Advice on Aldi/Lidl

[somewherewest]

I'm planning to be an SAHM for a few years once our first is born, so we're looking for ways to slim down our outgoings. Has anyone good any advice on whether Aldi or Lidl are worth it? I've heard that some Aldi/Lidl products are really good and some are crap, but have no ideas which is which...

Or 'got' any advice even. That'll teach me to post without a proof read

hi i used to be a tesco/morrisons fan until prices started to go,anyway a friend told me how she swapped to aldi n luved it,so decided to give it a try n now i am converted love their products n so much cheaper,would def recommend them,fair enough their maybe things that are not great but u don't know till u try. av tried lidl once but wasnt keen but have heard recently that they are good too so may give them a go one week x

been doing my shop at lidl for past 3 weeks and you can really notice the difference - 39p for porridge oats!, fruit and veg is excellent quality and even booze is cheaper. some of the crownfield cereals are a bit sawdust -like, but for staples like pasts, rice, sugar, eggs, flour, squash, veg, fruit, passata, you cannot be beaten! Did a big shop for £4o last week , only got some meat and odds and ends from other supermarket. Go for it.......! Oh, and bonus is that our one is often empty so feels stress-free!

Lidl are fab. No Aldi near here so I can't compare. My only complaint is that you can't shop online, but I guess if you could the prices would go up!

Did notice one woman in there last week packing her stuff in Waitrose carrier bags, which made me chuckle

We do this thread on the 'Food' section. I use Aldi for basics then pop over to sainsbos for the other stuff or branded stuff which is better.

I am one of those Waitrose bagged women too - just cos I reuse the bags and love waitrose!

However, I wouldnt say you save a vast amount. As I buy the premium side of the Aldi stuff your not going to save as much as you think. Some of it is rubbish and false economy. I buy the paramasan, premium tom, some breakfast cereal, everyday biscuits, veg, cream cheese, apple juice, nappies & wipes, washing powder, the better chocolate.

You need to meal plan before leaving the house, thinking about what days suit certain types of meals. I def believe its cheaper to batch cook, so eat one freeze one. Use cheaper, slow cook cuts too. Think about food waste too. I dont buy glossy magazines anymore, no crisps, readymades, pasties/sauage rolls (all cack). I buy what I need.

I cook from scratch and do loads of baking too. My weekly bill still comes in around £100. I was spending £140.

i love lidl with a passion now, we get a whole trolley full of stuff for about £90 which would be £170+ in sainsbos.

my weekly faves are their:
lamb shanks
free range whole chook
veg, which is loads better than aldi
pollock fish fingers £1.50 for 15 and taste just like birdseye.
pull up nappies and wetwipes
their frozen veg and chips
parmesan
the choc selection
toiletries

so much great stuff i can't remember it all

I use lidl about once a month to stock up on certain basics. You can sign up to get a email with their offers on which is helpful.

I used to shope at Asda or Sainsbury's and would easlily spend £150 each week. Circumstances forced us to change and I now shop at Aldi. Usually spend £70 a week. I don't buy fruit or veg from there as it does tend to go off v quickly but everything else is great.
The cooked meats, cheeses, cereals, coffee, pasta, rice , free range chicken are all v good quality. Hubby says the lager and beers are good too. I have even bought some of their skin serum and hair serum which is v good. I hate popping into other supermakerkets now as I always get distracted by their BOGOF's and special offers (I clearly have no will power!)
When I first went in I didn't recognise anything so it took ages to buy things for meals but now I can be in and out an about 30 mins. It is a bit alarming when they throw your stuff through the check out and will not slow down for anything but I have developed tactics to 'cope'. I take 4 large Ikea blue bags and put them in the trolley once I've emptied it. As the assistant throws the stuff to me I drop it in to the bags, I don't have time to sort out chilled etc but I get home in 10 mins so not really a problem for me.

Give it a go

Don't expect great customer service, and yes, take your own carriers. I use Aldi for basics & can recommend:
olive oil
rice
chocolate
deli meats
wine
cheese
bake it yourself croissants
oven chips
Some veg
Pesto sauce
Chutney/pickle
olives & gherkins
Italian-brand pasta
Skin cream & shampoo

The above are very good quality and cheaper than Tesco/Sains. The choc, wine & rice are especialy good.
Breakfast cereal - they do a good muesli called Really Nutty. The 'normal' cereal is incredibly sweet. I don't like their bread, although they do naan & pittas which are good. I buy most of my meat & fish from elsewhere. Their fish mostly isn't sustainable.

Oh and their Red Pesto, pitta breads, Salmon Wellongton and Red Onion Chutney are amazing!! When we have friends over for something to eat they are always shocked to discover that they're eating Aldi stuff.

Yes, the pesto is really good value. Lots of that kind of thing is half the price of Sains etc. Forgot to add Ice cream to the list.

I saw the Salmon Wellington - must give it a go!

Also when I was making the Christmas cake last year I bough the ingredients in Aldi & then went over to Sains. The icing sugar, fruit, glace cherries etc were much cheaper

We buy the aldi premium diet lemonade, the flour wraps, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tinned marrowfat peas, fruit, breaded chunky cod, family size beef and mushroom pie, gammon, oven chips, premium cat food in pouches, crisps and prawn crackers, soya milk, cream, half fat cheese, mini trifles, pasta sauce.

Aldi is very good quality and therefore very good value for money. We started going when DH was made redundant over ten years ago and I have not stopped going.
I have been to Lidl but spent more money as they have more choice and lots more branded goods.
The staff at Aldi are great, very friendly and helpful. You do need to take your own bags but once you get into the habit, it's easy. We have sevearl of the large canvas shoppers bought from Aldi. The food goes on to the conveyor, back into the trolley at the till end, we then packood into the bags in the boot of the car.

Forgot - Aldis face wash and moisturisers are brilliant! For hubby the head and shoulders sensitive equiv is only 65p while the offical H&S is over £2.50.

Frozen salmon is a rip off as the portions are tiny and the whole bag feeds just the two of us. However the frozen tuna is great value.

I always take my own bags when shopping cant see that being a problem for anyone.

You do have limited choose however, I am much more careful now when buying. Always take a list!

I use Aldi.
Most stuff is good. I don't like their baked beans. Nor do I like their half fat cheese or their strong bishopsland cheese. Mild cheese is fine for the children & thier mozzarella is good.

The deli meats are good.

Take your own bags & be prepared not to pack at the checkouts!

Their choc spread is NOTHING like nutella but my son likes it & it stops me eating it!

I just swapped this week and got chopped tomatoes - about 30p a tin, compared to 50p at Morrisons and b. beans for 23p a tin, again about half what you'd pay at Morrisons.
I got their seeded batch bread which was £1 a loaf and quite good. Also multi packs of crisps and juice boxes (for picnics) v good value.
My best deal was their make up though - foundation, compact powder and mascara about £2.50 each and in nice packaging and seems quite good to me. Their anti agingstuff is also meant to be v good. The big bottles of blue moisturising body lotion is also fantastic for my DC's very dry skin - keeps it nice all day.
V impressed so far and am using it to get as much of my shopping list as possible then topping up at Morrisons

Sorry, value chopped toms are never good value, absolutely packed full of watery puree. Their premium side are better but with tinned toms there is deffinately a difference you can see the water residue when cooking.

the weetabix are the same as any.

Its is all about trying each one out really.

The other benefits that i find are that to me Aldi is a less stressful shopping experience as you don't have to choose between all the different brands and that i can get my shopping done far faster than i do in a 'normal' supermarket. There are many things that you cannot get (specific herbs etc...) but i find that i can do the bulk of my shopping there and occasionally get more specific ingredients for baking and whatever elsewhere.

I used the aldi eyeshadow duo, silver and dark grey, and it didn't crease all night. I second the body lotion in the blue bottle, no mineral oil or liquid parafin just natural oils it's very good. I hate paying out for mineral oil lotions because I might as well use baby oil and I want it to sink in not just sit on top. iyswim

Aldi nappies are fab- far better than Morisson's and Sainsburys' own, I reckon. I love the free-range chicken for a fiver, large FR eggs 99p for 6, olive oil, mozzarella, drinkable plonk for three quid a bottle, tinned toms, etc etc. Also they have a good range of fruit and veg, with 6 things on offer each week. This week I got avocados, a bunch of spring onions, and a head of celery for 39p each. However, I find I can't get everything I need there, so I go once a week and then do a Morisson's shop once a month or so.

Lidl Nappies are great too and half the price of others.
Their washing powder is good too and much cheaper than others (except when there is a special offer on). Cleaning products are all good.