Aldi's suggestions

[glc20]

A new Aldi's opened here and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for good packaged things to buy there.

Milk, eggs, frest fruit and vegs that I've tried have been good. Tried the string cheese and it was pretty chalky but ok when I'm really hungry.

So, before I try other things thought I'd see what others like there.

Thanks,

Ginny

[cookncraze]

I agree with you on the string cheese but some things I always get @ Aldi's are the bone in spiral cut hams, they are amazing! The smoked turkeys are good too. I also buy the packaged frozen fish. You can't beat the prices on their fruits & veggies & I've had very good luck with their melons

[vbak]

I don't make special trips to Aldi, but when i am near a store I buy their German wine, German beer, decaf coffee, and fresh mozzi.

[wallycat]

Refried beans,
diced canned tomatoes,
their full fat mayo I swear is hellman's,
Corn chips,
Their salsa is OK,
Winking Owl wine (if they sell it) is better than $3 buck chuck from TJ's...not by much, but better, IMHO.

[hlao23]

I like their salsa
Costa Rican coffee
Popsicles!!! Tropical something flavor...AWESOME! (the only ice cream I've had from there was horrible though)
Canned fruit
I like their frosted wheat cereal as well as brand name and their raisin bran is better than brand name.
Fruit and nut granola bars
Their yogurt is better than a lot of store brands
Nuts
Toothbrushes

[wallycat]

Forgot their frozen 3 berry mix. YUMM!!!

[avariell]

Their frozen fruit selection is usually outstanding - you can get frozen, pitted, sour cherries for pies!!!!!!!

uh

just kidding, that is at GFS. I completely confused them in my head! I don't ever shop at Aldi;s... lol sorry

[glc20]

Thanks for the suggestions...was going to try the ice cream but will go for other frozen things instead.

[hlao23]

Thanks for the suggestions...was going to try the ice cream but will go for other frozen things instead.

The fudge-pops I've had are good. The ice cream had the texture of sand Maybe it had been thawed and re-frozen?

[TerriAb]

We have an Aldi's near me, but I've never been in it. Is it a grocery store with it's own stuff?

[funniegrrl]

Terri, in a word, yes. They have a changing assortment of private-label products that are a lot cheaper than any grocery store. The occasionally have household goods as well as groceries, usually seasonal. Aesthetics are not a consideration, and the stores are small. You have to bring your own bags/boxes or they will provide them for a fee. Also, if you want a shopping cart, make sure you have a quarter on you ... put the quarter in the slot, get a cart, return the cart when you're done and you get your quarter back.

http://aldi.us/index_ENU_HTML.htm

[HealthyinMN]

Terri, in a word, yes. They have a changing assortment of private-label products that are a lot cheaper than any grocery store. The occasionally have household goods as well as groceries, usually seasonal. Aesthetics are not a consideration, and the stores are small. You have to bring your own bags/boxes or they will provide them for a fee. Also, if you want a shopping cart, make sure you have a quarter on you ... put the quarter in the slot, get a cart, return the cart when you're done and you get your quarter back.

http://aldi.us/index_ENU_HTML.htm

And they are the same people who own Trader Joe's!

[margeslp]

A new Aldi's opened here and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for good packaged things to buy there.

Milk, eggs, frest fruit and vegs that I've tried have been good. Tried the string cheese and it was pretty chalky but ok when I'm really hungry.

So, before I try other things thought I'd see what others like there.

Thanks,

Ginny

I like thier Hit 'n' Healthy whole grain flatbread. An 8x8 square has so much fiber it is only 1 Weight Watcher point.

[wallycat]

And they are the same people who own Trader Joe's!

Nope. They are not.
The original creator of TJs had this store and sold it.
Then went on to create trader joes...no connection after that.

[HealthyinMN]

Nope. They are not.
The original creator of TJs had this store and sold it.
Then went on to create trader joes...no connection after that.

So this is wrong?

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.co...s-trader-joes/

[wallycat]

Yes, according to the "biography" of trader Joes that is out there, your link would be incorrect.
It appears a lot of people think they are owned together, but from reading the book, it states NO.

[zwieback]

Trader Joe's and Aldi's are owned by brothers, but one brother owns TJs and the other brother owns Aldi's (in the US). The one brother who own's TJs does in fact own a chain of Aldi's stores, though (Aldi Nord). He doesn't own Aldi's in the US, but his brother does.

This is what Wikipedia says:

Theodor Paul Albrecht (born 28 March 1922), generally known as Theo Albrecht, is a German entrepreneur, who in 2009 was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 9th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $18.8 billion. He owns and was the CEO of the Aldi Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owns the Trader Joe's specialty grocery store chain. His brother Karl Albrecht owns the Aldi Süd discount supermarket chain. The two chains originally were a single family enterprise until a friendly division of assets in 1960. Aldi Süd operates the Aldi groceries in the United States. So Aldi and Trader Joe's, while owned by the brothers, have separate and distinct ownership and operations.

[wallycat]

Trader Joe's and Aldi's are owned by brothers, but one brother owns TJs and the other brother owns Aldi's (in the US). The one brother who own's TJs does in fact own a chain of Aldi's stores, though (Aldi Nord). He doesn't own Aldi's in the US, but his brother does.

This is what Wikipedia says:

Theodor Paul Albrecht (born 28 March 1922), generally known as Theo Albrecht, is a German entrepreneur, who in 2009 was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 9th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $18.8 billion. He owns and was the CEO of the Aldi Nord discount supermarket chain. In the US he owns the Trader Joe's specialty grocery store chain. His brother Karl Albrecht owns the Aldi Süd discount supermarket chain. The two chains originally were a single family enterprise until a friendly division of assets in 1960. Aldi Süd operates the Aldi groceries in the United States. So Aldi and Trader Joe's, while owned by the brothers, have separate and distinct ownership and operations.

This is different than the book. It was an American that created TJ's....I'll have to find the title again and reread it and post it here.

here is the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Trader-Joes-Ad...0898040&sr=8-1

[granolagirl]

I thought that Trader Joe's was created by someone else and then sold and both Aldi and TJ's are owned by the brothers. Who knows.

Aldi has great produce specials--especially when something is in season. They had strawberries for .49/pound earlier this summer, as well as blueberries for .99/pint, etc.

I like their paper towels. Not Bounty quality, but for .69, very good quality! Their canola oil is good. I don't buy too much there because I can get stuff at the regular grocery store for similar prices.

[EmptyNestMom]

Aldi has great produce specials--especially when something is in season. They had strawberries for .49/pound earlier this summer, as well as blueberries for .99/pint, etc.

I like to go in there to check out their produce...I did buy quite a few blueberries at 99 cents a pint (and freeze them) and have bought other things there. Currently they have grapes (red & green) for $.77 per pound, most of our grocery stores here have them for $.99 the least expensive...

That said I would love to have a Trader Joes in this area...looking at the map there is this whole area of the midwest without one (ND, SD, NE, KS -and western MO, OK and Texas) looking at the map there is a straight line of states without one!! But we do have Aldi's and while it is nice it is just not the same...

[wallycat]

For those who are still on the fence for Aldi's,
here is their "flyer" for next week....
http://www.aldifoods.com/us/html/off...?WT.z_src=main

I think it varies by location but if anyone wanted a Foreman grill without the cost, this one looks nice.
And it looks like Amy's enchiladas and pizzas will be sold there.
I used to LOVE Amy's spinach pizza!

[Kathy B]

Has anyone tried the turkey burgers?

[mcgee]

I had never heard of the Aldi/Trader Joe's connection so I had to do a search. Trader Joe's did debut in 1967 in South Pasadena (my husband remembers the first one) but was purchased by the Albrecht family (Aldi's owners) in 1979. Interesting read.

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa...y-History.html

[heavy hedonist]

here are things i regularly buy at Aldi's, becuase they are so good, as well as a good value overall--

the canned pintos

corn taco shells

WW pasta (fit-n-active, i think)

the green teas, by the brand name of Brenner's, i've tried several, and the fancier teas in tins(but at $1.99 here, still cheap) like the pomegranate black, and the mint assam-- the orange pekoe by Brenner isn't worth it except for iced tea

any nuts by the brand Southern grove

grande principessa dalad dressings and their morello cherry jam/preserve is FABULOUS!

the frozen fruit bars, in a wild green/mulitcolor package, are all good, but the cocnut ones rock more than anything. they are all fruit, too, not junk.

the whole-grain breads

their packaged flavored havartis, 'specially the mushroom.

their unsalted butter, cream, and cream cheese

oats-- especially the long-cooking ones, but the quick cook are okay too- i just don't like quick cook oats!

dried fruits

honey-- $3.49 for a lb. and a half-- can't beat that.

whole grain cereals-- the granolas are good, we get the frosted wheat sqaures, and I dig the bran flakes-- the DH eats virtually any and all of the cereals they have enthusiastically, and most of them have less junk than name brand cereals, though we don't try/buy the kiddie stuff in weird colors, so i can't speak to that.

oh, and the Moser Roth chocolates are good even for baking with.

all of these products are as good or better than average grocery store goods, and i used to shop at TJ's too, when i lived less than a six hour drive from them.
there are other things i buy, but this list is stuff i can honestly say i would buy even if it went up in cost a little; and i'm on a fixed income.

[Shugness]

I went to Aldi's yesterday for the second time in my life. I had went several years ago but was apprehensive about buying meat or produce from them. BUT, I've heard more people talking about shopping there, family and friends and people on this board, so I decided to give it a second try.

Main thing I bought was a bunch of canned vegetables, just to stock up. I also bought canned fruits and cherry pie filling. The prices seemed good. I haven't tried any of these items yet.

Produce wise, I bought sweet potatoes, green onions, garlic and a bag of apples. Price were also cheaper than Walmart or the grocery store. So far I used the potatoes and onion last night for dinner and they were good. I just ate one of the apples and it was good as well.

The other thing I picked up - chocolate. For $1.69 I was able to purchase what looks like and taste like Lindt Chocolate Bars, but it's called Moser Roth. I have previously bought a similar product Lindt makes - Orange & Almond dark chocolate - and paid over $3 for the same size bar. I bought other flavors they had too - Toffee Crunch and Chili (it had a slight "hot" aftertaste!).

I'm sold now - I'll be going back.

[TheodoraDavid]

Aldi takes a bit of getting used to, it's quite different from most stores. But! their house brand of chocolates, made in Europe, are To Die For -- and scandalously INexpensive.

Been shopping there 10 years, about once ev/2-3 mos. I stock up on basics like brown sugar, dried fruit, pecans, jars of marinated artichoke hearts, stuff like that. Plus, their prices on milk and eggs can't be beat.

They also often have very low prices on produce items. Ex: they were recently selling butternut squash for for $1/lb, while it was double that everywhere else.

thea