Aldi newbie-what won't I be able to get or at lidl? And what's really good?

[Molehillmountain]

I sometimes go to lidl, but never aldi because there isn't a local one. I'm going to visit a friend near one this week so I'm planning a whole weekly shop there. Anything I really should get, or won't be able to? Looking forward to cutting our ridiculous bill and not having offers to suck me in.

Their washing powder is really good and its only £2.99
Their cereal is nice too I try to buy as much as I can really

Thanks! I might just do a whole shop there this week and cross off things we don't like and do a little shop in between. Assuming we don't like everything, of course.

Magnum washing up liquid it's better than Fairy, it's got a Good Housekeeping sticker on the bottle.
Bin bags 20 for £1.49 thick, strong and perfect size for kitchen swing bin.
Magnum dishwasher tablets.
Ironing water.
Aldi own cleaning stuff is ace, the grapefruit kitchen spray especially.

Food wise they do nice sub rolls and ciabatta for packed lunches, I love their chickens for a roast with their frozen parsnips and frozen roast potatoes.

All cleaning stuff.
check out their special offers on the website to help with meal planning.
Plum toms excellent and only 39p
Bread and part-baked
They do an 'extra special' range of tomato pesto which is really tasty. Passata is good too.
Juice cartons - 99p for 6
Eggs/Yogs/cheeses all good.
I'm not so keen on their cold meats/hams as most of it seems to be made from formed meat.
Haven't tried any of the frozen food other than the icecream which is good.

Try and avoid the aisles of crap filled with stuff that you thought you'd never need but can't do without out :o

Their from cauliflower cheese is amazing, I could happily eat a whole bag myself

Only thing I don't like about aldi is I am always the only person in the whole place doing a big shop! Makes me feel like a greedy heifer. Everyone else is either popping in for 2 items or has a tiny amount in the bottom of their trolley, I'm the only one struggling to push a trolley overflowing with stuff

"frozen" cauliflower cheese

Buy everything from aldi and then actively black list the stuff you think it's worth going elsewhere for...even if you chuck something away it isn't going to be more than £1 wasted say if you don't like the ketchup etc

Personally I buy almost all the shop. I go elsewhere for herbal/decaf tea bags and de caf carte noir , oh and knorr stock cubes. Since they started doing all the baking stuff including cornflour , and marmite that has really been it. (but I actively BUY the aldi decaf coffee to take to mums, she like it!)

Branston baked beans from lidl/home bargains though.

Latest aldi find- the greek corner yogs - the kids think they are " way better" than muller ones..

I'm av recent convert to aldi thanks to MN. UFO about once a month for a few things. Stuff I love and only buy at aldi now include: mayo ( amazing), double/whipped cream, pesto, cheese, fruit on offer, pasta. Some things are a bit naff and I'm still trying new stuff. This month I'm going to try the cleaning products.

Cleaning products are great, as are bin bags (not the cheapest ones) food bags, foil and cling wrap.

I also use their dishwasher tablets, only thing I don't use is the washing powder/fabric softener as dd has eczema and the aldi non bio/gentle stuff smells a bit like pickled onions to me!

Mozzarella, Brie...their cheeses are good
Chocolate. They have lovely dark and continental choc and their children's stuff is far nicer than Cadburys etc.
Vanilla ice-cream (if you like it with vanilla seed)
Oatcakes
Pasta and rice
Tomato and ricotta sauce/pesto
curry sauces
Spices e.g. Chinese 5 spice
Washing powder/kitchen towel/washing up liquid
Can't go wrong with most of it

Moser Roth chocs are soooo much nicer than Thorntons

Definitely GreyDog. We will get our Easter chocolate from Aldi this year, for the children and us!

Most things are good but steer clear of the baked beans they are like bullets! The frozen crispy duck and pancakes is delicious. Really like there bacon too

What you need to know about Aldi, that fools newbies

Their paying is a bit different.
They run everything off the conveyorbelt at breakneck speed, and you load it back into your trolley, then you move to the shelf at the end and pack at your leisure. The system is MUCH quicker than other supermarkets, but throws people who are not expecting it
Also - you need to take your own bags / boxes or they charge you (think it's only about a penny a bag though, and you'll save FAR more than that
Also - they don't take credit cards. Cash or debit card only.

Re products - I agree with Thea's18 buy everything there. I don't think I've come across much that isn't to our taste - possibly tinned beans and raviolli - but you'll have save so much, if you waste a couple of items, you'll still have saved. All the cleaning stuff gets 'Which' Best Buy awards all the time - dishwasher tablets, washing powder, washing up liquid, etc.
I also like the fake own brand Baileys, and the choc chip brioche rolls

I'm not keen on their baked beans either, or their hummus. That's about it though. DH and I tried one of their sushi packs in the freezer section last month and that was nice.

We sometimes buy emergency puddings too if we have friends coming round for dinner and we haven't had time to make one. Their french apple tart is lovely.

Agree, lots of good stuff including frozen tuna steaks, wild salmon, all claiming to be 'marine friendly'. Their instant coffee is better than Tescos 'Gold' (though their filter coffee is weak!) and best of all, just found out that their 'Choceur' chocolate brand doesn't use palm oil!! (very hard to find choc or bics without it!). I used to love their cured beef product 'Breseola' but it has mysteriously disappeared from the shelves recently...

Curry sauces are awesome, the ones with the spice mix
Cured meats
Yoghurts - the fruit fools and the posh big tubs that look like onken are amazing - try mango and passionfruit
Lacura (beauty brand) have some awesome body butter on special buy this week - it'll be in the central aisles. Lacura stuff in general is great.
White choc and cranberry cookies - addictive!
Fresh fruit and veg is great - the raspberries are really sweet.
Beef and tomato meatballs
The pizzas tend to be generously loaded!

What most people don't realise is that most Aldi products are matched to a big brand for taste/ingredients/formulation, so just as good but cheaper.
They work on a different principle to Lidl so there is some stuff that Lidl's better for (sweets and nice fruit juice IMO) but Aldi is more like a real supermarket.

What beans are you lot buying that you don't like?

We buy the "corale" ones that come in a four pack for about £1.30 and they taste great to me.

There is a cheap essential tin but I've never tried them.

We have bought the Corale ones too. Actually, DH doesn't mind them, but he prefers Branston or Heinz. DS1 and I don't like them at all.

The dark chocolate digestives are lovely and they're half the price of even other supermarket own brand ones.

All the cereals are good.

The only horrible thing I've had was a stuffed chicken which tasted oddly sweet.

Inexplicably you can't get disinfectant. Or small bin liners. Don't buy the coffee, it's even worse than Morrison's coffee.

we like the corale beans :)

we're not so keen on the breakfast cereals though

You have made me want to go - ours is about £5 worth of diesel away (round-trip). Would it be worth it for 2 adults and one small child?

Aamia our Aldi is an 18 mile round trip. I go once a month and shop for everything I can for a month. Last month it was £205 - but that would have been £300 anywhere else. I wouldn't save as much if I was doing it weekly but I think it's worth a drive if you do a big shop there.

I have one more Aldi no no to add - toothpaste. It's runny and horrible.

Sorry in ours the fruit & veg is appalling - often mouldy. I know this varies massively from store to store, just tread carefully.

Bought some croissants which were horrid, other than that all fine i think.