A new Aldi just opened that's close to me!

[momofkhm]

We've been to one but it was maybe 4 years ago. Do I need to take grocery bags? And I need a quarter for the cart right? What do I need to know before I go?

[Tammyla]

Yes, the carts are a quarter in/out. You can purchase bags for a nickle, bring your own or use the boxes. Enjoy. Aldi here has a lot more brand names mixed in. Let us know how your shopping trip went.

[Karenciavo]

Are Aldi's different depending on the area? My Aldi's has mostly "junk" food, lots of chips, crackers, cookies, candy, sugar water drinks, and fat filled frozen and prepared food. But I've heard that the same company that owns Trader Joe's owns Aldi's so I'm surprised by my local store's offerings. Could those of you who like Aldi's tell me what you like about it and what your is like? If this is a hijack I'm sorry Cheryl and I do hope you have a great experience at your store.

[Remudamom]

We drive 90 miles to get to an Aldi's and buy tons when we're there. The only thing we don't like is the mayonnaise.

We buy canned goods, bread, milk, cheese, frozen foods, soft drinks....the fresh veggies usually aren't as good as our local store though.

[Elisabeth in IL]

Are Aldi's different depending on the area? My Aldi's has mostly "junk" food, lots of chips, crackers, cookies, candy, sugar water drinks, and fat filled frozen and prepared food. But I've heard that the same company that owns Trader Joe's owns Aldi's so I'm surprised by my local store's offerings. Could those of you who like Aldi's tell me what you like about it and what your is like? If this is a hijack I'm sorry Cheryl and I do hope you have a great experience at your store.
because of the prices. If you feed your family, mainly whole grain and fresh foods it isn't the place to go. I purchase granola bars, fruit snacks, cerial, canned veggies and or fruits, some mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, stuff that you may call junk there. They do have limited fresh fruit and meat but I purchase that elsewhere. They do have a newer "fit and healthy" brand with lower sugar or salt as the case may be.

[Antonia]

Important if, like me, you charge everything.

[Karenciavo]

because of the prices. If you feed your family, mainly whole grain and fresh foods it isn't the place to go. I purchase granola bars, fruit snacks, cerial, canned veggies and or fruits, some mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, stuff that you may call junk there. They do have limited fresh fruit and meat but I purchase that elsewhere. They do have a newer "fit and healthy" brand with lower sugar or salt as the case may be.

Well, my 5 yo would live on mac and cheese and chicken nuggets if I let him. :) My store is close enough that even if I just purchased milk and butter it would be worth it. Maybe I'll give it another try. Thanks.

[Antonia]

if you go to momadvice.com, and click on food/recipes, there are a couple of articles on aldi including recipes and shopping lists. I do probably 90% of my shopping there for about $60 per week (family of four), and we eat pretty healthfully.

[Karenciavo]

Thanks for the link. I think I'll skip the Salmon ala Dishwasher, have you tried that one? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/shocked030.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

[OnTheBrink]

I get frozen shrimp and scallops, as well as other fish there. I buy all my canned goods, bread and cheese, milk, condiments, cereal, eggs, sour cream, sugar, oils (canola and olive), raisins, jelly, salsa, on and on. I guess the only things I don't buy there is produce, because I prefer Meier's produce over Aldi's. I buy meats from a local butcher.

[T Baer]

She shops there regularly, along with Sav a lot. If she is in the area, which we were last night. It's worth the stop. I got there about once a month and load up on can goods I can usually go to Aldi's, Ollies and possible another grocery store that has items on sale with coupons.
For us it's worth the trip.

[Tammyla]

I think the selection does vary. We have three stores and their selections of fresh veggies is small, but good quality at a great price. (During the summer they can often beat our local farmer's market.) Their whole grain breads are delicious and inexpensive. I could never do all my shopping there, but it is one of my regular stops.

We do live in a city that is challenged for organic products. :(

[Antonia]

[QUOTE=Karenciavo] I think I'll skip the Salmon ala Dishwasher, have you tried that one?

No way! I'm all for multi-tasking, but that's just going too far! :)

[*anj*]

I bought cocoa powder there last fall at a very good price, but I was sad to discover that they consider it a "seasonal item" and only carry it for a few months per year.

The Aldi near my home has an okay variety, but they sell an awful lot of things that I don't buy. I've bought pretzels and chips there when we were having people over because they were cheaper. Even before I started purchasing farm-grown meat I preferred not to buy their meat because it is injected with broth. I did buy the chicken for our chicken mummy there, though. :cool:

Oh, and recently they had wild caught salmon for $2.99/lb, so I asked a friend to pick some up for me. But when I got ready to cook it I found out that it was imported from China. Ummm, no offense to Laura and Volty, but....I won't buy any more of that.

[AnneJ]

They have fresh flowers. You can get a medium-sized bunch for $2.99. I know that the flowers are delivered to our Aldi on Thursdays so I often will pick one up. It is especially nice in the winter to have fresh flowers in the house.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Have you gone to the Aldi website? I love Aldi, but even the company admits you will probably not be able to do all of your shopping there. I just like their no-frills approach and I bought some absolutely perfect chocolate there once.

http://www.aldifoods.com/index_ENU_HTML.htm

[Call Me Cordelia]

We just got an Aldi near our home. Love them! I get "staples," like baking supplies for my must bake every day daughter, cheese, yogurt, eggs, butter, "junk food," tuna, mac & cheese, pasta and sauce, whole wheat bread, any canned goods I buy like mandarin oranges, chili beans, soups, condiments, etc...

I totally do not like their frozen french fries, but that's about it.

[Lorna]

Are Aldi's different depending on the area? My Aldi's has mostly "junk" food, lots of chips, crackers, cookies, candy, sugar water drinks, and fat filled frozen and prepared food. But I've heard that the same company that owns Trader Joe's owns Aldi's so I'm surprised by my local store's offerings. Could those of you who like Aldi's tell me what you like about it and what your is like? If this is a hijack I'm sorry Cheryl and I do hope you have a great experience at your store.

Sometimes they have good deals on things like computers, craft materials and clothes. They work on the principal of having a special week where they sell one type of things: for example yoga or horse things. If you have a specialist interest like this then they can be very useful. They make lots of one thing in China (no choice) and can therefore cut the margin on stuff by a considerable amount. This works especially well on specialist equipment which is normally slow to shift.
We do buy canned tomatoes, 100% orange juice, flour and sometimes craft glue and paper from a similar style shop called Lidl. The prepared food in these shops is awful as Karen says; it is full of sugar, fat and additives.