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My thoughts on Aldis


Pegasus
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I have an Aldi not too far from me and I'm desperate to cut down my grocery bill.  

 

I know a lot of people here have said things they like and things they don't, but it's getting lost in some of the posts.

 

Would anyone mind posting the following:

 

1. Things I love at Aldi

2. Things I've tried and hate at Aldi

3. Things that are basically the same as any other grocery store

 

I want to try it, but it seems that there are some things people consistently don't like, like the meat, for example.  Why don't you like it?  Quality?  I know a friend of mine told me there is a reason why you shouldn't buy bacon wrapped fillets if they are only a couple of dollars a piece, for example!!!  

 

Anyway, specifics would be great if you don't mind.

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I have an Aldi not too far from me and I'm desperate to cut down my grocery bill.  

 

I know a lot of people here have said things they like and things they don't, but it's getting lost in some of the posts.

 

Would anyone mind posting the following:

 

1. Things I love at Aldi

2. Things I've tried and hate at Aldi

3. Things that are basically the same as any other grocery store

 

I want to try it, but it seems that there are some things people consistently don't like, like the meat, for example.  Why don't you like it?  Quality?  I know a friend of mine told me there is a reason why you shouldn't buy bacon wrapped fillets if they are only a couple of dollars a piece, for example!!!  

 

Anyway, specifics would be great if you don't mind.

 

I have tried a lot of their meat. I do not like the beef brats. Everything else has been great. Anything you would use to cook from scratch has been great. I don't like the processed stuff, but I don't like most of the name brand stuff either.

 

I forgot to mention the non food stuff - I have found some GREAT deals on thing I wanted there. I have a laminator and pouches from there and we purchased an above ground pool with pump for a steal! It lasted us two good summers :) I also picked up a tortilla griddle. I have walked out without getting a lot of things I thought looked cool - a pancake bottle to draw pancake pictures...then I regretted it when I had 10 little girls over for breakfast :(

 

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Would anyone mind posting the following:

 

1. Things I love at Aldi

2. Things I've tried and hate at Aldi

3. Things that are basically the same as any other grocery store

 

 

1.  Almost all the dairy products:  milk, whipping cream, half and half, cream cheese, sour cream, butter.  Eggs.   

 

Bagged salads (but check for a fresh look and check dates). 

 

Frozen vegs.  Taquitos, most of the frozen pizzas.

 

White flour, sugar, red wine vinegar, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, baking powder.  Refried beans.  Chocolate chips. 

 

Some cold cereals.

 

Peanuts - dry roasted, salted and unsalted.  Chips of all kinds, except Kettle.  (When we want Kettle, we buy Kettle brand.) We ALWAYS have a bag of tortilla chips in the house.   Crackers - savory and graham.  Fig newton knockoffs.  Nilla wafer knockoffs. Pita chips.  Hummus is pretty good too.

 

Frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs (yes, they will shrink but they are still way cheaper than anywhere else and they do taste good).    Frozen flounder fillets, shrimp.

 

Canned tomato products.   Fresh caulflower, avocados, broccoli, some fruits. 

 

Cheeses such as cheddar, monterey jack, pepper jack, havarti. 

 

Whole grain breads, mini-bagels, cinnamon buns.  Their apple pies are surprisingly good, or maybe we just have low standards. 

 

 

2.  Frozen raspberries - sometimes they taste like dirt.   Tortillas - bah!   Soft cheeses such as blue, feta, goat - they seem to have no flavor.  Tea bags - low flavor. 

 

3.  See #1. 

 

4.  We have never bought coffee because we buy Kirkland brand whole bean at Costco.  I'm told their coffee is pretty good.  I haven't tried personal care products there.

 

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For QValencia, I mostly just get produce but here are some other likes:

 

most produce except bananas (never ripen properly) and garlic (the cloves are too small)

eggs

cheese (I don't get milk there because the store is just too far from home and I don't want to transport it that far)

chocolate chips and other chocolate candy

spices, sugar, baking soda, blueberry muffin mix

hot chocolate mix (it doesn't have sweetener like most brands; we've found Nestle Rich Chocolate flavor also doesn't have sweetener)

plastic/paper products like sandwich bags, zip bags, trash bags, napkins, paper plates, tissues

cereal (I let dd get a box if she's with me otherwise I don't usually get cereal)

chicken broth

 

Dislikes:

tortilla chips and pretzels (we actually like Kroger brand better; the regular chips and kettle chips are good though)

canned black beans (they never seem quite cooked through even after I've cooked them)

bread (maybe it's gotten better but when I first bought a loaf years ago it was dry and tasteless)

 

 

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I am aware that organic and CAFO are seperate issues. I just think it would be nice if the grocery stores concentrated on one (hopefully more!) issues related to our polluted food stream.

 

And isn't Aldi's German owned? It would be really nice if they operated within European standards for food politics even when in the US. I wish our people wouldn't settle so easily for the crap processed food produced without concern for the animals, planet, or people consuming it.

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A little pet peeve: it is Aldi, not Aldis or Aldi's. We don't say Walmart's or Safeway's or Bi-lo's, so why do so many people want to throw that "s" on there?

In my area, most of the grocery stores end in "s" already. I think people just naturally add the "s."

 

The biggest...Wegmans...was started by the Wegman family. I assume that it used to be Wegman's Grocery or some such name. Somewhere along the line, they dropped the apostrophe.

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And isn't Aldi's German owned? It would be really nice if they operated within European standards for food politics even when in the US. I wish our people wouldn't settle so easily for the crap processed food produced without concern for the animals, planet, or people consuming it.

 

Just for comparison, our local Aldi (Scotland) has very little free range meat and no organic meat.  Europe doesn't allow the use of added growth hormones in meat.  I haven't seen any organic vegetables.  I'm not sure about organic milk.  

 

L

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I have an Aldi not too far from me and I'm desperate to cut down my grocery bill.  

 

I know a lot of people here have said things they like and things they don't, but it's getting lost in some of the posts.

 

Would anyone mind posting the following:

 

1. Things I love at Aldi

2. Things I've tried and hate at Aldi

3. Things that are basically the same as any other grocery store

 

1. The dark chocolate. Okay, any of their chocolate even if it isn't dark. That's probably the only thing I specifically go there for.

 

2.

  • Some meat - Pork and beef seem to have a weird texture, though their pork tenderloins are fine. I buy chicken at BJ's for a better price. They don't have the ground beef I usually buy (ground round). My Aldi only carries ground beef and ground sirloin, nothing in between. They only rarely carry ground chicken.
  • Bananas - As others have said, they don't ripen properly
  • Bread - Choices are limited, very few whole grain breads, and it just doesn't taste good.
  • Flour - Well, I haven't tried and rejected theirs, but I prefer King Arthur. Also, mine only carries white, bleached flour.
  • Milk - only because all they carry is gallon size. We're not milk drinkers, and a gallon would quickly go bad.

3. Pretty much everything, including shredded wheat (dh likes this), prezels, sweet potato chips, coffee frozen vegetables, fresh produce, and canned tomatoes. Dairy is good. Ham (smoked) and bacon are comparable to other stores/brands. Anything I didn't mention in #2.

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I want to try it, but it seems that there are some things people consistently don't like, like the meat, for example.  Why don't you like it?  Quality? 

 I love Aldi.  I do not buy meat there, though.  I don't know why, it just doesn't look appealing to me.  I do buy most of our other groceries there.  I just wanted to mention that Aldi does have a "double your money back guarantee", so it gives you an opportunity to try things out.

HTH,

Joy

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I buy some meat at Aldi - we don't eat that much meat anyway though.  I buy their free-range chicken breasts and free-range whole chickens.  I get their frozen fish, and cheeses too.  The Really Nutty Muesli is good.  I like their highest grade breads and their whole grain pitta.  We get things like tinned tomatoes and pole-caught tuna there.  

 

For any packaged goods, I always buy their highest quality: their jars of pasta sauce are good, but only their top quality range - the others are sweet and gloopy.  Their shelf-stable soy milk is good but I find that their fresh milk doesn't last well.  Their flavoured yoghurts are even more sweet that the usual, so I don't buy them.  I love their Scottish Oat Cakes, but I don't know if you will get those outside of Scotland.  Pretty good biscuits/cookies, and great chocolate.

 

Most of the veg is okay, but the apples are not crisp and the tomatoes go off very fast.  The bagged salads hold up well.  Oh, the gin is award-winning and cheap!

 

A jumble of thoughts!

 

L

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Well, I made my first Aldi (no "s") trip today!

 

I didn't need anything, so I really did just go there as an experiment and to see what it was like.  I bought:

 

1 bottle of sauvignon blanc (from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, which is what I usually drink when I drink white wine)

1 bottle of Chianti (I drink a variety of reds)

1 bag of ruffles-like potato chips

1 container of refrigerated french onion dip 

1 container of strawberry greek yogurt

1 box of animal crackers

1 big bar (or rather, 5 small bars packaged as one) of dark chocolate with chilis

 

I don't normally buy chips and dip, but my husband does.  I always buy greek yogurt (usually muellers).  I sometimes buy animal crackers, but often some kind of snack thing for the kids so this works.  I pretty much never buy chocolate, but I had to buy it based on what everyone has said.

 

I spent $19.34 on a bunch of stuff I didn't really need!  My plan is to go to Publix this afternoon and price the same stuff in the brands I would normally buy and see how I come out.  I know the white wine I usually buy is $10,49 a bottle and the red usually runs me about $11 or $12.  I know the yogurt I usually buy is 4 for $5.  I'm not sure about the other stuff.

 

Anyway, if the savings is enough (and it seems to be) and if we like the stuff, I'd definitely go back.  I didn't like the look of the meat, but most of the produce looked very good and with excellent prices.  Even the bananas seemed fine to me!  They were yellow with a touch of green, which for me means "ready to eat".  If I'd needed them I would have bought them.  

 

I did notice a few of the name brand items they had were more expensive then at Publix, but everything else seemed very inexpensive.  I'm excited to go do my cost comparison, and to taste everything.  

 

Thanks for the tips!

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I just went to Publix so I could do a side by side comparison.  Here's how it came out:

 

1. White Wine: 

    Publix:  $11.49 (wow! it went up just since last week!)

    Aldi:  $6.99

 

2. Red Wine

    Publix:  $10.99

    Aldi:      $ 4.99

 

3. Chips

    Publix:  $3.59

    Aldi:     $1.49

 

4.  Dip

    Publix:  $1.59

    Aldi:  $1.19

 

5. Yogurt

    Publix:  $1.25

    Aldi:         .85

 

6.  Animal Crackers

     Publix:  $1.69

     Aldi:        .99

 

7.  Chocolate

     Publix:  2.59

     Aldi:  $1.00

 

Total Publix (no tax):  $33.19

Total Aldi (no tax):  $17.50

 

That's a huge savings!  Obviously the most is in the wine, but a) I do buy it, and b) even without the wine it's $10.71 at Publix v. $5.52 at Publix.  For a near 50% savings, I'll drive the extra few miles (about 6, round trip) as long as we like the products.  

 

I'll still have to go to Publix, but this is quite eye-opening for me. 

 

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 Oh, the gin is award-winning and cheap!

 

 

L

 

You can buy gin at Aldi? Do they need a liquor license? Here (or in Florida at least) grocery stores can sell beer and wine, but need a license to sell hard liquor.

 

 

And QValencia, I forgot about their wine. Both their red and white wines are very good.

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You can buy gin at Aldi? Do they need a liquor license? Here (or in Florida at least) grocery stores can sell beer and wine, but need a license to sell hard liquor.

 

 

And QValencia, I forgot about their wine. Both their red and white wines are very good.

 

In Scotland, supermarkets sell spirits.  

 

L

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I don't normally buy the meats because I don't find them to be any cheaper then the grocery store. I can get marked down meats on a Monday morning at Walmart.

 

Things we like:

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Animal crackers!! Other crackers are good as well as the cookies. My daughter calls the oreo looking cream filled ones Aldi-o's.

Cereal, oatmeal and grits

All of the baking items. I have yet to find any baking staples that were not good.

Canned goods. I have an extensive pantry and keep canned veggies/fruits/prepared meals for times when I can't cook from scratch or for emergency situations.

Breads are always fresh.

Dairy products: love the cheeses and milk

Frozen: They have asparagus in a steam bag that is awesome. My kids like the chicken nuggets that are shaped like dinosaurs.

I get all my garbage bags there as well as foil and plastic wrap.

I have never bought any personal care items like deodorant and feminine supplies, so I can't comment on those.

 

Things we did not like:

 

There is a chicken stew in a can that is nasty. My dog loved it though :)

Moo something yogurt. My daughter is not a picky eater and she would not eat their yogurt.

Honey roasted peanuts. I get the cashews and they are really good as well as the party peanuts.

Plain potato chips. The ruffled ones are good, but the plain ones have a burnt taste and they look dirty.

Their Light and Lively type brand. I can't remember the exact name but it's their diet version of things. They did have a slim fast like shake that was pretty good, but it was seasonal and I only found it in stock one time.

 

ETA: Coffee! My husband will only drink Aldi coffee. He loves it.

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I am so jealous of y'all who can buy wine and even gin at Aldi.   Here in PA (the cradle of liberty) liquor sales are highly regulated; only state stores can carry it.  (Well there are a few exceptions, but not many.)

 

We go to Delaware a few times a year for our major liquor purchases!

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I cook  mostly from scratch and do the bulk of my shopping at Aldis.  I buy all of my dairy there, natural pb, real maple syrup, dried pinto beans, ground turkey, sugar, spices,  pasta, nearly all of our produce (I have never had issue here.  In fact most of it is delicious), etc.  I have heard that what is available varies from store to store as well. 

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I cook  mostly from scratch and do the bulk of my shopping at Aldis.  I buy all of my dairy there, natural pb, real maple syrup, dried pinto beans, ground turkey, sugar, spices,  pasta, nearly all of our produce (I have never had issue here.  In fact most of it is delicious), etc.  I have heard that what is available varies from store to store as well. 

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I cook  mostly from scratch and do the bulk of my shopping at Aldis.  I buy all of my dairy there, natural pb, real maple syrup, dried pinto beans, ground turkey, sugar, spices,  pasta, nearly all of our produce (I have never had issue here.  In fact most of it is delicious), etc.  I have heard that what is available varies from store to store as well. 

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When I lived in Belgium I shopped at Aldi and it was like shopping in a regular supermarket. Here in the States it's more like an Odd Lots, so I don't go.

 

This.

 

I remember shopping with my Mom at Aldi when I was a teenager and we lived in Germany. It was like shopping a regular supermarket. The ones here in the states remind me of Sav-A-Lot or Big Lots or something.

 

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This.

 

I remember shopping with my Mom at Aldi when I was a teenager and we lived in Germany. It was like shopping a regular supermarket. The ones here in the states remind me of Sav-A-Lot or Big Lots or something.

 

I actually tried Sav-A-Lot a few times. Visually, I like it much better. It actually looks like a real supermarket, with bright lighting and shelving, not just boxes of stuff stacked up. But the food is very low quality. :( When they do have brand-name stuff, it's slightly cheaper than a regular grocery, but it's always for a smaller package size.

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You guys are killing me!  I love Aldi and there are NONE in Washington.  In Germany we had 3 within about a 10 minute radius.  *SOB*  I bought almost all of our produce there, as it was so much better than the commissary and sooooo much cheaper.  I bought most of our snack foods, pasta, sauces, and meat there, and Han Solo's diapers.  I had sticker shock when I bought diapers at the store the other day. They are so expensive. Even the Target and Walmart brands are expensive!

 

Oh, Aldi, how I miss you.  

 

Also, Aldi, no 's' people!

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I'm so jealous. We have a Fred Meyer (Kroger) and a Carr's (Safeway). No discount outlet type places, and no upscale or specialty places like Trader Joe's. Food is so expensive here, and the produce is really terrible. Cukes last about 2 days before rotting. I loathe Walmart but am going tomorrow to see if I can get a better deal.

 

We do have a store about 7 miles away that buys stuff from Costco and resells it at a premium. I so wish we had an Aldi.

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