Aldi Christmas Shopping Challenge Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
Normally, Christmas is the one time of year that I would try to forget about budgeting and just really treat my family to more luxurious food from premium shops. It’s that one special time of the year when you REALLY don’t want a bad piece of meat, the veg to go off, or a disappointing pudding.
However, having been really impressed by the standard of food and other groceries on offer at Aldi over the past few months, I was more than happy to give it a go for Christmas. We haven’t been let down a single time by anything from Aldi, so was fully confident that we would have no issues for Christmas week.
I braved my main Christmas shop on 22nd December, which I hoped would mean I’d have plenty of date available on the meat and veg, and also still have a good amount of choice and less crowds. I decided to go after the kids were in bed, at about 8pm. Our local Aldi opens until 10pm, and I find it’s much more pleasant to shop in the evening when it’s quiet.
We are not fans of turkey in our house, I’ve not cooked a Christmas Day turkey in the whole of my adult life. The ‘what meat shall we have this year’ conversation usually starts mid-October, with various accompaniment and trimming options being requested right through until shopping day. We’ve always been really impressed with the joints of pork at Aldi, and they’re a great price, so we thought we’d decided to go with one of those. That was until we saw the fantastic, luxury, ribs of beef that Aldi were advertising for Christmas week. Rib of beef is absolutely our favourite cut of beef, but is so expensive, it’s a rare (pardon the run) treat.
But with all of the fantastic offers on veggies (Maris piper spuds and broccoli for 29p, parsnips, carrots and sprouts for 39p, as well as bargains on red cabbage and cauliflowers), we decided to push the boat out. I spent £27 on a 2.4kg bone – in beef rib joint, and less than £3 on all of the veggies I’d need. I think all in, with the various condiments and store cupboard ingredients, under £35 for a luxury Christmas dinner is really good value.
Along with the Christmas dinner shopping, I also bought bacon and baps for Christmas breakfast, a variety of cheese for after Christmas dinner, turkey mince, a whole chicken, a pork joint, a whole host of veg to do meals for Christmas week and a belt-notch busting volume of sweeties, crisps, dips chocolates and biscuits. Not my healthiest of shops, but it’s Christmas after all. I still managed to spend a few pennies under £80 so around the same as a normal shop, even with the expensive beef joint in there.
I have no words to describe how fabulous the beef was. We cooked it medium-rare, and the instructions provided on the sleeve were spot-on, timings wise. My dad, who is a real carnivore, said it was the best beef he thinks he’s ever eaten. It really was melt in the mouth, and tasted like a much more expensive joint. It was also huge! There are three adults and 2 hungry kids, and this fed us all with plenty to spare for beef and horseradish sandwiches over the next few days.
As we’d done the shopping on the 22nd, I was nervously hoping that the veggies would survive to the 25th. I needn’t have worried, they were absolutely spot-on, and the Maris Piper potatoes made some fantastic roast potatoes. We also had roasted parsnips and carrots, cauliflower cheese, braised red cabbage with apples, sprouts, broccoli and Yorkshire puddings. Everything on the plate was superb, top quality and expertly cooked, if I do say so myself :-).
We are not really pudding people, so finished our Christmas dinner off with a cracking cheeseboard of Brie, cheddar, goats cheese, Stilton and a cranberry cheese. Again, all totally fabulous and the kind of food that Aldi does so very well.
We have really enjoyed not thinking too much about our waistlines this week, and have really enjoyed mince pies, nuts and crisps, along with cheese and chocolate. It’s been a real treat, and a very reasonably priced one. We have still managed to eat really good, healthy meals the rest of the week too, with plenty of fresh meat and veggies.
Aldi’s Christmas food has not disappointed, neither did the price. We will be sticking to Aldi for special meals in future, and are all really hoping the beef rib is available next year.
A Christmas food week better, and cheaper, than from a premium supermarket.
Rating: 5/5
Why not visit your local Aldi this week and see if you can feed your family for £70 without comprimising on quality. To find your nearest Aldi store visit www.aldi.co.uk.
