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O/T... ALDI

AJanie's picture

Any others grocery shop at ALDI? I must say, it is the best thing since sliced bread.

I went yesterday and did a full week shopping for about $60.

The skids are constantly snacking. I feel like I understand my mom's old saying "these kids eat me out of house and home." So, now they get Aldi brand snacks -- which is truly funny... the confusion on their faces when something isn't "brand name" (since mommy bankrupts herself chasing labels). All of the Aldi brands are pretty tasty and I can't tell the difference, so they will have to deal.

Anyway, I was spending double each week at the regular supermarket so I wanted to share this awesome discovery.

Happy Monday to all -- I am back to work and truly thrilled to be away from kids!

Comments

Tuff Noogies's picture

aldi is freaking awesome. just dont go for their taco seasoning, that's the only thing so far that i was not impressed with. oh and their slim-jims are better than brand-name, imho! that's a guilty pleasure of mine Wink

AJanie's picture

I have a packet of their taco seasoning in my cabinet for tomorrow's dinner. Sad

I do like their pasta sauce and salsa quite a bit. DH gets a kick out of the "Millville Toaster Tarts" instead of pop tarts.

I have to try the slim jims! I am loving that place. Only thing I wish for ... a deli and fresher produce.

iluvcheese's picture

Did you ever try fresh cilantro with it? It's wow good. I'll use 1/2-1 bundle, stems & all, finely chopped. If you don't use fresh herbs a lot, I love these methods for cutting them quickly (first is easiest). http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/knife-skills-how-to-chop-and-chiffona... I love adding lime zest & lime juice too. Radishes as a topping! I'm getting hungry. I can't agree with you more, no more packets for me either. Plus I think it's cheaper in the long run to get the dried stuff & you can make your own how many times, over the packets.

Disneyfan's picture

One opened near us in 2014. I went there a few times because they prices were so cheap. However, I stopped going last summer because the prices keep creeping up and my son and I LOVE national brands. It makes no sense for me to save money on stuff that's going to end up in the trash because no one will eat it.

Cooooookies's picture

Aldi is even bigger here in the UK. There is also a very similar store called Lidl. Same cheap prices but even better. I love them both!

WalkOnBy's picture

there is an Aldi near me. I went once to see what it was all about. I was not impressed. Dirty aisles, and the pungent odor of rotting meat are what I remember most.

Admittedly, it was a few years ago. Everyone I know who goes there loves it, so maybe it's time for me try again??

Tuff Noogies's picture

that's crappy management of that store, hopefully they've fixed the problem since then. we'll get their frozen chicken breasts, hamburger meat, and some odds and ends produce (like carrots) but for most meat/produce we go to the regular grocery store. i'd say at least 75% of our groceries come from aldi in the way of cereal, crackers, canned goods, jarred goods, paper products, bread, all our dairy.

oh, i didnt like their pasta - maybe it was just me but i was not a fan of the consistency.

twoviewpoints's picture

I can see that here from store to store. One store will sparkle all day regardless of time the next store , not so much.

We've had Aldi in the area for many years (at least 30-35yrs). When my oldest kids were small I purchased quite a bit. Some items were a one time try never to be tried again (as in 'yuck'), other items were fine. Then we moved 40 miles and the store in the new area close was a nightmare. Produce not as fresh ect, but it was the clientele that I couldn't cope with. Kids opening hot dogs and taking one to eat , old lady sitting on a stack of canned goods with her fingers in peanut butter jar.

In the last five years many additional stores opened all around town that are clean, customers behave, produce is fresh blah blah. But I don't stop often or buy much anymore. So many changed brands that I've just not wanted to go through trial and error again. If a shopper has the determination to keep trying their different products, and not purchasing again what didn't work out, there is decent savings and good products.

I do HyVee, Kroger and Shnucks and buy what's on sale I want at each.

AJanie's picture

There are 2 within 15 miles of me. One is dirty and I was totally unimpressed. It took me 2 years to try again, this time the other one, which is clean and well managed. It really does vary.

With Aldi, produce is a hit or miss so sometimes I will go to the regular supermarket for that. I do buy their chicken breasts and have been happy with the quality.

justanothergurlNJ's picture

Love it. Only thing I don't by is meats! It's great and you can't beat the prices and when they run sales oh my. A dozen egg 95 cents WHAT!

kathc's picture

Aldi can be awesome or it can be horrible. There's two within half an hour of us. One is so filthy I will never set foot inside again. (Tried it a few times, giving benefit of the doubt..nope, always filthy) The other is absolutely immaculate, and I like shopping there. I"ll go a little farther to go to that one. I never buy produce there, though, unless i"m using it that day. I"ve had things go bad in two days, their produce is always just about to turn.

TwoOfUs's picture

Oh yes! I've been shopping at ALDI for years and years...used to be kind of embarrassed about it, as everyone who I told about it turned their noses up. Now, with all of the good press it's been getting for carrying so much organic, a lot of my friends are shopping there, too Smile

iluvcheese's picture

I tried it years ago & was disgusted. Like a few others stated, smell of rotten meat, rotting/moldy veggies & fruit. I walked out, because clearly that store wasn't right. I've stopped at them on road trips & some are nice, mine are nasty though. I wish there was a good one near me:(. I buy very little boxed or packaged stuff, but for the little I do it'd be great to save money. Unfortunately since I try to eat mostly fresh & make stuff from scratch, the Aldis near me (there are 3) just don't work. I'm betting I'd be risking getting seriously ill.

Thumper's picture

OMG yessss. When I was a "DIVORCED MOM",,,(no single mom bs here), I shopped there a lot. It was right around my corner.

Times were hard then, really hard BUT it was the best of times actually.

If they still have the same jars of Spaghetti Sauce as years ago, YOU ALL MUST try it.

It really is The best ever. I may have to drive 15miles just to go see if they still have it. Blum 3

DaizyDuke's picture

Everyone kept telling us Aldi's is great, their meat prices are awesome... So DH and I went for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We weren't that impressed. Yes, some items were cheaper than Walmart, but some were not. For instance DH had just bought a two pack of ribeye steaks from another local grocery store (not walmart) for like $11.00, yet Aldi had a package of ONE ribeye steak for $12.00. I was NOT impressed with their produce either.

They DID have a wide variety of Gluten Free items, which I thought was cool, but for me to shop there, I would have to shop there AND somewhere else like Walmart or Tops.. and ain't nobody got time for that!

New_to_this's picture

I'm so with you on this! I started going to Aldi's when I became a SM. The kids eat a lot of processed foods and it was really adding up at our local grocery store, so I started going to Aldi's instead. My weekly list usually includes milk (less than 1/2 the price of competitors), knock-off girl scout cookies (amazing!), imported chocolate bars (for myself), millville toaster tarts, sliced cheese, bread and buns, hot dogs, brats, frozen meatballs, pepperoni, and salami. The prices are almost 1/2 of what I used to pay and I never have to look for a sale, which saves so much time. Things that can be iffy at Aldi include fresh meats and vegetables, but lots of times it's fine and I usually save so much money that if I do buy their fresh foods and have to throw out some of it, I don't feel too bad about it.

WokeUpABug's picture

So funny I just discovered Aldi myself a month ago when I had to set DD19 up in her first apartment. I offered to do her first grocery run to get the basics. Went on yelp and Aldi by far got the best reviews. We got a ton of groceries, and super cheaply. She said the quality was really good. I may start shopping there myself!

ETA: DD19 is a somewhat picky eater but there was a really great selection of organic fruits and veggies too, it wasn't just processed foods.