And I guess what should be avoided would also be nice to know. But in general what are your favorite items? Also is it much cheaper, or just slightly cheaper than a regular grocery store?
I know about the quarter for the cart and bringing my own grocery bags. Do all of them take debit cards or do I need cash? Anything else I need to know?
I'd say much cheaper. But I'm not sure it's worth the awful drive now that I'm not close to one! The blue corn tortilla chips are great! The kids liked the non-sugary cereals.
The muesli tasted too preservativey.
The soymilk is fine, but I don't like buying it in plastic bottles. The bread is mediocre. The produce was hit or miss at the one I went to.
The taco shells and veg refried beans were staples in our pantry.
ah..the cheap bread is mediocre. the 100% whole wheat bread that's $1.49 is da bomb, imo. The cheap bread is for people looking for cheap bread for cheap (since it's not so cheap elsewhere these days).
I've never been disappointed in anything that's an ingredient, so to speak...flour, sugar, oils, milk, eggs, butter, sour cream, block cheese, pasta, oatmeal.
Their soymilk tastes just like Silk to me. Their french vanilla creamer tastes just like CoffeeMate.
Crackers, chips, etc...all fine.
Love their pineapple salsa.
Love their dried fruit and nuts. Great prices, really good quality.
Always been satisfied with their baking stuff...ingredients and mixes.
I've never been one to buy storebought cookies, snack cakes, etc so I can't attest to their twinkie type stuff lol. I have bought their cheapie oatmeal cookies and vanilla wafers on the odd occasion and they got eaten lol.
Fig newtons are great. Dh loves them and they're so cheap there.
Pretty much anything where they have more than one option (not a lot of things where they do) you will probably be disappointed in the cheapest version. Like American cheese slices. The 99c a pack cheese is all rubbery...it's for the people who only care about cheap. The 1.99 a pack cheese is comparable to kraft.
I get turkey hot dogs there or oscar meyer. Kinda wary of most of the other cured/lunch meat stuff.
I generally don't buy their fresh meat just because I avoid gassed meat. Not so much because I have an issue with the gassing aspect though. I will buy it if I'm going to go home and cook it that day. But if it's something that's going to linger in the fridge a bit I rely on color changes/smell to tell me when something isn't so fresh and gassed meat doesn't do that anymore.
I buy lots and lots of their flour tortillas.
Canned good are all fine.
I do not like their laundry detergents.
Their produce doesn't get turned over like it does in a big grocery store. They get one giant shipment once a week. Sometimes all of a particular item will be overripe so I skip it that week.
Sometimes all the bananas are green. Sometimes they're all perfect. Sometimes they're all too ripe. So while it varies from visit to visit (or if you only go on Friday and it's always a disappointment...try a different day) it's really obvious if you've hit a batch past its prime. Not hard to figure out what not to buy that week.
Great produce prices though.
Frozen chicken breast...aldi is the ONLY place I'll buy due to price. The teriyaki chicken costs a little more but it's really, really good.
My kids love their chicken eggs rolls. Love their frozen Asian stir fry too.
Frozen veggies all good. Well, except for the broccoli but I'm super picky about frozen broccoli and won't buy any brand that includes stems.
I recently bought the Fit&Active frozen meatballs and the family raved. I didn't try them so no first hand on that.
All the ice cream is fine. Again, cheapest option will be like the cheapest option anywhere...the big tub of ice cream isn't breyer's lol. But the slightly more expensive cartons are really good. Ice cream sandwiches, etc...good. Popsicles are fine.
If you're a soda drinker and aren't a brand name devotee, their soda is fine too.
My people love their giant chocolate bars lol. And their coffee is ok. Not as good as the foo-foo specialty coffees that come in flavors but just as good as folgers/maxwell house.
__________________
~Dannielle
Momma to Isabelle (8/95) and Mason (1/01)
Location: if this were the wrong decision you'd already know it
Posts: 40,968
Meghan - their frozen berries/veggies are comparable to TJ's in prices, but they don't have organics. The package of french green beans was smaller but ounce for ounce it seems the same price to me.
The soymilk is like $1.29 - but it's a small package, too. And, like Christy said - it's plastic.
Avoid whole wheat bread - it has sucralose in it (at least in my store - some others have said theirs do not).
We didn't get a whole lot, but if you have a TJ's - the prices are comparable if you prefer organics and don't want to spend the day reading labels for HFCS and other ickies. I think prices vary by stores and our seemed higher than I remember - but then again it's been at least a decade between visits.
If you go for basics, you'll probably be okay (beans, rice, frozen veg, staples)
yeah if you're looking for organics...or stuff like you'd buy at whole foods...there's not a whole lot for you at aldi.
I'd love to be able to buy organic but it's never been an option at any store with our budget.
oh, aldi does carry a jam that does not have hfcs...the fit&active. I buy peanut butter at TJ.
Sucralose (splenda) in bread? Or sucrose (sugar)? Wondering bc sugar of some sort is needed to feed the yeast (most breads use hfcs, which I overlook since it's probably not much). Totally not nitpicking since I do use sucralose myself on occasion...just wondering. It seems unnecessary in something not sweet, ya know? Don't know if it actually does what sugar does for yeast in breadmaking. Well, I'm headed there today...I'll look. I"m out of bread or I'd look right now lol.
Last edited by Dannielle : 08-24-2008 at 01:29 PM.
D - have you priced the organic broccoli florets at TJ's versus what you usually buy? I have trouble finding just the tops (I, too, do not buy stems).
Is there a better value elsewhere?
I'll be trying to replace a TON of food this week
I like TJs frozen broccolli. It's a bunch of large top pieces. Very nice for frozen. You see my whole issue is affording natural organic food on less than 30k gross a year. I wish I didn't know any better to be honest. I'm so used to going to TJs and throwing food in my cart without worrying about ingredients and such(for the most part it's all HFCS free). Aside from our bills, groceries and good food are the priority. But I'd love to start a cushion-y savings acct again and to pay down his student loan debt before he goes for his masters.
2 years ago we had thousands in the bank, paid a midwife oop and spent only $250/month on excellent food. Now we're down to nothing in savings, money for dentist stuff on the CC and spending double on groceries. Something has to give. KWIM? It seems that the most flexible area is grocery. I'm making more and more from scratch and whole ingredients but that doesn't save much these days. Blah blah blah
aldi's chewy choc chip granola bars do not have hfcs or transfats(pb ones do).
maybe i'll go w/o kids so I can read labels. i'm not saying aldi food is junk i hope you don't get that vibe. i'm just trying to figure out if we eat really well or let it go for awhile to get ahead again. my mil shops mainly at aldi and I can't tell the difference but she gets the same few things and makes the same meals over and over.
That's exactly where I am too. Something has to give. For us organic isn't really an option. But I do cook from scratch most of the time. I prefer 100% whole grain (oh, walmart has the best price on whole wheat flour of anywhere I think). But I have relaxed on white flour, transfats, hfcs in a few areas. Not across the board. But on a few select items only where the savings is huge and the risk small (like hfcs in bread...not a sweet item and the yeast probably eats most of it..and I'm saving $2/loaf).
Overall I still think we're doing pretty good. My grocery budget had crept up to almost double what it once was. I've got it pretty much cut back in half now.
Location: if this were the wrong decision you'd already know it
Posts: 40,968
Our grocery budget has plummeted, too.
We've taken to eating a lot of rice and frozen veggies, stir-fried. When winter comes I think it will be easier to eat a lot more soups and beans - which we do SOME of now, but not as much. Fresh veggies and fruits are becoming more rare. I used to be able to go and just fill a cart with whatever produce and now - no way.
I love TJ's french green beans, as do the kids (they won't eat canned). I stir fry them like I make my kale, really. I also love TJ's bagged southern greens. They're $2.89, I want to say, and a great addition to soups or just stir fried with some rice. Their tofu, if your kids like it, is 99c. A freaking STEAL for tofu. We also use their edamame in fried rice because it boosts the protein so much more than using peas and a bag goes a long way.
I buy rice in bulk bins or at Sam's. I get dried beans (usually organic, but not always) in the bulk bins. I occasionally buy canned beans at TJ's because they have no HFCS, but they are 99c a can and we usually need 3-4 cans per meal, so it adds up. I'm learning to cook beans from dried and finally doing it well.
We eat a lot of eggs and potatoes, a lot of frozen fruits and veggies, a lot of rice. We don't buy bread much anymore because of the GF thing. Most of our dinners are more one-dish bowls of things like hoppin' john (black eyed peas and rice), thai bowls, stir fry, etc.
We also eat a lot of cereal - but I get it on sale. I have a general policy that I don't go over $2 a box, with a rare triple berry os or gf for jack. But, we've found some conventional cereals that are GF now and have been doing well.
Oatmeal we eat a lot of when it warms up. Grits are a new favorite breakfast (like cream of wheat). Black bean and corn salsa with scoop chips. Lots of chili.
I'm missing the farmer's market - but it was $60 - $80 per visit and that's not happening right now at all. And we just lost our whole freezer worth of food, so I'm acutely conscious of how much things cost to replace and how much I relied on that being stocked.
eta: Dierbergs takes the shop and save $10 off $50 purchase on the appropriate thursdays, so that's when I get my bulk bin stuff. I've started shopping more at super walmart, which we have near us, and a lot of things are cheaper there, too. Not my favorite store in the world, but a larger variety, some gf, some organic, than our aldi.
I wish my people would get over their bean hatred. I add beans (black or pintos) to mexican stuff and they whine so bad but deal with it. But they will not eat something like beans and rice ever.
Meg- mama to two fantastic little people.
Linear Mode
