To think Aldi has gone a bit shit if you are a veggie/vegan

[Edenspirits]

Actually Lidl isn’t much better. I used to quite like shopping in both of them but I really struggled to get decent veggie basics like lentils and beans etc. We are a bit of an old school veggie/vegan family- I like traditional veggie food like bean chilli and lentil spag Bol, mainly cos it’s cheap and you can bulk cook to save cash. There was lots of the fake meat type stuff but very few basics to actually cook with. I struggled to get stuff like soy sauce/ stock cubes etc. Even bags of rice that wasn’t that pre cooked stuff. We eat stuff like stir fry veggie rice etc - just quite basic veggie food.

Aibu to think it’s gone down hill a bit? We live on a budget but I am also busy and just need to be able to get most of what I need in one place- I used to be able to do that in Aldi but I can’t anymore. I also bloody hate loads of fake meat stuff- with the exception of Linda mcc veggie sausages.

Maybe it’s Brexit affecting supply too?! I don’t know- it’s just gone extra shit!! It’s our closest easiest supermarket that I don’t have to drive to so it’s annoying. Anyone else notice this?

There's a whole freezer section of veggie foods at our Aldi plus a new chiller section of vegan foods.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor yes but it’s all fake food stuff. That’s what I just said in my post. I don’t want loads of stuff like that - I want basics I can cook with

I think it must be branch dependent - ours still has quite a good range of staples and I've never noticed a particular decline in veggie stuff.

It might vary by store. I was there earlier this week and they had plenty of soy sauce and stock cubes. I'm not sure about rice as I didn't need that but I did see lentils.

I agree with you, our local keeps running out of dried pasta
We also avoid fake meat products and prefer to cook lentils and beans instead. I find Asda or Tesco pretty good

I kind of agree. While they do seem to have lots and lots of vegan things there are a lot of fake meat type products. I don’t like them. I’d rather a good bean burger than a fake meat burger.

Yes I agree. For veggie stuff to cook with I have to go to asda or Tesco a lot of the time. The fake food shite in Aldi (or anywhere else tbh) is really not good.

Maybe it’s our store- it’s been the last 3 or 4 times I have been in there

My local Lidl is great for our veg basics. I know what you mean about the fake stuff though. If I wanted to eat something dead I wouldn't be vegan, and I certainly don't want to eat something that looks like it is dead - boak.

YANBU- it’s near impossible to eat a healthy and balanced diet as a vegetarian by shopping exclusively at Aldi and Lidl. The bakery/fruit/veg is great. But I still find myself driving to Asda for the main part of my meal. Hubby isn’t veggie and has it easy as he highly rates the Aldi meats.

Red lentils are a good example- I mean- they are hardly exotic are they? I just can’t any type of dry lentils in Aldi anymore! It’s so weird.

I agree. They seem to be making a big show of the fake meat (which I also hate) and had a bit of a run on stocking nooch and moo free chocolate, but very poor for spices, herbs, range of plant milk, and the veg is not great quality. I've swapped to Asda where the veg selection is great.

I presume there is more margin on all the fake meat processed vegan options than in the traditional veggie staples. All of the supermarkets are pushing their processed vegan ranges but there is actually very little that I'd want to eat...

Don’t shop in Aldi so I can’t comment on that, but if the issue is convenience because it’s your nearest store without driving, why not just order online for delivery instead? All of the major supermarkets will shop the basics you talk about.

Stock*

Not vegetarian but I do buy ingredients not meals iyswim and I visit Aldi every few months to stock up.
I may stop this as on the last visit the store had shifted to a bigger selection of chilled foods and many things I used to buy seem to have disappeared.

@GiltEdges it’s cost too Altho Aldi isn’t as cheap either. I hate online shopping- I actually like being in a shop and choosing stuff

The items you are describing though aren't specific to a vegan diet. So it's not that they are not catering to your dietary wants but more that they are struggling with supplies possibly due to brexit. I'm a meat eater but the items you've mentioned would feature on my basics stock list. I can't say I've noticed those items specifically in short demand but do often find some items out of stock.

For rice and lentils and so on I would either go to an Asian supermarket or get big bags of rice & lentils, tins of chick peas and so on from the world food aisle at somewhere like Asda or Tesco. I buy rice in 5kg or even 10kg sacks. Works out much cheaper than small bags from Lidl and so on.

Is that an option for you? Even if it means a trip to a supermarket you don't usually shop at, the big bags last for ages so you don't have to go often.

@5128gap I did actually get some of their nooch but then couldn’t get anything to actually put it on/in!

Mind you the Tesco and Asda I visit have cut their ranges: no longer stock dried beans, just tins or dried red and green lentils.

Same in LIDL - I understand not being able to buy free-from baked goods as they are so expensive to stock in the first place, so don't fit their business model, but I find there just isn't enough non-processed or low-processed food in general. The fruit & veg in ours is half an aisle and there are no dried pulses at all, very few herbs and spices, but loads of dried pasta n sauce, pot noodles, etc. We go to lidl to buy minimal amounts of guilty "treat" things like chocolate and crisps but generally have to do our big shop elsewhere. Even the "middle of lidl" (3 aisles!) is quite disappointing - ours seems to be mainly power tools, bath mats, toilet seats etc.

@Pumpfive well no, but when they are central to your diet it does make life loads harder!

Really? I find it ok but I literally only get: broccoli, spinach, onions, avocados, celery, tomatoes, sweet potato, butternut squash, passata, pasta. And from the fruit: bananas, apples, oranges, mango.

I have a very limited diet but it seems to work. I’m literally in and back out in half an hour, and am vegan. My shopping rarely comes to more than £40.

Lidl has just had a vegan month.

You have to remember that supermarkets will stock what sells, they aren't interested if none buys it.