Why I love Aldis {and grand opening in Tyler TX}

By Shanna-Kaye Fancher | September 6, 2018 |

Is it possible to get excited over a grocery store?

I think so.

Maybe I am a little crazy, but we kind of spend a lot of time in one, with a family of six.

I’ve been a wherever-the-deals-are-really-good shopper, thanks to my dad teaching me how to check the price of food based on its weight.

I learned real quick as a kid not to simply grab the biggest box, cause sometimes you weren’t getting the best deal.

So naturally I was skeptical when friends mentioned this “Aldis” store with “really affordable groceries”.

I thought it would be bad food, or just dirty…. but I was wrong.

Oh…and babywearing…can we talk about how it’s a MUST for momma’s with littles?

I don’t know how I survived with my first kid without one!

Insert Aldis.

If you’ve never been in an Aldis, it’s kind of like a small grocery store/ Sam’s Club/totally different than the others store. It’s a European store, come to the USA.

Let me just lay it out for you.

The good

There’s no membership fee to get in, and you don’t have to have a 12 foot passenger van to load up your groceries, but you might want some extra room for their sales. (Yes they can get REALLY good)

They are cheaper than anywhere else I’ve found.

I find better deals on produce here, and things like nuts than stores like Wal-Mart and our local grocery stores.

The not so good

They don’t carry EVERYTHING.

If you’re looking for a very specific kind of mustard, they might not have it, cause they usually carry plain ole yellow mustard and Dijon mustard.

Which when you have small kids like I do, is fine because you don’t need 30 bottles to pick from.

You don’t have enough brain cells left to handle that kind of decision (I kid, but really.)

BRING A QUARTER.

This will totally stump you otherwise-but you get used to it.

You stick a quarter in the buggy for it to release from it’s friends, and then when you get done, simply bring it back and your quarter comes out!

My son Kidron gets to keep the quarter if he puts the buggy back.

Which means he gleefully helps me and then looks for fellow shoppers he can “help”.

MAKE A SHOPPING LIST

The first time you go inside your probably going to want to throw EVERYTHING in the store in your buggy cause it’s so inexpensive. It’s a crazy thrilled feeling you never thought you would get as an adult.

So make a list so you don’t come back with random chip bags and kombucha and chocolate bars from Germany.

Though if you do, that makes for a fun date night watching a Netflix re-run with your spouse.

This is what it really looks like to shop with kids.

Aldi buggies rock cause they have TWO SEATS.

Thank-you, Aldi, from the bottom of my momma heart.

I can now strap in BOTH of my busy girls and keep them contained during my shopping experience.

Easy on your Budget Prices

Almonds for $4 and $5 a bag?!

Seriously the best price I’ve found around.

Bags of mandarin oranges for $2.49? Yes please.

Grapes for .69/lb? My kids go thru them like they are candy.

Each week they have sales, like any normal grocery store does.

Except every 3-4 weeks there seems to be a “let’s bless these sweet mommas with lots of mouths to feed” sale, and I stock up on whatever that is…. apples, bell peppers, oranges, etc… and that’s what we make our meals around.

They always have the cheapest bananas.

So usually these kind of advertisements are misleading, but I can tell you this is TRUE.

Before shopping at Aldi, my family was spending 2x as much (if not more) and that was before we had 4 kids!!

Things I buy at Aldis:

nuts
Kerrygold butter
ketchup and mustard
cheese sticks
maple syrup
orange juice (the one with the green lid, high pulp, is AMAZING)
all the fruit
pickles
olives
veggies
hummus
kombucha
chips (like the good organic blue corn ones)
frozen corn
water
ice cream (let’s be real)
dried fruit
diapers
toilet paper
trash bags
paper plates
chicken
lunchmeat

You get the idea.

One reason I appreciate Aldis is their STORE BRANDS have taken out Synthetic colors, MSG, and partially hydrogenated oils from their line up. Just a few less things this healthy conscious momma doesn’t have to look to avoid!

(photo from their website, click to head there)