A friend tries Aldi for the first time – And she loves it

A friend tries Aldi for the first time – And she loves it

Marianne is a relatively recent friend, we bonded in a pilates class and ended up in Vegas at the same time. We have a shared love for fitness, nutrition, cakes and Las Vegas. Its cool to have so much in common. She also loves to have some luxury but on a budget. My constant raves about Aldi have had an impact and she has taken the plunge and done her first weekly shop. Over to Marianne.

I love shopping

I love shopping – albeit for food or clothes. To me it’s all a necessity although I can understand how you would get more pleasure out of a new dress rather than a pack of minced beef!

Last Monday I decided to go and see what all the fuss was about and do an Aldi shop. On average I probably visit a supermarket three times a week. Our household of only three eats a lot and everyone has a different diet. Grocery shopping can be a real pain at times to ensure I am getting the right things at a decent price.

Aldi versus Waitrose

This week I gave Aldi a turn from my usual Monday morning Waitrose and free coffee ritual. Of course I know the coffee isn’t free – you’re paying for the privilege of entering this holy establishment!

Not knowing the layout of the store I decided to wander through all the aisles to ensure I learnt what products were available. Most noticeable thing was that they don’t stock a lot of your high street brands. Many are alternatives – I did a double take on the crisps that looked remarkably similar to a famous brand. This I found happened a lot during this shopping trip. Products are not a specific brand but you could be easily mistaken.

Fruit, Veg and Meat

I loaded my trolley with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables that all looked great quality. Next in line was the meat. I am very particular about my meat and only like to eat British and have always thought you have to spend more for better quality. Well I was shocked here! I bought two ribeye steaks, lamb chops, bacon, minced beef and smoked salmon all at such low prices and all looked great quality too. I then moved onto the cheese and found all types available, I was after a specific cheese and they had it which again surprised me.

Health & Beauty

Before I went to the check out I of course went through the home section. I wanted to buy the Lacura range face cream that I had heard so much about and looked for the under eye concealer. Alas the latter was not available – probably sold out at £2.99p a tube!? I got my day cream for a great £6.99 and decided that I would definitely return to buy the sun cream range when we went on holiday this summer. Great value products and rave reviews mean I will definitely give them a go.

As you can see from my picture I bought a lot of things – enough to feed us for at least 5 days. The most amazing thing was the price! All this came in just below a staggering £52?! Amazing! And so was my steak and stuffed mushrooms and Roquefort sauce that evening! I’m a convert and will be back again soon to replenish my fridge and see what delights are in the ever changing offer aisle.

I won’t say I will never go back to the major supermarkets again as unfortunately sometime ease and proximity take over at times but this will definitely be a regular shopping trip for me. If I was grading this supermarket Aldi gets an A!

Thank you to Marianne Lowne for this post.

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