Things to look out for in Lidl and Aldi

[TopCat]

I almost bought a cordless drill on a rare visit to Lidl the other week but it didn't come with a battery so wussed out.

How easy is it to get batteries for these random drills?

Lidl sell them regularly

 

[maomao]

It's Italian fortnight now, not Italian week. I have bought 22 jars of olives in the hope of making through to the next Italian week.

 

[Chz]

Lidl sell them regularly

But not always, and not necessarily when there are other things on the shelves that need them.

 

[nogojones]

Aldi seems to be a fair bit less adventurous than LIDL - I have never even seen tofu in mine.

They do do small firm blocks (smoked and straight) sometimes, but it doesn't seem to be a regular thing.

 

[nogojones]

Saw this in reddit, after a woman was left shaking and crying in front of her children because of the speed the aldi checkout was throwing products at her.

I didn't realize but:



With the following delightful post, most of which I actually did when I went to Aldi because I hate making people wait around for me, and I like a challenge.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you can't keep up with the cashier in Lidl or Aldi, you should fuck off to Asda

 

[TopCat]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you can't keep up with the cashier in Lidl or Aldi, you should fuck off to Asda

Hard on older people. People with disabilities.

 

[RiderOnTheStorm]

I almost bought a cordless drill on a rare visit to Lidl the other week but it didn't come with a battery so wussed out.

How easy is it to get batteries for these random drills?

the Lidl (and Aldi) power tools use their own brand batteries & chargers. So you can only get a replacement when they do the appropriate specials (about once or twice a year). On the up side, you can buy the battery (or two) on their own . When they do the specials you can sometimes get a battery + charger deal which is cheaper than buying each separately.

Also, I found them to be very good quality and I have a hammer drill (and orig battery) for nearly 10 years now. Got an additional couple of batteries (plus 1 more charger + 1 power saw + 1 more drill) over the years as they dont change the model and all their batteries work on their own brand tools

 

[sojourner]

Our local Lidl introduced bag handle hooks at the checkout. They're good for speed packing.

 

[Chz]

Hard on older people. People with disabilities.

I've somewhat ironically seen the elderly get on better at the self checkout. Especially if they're on a scooter, they can just sit there in front of it and pootle about at their own pace.

 

[maomao]

I've somewhat ironically seen the elderly get on better at the self checkout. Especially if they're on a scooter, they can just sit there in front of it and pootle about at their own pace.

Not at my bloody Lidl they don't. Half the time you can't get any help when the scales fuck up because the assistant is putting through some coffin dodger's shopping for them.

 

[two sheds]

Thread's reminded me to bulk buy some of these which I first found in Aldi

Bruschetta Tomato & Oregano bread 150g (5.3oz) sharing bag – We Love Crisps

Vegan & Vegetarian Bruschetta is a crisp, honest, it really is, no really.....errr ok it's not! But we tried Bruschetta and we couldn't stop eating them, so we took a vote...and here it is, the best darned bread snack we think you'll taste. Ready-to-eat snack, its made with the a rich tomato...

welovecrisps.com

Yum

I like how they call them 'sharing bags' no chance

 

[Chz]

Not at my bloody Lidl they don't. Half the time you can't get any help when the scales fuck up because the assistant is putting through some coffin dodger's shopping for them.

I am amused when they have to come by because a 600g item is weighing 603g. I have serious doubts that the scales have a margin of error that small. But then by contrast they know their bakery has zero quality control and you can pop nearly anything on there and call it a loaf of bread and it's fine.

 

[twistedAM]

I am amused when they have to come by because a 600g item is weighing 603g. I have serious doubts that the scales have a margin of error that small. But then by contrast they know their bakery has zero quality control and you can pop nearly anything on there and call it a loaf of bread and it's fine.

Really? I got caught putting a hefty creme-filled 75p doughnut through as a 39p ring one. All I got was a reprimanding look though.
I think that's a recent thing though as I used to put everything through as a plain white roll. I just have to do that at Sainsburys now where the sales seem less sensitive.

 

[gentlegreen]

Thread's reminded me to bulk buy some of these which I first found in Aldi

Bruschetta Tomato & Oregano bread 150g (5.3oz) sharing bag – We Love Crisps

Vegan & Vegetarian Bruschetta is a crisp, honest, it really is, no really.....errr ok it's not! But we tried Bruschetta and we couldn't stop eating them, so we took a vote...and here it is, the best darned bread snack we think you'll taste. Ready-to-eat snack, its made with the a rich tomato...

welovecrisps.com

Yum

I like how they call them 'sharing bags' no chance

I usually manage to "dilute" them by crumbling them on salad - see also bombay mix...

 

[two sheds]

I normally do croutons but that's an excellent idea, ta

 

[nogojones]

Hard on older people. People with disabilities.

It's not the olds or infirms who are crap, they're normally on top and the cashier cuts them slack when they're not. It's the useless fuckers fucking round with their phone mostly.

 

[gentlegreen]

Had fun at the scab tills today.
I was so low on food that I didn't fancy the extra weight of two bottles of wine and I thought at least that would help make my checkout speedy...
The first thing I did was accidentally scan my shopping list that was written on a hummus wrapper... before I'd had a chance to add my Ikea bags...
Then it turned out the scales on that one were wonky so I kept the assistant busy ...

 

[Epona]

I've just been looking at Lidl's what's coming up page and in terms of regional food next one (from 20th) is Iberian week, and I've spotted they're doing a kilo of paella rice for £1.49 which is really good value (Morrison's one is £2.29 for 500g). As well as a lot of frozen seafood which N might like - so might pop along to at least pick up a couple of things.

 

[Epona]

Absolutely no paella rice in our usual branch of Lidl, I notice again like the Italian one they are running this one for 2 weeks so I might try a different branch later in the week.

Got olives stuffed with anchovies and a dessert and a jar of anchovies with chillies from Iberian theme, and some stuff from their regular offerings, but was disappointed about lack of paella rice.

 

[Elpenor]

This and another flavour were in Lidl specials fridges marketed as some sort of Caribbean drink. Not sure how genuine they are but quite refreshing. Have I missed a Caribbean week? I did see some patties in the specials chiller near to them too.

 

[Elpenor]

I imagine they’d be nice with spirits too as a mixer

 

[The39thStep]

Dunno if you get this in the UK but this has just hit the local Aldi over here and its is well worth trying. Great Helles type beer, not gasy, very refreshing with slight citrus notes definitely a thirst quencher. 1 euro 99 cents

 

[MrCurry]

Jive spread - great stuff for spreading onto digestive biscuits to upgrade them into a luxury dessert to suit those with a sweet tooth!

 

[Wookey]

Saw this in reddit, after a woman was left shaking and crying in front of her children because of the speed the aldi checkout was throwing products at her.

I didn't realize but:



With the following delightful post, most of which I actually did when I went to Aldi because I hate making people wait around for me, and I like a challenge.

This is my technique to a T.

 

[existentialist]

This is my technique to a T.

Likewise

I must invent something that holds the bags open, though - when they're new, they're nice and stiff, but want to fold up; when they're old, they tend to collapse in a bit.

 

[MrCurry]

Is it bad I just take my sweet time and don’t care how fast they fling things at me, I’ll be done when I’m done? Here they tut tut you if you don’t line your items up with the bar code facing the cashier, but that doesn’t bother me either

 

[existentialist]

Is it bad I just take my sweet time and don’t care how fast they fling things at me, I’ll be done when I’m done? Here they tut tut you if you don’t line your items up with the bar code facing the cashier, but that doesn’t bother me either

No, I think that's fair enough. It just depends what game you want to play

 

[Elpenor]

Aldi beer battered fish, 2 portions. In the chiller section not frozen

Chip shop style. And just as good if cooked in oven or air fryer. Chips from chippie still

 

[Elpenor]

Bought a big jar of Polish pickled salad stuff in Lidl - left over from a recent European week event thing I imagine.

Quite nice and probably the sort of thing gentlegreen would eat a jar of every day

Shame there isn’t a way to get it very easily for me locally

 

[Epona]

Had to drop the cat off at the vets this morning, and as there is a Lidl (albeit not our favourite branch) a few minutes walk away from there, we went to do a bit of shopping.
There was a horrific noise from the alarm system (according to staff, it was malfunctioning and they were as understandably grumpy as the customers) which means we didn't stay in there long.

However, it was Iberian Week, and this time around I scored some paella rice - £1.49 a kilo which is an utter fucking bargain, so I got 2 bags because I do love a paella and other similar/inspired by dishes.
And the lovely creme caramel type desserts.
Also stocked up on some regulars - cheap spaghetti (28p) and bags of penne (41p), olives, finally some nearly affordable olive oil, honey (I only use it in tea/dressings/marinades so go for the cheap jar), cheap tinned tomatoes, and tinned sweetcorn.
Got some Scottish salmon fillets on orange sticker so we'll be having blackened salmon for tea tonight. Also some Greek yoghurt pots - 3 lemon and 3 strawberry - on orange sticker.

The arts and crafts stuff was superbly tempting but we spent over £400 on vet bills last week and it will be about £500 this week, so we stuck to food items only on this occasion.

Last but definitely not least, as we were on our way out, I glanced down and saw a wee stack of "Too Good To Waste" veg boxes!!!

I've not counted everything up yet, but it contains 2 large punnets of strawberries, a bunch of mint, a big lettuce, at least 1 apple, 2 oranges, 2 potatoes, at least half a dozen satsumas, some red chillies, some plums (get in! one of my faves), and 1 or 2 beetroots.
Absolutely stoked, I'm not normally there early enough to bag one of these, there were actually several with different things in.

£1.50: