My love for Aldi...

I actually love Aldi at the moment. For a while I didn't love Aldi because I wondered just how can everything be so cheap? I mean I know the stores are not nicely decorated and the plastic bags aren't free but really how can a tin of beans be half the price of Heinz? I thought at first maybe they used really cheap beans and ladled them with sugar but that was until I found this article where a nutritionist inspects the contents of some of Aldi's food (scroll down to the nutritionist review on Wednesday). Apparently, cheap Aldi own brands are as healthy or even healthier than more expensive branded products.

We now shop at Aldi most weeks with the exception that sometimes I need some specialist item that I have to pop to another supermarket for. What I love about Aldi is each week they have a 'Special Six' offer on their fruit and veg and you can view these on the website. For example this week you can purchase; Savoy Cabbage, 4 pack of garlic, celery, cucumber, 2 pack of little gem lettuce and spring onions all for 39p each. It makes me wonder how people still say they can't afford to eat with prices that low!

I'm doing lots of healthy recipe's this week including hidden vegetable pasta sauce (we have to hide the veg now as Benjamin has decided he doesn't like them!) home made butternut squash and carrot soup, butternut squash risotto, healthy shepherds pie and Luke is having hearty salads for his lunch for work which include salad leaves, peppers, red onion, celery, tomato's, cucumber, sliced boiled eggs and pre-cooked chicken pieces. Phew, that's a lot of healthy goodness I just heard right there!

Also, when we got to the check out I spotted some reduced wrapping paper. I thought it was adorable and that you wouldn't be able to tell it was from Aldi.

There were no matching tags but I know you can get plain metallic ones from anywhere and for 49p a roll you can't moan!

The only down sides to Aldi are sometimes you can't get everything you need from there, for example today I couldn't find spinach or puy lentils. Also when you get to the checkouts the cashiers are being timed at scanning your items so you don't have time to leisurely chat and pack your bags it's more like sweat and chuck everything into the trolley then sort it out afterwards!

The amount of items we bought today came to £57.02 and I reckon if we had bought it at Sainsbury's it could easily have cost us £80+.

What do you lot think to Aldi? Have you tried it yet? What do you think?

TTFN x