let's have an ALDI/LIDL thread of what is good and what is not...

[popsycal]

Probably should be in Good housekeeping sections and probably shoudl search srchives, but wanted to share

We only have Aldi close by but find the following really good:

Mini flapjacks squares
any biscuits
'wheat bisks' (weetabix)
copy mars bars (titan)
salt and shake type crisps
cloudy 'not from concentrate apple juice
not from concentrate orange juice (in firdget section)
toilet roll
dishwasher tablets
washing machine tablets
any cleaning product actually...
light bulbs (esp cheap halogen ones)
vacuum packed pizza in fridge section
coleslaw
potato salad
little yoghurts like petit filous
cold meats (proscutio, salami, hams, pastrami, etc)
mozzarella
parmasan
soft cheese (like philidelphia)
make up wipes
tinned tomatoes
mayonnaise
herbs/spices when they are i8n
pineapple in a plastic tub
kidney beans
custard in a carton
waffles (sweet)
pain au chocolat
brioche
stay fresh bread
milk
little beers
red wine
pretend baileys
apples
potatoes
carrots
onions
(tend not to buy soft fruit and veg there...)

that will do for starters

wine

really

our local paper wine woman goes on and on about it

DH and I were discussing this the other day!

I think we agreed on Aldi for foody stuff, Lidl for stuffy stuff ( you know...the fondue sets, cat toys, car jacks and super bumper tubs of wallpaper paste)

Had a Lidl pizza last night, most satisfactory.

Lidl
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
tin foil(seems to last for ever)
mandarin juice
juice boxes
cheese especially mozzarella
chorizo
mini choc ices
mini chocolate cars in foil( big hit with kids)
candles
cheap bunches of flowers

Lidl - Adritt power cleaner (looks abit like cillit bang bottle) evil stuff with fumes that aggravate my asthma but cleans beautfully including removing hard water marks that I normally have to use Viakal to shift.

bread (apart from pitta/part baked petit pain) and fruit/veg can be a bit variable at ours (we have 3 within 10 minutes here) I tend to go in for the special offers and to get cheese and sandwich meats. DS2 loves the fruit loop cereals.

Does anyone know if their cleaning products are less environmentally harmful than UK ones as they are made to German and Danish standards? Or is that an urban myth? Hunky Germans are currently building me a Lidl in Cork at top speed.

all i can say is that conditons of danish meat especially pork are barbaric and for that reason i REFUSE to eat any meat at all from denmark full stop

its gross... the pigs are kept in cages on top of each other and the cages are so small often they cant stand up and can rarely turn around

animal welfare is not particularly high in otehr european countries i the same way it is here (and IMO there is alot to be desired in the country too... but at least we dont keep pigs in cages

I will happily eat other products from lidl though... espcially bread / chocolate brioch/ and other non meat foods

ours eevn seels orgnaic milk

what should I avoid????

on saturday the pommegranites were discusting.... all the other times they have been brilliant!

I think its a bit of luck of the draw really!

more aldi things while perusing the kitchen

make up face wipes (well, perusing the bathroom!)
mini flapjack bites
half coated with yoghurt muesli bars

strawberry ice cream
frzoen cheese cake with a crumble topping (dh is obsessed with these)
frozen plum tart

Lidl have the most FABULOUS Brother Electric Label printers - normally £40, they are £9.99!

So all you aspiring Antheas - get labelling!

Gingerbread and chocolate from lidl!! And their lasagne!! And their processed emmenthal cheese slices!!

ice lollies for kids

cant believe I am reccomending this! press ganged into buying it by an old lady at the till...frozen fruit salad from Aldi. It Is truly delicisious.
We also like their potato gratin and baby jacket potatoes..oh and the apple strudel is good!!!

my shopping list for lidl is
balsamic vinegar
tomato puree
passata
orange juice
apple juice
fizzy water
small cartons orange juice
jaffa cakes
shreddie-type cereal
crispbreads
wine
various cheeses
freezer bags
tin foil
tortilla wraps

would never buy foreign meat (see previous post for info about danish pork). Always buy meat from butcher and fruit and veg from greengrocers.

Lidl - I like:
Red pesto, whole salami, Bacon bits, Serrano ham, rustic-style pasta, smoked salmon, Parmesan and other cheeses, fresh tomato soup from the chiller cabinet, nappies, extra virgin olive oil, dried apricots and prunes, pear juice (2 year old loves it), muesli, satsumas - a huge wooden box for under £2 and nice tasty ones too.
Being given FREE meat at the checkout because it's near its sell by date. Once we got given a whole chicken!

I don't like:
Clingfilm - useless
Broccoli - goes yellow if not eaten within 30 minutes of purchase! And sometimes has a weird taste.
The way they import stuff that could easily be bought from the UK - e.g. sprouts in December came from Holland! And mushrooms from Poland! Why?
The bunched carrots with their tops left on cost more than the ones in bags! And the bagged carrots have a strange habit of turning black within a few days.
No free range meat.
The way they sometimes don't have certain essentials in stock, such as eggs, requiring another shopping trip
No baskets! Must be a nuisance for people who only want a few items.
Having to have £1 coin for a trolley.

There's a lidl opening in Oxford soon, looks like it will be worth having a look.

I've started doing my weekly shop in LIDL in an attempt to save money for a holiday this year.

thoroughly recommend the linessa vanilla fromage frais - 0.2% fat, absolutely yummy! and the o% fat soft cheese. i like the frozen wholemeal rolls at 70-odd p for nine. the luxury muesli is great - and the meat is good when it's 30% off (they deduct at the till) and it generally has 2 days to go. my LIDL gives away bread on a sunday if it's about to go out of date.

i bought huge pink lady apples for 21p22p each last week as well - i bought one in marks and sparks at lunchtime for 63p.

heres my £22 shopping list ;)

smoked trout fillets - £1.89
slices of smoked cheese - 99p
1/3 bottle of wine - £1.29
wholegrain spaghetti - 39p
low fat cheese slices = £1.18
cat food 12 pouches @ 63 p each - £1.89
special muesli - 99p
mexican salmon fillet - 1.29
celery - 32p
fresh orange juice with bits - .59p
pomegranate - 29p
pink lady apple - 21p
smoked peppered mackeral fillets - .89p
prawns in brine .89
mr muscle kitchen spray - £1,08
spring onions - 24p
pink lady apple (again) 22p
avocado x 2 = 78p
broccoli head 34p
lemon juice (like a jif lemon but bigger) 29p
orange squash 1 litre - 39p
punnet mushrooms 39p
big bag grapes £1.07
packet chicken breasts 32.06
pasta twirls 55p

if you're still with me (...) i put my list through the asda online shop and it came to just over £35.00

I go to lidl twice a week and spend around £25 - £30 each time. so i am able to feed a family of four for around £60 a week. LIDL is absolutely fab. the only thing i would say is it takes a while to acclimatise some of the kids to some of the food. and don't buy the 9p beans. they're vile.

The ambient indulgent belgium chocolate puddings with caramel sauce are lush!! They are from Lidl, by the way!

I have one of those charity keyrings with a £1-coin-sized-disc in it - mine came from a box on a counter somewhere, forget which charity it is even, but lots listed here - get one and then you'll always be OK for a trolley.

DO NOT BUY LIDL BAKED BEANS!!! They are disgusting.

5-packs of small apple juice cartons are excellent value.

Haven't been for ages and have forgotten what I like

vegetable crisp things
nuts
all frozen puddingsthese are all adli bw
must venture out to lidl soon

Microfibre cloths are v good value in Lidl although I can't remember the price - you get 2 or 3, white, for £1.99 or £2.49, something like that.

Jam, the big jars with corners, all flavours but esp fruits of the forest which IME you just can't get in normal UK shops - they're 65p or something ridiculous and gorgeous.

lasagne - £2.19
pro-biotic yoghurts and drinks
9 toilet rolls - £2.59
Peppered ham - 99p
pain au chocolat
mangos - 39p
large jar of olives - approx £1.40
real fruit oil shower gels - 49p
fruit rings cereal - 89p

I will try and think of more

Lidls organic carrots were sick on me!

Do you think it's possible to shop entirely at lidl? I just find it hard to make meals out of just lidl stuff. Tend to go mainly to Tesco.