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This blog was mentioned a few days ago on a message board forum called iVillage.com. It's always flattering to be mentioned, and the commenters over there raised some interesting points about wanting to see more ingredient and nutritional information, etc...
I decided to reprint my response here for you to see and comment on if you like...
"Hi Folks,
I'm Jeff, and I write the blog that was referred to in the first post of this thread - The Smart Aldi Shopper. Thanks so much for linking to my blog, and I sincerely appreciate you all taking the time to check it out and for posting your thoughtful comments!
I share many of your concerns, especially regarding ingredient and nutritional labeling in general, and how the Aldi products measure up against the national brands in particular. One of the decisions I had to make when I started the blog was if, and how much of that kind of information I was going to discuss, and how I was going to do it. What exactly was the blog going to be about?
There are SO many aspects to think of when you try to decide if product "A" is better than product "B", that I was quickly overwhelmed when trying to cover all the angles. Cost, nutrition, sourcing, sustainability, technology, transporatation, humane treatment of animals, labor issues, and so on - so many things, and all of interest to me on one level or another.
In the end, I decided to just try to answer the simple question, "Is _____ product from Aldi any good?". Obviously, what means "good" to one person means something entirely different to another. We're all judging things using different criteria. There's simply no way I would be able to cover EVERYTHING that was important to me and my readers - I simply don't have the time, nor access to the kind of information I would like to have in order to provide that kind of in-depth coverage. So, I decided to keep the scope rather narrow. I simply try to let people know if I think a product is worth trying or not, and share some news and insight about shopping at Aldi.
The blog I'm writing is speaking most to us folks who are trying to "get 11 cents out of a dime" as our primary motivation. People who have a need, or are concerned enough to dig further into the nutritional content of a product, or the methods used to produce it, or the politics and morality of a retailer's labor practices, or whatever, and the meaning of all that, will find ways to do it I'm sure. Those are all important issues worthy of our attention and discussion, and I'm glad we're discussing them...
But that's a blog for someone else to write. I dunno - maybe someone's already writing it. I'd sure be interested in reading it!
Thanks again for checking out my blog; I hope you can find something of value there, even if it can't give you everything you're looking for!
Peace -Jeff"
You can read the entire thread on the iVillage site here.
-Jeff the Aldi Shopper
HI Jeff, if there is one thing I have learned about the blog world, it is that you can't please everyone! :) I like that you try things out and I can make my own decisions based on my criteria when I hit the store. That does include ingredients, price, and, in the case of veggies, looks. You give me a 'heads up' on some things I may not otherwise try. That is what I like. Rosie
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting us on the frugal families board! We appreciate you taking the time to respond. Makes me wish that I had an aldi store close to me so that I could compare products.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!
Thanks Rosie and Kathy - I appreciate the comments!
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeletePeople shop at Aldi as an alternative to the high prices charged by the three large supermarket chains. I started shopping at Aldi when I saw that Jewel brand saltines were $2.39. The Aldi store brand was $0.89.
Over the years, as you have noted in your blog posts, Aldi has been upgrading their products. In fact, some of their products are pretty close or identical to those carried at their sister company - Trader Joe's, only at lower prices.
Personally, I shop my local independent grocery for deli, bakery and fresh vegetables. I shop Aldi for all canned goods and for their special seasonal values.
Just a possibility for your next shopping trip to Aldi. I really loved the Appleton Farms (? something close to that) spiral sliced ham at Aldi. This is a precooked bone in ham that at only $1.69/lb was less than half the price of a similar ham at Jewel/Dominick's. It was absolutely delicious, although since I am cooking for 7 the size is just right at around 9 pounds. Highly recommended though, and the leftovers (little bit) made a few great sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteAnother couple products that I recently picked up were the Aldi version of Little Smokies and their refrigerated crescent dough, which were of course destined to become piglets in blankets. I initially was hesitent to make these for a party before testing...so I did. They both worked out great and you wouldn't be able to tell them from their national product bretheren. (I thought they were actually better) So, armed with about 180 of the little guys I hit my sister's shindig and they disappeared! Plus these two items are again half of the full priced items.
Sorry for rambling, just thought I would give a few head-ups, or heads-up...whichever works.
No, I have no affiliation with Aldi, just like the savings...and I do shop other stores for things like produce which I'm not sold on there.
Hi Scanz!
ReplyDeleteThe spiral-sliced ham is absolutely on my holiday meal list. They've had them in-stock at my Aldi for a couple of weeks now, I'll pick one up week after next.
I've been satisfied with all the refrigerated rolls and biscuits I've tried too - I haven't tried the little sausages yet, thanks for the tip. Glad your piggies-in-a-blanket were a big hit! Sounds like a good app idea for all the football bowl games coming up...
-Jeff
Jeff, love the blog and have commented a few times anonymously about the pizza, now the pumpkin ice cream, etc. Maybe if when you take a picture of the box and final product to post, you could just include a snapshot of the nutrional label, then everyone will be happy!
ReplyDeleteI picked up their Stars and Moons fire pit this weekend discounted from $50 to $40 and cannot wait to try it out! Even if it only lasts one season I will probably win as the other (cheapish) one I wanted was $190 (at home depot online).
Their winking owl wine is not so great. It's like fruit flavored water with some alcohol (similar to 3 Buck Chuck from TJs).
Hi Drb, thanks for the kind words and comments! I have considered posting pics of the nutrition labels and might start doing that, but to be honest, I'm just not sure. Perhaps I'll give it a try and see what kind of response I get...
ReplyDeleteGood score on the fire pit! Let me know how it works out. When I was there a couple of Sundays ago, a fellow from one of the local party/events planners had his truck backed up to the front door, and they were loading up EVERY fire pit and patio heater Aldi had left - 4 or 5 of each. I wonder if he got a deal by taking all of them off their hands?
I really wish Aldi stocked beer and wine here - even if I didn't end up liking them all that much, it would certainly be "interesting" research. Hey, somebody has to do it - right?
-Jeff