Monday, February 27, 2017

I used to like Aldi's

Now I LOVE Aldi's! 

I started shopping at Aldi's about 4.5 years ago. I had to drive about 20 minutes to the closest store but didn't mind one bit because of the money I was saving on groceries. I bought mostly produce and usually only spent about $20 a week. I will admit, there were times that the produce didn't look great and I walked out with only a few items.

Last year we had a new Aldi open very close to our house. It takes me all of 5 minutes to get there. When they first opened the store was not very busy. It was rare to see more than 10 cars in the parking lot at a time. Over the past year Aldi has really upped their game. The food options are constantly growing and the parking lot is FULL most days now. In fact, they have so many new food items that they had to get larger shopping carts. Now I buy about 90% of my groceries at Aldi each week. Every time I go I find great new items. Last week I noticed that they got new shelving systems in half of the store, so they could stock more items.
New Carts with 2 seats and retractable buckles! No more struggling to tighten the belt! 


What was in my cart this week?

Half and Half- $1.89 each
Eggs- 99cents (they also have free range organic for $2.99)
Half Gallon Milk- $1.29 (They don't have 1% gallons)
Gallon Milk- $2.19 
Organic Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt- $2.99
Mozzarella Ball- $2.69

*We do not eat an organic diet at our house. Aldi does have a great selection of organic milks, eggs, produce and cheeses at excellent prices. Their regular milk and eggs are certified hormone free from animals fed an all natural diet. 


1 lb fresh green beans- $1.49
Red Onions- $1.69 for bag
2 lbs red grapes- $1.98
1 lb bag Bag of Roma Tomatoes- $1.49
1 pint Blueberries- $2.79
Sugar Snap peas- $1.99
Avocado- 99 cents and HUGE
Seedless Cucumber- $1.29
Bag of green apples- $2.99
mangoes- 99 cents each
Bananas- 44 cents a pound, bags are labeled with weight

Prices on produce change. In the summer fruit prices drop dramatically. Often times raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and pineapples are 99 cent. I often see the exact same brand berries carried at Publix for 2-3 times the price. 


Other random items:
Apple sauce pouch 4 pack- $1.89, we always have these in the pantry. They are often marked down to $1.59
Organic Free Range Low Sodium Chicken Broth- $1.79
Extra Virgin Olive Oil- $3.49
Pinot Grigio- $7.99
Baked Chips- $1.69
12 Grain Bread- $1.79

I know that shopping at Aldi's I am always getting a great value. Some items could probably be found cheaper at other stores by finding coupons and matching with sales but I honestly prefer to not have to coordinate all of that. 

Here's a few more items we love to get at Aldi's but didn't need this week:
Plastic Cutlery- Mixed or just forks
$3.49 for 96 pieces
Plastic Bags-
$1.99 each
100 sandwich bags
40 quart freezer bags
50 quart storage bags
30 gallon freezer bags
40 gallon storage bags

$1.99 for 75 sq ft



These paper plates are thick and don't leak! They also have paper bowls that hold up great even with a hot bowl of chili!
These napkins are nice a thick. I used to use coupons and buy Vanity Fair napkins...not anymore. 


These have been marked down for the past 2 weeks. Even at their regular price they are cheaper than Walmart and Target brand.
They now have 2 ends caps full of baby items. The organic baby food pouches are 79 cents and come in a great variety. We used the formula for a few months with Lucy and she had no issues with it. We also loved the puffs and yogurt bites. We have not tried the diapers but I have heard great things about them. We did try the pull-ups but found they ran small and didn't have much stretch. We took them back with a few missing and had no problem exchanging for other products. They had grass drying racks (similar to Boon ones) for $4.99 last week. 

My family goes through tortillas pretty quickly. They have small and large size in flour and corn! 
99 cents for 20 small tortillas makes for some cheap quesadillas. 


I could have taken more pictures but the store was very busy!

Gluten Free Products- In the past few months I have noticed a HUGE selection of gluten free products. If you are gluten free you should really check out their products. Everything from pasta, breads/wraps, frozen pizzas, pancake mix, to cookies and crackers. 

If you have not tried shopping at Aldi's you really should check it out. I might recommend going with a friend who has shopped there before to help learn the ropes. Don't forget a quarter for your cart! 

*This is not a sponsored post...I just love Aldi!






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