Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Amazing Aldi

The Topic: Less Frills, More Food

The Dish: There are quite a few things I'm nostalgic for when it comes to my hometown. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, especially for a Missouri native who is used to 100-degree summers, family cookouts, and discount groceries. Surprised food made it onto my list? You shouldn't be! A big piece of the Midwest puzzle that I miss is Aldi. While I love the deals at Trader Joe's, Aldi has a special place in my heart with its quarter-operated carts, five-cent shopping bags, and warehouse-like stacks of cheap, awesome, vegan-friendly staples.

While those unaccustomed might be thrown off by the locked-up carts (don't worry, you get your quarter back) and minimalist interior, it only takes one trip to get hooked on its inexpensive goods. Beyond what you'd expect to find at a typical mainstream grocer—fresh produce, canned goods, cereals, and so on—Aldi stocks veg essentials such as soymilk, vegan margarine, convenience foods, and even Boca burgers from time to time, all at really low prices. Most items I buy don't cost more than a couple bucks. Between the frozen fruit, off-brand granola bars, and dark chocolate, I'm pretty much set. I can easily fill a cart with an embarrassing amount of food and pay a fraction of what I would at one of the big stores. Oh, and don't forget to check out their skincare and beauty line, which isn't tested on animals.

As an added bonus, having to pay for paper bags is a pretty good incentive to remember and bring those reusable totes, don't you think?

Aldi also runs weekly specials on featured items, including kitchen appliances and housewares. Keep an eye on the ads, and grab a rice cooker if you get a chance (I also scored a small slow cooker for $10 once).

The Final Word: According to its website, they have more than 1,000 stores from Kansas to the East Coast. Check Aldi's store locator and see if you can count yourself among the lucky. In the meantime, I'll be writing a strongly worded letter in hopes of bringing one of my favorite chains to California.

15 comments:

  1. Wow! I haven't thought about Aldi's in a longtime.. - I do remember really finding some great vegan bargains back in NY Aldi's!

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  2. I just moved from Los Angeles to Madison, WI, and there is one directly across the street from my apartment! Although, in the 6 months I've lived across from it, I've yet to venture in, opting for Trader Joes and Whole Foods...but now I'm curious! I think I know where I'll be stopping by tonight!

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  3. I haven't visited my local Aldi in quite some time. Thank you for the reminder of what a great place to shop it is:-).

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  4. I have an Aldi store virtually right across the street from where I live, but I have to say I've never made a purchase there.

    Call me spoiled, but the quality is seriously lacking, and the ingredients in a lot of the off brand items are kind of scary lol

    Prices are definitely low, but I'd rather have peace of mind and pay more at Whole Foods

    Plus Aldi definitely doesn't have "staples" like So Delicious coconut milk ice cream and Daiya cheese lol ;)

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  5. Does Aldi carry organic items?? If we're truly concerned about animals, we don't buy food grown with synthetic chemicals and pesticides which poison creatures' habitats and kill others downstream ...

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  6. Anonymous: I feel like you've missed the point of this blog entirely. I'm vegan and, if I still lived near an Aldi, would do the bulk of my grocery shopping there—because I'm poor, and when you're poor, you don't always have the luxury to buy organic foods. Does that make me a bad vegan? Can you only truly be a self-righteous advocate for animals if you have mad money in your bank account? Should I just give up and buy meat at Aldi instead of lessening suffering by choosing vegan products at my favorite discount store? Sorry, I just think your holier-than-thou perspective is not only out of touch, it's the reason people dislike vegans.

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  7. OMG ALDI-ME!

    MISS! LOVE! RAD POST SAVVY ABBY!

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  8. I'm always shocked at what people spend on their groceries.I have to agree with Linda above: I HAVE to shop at places like Aldi because I am poor. Very poor. Try living well under the poverty level. "Organic" just is not in my budget. "Staples" are rice and beans - NOT Daiya and coconut milk.
    Yes, I'm concerned about animals AND the health of my family - but the reality is I have to feed my family. I still feed them vegan, and quite well I might add, but attitudes like "If we're truly concerned about animals, we don't buy food grown with synthetic chemicals" are hurtful to those of us doing the best we can with what we have. ANY little bit helps us, our health, the animals AND the planet.

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  9. Ooohh...I absolutely ADORE Aldi's! I can usually feed El Hubbito (a pescetarian) and I for 2 weeks on a $60 budget by shopping Aldi's. The fruit in my local Aldi is hit or miss sometimes, but for things like onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, peppers, etc. the deals can't be beat. I mean, c'mon. Even "treats" like Portobello mushroom caps to throw on the grill at $2.45 for 4 whole(enormous) caps? EVOO for $2.50 for a 16 oz bottle? Vegan (yep, I checked) granola for $1.49 a box? Black beans on special for $0.39 per can? I'm with Tofu Mom. I'm feeding us veg*n, even poor. I live in central KS where there are exactly 2 health-food stores, one is a members-only co-op, and the other knows people will pay whatever they charge. (oy..you have no idea.) If you live near an Aldi, go. Go! You will thank yourself!

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  10. Did you know that Trader Joe's is in fact owned by ALDI? :-) I love 'em both, but ALDI is in my area and I do almost all of my shopping there. Soy milk, beans, fresh produce...good stuff to be had! Great post!

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  11. I love this post! I am a newbie vegan, but a lifelong vegetarian, and a current poor person. I never thought about Aldi having Vegan stuff, thanks savvy Abby!

    What "anonymous" said annoyed me too. That kind of attitude is why it took me so many years to try being vegan. I have a blog too http://very-nearly-vegan.blogspot.com and I find people like that are very discouraging, and I have had some nasty encounters at my blog because I am not %100 vegan yet. Gimme a break, I am trying!

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  12. Aldis actually does have some organic foods. I just bought them. Suck it, anonymous.

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  13. I love Aldi. The only erason thatI even go to other grocery stores is because I'm picky about milk; I looove Almond Milk. I live in central North Carolina, and so there's an Aldi's eeeeeverywhere!! Grapes on the cheap? Heck yesss!

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  14. I have been vegan for 1 year now. Aldis is one of my staple stores. If the products say all natural it's vegan. Look for it in aldis.

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  15. My Aldi carries almond milk and soy milk, beans (dry and canned), bags of nuts of all kinds, cocoa, maple syrup, frozen fruit and veg, nature's path granola (seasonally..I stock up!), great coffee, plus stuff like toilet paper, pet food and litter, and cleaning supplies! Also, I noticed recently the whole wheat bread no longer has high fructose corn syrup. I had no idea their margarine was vegan: I hadn't looked.

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