Aldi/Lidl - what to get, what to leave

[Mikafan]

Hi,
Can anyone give me some advice on whats good to buy/not good to buy in Aldi/Lidl. With rising food bills we have to look to cutting costs and I've heard generally about the above two shops being good value I'm sure some products are better than others.

thanks.

I found this helpful

I get everything at Lidl. I rarely go anywhere else. Saved a fortune.

thanks everyone.
Scattyspice - do you also buy your meat in there? Is it any good?

Yes Mika. Its good quality and def cheaper.Our branch don't always have everything in stock (so you may go in for chicken and buy turkey instead).

Lidl nappies are excellent - £4.99 for 50. Just as good as Pampers or the other big brands, would recommend.

Thanks scattyspice, I'll definately give it a go.

Thanks too glamourbadger, will give them a try aswell.

What gets me is that most of the veg is british, Big supermarkets don't even do that !!

aldi do a bag of frozen fish / chicken breasts for £2.99 with about 5 pieces in each which are good.
also do an offer every month where 6 fruit/veg are 69p this month it's plums/nectarines/pineapple/melon/tomatoes/jersey potatoes
also do bags of dried pasta , rice for 39p which is good.

Looks like I'm going to have to make this work, just worked out we only have £95 to buy the next weeks shopping with. I know alot of you would cope admirally on this but I struggle when shopping online at Tesco/Stainsburys to get it under £140

Lidl is fantastic. I just wish there was one near me. Only very occasionally do I have the chance to shop there, when I am visiting an old friend (about 3x a year) then I load up with non perishables.

vvv good
ex ocado here, spending £100 on line per week
now £50 in aldi with £10-15 top up shop in Sainsbury's so £65 per week
It doesn't sell everything, but what it does sell is v good value
Try the face creams

crisps , biscuits , snacks v good
ham, butter, fruit juice also

Would you believe we don't buy crisps and biscuits when we shop but for some bizarre reason we can't get the shopping under £140 still. We've discussed this many times and we don't know how people manage on under £100 a week, but looks like we're about to find out. We will literally have to go round with a calculator otherwise we'll have another £100 bank charge to fork out on. I think we'll have to go to Aldi and Lidl as we're getting mixed messages on who is best which is a pain but needs must

Hey, you can post your last shopping reciept and the MN experts will analyse it (if you are feeling brave)
My top tip

1. Buy as basic as possible, prepare food from scratch-so no pizzas, ready meals etc
2. cut down on meat , cook more veggie meals, saves up loads of money 3)I have a crisp and biscuit crazy DH, at least at Aldi they are 1/4 of the price than at Sainsburys

Thanks for that DR. We have a minor problem in our house in that the hob doesn't work so food has to be microwavable / oven cookable or slow cookerable which makes the making from scratch more difficult.

All the pre-packed deli stuff (salami, olives, sun dried tomato etc) is excellent

lidl nappies are great and if you have a cat their clumping cat litter is the best i've ever used and sooo cheap.

I also buy tins, eg tomatoes, kidney beans, spaghetti hoops and passata as they are as cheap as value range but far superior to most own brands

They are both good so I tend to go to 1 one week and stock up for a fortnight with what is good in say Lidles. The next weekend I go to Aldi and stock up on what's good in there for a fortnight and get any other bits now and again in Asda. We now only spend around£60- £80 for a family of 5 who love food.

The following is good in Lidl-ham,cheddar,juices,frozen thin pork chops.Shower gel for less than 50p,wipes,nappies,loo rolls.Special offers,cereal,part baked croissants,flour,pasta.,tinned toms,hummus,pesto,squeezy mayo.

The bread is mank,their beans are really sugary and watch some of the biscuits as some contain re-hydronised fat as do the oven chips.Watch the fruit,veg and eggs-they don't last long.The peanut butter has sugar in too.

The following is good in Aldi-bread,rolls,crisps,choc,pizzas,fruit and veg,jam,cereal,wine,nappies,wipes,rice,tinned kidney beans,biscuits.,spreadable butter.,fresh olives.

All the ham is reformed so avoid it,all the yogs are too sweet for us,have often sold out of fresh orange juice but the Lidls seems to have a long shelf life so get loads there.

Good luck try it I was shocked at how much we save. Some of it is due too there being only the basics so you can't buy the extras but some is due to them both being cheaper,I've checked receipts as I'm sad like that. Also a lot is much better quality than the Asda cheap brand. We're fussy about food and lable check and have been impressed with the quality of a lot of it not all but enough to make us keep going back.

You need to try and get your oven sorted though.

Thanks for all your input everyone. I'm getting a bit confused about what to buy from where but I'm sure I'll learn from our own experience aswell as learning from you guys.

I go to Lidl to get

• veg - 45-60p each for pricey items like aubergine and avocado
• cold meats - which are absolutely fab like proscuito, chorizo etc.
• Cheese: Mozzarella and Parmesan are lovely but avoid the cheddar, it's rubbery.
• Cakes and biscuits - Jaffa cakes seem better than the real brand.
• Bread flour - was the cheapest at 48p but it seems Tesco are price-matching them now so they are 48p as well. I love it but it is time-consuming going to different places to get cheaper prices.

lidl fruit juice is great value
and loo roll

they have lots of organic veg too

We only have Lidl i buy:

Shower gel -13p!!!!
Handcream
Sanitary towels
Anything in a tin, esp tinned fish and toms. Also custard and rice pud (actually has fewer additives that Ambrosia and just as nice)
Breakfast cereals
Jam/Honey
Cheese/yogurt
Biscuits
fruit juice cartons for lunch boxes
Friut loaf/hot x buns/crumpets/waffles
Ham and their top end sausages
real coffee
Wine

friut and veg is very good value, but I do find it doesn't keep very well.

My mother insists she saw free range chicken in Lidl,I haven't spotted any yet though and it could well have just been a picture of a field that made her think it was free range.

Free range chicken from anywhere would be cheaper than Waitrose though.