Opinions on Aldi?

13

Replies

  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
    If you are trying to eat healthy, it's not an option in my opinion
  • bclever13
    bclever13 Posts: 44
    Aldi is a lifesaver especially if your on a tight budget.....they have a lot of fit&active foods as well as lots of fresh produce....I have never gotten anything that I didn't like .....give it a try....the money you save will be worth it:smile:
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
    I buy all my whole foods at Aldi. Why go to Tesco for a 30% mark up? Its exactly the same stuff. I don't buy their "off brand" stuff though.
  • avalentineb
    avalentineb Posts: 58 Member
    Aldi in the US is much different than overseas.....Don't shop there since thier major horsemeat incident. Which has apparently been going on for over 2 years. Substituting horsemeat for beef. Not bad except that it has the stuff they put the horses down still in their system which is consider not to be consumed by humans. Stick with the American supermarkets...better off...I'm sure some new cancer will arise from this incident. It's the same a shopping for food at the dollar store. My advice....Steer clear...Price match their ads a Walmart or something!

    agreed!!! I will never shop there. I want to stay healthy and in the long term discount food isnt going to cut it!
  • JenniferNoll
    JenniferNoll Posts: 367 Member
    We don't have an Aldi's in my area (South Mississippi). We do however have Sav-a-Lot, which seems to be much the same thing. I love shopping there, as we have a tight budget. All the off-brand things, except the cheese, have been okay. The only thing I didn't like about the cheese was that it was a strange, neon shade of orange.
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
    LOVE LOVE LOVE Aldi's. I buy the majority of our produce there and have found the produce to be as fresh and to last as long as produce from my (much more) expensive local grocery and to last longer than produce from Walmart. Nuts are also quite reasonable - less than Sam's/Costco.

    The Moser-Roth chocolates are as good as much, much more expensive "gourmet" chocolates and the Specially Selected cheeses are an exceptional buy. Milk and eggs are also a great price. I avoid low-fat products, but my husband likes several items from their Fit and Active line
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I guess I'm standing alone here, but I absolutely hate that place.

    It was great when i was fat because they sell all sorts of boxed and canned crap as well as frozen junk like 300 calorie per slice pizza for cheap.

    When I started losing weight and changed my eating habits, I stopped shopping there. The fruits/veggies go bad in half a week or less...the "bread" looks moldy and tastes stale, and they don't carry the lean meats that I desire. But if you want to get the full fat ground beef for cents on the dollar, it's awesome...
  • kgoodman0108
    kgoodman0108 Posts: 158
    I bought whole pineapples for $2.00 at Aldi's last week. They are currently $5.00 at my other local grocery store. Prices are great on produce.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    I think it varies A LOT depending on location. There was an Aldi near my college town that was quite good, so I was excited when one opened close to where I live in Washington DC. But that one was disappointing-- they don't carry the products I used to like at my old Aldi, and nothing I wanted to buy was a good enough deal to warrant the specialized trip out there.
  • mdcjmom
    mdcjmom Posts: 597 Member
    1.99 for a gallon of mile. Has a ton of the fit and active products whixh is awesoome. If you go at the right times of year the prduce us really great and the canned goods are always low priced.
  • karibj2010
    karibj2010 Posts: 264 Member
    we love Aldi...for the most part. There are a few things that we get at the big box stores, but we save a lot by shopping at Aldi...I say "go for it".
  • StaceyJ2008
    StaceyJ2008 Posts: 411 Member
    Definitely worth checking out. You do have to look closely at the produce which is normal. But I can get lean ground beef (93/7) there for about 1.00-1.50 cheaper per pound and I can get produce there very cheap. I can come out of there spending 75 for a cart full of healthy food for 2 people.

    Another perk... you can't really buy junk because everything is off brand and there isn't much variety. They also have a good price on nuts, better than regular grocers.
  • BubblesxDear
    BubblesxDear Posts: 12
    I have one a five minute walk away and I love it. You can get everything you can in Tesco, Asda or Morrisons but for the half the price. I love thier benifit cereal that is the same as Special K but again its less than the pice of special K. I'd go there and if you don't like it at least you've burnt some calories.
  • fitnessmare
    fitnessmare Posts: 117
    I love ALDI! I buy everything I can from there. I have NEVER had a problem with my produce from their going bad quickly...although I eat it quickly... I have never been attached to name brands so I don't care that its off brand. If I can't find something there I will go to a larger store and buy their store brand so what 's the difference. try it, you may like it.

    ^This.

    I love it. Saves me so much money and I have found the food just as good. Try it!
  • Juliejustsaying
    Juliejustsaying Posts: 2,332 Member
    Every Aldi's brand product I've purchased as been better or as good as the name brand. Love Aldi...
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    Great prices, but I find that I have to eat the produce I buy there rather quickly, or it'll go bad fast.

    A friend of mine started putting their Aldi produce in a vinagar bath and it apparently lasts longer.

    As far as my opinion... I really don't have a strong opinion either way.... around here I have found some things, like flour and sugar, are comparable in price to Target.
  • aldousmom
    aldousmom Posts: 382 Member
    I believe the European Aldi and North Amercian Aldi are no longer the same thing, something about brothers or family splitting up the business. The NA Aldi is owned by the same company as Trader Joe's.

    In any case, almost all of their products, esp the seasonal items, are of good or better quality: they're produced by better manufactures and have Aldi's label put on it (like Trader Joe's does). So, their "off brand" is actually NOT an off brand, but instead a better brand than you would buy at Kroger or something, but for less money.

    They seem to have added in a natural/organic line in our local stores. I shop for produce twice weekly so I haven't noticed any particular problem with freshness. They carry a lot of items I use: soy milk, beans (canned and dry), produce, nuts, stevia, toilet paper, etc. I don't usually eat any frozen packaged foods, chips/crackers, dairy, or meat of any kind so I can't vouch for the quality of those personally. They do seem to always have a wide variety of fancy cheese, and goat cheese pretty regularly. I have to weed through it to get to the hummus. ;)

    I still have to go to Sprouts for the remainder of items my household needs (more, but one can save a ton of money at Aldi, for sure, for decent quality food.
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
    I've been shopping at Aldi since I was a little girl - and they've expanded their stuff a LOT since then. I keep forgetting we have one nearby...I need to shop there more!
  • iLoveMyPitbull1225
    iLoveMyPitbull1225 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Love it! We save SO MUCH MONEY. I can get almost anything there you can get at a regular grocery store for significantly lower prices.
  • annwyatt69
    annwyatt69 Posts: 727 Member
    When I lived in the northern U.S. states, I shopped at Aldi for some things. Their brands are not any worse than any Walmart brands. I don't buy much processed foods, so what I got there was definitely a money saver.
  • bermudamel
    bermudamel Posts: 212
    I love Aldi! I can shop there for 1/2 of what I pay at my Stop and Shop. Plus I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, they seem to carry a lot of gluten free items in the store.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
    Love it. Amazing store. Much cheaper. Can't get everything but get most of my shopping there. Great if you love to cook from scratch like me :-)
  • aldousmom
    aldousmom Posts: 382 Member
    We don't have an Aldi's in my area (South Mississippi). We do however have Sav-a-Lot, which seems to be much the same thing. I love shopping there, as we have a tight budget. All the off-brand things, except the cheese, have been okay. The only thing I didn't like about the cheese was that it was a strange, neon shade of orange.

    Sav-a-lot is nothing like Aldi. Aldi's own brand of stuff is gourmet quality, it's not "off-brand", or a lower quality, cheaper, poor imitation of name brand. I've shopped both pretty thoroughly.
  • helpthepiggys
    helpthepiggys Posts: 12 Member
    I shop at Aldi all the time. The prices are very good. I always buy frute and vegtibles there and the dairy is very good too.
    Not a fan of the meat unless it's chicken. You should check it out!
  • tuiccim
    tuiccim Posts: 689 Member
    Love Aldi (Atlanta, GA, USA.) The have a light brand called Fit & Active and it is mostly very good. Great for produce (but can be hit or miss on lasting more than a few days.) They have cheeses at a very good price. I buy all my staple items here. Also, their chicken is named Kirkland, but is produced by Tyson. They do some 90 calorie fiber bars that I love (chocolate chunk and peanut.)

    Just try it, if you like it great, if not then don't go back.

    Tips: Make sure you have a quarter for a shopping cart. Bring your own bags (they don't provide any, but you can buy some.) They do NOT accept Credit cards, they do accept Cash, debit, and EBT.

    They do get Branded items occasionally (mine currently has a bunch of Skinny Cow products.)
  • mmckee10
    mmckee10 Posts: 405 Member
    I love Aldi! I can get most of my groceries for the month at half the price!!! I fill up the cart for around $100.00 instead of around $200+ at wal-mart.
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
    Great prices, but I find that I have to eat the produce I buy there rather quickly, or it'll go bad fast.

    exactly this ...

    we shop in aldi if we are doing a major cook in that day or the next ... their fresh produce goes off very quickly .... we don't buy meat there.
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    I love their toy prices at Christmas. Their seasonal baking items is pretty awesome. I found some darling Easter sprinkles last year for pretty cheap.
  • REDI4CHANGE60
    REDI4CHANGE60 Posts: 170
    I have been once and felt like it was a wasted trip. I live in a 'metroplex' area, so have a great choice of stores ... when Aldi opened, I was excited, as they had been really advertising for the Grand Opening here in Texas. I walked the entire store and bought one item - I don't have to have name brand, but to have NO name brand items in the store? Ok, I didn't do my research. Also, there was almost NO produce available ... tiny produce section. Anyway, I won't waste my time again. (Wonder if it will go the way of Food Lion after the chicken scandal??)
  • jmp1031
    jmp1031 Posts: 95 Member
    You definitely have to be a label reader when you shop there. High fructose corn syrup is in so many of the things they carry as well as other harmful preservatives (BHT). But if you take you time and read what you're buying, you can definitely find some great deals. The ones here (Illinois) have started carrying some organic items as well, mostly pasta sauces, canned tomatoes and cereals. You never know what you're going to find there. Worth a trip to check it out I'd say.

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