Venturing into the World of Aldi...

Hello there! I was planning on doing a couple of blog posts today but I'm a bit poorly so I slept for most of the day. Oopsies!!

Anyway, I thought I'd tell you all about my Aldi experience. I know I always talk about Lidl, because it's a bit easier for me to get to than Aldi, but in the name of being a helpful blogger, I thought I would take a slight detour to see what Aldi has to offer. I'm so glad I did!! I always assumed it would be a bit more expensive than Lidl, as it's known as being a bit more 'upmarket' (if you can call Aldi and Lidl upmarket...) but it wasn't at all! I got all this for £10.72!!

Lemon Antibacterial Wipes 75p

Antibacterial Handwash 75p

Gnocci/Tortelloni/Ravioli 65p each

Pasta Sauce 75p

Crumpets (6) 37p

Extra Large Granary Baps 79p

Baby Leaf Salad 79p

Crispbreads (fake Ryvitas) 59p

Cherry Tomatoes 79p

Penne 500g 29p

Chicken Slices (4) 89p

Frozen Chips 1.5kg 82p

My verdict so far...

First I want to start by saying DO NOT BUY ALDI CRUMPETS!! I don't know if I got a dodgy batch or something, but they were so disgusting I only managed to eat one and had to throw the other five away! Not good. I've heard people say they were nice, but they were certainly not to my taste. I'll definitely be sticking to Lidl or Asda crumpets in future!

I've been impressed with the other things I've tried so far though. The salad, granary rolls and chicken are all pretty good considering how cheap they are. The chicken is obviously not the highest quality but it tastes quite good and I can't afford to be fussy at the moment! The tomatoes are by far my favourite purchase so far though; they're sweet and delicious, definitely nicer than any other tomatoes at that price!

I'm really pleased with the other bargains I've picked up. To get so many items for under a £1 each is incredible, and at that price you can afford to take the gamble of trying them. I'm interested to try the different varieties of dried filled pasta, and the gnocci; I really want them to be good because it's normally £1 or more for fresh pasta. I'll keep you posted on that one. I'm a bit dubious about the chips, but I thought I'd give them a try because, if I can tolerate them, it would be a huge saving for me (and I eat a lot of chips)!

Lidl versus Aldi

Product-wise, it's too soon for me to say. But I hope the crumpets are not a good representation of Aldi's food quality because I found their store so much nicer and better. It was a different world to Lidl; the shelves were all fully stocked, the store was quiet, clean and spacious, and the staff were friendly, polite and smartly dressed! Lidl is the complete opposite, I have been horrified by the poor customer service and general laziness of some of their staff (i.e. texting on their phones while on the till, not saying hello to the customers or even giving them eye contact, etc.). I realise that it varies store to store; the Aldi I went to was a very recently built store, and I've been in ones that are not as nice as that. Likewise, there are probably Lidl stores that are not quite as shocking as my local ones. But comparing my local Aldi to my local Lidl, Aldi wins hands down. I will still definitely be sticking to Lidl when I'm buying crumpets and shampoo though (because they are my faves)!

Are you considering switching to Aldi to save money? Or are you an Aldi shopper already? If so, what are your favourite Aldi products (can be food or beauty)? Please comment below :-)