Aldi Food Finds.

I have a love/hate relationship with Aldi.  On one hand, I just adore their growing selection and their prices, but then again, I despise the lack of consistency of what they have in stock and the fact that I feel uneasy buying many things there (like meat, for instance).  Their produce tends to be hit-or-miss, as well--which either leaves me feeling amazing for the deals and quality I've stumbled upon, or it leaves me with another stop to make to shop for produce.  Yeah, #firstworldproblems, I know, I know.

My Aldi hangups certainly are not deal-breakers, though--I shop there at least once a month.  It's the most affordable place locally to buy eggs, kefir, and canned pantry staples.

I thought touday I'd share some of my favorite recent Aldi finds.

Happy Farms spreadable cheese wedges - yes, it's a processed cheese product (yes, real cheese is better), just like the Laughing Cow wedges.  The ingredient list is almost identical--but the price is drastically different.  While Publix charges $3.49 for Laughing Cow wedges, Aldi charges $1.29 for this seemingly identical product.  Sweeeet.  For the record, I'd never pay $3.49 for the 6 cheese wedges, but I'm happy to keep some of the knock-off version in my fridge.

Lunch Mate Uncured Black Forest Ham, 7 oz.  The comparable product in a regular grocery store would be Applegate Farms Black Forest Ham, also 7 oz.  While the Publix price on the Applegate packages of lunch meat is $4.99, Aldi charges only $3.29 for the same weight, and the quality is identical in my opinion.  I  make every effort to buy uncured meats for my family in order to avoid the sodium nitrates/nitrites.  I'm not always successful, but Aldi having a low-cost alternative to Applegate Farms lunch meat is definitely a step in the right direction.

Cocoa Almonds, 12 oz.  I love snacking on almonds, cashews, and sunflower seeds and Aldi has been a great place to stock up on those items.  Their prices run consistently 30-40% less than most grocery stores.  This bag of almonds is $4.99 at Aldi, whereas comparable sized cocoa almonds run about $6.99 elsewhere.  There's a bonus here, though--the ingredient list is BETTER at Aldi.  Just almonds, cocoa powder, sugar and oil.  The major brand cocoa almonds contain sucralose (Splenda) and a longer ingredient list.  This, my friends, is a win.

So, what are your thoughts about Aldi?  Any successes for your family?