What to get and not to get from a discount shop (Aldi, Lidl, Netto, Iceland)

I know we have (dead) threads singing the praises of discount shops, but I don't think we have a thread on what to buy and what to avoid from these shops.  Of course this is going to boil down to a matter of opinion, but sometimes it's nice to get an opinion before you make the leap, even if it's a 69p leap.  Also feel free to list your awesome finds.

We're trying to cut down on our grocery bill a bit, but we don't want to sacrifice nutrition, so we've been doing runs to these discount places to supplement our regular shop/veg box.  Now we're considering relying on them even more.  So far:

Aldi (not all that close to us, so it's not as easy to get to)-

I definitely recommend:
-Almost all their chocolate.  In general these German shops have awesome chocolate.
-Instant crappacinnos.  We get the unsweetened ones and they are pretty decent.
-Their dark rye bread: probably the best out of any I've gotten in the UK.  It's the German, dense brown sort, not the pastrami on rye sort
-Their mild cheddar.  Very good.
-Some of their frozen pizzas (which we get for a treat night) are very good.  I got this one with salmon on it and it was so tasty.
-Their ketchup is at least as good as Heinz
-Their facial moisturiser is nice.  The cleanser is okay if a bit sticky.
-Their anti-pasta stuff (sundried tomatoes, artichokes) are great.
-Their pasta is decent, especially the "posh" stuff
-Their fake Pimms was as good as Pimms according to our Pimms expert and a *lot* cheaper
-their tinned tomatoes are good
-Our cat likes their wet food as much as Sheba/Fancy Feast

Okay- their pickles were a bit flavourless, and a few looked weird
-Mr A didn't like their frozen beef burgers
-their produce can be hit or miss.  We got some totally flavourless potatoes the last time we went.  Tasted like pure starch.
-Butter-but to be fair, I am really partial to President butter, and Aldi butter is nothing like it.

Avoid-Nothing yet (we don't have the experience with Aldi to have run into something all that bad), although from my experience in the states, I am not going to buy tuna or fresh chicken here.

They have their own brand of Splenda which I am planning on trying sometime soon.

Iceland-We hardly ever go here, but their free-range eggs are great (but come in plastic cartons) and their milk is cheap

Lidl-Our Lidl now has a "bakery", which is weird.  It's like this weird little glass closet where some worker "bakes" pre-made items.  When I was there, the worker was no where to be found and the closet was burning a bunch of croissants.

Definitely get:
- their bread mixes are pretty awesome.
-Mr A is a fan of their frozen pizzas.  I don't think they're anything special.
-They have shoestring chips which taste like shoestring crappy fries from the States.
-Some of their icecream is very nice and some is like Merkin stuff.

Avoid-Some of the deli slices are REALLY heavy on the smoke flavour.  Yuck.  I am not a fan of their eggs, although at least they come in a degradable carton.  Mr A thinks the baked beans, even the name brand sort, is too sweet from Lidl.  Their crappacinnos aren't as good as Aldi's.  It says no partially hydrogenated oils on the pack, and I wonder if that is what makes Aldi's crappacinnos taste good.  Must check the label next time.

I will definitely add more the more experience we have with it.

We love both Aldi and Lidl's frozen salmon. It's better than the fresh stuff at Tesco and cheaper than M&S.

Their fresh peppers are super cheap and so is the broccoli.

They also sell 'English muffins'. This isn't as much of a big deal in the UK because you can get those 'breakfast muffins' at Tesco, but they don't sell them at Tesco in Ireland so this gets me jazzed!

The fajita kit at Aldi is very good. We don't use the salsa packet (I never use those), but the seasoning mix is really good and like I said, the peppers are cheap so it's a cheap dinner!

We shopped at Aldi when we lived near Carlisle. We liked most of their cheeses and produce though you had to be careful of overripe stuff. We didn't buy much meat there as we had a great farmers market for that. We liked most of their biscuits and German candy/cookies. We also got can of chopped tomatoes for home made pasta sauce and we also liked their pasta. I can't recall hating anything in particular but I was fussy about what I'd try.

I like Lidl's tomatoes. They're always really tomato-y smelling and lovely and red & ripe. Also, they often have good deals on avocados and they're generally perfectly ripe. Plus, their chocolate bars are heavenly.

I LOVE Icelands!  I wish I had a bigger freezer.  There are very few times I haven't been quite happy with any of their frozen items.  Most of it is really good stuff and really cheap too. 
I always by my whole fresh chickens there.  If I want to make a nice roast chicken dinner, I can can a real nice sized one for a lot less than the other stores.  And it's always good. 

peanut butter at both Aldi and Lidl is American style

I forgot: Lidl's tomato juice is really good.  It's not like V8 (which I can sometimes find in the regular shops) as it is just tomatoes, but it is definitely tasty.

And yes, I second the salmon.  I think we got ours from Lidl, but it was very nice.

Oh, and Aldi's fake Muller's was pretty nice (at least the little bit of my husband's I tried).  I think it tastes better than Muller as it doesn't have that weird note that Muller does.

I do love Aldi, I think they have some great products:
Parmesean Cheese
Alpine Meadow Cream Cheese
Choccie for kids lunch boxes (tiny chocolate bars)
Parma Ham (superb)
I can't think of anything else...but will try!!

Another okay but not great: Aldi Red Label tea.  It has a nice flavour, but not a very strong/rich/complex flavour.  It's a bit blah, but it's not offensive.  We might buy this again, but we're going to try to keep a lookout for our usual Typhoo on special at Lidl's or the regular shop. 

There's lots of stuff at LIDL I like, esp chocolate, sausages, biscuits.  I love that I can regularly get £5 frozen lobsters.  Their imitation muller corners and fruit smoothies are nice. 

For the parents out there, their nappies are good and cheap (I've heard Aldi's are also good).

I once tried their frozen seafood pizza--avoid it at all costs--nasty stuff, although the others are alright.  I get different brands of pizzas than the one who made the seafood pizza though.

Lidl also do totally artificial-tasting but very yummy US-style ice cream sandwiches. You know the kind - with the soggy brown biscuit-y bit.

Our Lidl usually has cheaper free-range eggs, great chorizo and other dried spiced meats, good frozen treats like chary pointed out, and welding masks (  ).  They've also got the only mulled wine worth drinking during Christmas time!  It comes from Germany and it is scrumptious.

They've also got the only mulled wine worth drinking during Christmas time!  It comes from Germany and it is scrumptious.

I tried that but found it far too sweet! But if you like your mulled wine on the sugary side, then you'd probably love it.

I tried that but found it far too sweet! But if you like your mulled wine on the sugary side, then you'd probably love it.

Hmmm, I wonder if it was the same kind?  I can't remember the name! I don't really remember it being overly sweet, but that doesn't mean it wasn't.  I do tend to like sweet drinks, just not a big glass of it. 

Hmmm, I wonder if it was the same kind?  I can't remember the name! I don't really remember it being overly sweet, but that doesn't mean it wasn't.  I do tend to like sweet drinks, just not a big glass of it. 

I don't remember the name either. It was quite a few years ago and they may have changed what they sell since then. I just make my own now and it works fine.