Aldi? What do you buy?

kashadilla · August 2015

Aldi first timers guide:

1) Bring a quarter. You'll need it to get a cart unlocked, there is a little spot on the cart where you pop the quarter in and it unlocks the cart from the corral. (This is so they don't have to pay people to fetch carts from the parking lot.)

2) Bring your own bags, or you can buy some at check out. Some locations have fabric options you can purchase, I bought a few of those and a few freezer/cold reusable bags and keep them all in my car.

3) At checkout the checker will have an empty cart ready (which already has a quarter in it) and will put all your groceries in the empty cart next to them as they scan the items. You will then swap them your now-empty cart for the one they just filled with your groceries. If you have kids you will have to swap them into the new cart too, don't be shy to make sure they leave the seat section empty when loading the groceries!

4) After you unload your groceries, you will return the cart to the cart corral and your quarter pops back out when you stick the lock back into it.

***Aldi regulars often offer each other carts in the parking lot; ie if you are unloading and see someone just parking who might need a cart you offer yours to them. You might take a quarter from them in exchange for the cart, or if you are feeling generous tell them to keep their quarter and pay it forward to someone else. I always do the latter, since I have children it usually helps me tremendously if someone approaches me at my car with a cart ready so I can just put them in the seats and off we go

Amy_in_FL · August 2015

I shop there a lot and there's a lot of great advice here. Best buys for me would be Greek yogurt, cheese, produce, cereal. I'm amazed at all of the organic house-label stuff they carry. They also have a gluten-free line and the "light" house-label stuff is great too.

hollbert90 · August 2015

I buy most things from Aldi and love it. Would 100% recommend to anyone. Most things are pretty good quality. The only thing I've ever had an issue with is their frozen fish - some types are fine but the I found the cheaper fillets release loads of water when cooking so they go rubbery and taste pretty horrid.
So yeah - one thing to complain about isn't too bad!
Also +1 on the Moser Roth chocolate - I usually go 70% but the cookies and cream one is delish too and only like 144 calories for a 25g bar.

greenmg411 · August 2015

I buy most of my groceries there, I simply love Aldi! The Fit n Active line has a lot of staples in lower calories, like cheese, waffles, jam, cookies, etc. if you don't want to give those up you can always try these products first. I also love how every week they have a new "theme" and new non-food products on sale. Last week was back to school, the other one back to dorm... You get the idea. I always find something I don't have but "need" at Aldi! Lol

nordlead2005 · August 2015

absolutely nothing. I've tried multiple times, but:

* They don't offer bulk anything, so if you can buy in bulk it will be cheaper (for example, cheese and chicken are both cheaper elsewhere and I go through a lot of those)
* They don't carry the things I like
* The produce always looks really bad (if there is any) since I get there after work, not before
* Their prices really aren't that great compared to other store brands.
* They don't staff the checkout lines, and I've been tempted a few times to just either steal the food or abandon it on the counter as no employees were visible in the entire store (and I can see the entire store).

I may be sucked into the store again though, as 85% chocolate bars sound tempting

iLoveMyPitbull1225 · August 2015

I buy everything I possibly can at Aldi! If they don't carry it, I get it from giant eagle, but it seems like every week they add more and more products. They also have organic and gluten free lines in addition to the "fit and active" line for lower calorie options.. Do carefully check produce and expiration dates on fresh meats.
My only complaint is that (at least at my Aldi) I can't buy, say, one potato or one onion--- They sell them by the bag. Which is fine if that's what you need, but sometimes I don't need 6 red onions at once and don't want to buy that many and have them go to waste. There enters a reason to go to a larger retail grocer for such things.

ValerieMartini2Olives · August 2015

I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Aldi. I get $147 in food stamps. I spend $90 at Aldi and am able to get a month's worth of staples/dry goods.

ValerieMartini2Olives · August 2015

Also, I remember 20 years ago when shopping at Aldi was sorta taboo. It was only the place where "poor people" shopped and you certainly didn't buy your meat and produce there. They have come a LONG way. They have organic meats and produce now. I regularly buy my meat and produce there and it's just as good, if not better than large chains.

And fyi, just because it's an "Aldi brand" means nothing. Everything that is sold at Aldi is a name brand product slapped with an Aldi label. The peanut butter? It's Jif or Skippy. The jelly? Smucker's. The butter? Land o Lakes. The applesauce? Mott's. The yogurt? Dannon. Big food companies manufacture foods and when it goes through final testing (say Jif has to have a quality of 98% but in final testing it hits 97%), to reduce loss, they will sell the lower percentage to companies like Aldi, Walmart, Meijer store brand and put their labels on it. When I worked at a grocery store, we got a case of On-Cor salisbury steak. Inside was the Bremer brand (Aldi).

TheDevastator · August 2015

I buy their milk and dark chocolate hazelnut bars and sweet potato chips. Also strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and mangoes are really cheap in season.

TeaBea · August 2015

100 calorie Greek Yogurt (Friendly Farms).....unlike Chobani 100, the Aldi variety doesn't add chicory root (ugh).

When fresh green beans aren't available....Aldi has some frozen ones that are skinny....really tastey. I don't buy much produce there, my town has a store that specializes in produce (great prices).

Fit & Active 100 calorie Chocolate Cookie Crisps (copy of Oreo cookie crisps)....yum

bunnywestley81 · August 2015

I have an aldi near work and its fab! I often pop in after work.
No complaints about any of the fresh of frozen products and they're cheaper than asda (although i find booze cheaper in asda or tesco)

The super 6 offer they have every week on meat and veg is brillant (fruit and veg for 49p) and they often have offers on things, and theme weeks where they reduce prices on that particular theme of food!

Love it!!

Aldi? What do you buy?

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