31 Days:: Aldi, Part Two

This is Part Two of a guest post by Bobbi over at Favorite Family Foods.  Don't miss Part One!

A few more interesting things about Aldi:

• Fit & Active food line is Aldi's line of healthier foods. This makes it easy to feed your family well without paying more.
• "Special Buy" items are the different buys that Aldi offers weekly.  Sometimes the special buys are food, sometimes they are utensils, sometimes they are toys. These items are available only while supplies last and Aldi CAN limit how many you buy.  You can find out about these Special Buy items by checking out the sale ad at the store, or online at www.aldi.us.    
• Seasonal items are items that are only available during a certain season. A few examples:  marinades and dry salad dressing packs are available in the summer, pumpkin and apple pie filling in the fall, and when the holidays are near there will be plenty of baking powder, cocoa and corn syrup to buy.  If you see something you love and it says "seasonal" on the price tag, be sure to stock up!  It just might not be there the next time you come!

Here are some of my favorite Aldi products:

(Note ~ I am just naming a few.  I decided to make a Top 10 list, but In no particular order.)
1. Heavy Whipping Cream  I use this for making Ice Cream and Chocolate Fudge Sauce.

2. Lunch meat  They have a lovely selection at a very reasonable price.

3. Cereal  There is not a one that we do not like. Our favorites are their brands of Frosted Mini Wheats and Chex....and Lucky Charms.

4. Crackers  I always grab a box of thin wheat crackers (aka Wheat Thins) and wheat rounds (aka Wheat Ritz). Great snacks.

5. Chocolate chips, flour, sugar, powdered sugar and brown sugar make it into my cart EVERY week!

6. Yogurt  I usually get the big container of vanilla.

7. Sandwich bags, plastic wrap and foil

8.a. Oatmeal ~ quick cooking and old fashioned, for granola and granola bars

8.b. Fresh Grated Parmesan cheese

9. Ranch dressing

10. Frozen pizza. Frozen green beans. Tilapia. 
(I cheated!  I should have made it top 20...I could go on!!)

 

Some of the Products I do NOT buy from Aldi:

1. Meat.  I generally only buy meat at Aldi if I am out or if it is the "special" for the week. Not because it is bad, but because I tend to stock up on my meat when it goes on sale at other stores, or "shop" from my freezer because we get half of a cow.

2. Produce.  If the fruit or vegetables look too ripe or questionable, I will pass them up. But usually if the bananas are not great then the apples are great...so there is always some produce to get.

3. umm... I guess we honestly like it all. My husband is so un-picky that he will eat whatever. Sorry about my lack of help here.....
(Note from Lisa:  I don't particularly care for their cocoa powder...I don't think it's very "chocolatey".  I also haven't had very good success with their non-stick cooking spray.)

"The Truth About Aldi"

You may see some "truths" written on employees shirts or in Aldi ads.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• "Low prices on EVERYTHING beats a low price on ONE thing."
• "When deciding between eating well and saving money, always choose both."
• "We don't match other stores' prices because that would mean raising ours."

Stopping at Aldi may mean you have to make "one more stop" ~ but for me, it is actually my first stop. If you have not shopped at Aldi, I encourage you to try it!  As a gereral rule you WILL save money while shopping there.

 

What are your favorite Aldi products?  Do you think shopping there saves you money?

 

Looking for more ways to Save Money in the Kitchen?  You can catch up on any articles you've missed by clicking over to here.

Bobbi is an Indiana wife and mother who LOVES to spend time in the kitchen. Cooking for picky kids can be challenging, but yet a joy. She shares some of her family's favorite recipes at her blog, Favorite Family Foods, where she also does an Aldi post (like this one) every Wednesday.