do them if we wanted to use them.
They do really good convenience food also- a lovely sourdough pizza!

I really rate them. I've managed to get all of our food this week and loo roll/ cleaning products and a couple of beers for £30.

If you cook from scratch they are great. If you need to use a lot of ready meals or prepared stuff they will never have the range of the "proper" supermarkets.

I use them for
vegetables
flour and sugar
olive oil
parmesan cheese
pasta
salami or ham sometimes

If you're not middle class enough to make your own croissants, Lidl’s are far better than Sainsburys and half the price.

Who makes their own croissants

Lidl and Aldi quality is at least equivalent to Finest level or branded, often better, for most products, so it's not a fair comparison to compare with value ranges at other supermarkets.

Greek Yoghurt far superior to other supermarket own brands. Ranges expanded hugely over last couple of years so the 'cannot gets' list is now much shorter than it used to be.

Also try to move away from just buying once a week for the week ahead. Rotate supermarkets and stock up with what's best at different shops.

Aldi’s chicken and mango flatbread pizza 😋

I do all my food shopping in Lidl. I pop to B&M Bargains for certain branded cleaning products and coffee.

Have just found my last two Lidl receipts. Some cheap favourites are:

Thick wholemeal bread - 47p
Potato scones (6 pack) - 49p
Crumpets (6 pack) - 35p
Cream crackers - 40p
Golden vegetable savoury rice - 35p
Garlic and onion tomato pasta sauce - 55p
Fake Lurpak (500g) - £1.99
Medium cheddar (350g) - £1.59
Premium coleslaw (300g)- 89P
Cheese triangles (400g) - £1.69
Sweet potato fries (frozen) - £1.45
Chipolata sausages (10 pack) - £1.89
Boned chicken thigh fillets - £2.35
Free range large eggs (6) - 90p
NAS apple and blackcurrant squash (1.5L) - 85p
12 pack of still water (500ml bottles) - £1.49

We really like the fruit and veg, and rarely have problems with it. I won't list the prices because there are too many on my receipts and the costs may bounce up and down depending on your location, where things are sourced, what's on offer, etc. But it is very reasonable.

Non-food items that we also really like:

Cien anitbac liquid hand soap (500ml) - 69p
W5 Aloe Vera washing up liquid (500ml) - 49p
Sanitary towels (long and winged, I personally find them brilliant) - 45p for 12.
Formil liquid laundry detergent (3L) - £2.99. It lasts us AGES and doesn't clog the machine up the way powder does.

I buy from Aldi
Own brand rice crispies
Butter
Sausages- both the cheapo basic 12 pack and the slightly dearer 8 pack lincolnshire sausages. Both are great for different meals.
Aberdeen angus burgers. Waygu burgers from time to time.
Ready meals -curries and sweet and sour chicken.
Ready cooked whole chicken for quick salady meals.

We like the crisps -and the price is definitely good.

In Lidl I buy pitta bread. Tea . Houmous
Mussles. Wine

Shop in Lidl - average week would be lasagne (ready made, massive, super easy and delicious and only like £2/£3.. curry, steaks chips and veg, chicken stir fry, enchiladas, gammon chips and peas, slow cooker pork or chicken roast, spag bol. Plus breakfast/lunch stuff and some booze normally comes to about £60 per week