ALDI Compare & Share {June Edition}

**This post is in no way, shape, or form sponsored by ALDI.  The opinions below are expressly my own, and I was not compensated for this post in any form.  ALDI is not responsible for the content in this post.

There was a discussion not so long ago on my Facebook page about the quality of ALDI's products and how they did or did not stack up to their name brand counterparts.  This got me thinking of what an absolutely fantastic monthly blog series this could be!  (If you happened to miss my first two posts in the series, check out the April Edition & the May Edition to get all caught up. ;) )

I am noticing all kinds of great deals on produce (especially strawberries!) as more and more fruits and vegetables are coming into season.  Make sure you check out your local ALDI's produce section some time this month!  Also, I spied Biscoff spread at my ALDI store this week for $3.49.  I am not sure if it is available at all ALDI stores nationwide, but for those of you who have been wanting to try cookie butter or have been having a hard time finding it you may want to check your local ALDI store for it. ;)

I will be using a neat little 1 to 10 rating scale for this.  If an item receives a 1, it wasn't even close to the name brand product & we won't be buying it again.  If it gets a 10, that means we couldn't even tell a difference & we will definitely be buying it again.  A 5 warrants a take it or leave it kind of response.  You know, like a meh. ;)  I had myself, my husband (P), and my son (J) rate each item where applicable.

So let's get started on some of the new things we have tried this past month...

Millville Honey Nut Crispy Oats, $1.69 for a 12.25 oz box- 5

Me- 6

P- 4

My husband was not a huge fan of this cereal.  I actually liked it somewhat even though I didn't think it tasted anything like it's brand name counterpart.  Baby girl loved these though. :)

I will probably buy them again in the future despite their 5 rating.

Millville Peanut Butter Kid's Krunch, $1.99 for a 12.5 oz box- 7

P- 6

J- 8

This is another ALDI cereal that received an ambivalent rating from my family.  The big name brand of this cereal is one of my husband's and son's favorites.  My son said he didn't notice a huge difference between the brand name one & the ALDI's brand.  My husband said they were nothing alike.  *sigh*  

Again, baby girl loved these. ;)  And I used some of this cereal in a super yummy recipe that is coming to the blog soon...

Nature's Nectar Premium Lemonade with Raspberry, $1.99 for 59 FL oz- 5

Me- 3

P- 7

I really didn't like this lemonade at all.  I thought it tasted too much like one of those sugary lemonade flavored drinks from a mix.  My husband liked it.  (So, he basically likes fake tasting stuff and I like the real thing? ;) )  I will probably only be buying the big name version of this from now on.

Baker's Corner Southern Style Beer Bread Mix, 99 cents for a 18 oz box (makes one loaf)- 9.5

Me- 9

P- 9

J- 10

This actually made a really nice loaf of beer bread.  It was very comparable to the mix I have bought before from a certain hostess party. ;)  We were all pleasantly surprised by this one, and I will definitely be buying this mix again.  Maybe we will try one of the flavored ones next time... I do believe I saw a bacon & cheese flavored beer bread mix last time I shopped at ALDI. ;) 

Savoritz Cheese Crackers, $1.29 for a 9 oz box- 10

Me- 10

P- 10

Baby Girl- 10

These are were SO good!  I would venture to say they may have even been better than the name brand cheese crackers.  These will definitely become a snack staple in our house from here on out. :)

Peanut Delight Crunchy Peanut Butter, $1.99 for an 18 oz jar- 10

Me- 10

P- 10

J- 10

Yep.  It was unanimous on this peanut butter- we all loved it!  Unless I find a sale that is better on the name brand peanut butters at my local grocery store, we will be buying this ALDI brand from now on. :)

Friendly Farms Whipped Dairy Topping, $1.39 for a 6.5 oz can- 10

This was another unanimous perfect 10.  We didn't notice any difference between this whipped topping and the brand name one we usually purchase.  We will definitely be buying this again. :)

Benton's Cookies Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, $1.79 for a 15.5 oz package- 7.5

Me- 8

P- 7

These were like 98% there to the big name brand of these cookies.  There was just a slight difference in flavor, but not enough to discourage me from purchasing them again.  Of course, if there is a sale on the brand name ones that makes their price comparable to the ALDI brand, then I will be buying the big name ones instead.

So, what did you think?  Have you and your family tried any of these products as well?  What would you have rated them?

*This is the third post in a monthly blog series I have started.  Be sure to check back here the first Tuesday of each month for a new ALDI Compare & Share Post from me.

ALDI Compare & Share {May Edition}

**This post is in no way, shape, or form sponsored by ALDI.  The opinions below are expressly my own, and I was not compensated for this post in any form.  ALDI is not responsible for the content in this post.

There was a discussion not so long ago on my Facebook page about the quality of ALDI's products and how they did or did not stack up to their name brand counterparts.  This got me thinking of what an absolutely fantastic monthly blog series this could be!  (If you happened to miss my first post in the series- April's Edition- just CLICK HERE to get all caught up. ;) )

I will say in the past month or so I have really been expanding what products we have been trying from ALDI.  I would estimate that I am now purchasing about 80% of our weekly groceries from there at this point.  And it is saving us TONS on our grocery budget! 

I will be using a neat little 1 to 10 rating scale for this.  If an item receives a 1, it wasn't even close to the name brand product & we won't be buying it again.  If it gets a 10, that means we couldn't even tell a difference & we will definitely be buying it again.  A 5 warrants a take it or leave it kind of response.  You know, like a meh. ;)  I had myself, my husband (P), and my son (J) rate each item where applicable.

So let's get started on some of the new things we have tried this past month...

L'oven Fresh Whole Grain White Bread, $1.69 a loaf - 4

Honestly, we just found this bread to be weird.  The slices were oddly smaller than a regular loaf of bread.  We prefer to stick with the L'oven Split Top Wheat Bread.  This was the first and the last loaf of the Whole Grain White Bread that I have bought from ALDI.

Millville Cocoa Rice Cereal, $1.79 for 11 oz - 6

My son is the only one in the house who eats this cereal, so this is based on his rating alone. He said that there isn't a huge difference in taste between the Millvale Cocoa Rice Cereal and it's name brand counterpart.  We will definitely be buying these again.

Benton's Everyday Vanilla Wafers, $1.49 for a 12 oz box - 10

Me- 10

P- 10

Yep.  ALDI's vanilla wafers received a perfect 10 from us.  We even think that these are better the big name ones. ;)

Peanut Delight Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, $1.99 for a 16 oz jar - 6.5

Me- 6

P- 7

This was actually better than we had expected, but we do prefer the big name brands better.  This is a very nice natural peanut butter choice though- no need to stir and no pool of oil at the top of the jar every time we opened it.

L'oven Fresh English Muffins, 99 cents for 6 muffins - 10

Me- 10

P- 10

Yeah... we pretty much love these.  We found them to be better than the brand name ones.  They were fluffy and fresh.  I pretty much pick up a pack of these every week at ALDI now.

Berryhill Chocolate Flavored Syrup, $1.39 for a 24 oz bottle - 6

My son is a chocolate milk fiend, so he has been the one primarily using the chocolate syrup in our house.  He says this is pretty good.  I actually kind of think that J is a little stingy with his ratings, but that is just my opinion. ;)

Millville Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, $1.69 for 10 granola bars - 6

Me- 5

P- 7

These were alright.  They definitely did not taste as good as the big name chewy granola bars.  But the texture was about the same.  We could take or leave these.

Savortiz Orginal Woven Wheat Baked Crackers, $1.25 for a 9.5 oz box - 10

Me- 10

P- 10

Again, an unanimous perfect 10.  We perceived NO difference between these crackers and the brand name ones.  None at all.  We will definitely be putting these on the regular snack rotation.

So, what did you think?  Have you and your family tried any of these products as well?  What would you have rated them?

*This is the second post in a new monthly blog series I have started.  Be sure to check back here the first Tuesday of each month for a new ALDI Compare & Share Post from me.

ALDI Compare & Share {April Edition}

**This post is in no way, shape, or form sponsored by ALDI.  The opinions below are expressly my own, and I was not compensated for this post in any form.  ALDI is not responsible for the content in this post.

There was a discussion not so long ago on my Facebook page about the quality of ALDI's products and how they did or did not stack up to their name brand counterparts.  This got me thinking of what an absolutely fantastic monthly blog series this could be!  

I will admit that when I first started really trying to get a tight grocery budget started over a year ago, I was a bit of a foodie snob.  It probably wasn't until about 4 months ago that I really started to venture into the bargain grocery shopping world of ALDI.  Basic baking necessities like flour and baking powder were no-brainers for me.  And then there is their fresh produce.  Trust me.  You can't get strawberries or tomatoes or most other fruits and vegetables cheaper elsewhere.  And I have noticed recently that my local ALDI has started carrying some organic produce!  I know that if this is happening at my small town WV store then it also must be happening in larger city stores too. ;)  Just the other day, I bought a 3 lb bag of organic potatoes for $2.49 and 2 lbs of organic bananas for just $1.38!

But things like potato chips and bread and cereal and snacks?  I was not so sold on.  I was a name brand snob when it came to those types of grocery items.

But then I pushed myself to bring home a few things here and there for my family to try.  I figured the worst that could happen with most of these items is that we would really dislike them & I would be out maybe 2 bucks?  A lesson in grocery budgeting that we could afford to take.

What we did find is that there have been quite a few things we have been pleasantly surprised by, and some things that just didn't quite stack up.  For instance, we are not big fans of their pancake syrup and will not be buying it again.

I will be using a neat little 1 to 10 rating scale for this.  If an item receives a 1, it wasn't even close to the name brand product & we won't be buying it again.  If it gets a 10, that means we couldn't even tell a difference & we will definitely be buying it again.  A 5 warrants a take it or leave it kind of response.  You know, like a meh. ;)  I had myself, my husband (P), and my son (J) rate each item where applicable.

So let's get started...

Clancy's Wavy Potato Chips, $1.49 for a 10.5 oz bag - 10

Me- 9

P- 10

J- 10

These chips have actually now become a snack staple in our house.  We don't even bother buying the brand name ones anymore.

Millville Oats & Honey Crunchy Granola Bars, $1.89 for a box of 12 bars- 8.5

Me- 9

P- 8

The taste of these were just slightly off from the name brand ones we usually buy, but not enough to warrant us spending $1-2 more on a box of the name brand granola bars. 

Savoritz Original Thin Wheat Crackers, $1.39 for a 10 oz box- 7.5

Me- 7

P- 8

The texture was just a tiny bit different from their name brand counterparts.  And we found them to be just a tad bit less sweet & a little more saltier than the big name crackers we were used to.  But all in all, we will definitely be buying these again.

Casa Mamita Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles, 59 cents for a 10 oz can- 10

I typically use this product when I make taco meat in my Crock Pot.  There was no difference in the taste, so definitely a 10.  I usually pay 40 cents more a can for the name brand version, so we will definitely be switching to Casa Mamita from here on out. ;)

L'oven Fresh Split Top Wheat Bread, 99 cents for a 20 oz loaf- 10

Me- 10

P- 10

We loved this bread.  And I was so surprised by that.  Honestly, bread is one of those things I rarely scrimp on no matter how tight the budget is, and I warily bought this loaf.  I told myself it was for the good of my blog readers- for research! ;) I am glad I did take the plunge.  Never going back to brand name wheat bread.

Friendly Farms Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer, $1.49 for 16 oz- 5

I am really the only big coffee drinker in the house, so I will give my rating for it- a 5.  It wasn't bad, but the peppermint flavor was significantly weaker than it's name brand counterpart.  For this product, I believe it is worth it to pay a little extra for the brand name version.

So, what did you think?  Have you and your family tried any of these products as well?  What would you have rated them?

*This is the first post in a new monthly blog series I am starting.  Be sure to check back here the first Tuesday of each month for a new ALDI Compare & Share Post from me.