Aldi's helps me eat healthy and save money

Techn0mancer

My main problem that I have with Aldi (and it's becoming more prevalent in other stores too) is that the meats that are such a "great deal" are actually "enchanced" with broth/"solution." What this means is they plump up your meats by injecting them with salt water. If you're ok with that, you may as well buy a flavor injector, get your meats elsewhere and inject your own salt water.. store brand gallons of water are cheap and tap is even cheaper.. salt is cheap.. flavor injectors are cheap.. paying $1/pound of water is not cheap

jfrankic

We are able to get about 3/4 of our groceries at Aldi. Good stuff, good prices. We save a bunch on things like cereal (check out the high protein, high fiber all natural cereal...yummy), oatmeal, beans and produce when it's good/in season. Oh, the chicken is way cheaper than our other grocery stores - frozen breasts and whole chickens and the fresh cuts.

algebravoodoo

Now that's an advantage of living in Belgium or Germany: you have an Aldi AND a Lidl in every single little town lol. :-)

Indeed, not mention easier Sunday beer runs!

3foldchord

My main problem that I have with Aldi (and it's becoming more prevalent in other stores too) is that the meats that are such a "great deal" are actually "enchanced" with broth/"solution." What this means is they plump up your meats by injecting them with salt water. If you're ok with that, you may as well buy a flavor injector, get your meats elsewhere and inject your own salt water.. store brand gallons of water are cheap and tap is even cheaper.. salt is cheap.. flavor injectors are cheap.. paying $1/pound of water is not cheap

I noticed this too (when I was going there 10 years ago and not nearly as concerned with nutruents)- the meats they had them were 'added salt water, enhanced solutions', etc... I was hoping after 10 years, that may have changes.

Chrisremi12

I agree I LOVE there brands!!!!! All of the lite and active foods are yummy!! I dont buy meats from there but the snacks and lean pockets are great!!!

awilmeri

I've been thinking about shopping there but I'm terrified that the reason they are cheaper is because they are more processed, have more anti-biotics, have more pesticides, or are just overall crap compared to foods at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I want to shop there, but first I need to know why they can undercut their competitors by 20% when they are essentially giving the same products.

Visit their website the exact reasons should be found there, but I know that they don't have plastic/paper bags, you have to bring your own or use boxes from the packaging. They don't lose money on lost grocery carts because you have to use a quarter to get one out of the line. They have all the products stacked in their shipping boxes to form the aisles. And they don't have to pay for the brand name advertising since its mostly all their own brands.

Aldis is owned by the same company as trader joes...

The reason it's cheaper is they don't have to hire extra people to take care of carts or bagging, don't have to buy bags, they buy in bulk! They don't accept credit cards and limit the types of items they sell.

meggers123

My main problem that I have with Aldi (and it's becoming more prevalent in other stores too) is that the meats that are such a "great deal" are actually "enchanced" with broth/"solution." What this means is they plump up your meats by injecting them with salt water. If you're ok with that, you may as well buy a flavor injector, get your meats elsewhere and inject your own salt water.. store brand gallons of water are cheap and tap is even cheaper.. salt is cheap.. flavor injectors are cheap.. paying $1/pound of water is not cheap

I noticed this too (when I was going there 10 years ago and not nearly as concerned with nutruents)- the meats they had them were 'added salt water, enhanced solutions', etc... I was hoping after 10 years, that may have changes.

Tons of brands do this- Guess the difference is that they tell you.

http://www.foodwhistleblower.org/blog/22/198

http://blog.fooducate.com/2011/07/22/are-you-buying-meat-but-paying-for-salt-water/

http://www.wtop.com/253/2979224/Are-you-eating-pumped-up-meat-

felicia8604

where do you all live? i thought they were only in missouri and illinois...I live in Missouri and shop there!

theres one in council bluffs iowa.

swaymyway

Is Aldi in the USA now as well then? Are they just launching over there or have they been around a while?

They have been in the UK for some time now but it's only in the last three years or so they have got more popular. I shop at Lidl and Aldi all the time and it amazes me that people are snobby about it, it's just the exact same stuff you'd get in the larger supermarkets but for half the price and a lot of their stuff is NICER than the name brand stuff.

If you have never shopped there before give it a chance, you'll never look back.

The only down side is that next time you go in to your regular supermarket you'll be frustrated at how slow the checkout girl/guy is at scanning your stuff, they are like scanning NINJAS!!

Sweet_Potato

I used to shop at Aldi when I was in college and loved it. One recently opened where I live now, and I went there hoping to find the same quality of food and prices but was very disappointed. I couldn't find much I wanted to buy, and most things weren't that much cheaper than the regular grocery store. I don't know if Aldi is just not as good as it used to be or if it varies from location to location.

Dani_Strength

I love Aldi's...... There is one 4 blocks from my house, i just went grocery shopping there 2 days ago!

LadyBeryl

The closest one to me is over 200 miles away. :grumble:

I'm always looking for stores with great produce.

3foldchord

Is Aldi in the USA now as well then? Are they just launching over there or have they been around a while?

I remember shopping at Aldi's (Ohio, USA) about 15+ yrs ago.

melodyg

I love Aldi! There are a few items I wish they carried that they don't, but overall they are a great place to stock up on basics. I don't always get their meats, but only because I shop a lot of manager's specials and sales at the other grocery stores. The Aldis here have much better customer service than their competitors too. Plus I usually am shopping with my 6 year old so it is SO much quicker to get through their smaller store!

IslandDreamer64

I also turned up my nose at Aldi's for a long time. Then one opened in my town a few years ago and I finally gave it a try. I have liked almost everything I get there. Their price for eggs and milk alone make it worth the trip. I do find I can find better produce at the regular grocery stores and local farmer's markets though.

Am I the only one who ALWAYS forgets to bring my own bags? Always...

ltfitz89

I love Aldi's!!!!! There is one opening up in a few months that is a bit more local to me and I can't wait!!!!!

NavyKnightAh13

where do you all live? i thought they were only in missouri and illinois...I live in Missouri and shop there!

I live in Ohio and there is one here in Fremont where i live!!!!! My husband though is not so keen on going there though but I was happy shopping there all my life!!!!!

emyjeter

Thanks for the post! We have one around the corner and I'm interested in checking it out now! :happy:

onedayillbeamilf

I.love Aldi's, but the produce at the one by me is crap. So I guess it is pretty equal to the regular grocery store. Most of the time I still shop at the regular store because Aldi doesn't carry some items I need.

StaceyL76

I've been thinking about shopping there but I'm terrified that the reason they are cheaper is because they are more processed, have more anti-biotics, have more pesticides, or are just overall crap compared to foods at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I want to shop there, but first I need to know why they can undercut their competitors by 20% when they are essentially giving the same products.

I personally don't like Aldi because I buy very little processed snack foods and I don't find their meats and produce to be of good quality. Aldi and Trader Joe's are owned by the same company.

onedayillbeamilf

where do you all live? i thought they were only in missouri and illinois...I live in Missouri and shop there!

I live in Ohio and there is one here in Fremont where i live!!!!! My husband though is not so keen on going there though but I was happy shopping there all my life!!!!!

I'm in North Texas and there are quite a few of them now. They just came out here a couple years ago.

wwmorrow

I believe they can sell things cheaper for a few reasons. First, there is rarely more than 2 people working in the store I go to. So, they aren't having to pay a lot of employees. Also, you pay 25 cents for your cart (if you want one...and you get it back when you put the cart up), so they don't have the liability of carts hitting cars, etc. If you want a grocery sack, you have to pay for it. They are cheap though and you can reuse them over and over...or you can just take your own cloth bag or whatever you want to put your things in. So, that saves them money too. I have shopped at Aldi's several times. They have great fruit and vegetables - always fresh. They also have a Fit N Active line that really has good low fat items. I've only tried one thing that I didn't like in that line. I don't buy everything there as I am kind of picky about laundry detergent, toilet paper, etc., but I highly recommend the produce!!

swonn

Aldi's is too far and the closest store is not very clean. We have a Save a Lot in town that is a better deal for us.

ValerieMartini2Olives

I am very pro-Aldi. Back in the day (over 10 years ago), their produce and meat seemed a little funky, but they have come a long way. I am never disappointed with anything I buy from Aldi. My produce is always great, my meat is always tender and juicy and my dry goods are just as good, if not better, than the name brands. I'm on a budget and what I buy at a regular grocery store for $100, I can buy at Aldi for $45. I have bought a couple frozen pizzas from Aldi, one was a quattro formaggio and one was a spinach-goat cheese-tomato pizza. My god, those were two of the best pizzas I ever had in my life!

ValerieMartini2Olives

Aldi's is too far and the closest store is not very clean. We have a Save a Lot in town that is a better deal for us.

My ex husband and I used to shop at Save a Lot when we lived in Illinois. We were addicted to Mountain Holler - a million times better than Mountain Dew.

12skipafew99100

They have reasonable priced nuts of all kinds too. Very good quality.

Our Aldi (Indiana) is well stocked and always clean.

ValerieMartini2Olives

Aldi is the IKEA of grocery stores.

jencooks

I've been thinking about shopping there but I'm terrified that the reason they are cheaper is because they are more processed, have more anti-biotics, have more pesticides, or are just overall crap compared to foods at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I want to shop there, but first I need to know why they can undercut their competitors by 20% when they are essentially giving the same products.

They do this by making their employees work /ridiculously!/ hard and only having 2-3 employees at a time in a busy store. I know from experience because my hubby works in one. The products are really good and we do alot of shopping there, but I buy my meat from a local butcher.

mygrl4meee

I love aldis and the fact that the stores are big enough without being huge. They are a big tim saver for abd also for saving money.

12skipafew99100

We are trying Aldi's for the first time tomorrow xx

Beware there is a lot of junk but the good stuff is mixed in. Keep looking, you will find it.