Oh for the love of Lidl!

My German dh loves lidl for brats and other continental goodies. I love it for the streaky bacon lardons. We always buy coffee there. I get sliced, wrapped cheese that is just like Kraft. We can usually fill a shopping cart with stockup items for 60 pounds (anyone know how to make a pounds sign on an American keyboard???).

I found this interesting comparison, a bit dated though.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/are-cheap-supermarkets-good

This thread inspired me to venture to Lidl today.  I need to get there more often!  I found baby leaf spinach for FAR cheaper than Tesco & the quality is actually BETTER (Tesco spinach has been really ticking me off lately, by going all slimy within 2 days).  The free range eggs are cheaper, the frankfurters/hot dogs are cheaper...They were running a can't-miss deal on Lenor fabric softener.  I NEVER buy fabric softener, but sometimes things are so cheap, you can't pass them up.  I never realised they sold some of the canned goods I buy, so I got some of those for 2/3 the price.

I found the Innocent-like smoothies someone was talking about.  Yum!  I'll definitely be stocking up on some things when we can go back with a car.

Just got back from my first ever trip to Lidl... i never ventured in there before cos i expected it was just the same as Aldi, but... i think it's better than Aldi, now i've been!

My best Lidl find was Nürnberger rostbratwurst!   Last week when i was in Germany i ate them and immediately thought they were just like the small American-style breakfast sausages... sort of Jimmy Dean-ish.  If you've been missing something like that, you should try these!

Another thing i got in Lidl, which ive heard UKYers complain about missing is papardelle -- thick-ish, wide egg 'noodles'.

I saw the cheap Innocent-like smoothies, but didnt buy any... i was more drawn to the iced cappuccino in cans, which is pretty expensive in normal supermarkets, but were only 59p in there, and delicious.   My only complaint is that they are sort of hazelnut flavoured, and i'd prefer them to be plain.

Lidl is fab!! 

We went today, too!! 

I usually only pop in for their tomato juice which is sooo good. It seems like other supermarkets often only carry their own brand of tomato juice, and I've never tasted one I really like. But Lidl has this German Vitafit stuff which is fab!

But after reading this thread, I decided to do a bit more browsing than I usually do. We ended up buying marinated mushrooms, chocolate, cereal, etc. Lots of good stuff!

Lidl rocks!

Now I'm off to make a lovely Bloody Mary with my German tomato juice! 

I also bought:

a big tetrapak of lemon iced tea... couldnt resist at 79p!
German smoked cheese with chunks of ham in it (DH's fave)
tinned squid in olive oil with garlic -- worth a try, maybe.
a few cans of German 4.8% pils for only 69p each.

Something i held in my hand for awhile, but didnt buy (although i might next time!) was a packet of these nice big sausages, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon.  That sounded nice!   They had so many different German sausages and other continental meats.

This will certainly tide me over till my next Germany trip! 

My best Lidl find was Nürnberger rostbratwurst!   Last week when i was in Germany i ate them and immediately thought they were just like the small American-style breakfast sausages... sort of Jimmy Dean-ish.  If you've been missing something like that, you should try these!

Excellent!  I've been wanting to make some sausage balls, but without Jimmy Dean it's just not quite the same.  At last, an alternative! 

Excellent!  I've been wanting to make some sausage balls, but without Jimmy Dean it's just not quite the same.  At last, an alternative! 

these are link, not loose, but i guess you could grind them up to make your balls. 

We like the salad dressings in the tall bottles! The dill one is lovely!

We like the salad dressings in the tall bottles! The dill one is lovely!

I wanted to try that - what does it taste like?  Sweet, vinegary?

We like the salad dressings in the tall bottles! The dill one is lovely!

We didn't even look at salad dressings! I think another Lidl trip is in order!

I wanted to try that - what does it taste like?  Sweet, vinegary?

It's very mild and herby, slightly sweet, kind of like a liquid pickle relish.

My local Lidl had fresh corn yesterday for 14p an ear.  Proper fresh corn with the leaves.

I recommend keeping an eye on the non-food specials too.They change every Monday and Thursday.  This week I bought a cross-cut shredder this week for £14.99.  For some weird reason, my local one even had US country-style metal mailboxes the other week, with the red flag and everything.

If you sign up for their email alert, you get a week's notice of the upcoming specials.  Sign up at http://www.lidl.co.uk

I've never been to one! I know there is one in Kingston, but there must be one closer. I might have to check this out. 

Courtney, isn't there one on Uxbridge Road? As you're going toward Ealing from Southall - on the right hand side in the same little complex as a Pound Saver or something like that? Hmmm. I might have to go by one day after work to investigate!

My local Lidl had fresh corn yesterday for 14p an ear.  Proper fresh corn with the leaves.

Yes!! We bought some today!! That's what we're having for supper tonight! My greengrocer has proper fresh corn with all the husks attached, but it's more like 50p an ear.

these are link, not loose, but i guess you could grind them up to make your balls. 

I was going to plonk the meat in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients.

It's what my mom always does with hers, a party hit!