Bloody love Aldi! Another gorgeous tea tonight with clean plates!

[jimijack]

Pasta bake with bacon chucked in & garlic bread. Total cost less than £1 per head.
Plates scraped clean.

Last night it was hunters chicken with rice.

I haven't found anything we haven't liked since I started shopping there.

Saved loads of money and we eat really well.

The only thing at Aldi we don't like is their gravy powder - so salty! We got a frozen glazed gammon joint after Christmas which was disgusting, but it was a one off. Everything else we have tried we love and I don't think I would shop anywhere else. We save on average around £30 a week from what we used to.

I've been gradually shopping more at Aldi and less at Sainsburys for the past year, there are some things you can't get there but overall savings make it worth the effort of going to two shops.
Stuff we buy regularly;
Cholesterol lowing yoghurt drinks, miles cheaper and OH can't detect any taste difference (and his levels are staying low)

Frozen packs of 3 stone baked cheese and tomato pizzas, pile with your own toppings, fab

Salmon en croute in dill and cheese sauce......yummy

Packs of frozen tuna steaks, also the chicken breasts, both £3.95 a pack

Also must mention their washing tablets, colour, Bio and non Bio ones work really well and have Good Housekeeping awards!

Oh yes, and cat food! The sachets and bags of crunchies get wolfed down by our three toms, and they do a 'senior' range which they seem to prefer...

Artandco my coeliac cousin informs me that all aldi stock cubes are gluten free - we cook for her quite a lot perhaps the store was due a delivery when you went as my local aldi always has aubergine, pineapple and blueberries

I converted to Aldi about 18 months ago. Mainly because someone had recommended their nappies.

I had been shopping at Sainsburys for everything. The only thing I buy from Sainsburys now are branded yoghurts and snack type things that my oldest ds likes.

I buy everything else in Aldi. Im spending on average £50 per week for a family of 4 and 2 cats.

I've tried their shower gel, shampoo etc but didn't like it so don't by any toiletries from them. I find that Aldi's strawberries go off really quick but haven't had a problem with anything else.

I love that I can get a full weeks shop done in 15 minutes after school with 2 kids in tow.

This thread is great and has given me the motivation to try shopping there again... although I went to Lidl.. it was good, but my life is busy and I couldn't face getting the extra stuff from sainsburys as well. I just wish they delivered (althoughi suppose cost would go up)

One question, is there a good alternative to Lurpak? and is their cheap washing powder any good?

This has inspired me to try Aldi!

Stupid question - do they sell any branded goods? Or just their own stuff?

It's just their own stuff but there is a choice of "everyday essentials" and "specially sejected" along side the regular stuff.

There's been very little we don't like or feel isn't value fir the money.

Washing tablets and the white bottled fabric conditioner are both good.

Fussy teen son has just eaten Aldi frozen chicken tikka masala (about £1.75 a pack and is tastes nicer than our local take away) and microwaved basmati rice (79p a packet, 2 portions) for tea tonight, they also do pillau and egg fried rice in the same range and they all taste good, great cupboard store items.

They sell decent butter.they also sell butter with sea salt crystals in.
How's that for posh?

oooooo!! crystals!

I am totally converted to Aldi and Lidl for supermarket shopping, not just because of the value, but also the great quality (and it's quick). I also love the speed trolley packing!

Thanks Giles for the tip on the dairy free garlic, will look out for those next time I go. We love their dairy free apple strudel too.

As for the fruit and veg, we are between 2 aldis. One is in a run down area and their fruit and veg is ok, but not a huge selection. The other is in a moneyed market town and has about twice the amount.

Still a Lidl girl though

I saw the salt crystal butter today, never noticed it before but didn't buy any as not sure if family would go for it! Getting a bit more adventurous, this week, OH came along too (which meant he spent £ on bloody tools of course, so much for saving money !)

After the recommendations on this thread I got some of the pasta sauce to try, the frozen steak cut chips (£1), 21 day aged angus sirloin steak (£4.69), a whole free range chicken (£4.99), hunters chicken meal (2.99) and half a leg of lamb (£9.41) which will keep the meat eaters in the family happy for a week at least including meals made from left overs. Thanks for the link to the recipe section, some good ideas there!

I don't drink coffee at all but my builder raved about the specially selected Columbian coffee from Aldi- I had been supplying that posh Azera previously- he said the Aldi one was miles better.

Ah yes, forgot to mention the coffee, we buy the bags of French Roast coffee, they are less than £2 I think and lovely rich flavour.
Meant to mention last night, I must remember not to shop on a Wednesday night again, quite a few empty shelves and the latest bargain bin bits were empty, presumably for their latest Thursday offers. We couldn't buy some items as not in stock, no golden syrup, marmite, yoghurt drinks, nice seedy wholemeal bread or plain cottage cheese...nothing major but still annoying .

We are having their lamb burgers tonight. They are Yummy!

Shobby my local store was like that when I went late Saturday - couldn't even get Bananas or Apples. Spoke with a shop assistant & he said it had been mobbed that day he'd never known it so busy (clearly all mumsnetters have now cottoned on!) they have a fresh delivery every morning so went back first thing Sunday. I was in bargain heaven - tons of fresh fruit/veg & bread. My advice is to go early if you can

Everytime I go to aldi now it's heaving.

Nipers we had the lamb shanks for Xmas dinner, was gorgeous.

Spent 87 in there today, got 3 packs of that salted butter.

They had a big Scottish thing on (I'm in Hertfordshire ) with tablet, Ginger Parkin biscuits, stem ginger biscuits, loads of oaty things, Scottish caramel shortbread

tiredemma have you seen the new mega store they are building on the Chester Rd? I'm very excited! (Plus you can then pop into Tesco for anything you couldn't get) The one in the town centre is too small for my liking!

Bloody hell laurie £87 for 3 packets of butter

Lol

A weeks shop including 3 packs of butter.

I bloody love Aldi, saving myself money shopping there since it opened - I was spending over a 100.