Fitness+weight loss

Friday, 8 October 2021

I shopped at Aldi and Lidl to see which grocery store was better, and the newer chain was clearly superior

I compared the popular budget grocery chains Aldi and Lidl to see which was better.
Aldi had low prices but was confusing and disorganized with a lacking produce section.
Lidl was my winner with incredible offerings, unique products, and well-organized aisles.
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In the ultimate showdown, I’m comparing two popular German grocery chains in the US: Aldi and Lidl.

It turns out the two seemingly similar competitors are much more different than I’d imagined.

Aldi is a cult-favorite store known for its low prices and special offers

What started as a single grocery store in Germany in the early 1900s has become a prolific budget chain in America. The two brothers behind the store split it into Nord (north) and Süd (south) in the 1960s following a debate about whether they should sell cigarettes.

The Nord division acquired Trader Joe’s. The Süd branch owns and operates the 2,000 Aldi stores in the US.

US Aldis are beloved for their limited selections and reliable, cheap house-brand staples with no synthetic colors, added MSG, or partially hydrogenated oils.

Its white-label products are often manufactured by national brands that cost two or three times as much. Fans also love the Aldi Savers specials — its “lowest of low prices” offers — and Aldi Finds, seasonal items that are available for only two weeks.

Lidl is a quickly growing chain with low prices

A relative upstart, dating to 1973 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Lidl reached the US in 2017.

The chain has opened 100 stores across the East Coast, with plans to open 50 more by the end of 2021 and a fourth distribution center in Covington, Georgia, by 2022.

Like Aldi, Lidl promises a limited selection of high-quality, brand-agnostic products at discount prices, and an unfussy shopping experience.

The chains have a few things in common

Other than German roots and a business structure centering cheap, private-label goods, their similarities include:

To eliminate any unfair advantages, since many of Lidl’s locations are new, I visited two established Aldis, a newer Lidl, and a Lidl that was retrofitted to a supermarket. All were in the Atlanta suburbs.

Keep reading to see how the in-store shopping experiences compared.

I visited Aldi with a quarter in hand so I could use a shopping cart

Aldi exterior — This Aldi was in a strip mall.

In a nook by the entrance were rows of neatly nested full-sized shopping carts, which require a quarter to unlock. You get the quarter back when you return your cart.

Aldi carts — You need a quarter to use Aldi’s carts.

A sign explained that the deposit incentivized shoppers to return their carts instead of dangerously cluttering the parking lot and creating a job the store would need to hire for.

Inside, I felt visually overloaded and like I was in an auditory vacuum

The lack of white noise or background music was off-putting — there was a kind of soundproof feeling that pressed on my ears, broken only by the slightest hint of a hum from the fluorescent lights hung from drop ceilings.

In contrast to this void was a visual assault led by the dirty-looking gold-and-cream speckled floor tile.

I stepped in the store and was hit with a barrage of junk food in my line of vision.

A glance to the side provided a bit more framing, with metal railings separating the entrance and exit areas.

Down the first aisle, I encountered all manner of snacks: nuts, cookies, crackers, chips, and candy.

Aldi snacks — The first aisle in this Aldi was loaded with snacks.

The brands included Clancy’s for salty snacks, Savoritz for crackers, Benton’s for cookies and sweet baked goods, Southern Grove for nuts, Simply Nature for seemingly healthy snacks, and Lunch Buddies for fruit snacks and puddings.

Right after this aisle of temptation was another: the alcohol selection, which was varied and cheap.

Aldi wines — Vista Bay is Aldi’s line of hard seltzers.

Aldi’s Vista Bay hard seltzers were on display, though there weren’t any beers or cocktail mixers.

There were a ton of affordable wine options, including Aldi’s Winking Owl label that’s usually under $3. The section was very well-stocked.

Confusingly, the next section had protein bars and supplements, cereal, breakfast items like syrup and pancake mix, peanut butters, and salad dressings.

Many of Aldi’s brands — Millville, Aunt Maple’s, Baker’s Treat, and Tuscan Garden — closely resembled its national producers, which felt reassuring.

At the end of the aisle was an endcap of coffee and a dairy case lining the short back wall

The store had its own versions of K-cups, bags of ground coffee, hot-cocoa mix, and espresso powder.

At the back of the store was a giant dairy section with gallons of conventional milk at roughly half the cost of supermarket brands.

PXL_20210328_184436055 — Aldi’s dairy selection was massive.

All of the containers were labeled Friendly Farms to match the rest of Aldi’s dairy selection of nondairy milks, creamers, yogurt, cottage cheese, and the like.

Mixed in were some recognizable brands: Lifeway kefir, Chobani, and Dannon offshoots.

Aldi yogurts — I noticed Aldi sold some name-brand yogurts too.

Eggs followed, at $2.79 for an organic dozen and $2.95 for 32 ounces of whites.

Juices by Nature’s Nectar kept the breakfast theme going, and there was a small selection of Happy Farms shredded cheeses for $2.79 a bag.

Bacon and sausages were on this back wall — including options from Aldi’s Never Any brand of meats without added hormones, steroids, and antibiotics — followed by Little Salad Bar bagged and chopped salads for $2 or $3.

Open chilled shelving had cold cuts, take-and-bake pizzas, and sausages

I saw plenty of packages of sliced cold cuts, Lunchables, and take-and-bake pizzas.

At the end of this wall, the meats started … and ended.

This section was mostly popular cuts of chicken, beef, and pork. I also noticed a few pieces of salmon.

I thought the meats weren’t much cheaper than sale prices at conventional grocery stores.

In an adjacent case, an assortment of cheeses seemed promising but upon closer inspection had mostly ordinary blocks, singles, cream cheeses, and nicer versions of some common specialty cheeses like mozzarella, cheddar, and Havarti.

Aldi is said to have a unique and cheap cheese selection, but I didn’t see evidence of that in either store. The seasonal cheeses must have sold out fast or been underordered.

I made my way to the back aisles, where nothing really made sense

The aisle right behind the snacks aisle had a mishmash of paper towels, melting cheese, lightbulbs, and socks.

Aldi mixed goods — This Aldi aisle made no sense to me.

A small baking section with products labeled Baker’s Corner offered cake, cookie, muffin, and biscuit mixes, including a rosemary-garlic version I hadn’t seen from any other brand.

There was name-brand representation from Betty Crocker, Jiffy, and Bisquick.

There were, somehow, more snacks and beans

As I kept walking, I got more confused.

I found single-portion nuts and applesauce containers among croutons, shelf-stable iced lattes, juice blends, cheese curls, and a couple of cases of beans.

Across from that randomness was a small seasonal section that segued into limited-edition items, where it got even more confusing.

This is where you can score Aldi Finds, two-week promotional products that could become part of the permanent rotation based on their performance.

I guess this was the “stumble-upon” area, the shelves you wander aimlessly until find yourself clutching unheard-of food items and homewares you didn’t know you needed.

Continuing on, I hit the canned goods, which felt more familiar and reasonable — exciting, even, at only $0.50 for most items and $0.89 for organic ones. I noticed, though, that the prices of canned veggies varied by $0.39 from one Aldi to the other, even though the locations were close.

The produce section in the middle of the store felt like a plastic-filled afterthought

A rule of thumb for healthy grocery shopping is to “shop the perimeter,” where dairy, fruits, veggies, and fresh-baked items are typically found.

But you can throw this out the window at Aldi: The produce was smack-dab in the middle like an afterthought.

In the produce section, freshness and stock seemed to be lacking in both Aldi stores I visited.

If there’s one thing even the most devout Aldi lover would admit, it’s that the greens could use some sprucing.

The produce items were wrapped in plastic at room temperature, so I wasn’t surprised that the section looked kind of sad.

I felt like I could tell which cases were recent arrivals, and though some of the more resilient items — like root vegetables, hard fruits, and cabbages — were in tip-top shape, it was pretty hit or miss.

Also, all that plastic packaging made me cringe. I get that it’s neater and more sanitary to have fewer hands on your food, but not being able to pick my own broccoli felt weird.

Few things were priced by the pound — but for those that were, an ancient-looking scale sat at the ready.

The bread section was cheap and had plenty of options

Aldi’s brand L’oven blew me away with its many types of bagels, thins, rolls, and loaves of sliced bread, as cheap as $0.55 for white and $0.59 for split wheat.

I was impressed by the Fit & Active low-calorie, low-carb loaf of bread for just $1.79.

The chain’s wide-pan whole-grain breads were only $1.25, which is amazing when you consider a similar loaf can cost over $3.

Where L’oven ended was where Bake Shop Bakery began, with packaged muffins, pudding cakes, doughnuts, and sweet-loaf slices.

Aldi’s Specially Selected line offered brioche, naan, and other global treats.

Then I hit a wall with Aldi’s LiveGFree gluten-free crackers, mac and cheese, organic brown rice and quinoa, muffins, snack bars, bread, and baking mixes.

But beneath that were a bunch of gluten-containing offerings, like keto bread, pitas, and Hawaiian rolls, making this feel like another afterthought or overflow corner.

Some frozen-food options seemed perfect for smaller households

Along the frozen-food wall I found raw meats like chicken, beef, and ground turkey; a good selection of processed chicken products like Kirkwood patties, nuggets, and strips; and Fremont Fish Market flounder, salmon, ahi tuna, fish sticks, and shrimp.

Most of this seafood was packaged for smaller households, but when I broke down the package prices by pound, I realized they cost the same as, if not more than, what you’d pay at conventional supermarkets.

A center case had a few frozen potato items, basic pizzas by Mama Cozzi’s Pizza Kitchen, and flatbreads and other pizzas by Specially Selected.

Other frozen-meal options included Fusia for stir-frys and sushi, Casa Mamita for Mexican dishes, and Bremer for lasagna rolls, sandwiches, meatballs, and shepherd’s pie.

Dessert was relegated to only three doors, with cheesecake bites, popsicles, and a few types of ice cream by Belmont and keto-friendly, high-protein pints from Sundae Shop.

Mochi ice creams, Oreo-type ice-cream sandwiches, and macarons were a pleasant surprise.

Back in the regular aisles, I found some essentials

The toiletries included national brands like Listerine, Pantene, and Head & Shoulders, but these were smaller packages priced noncompetitively and relegated to an endcap.

Around the corner I found the paper goods I had thought were missing when I first encountered paper towels in the store.

Sundry cleaning items followed, with products from Aldi’s brands Boulder and Radiance and national ones like Dawn, Cascade, and Fabuloso, as well as plant-based cleaners from newer entrants like Boulder Clean.

I hit the last of the pantry-fillers: canned soups, pasta and sauces, instant potatoes, and rice.

If you want rice, you have a few kinds to choose from. If you want pasta, you get the standard handful of shapes — however, I did appreciate the uncommon black-soybean spaghetti.

Tomato sauces were run-of-the-mill. Condiments and specialty sauces must have been scattered throughout the store; I didn’t find them here.

Checking out was much more efficient than shopping at Aldi

Every Aldi lets cashiers sit. They load a cart at the end of the conveyor with your just-scanned items.

They do this tremendously quickly, aided by long barcodes designed for easier scanning.

Aldi charges for bags, so be sure to bring your own.

After paying, you take the full cart and swap it with your own empty one (or grab your stuff if your shopping day was light), then snag a spot on the long counters by the exit to bag your groceries.

Aldi other view — Aldi had a counter near the exit where you could load up your bags.

Next I visited Lidl, the new kid on the block

Lidl’s new freestanding stores are distinctive with glass facades, trapezoidal roof lines, and higher-end interior fittings.

Lidl brings these unique interior details with them when moving into grocery stores that are already standing, which is why it can take the chain more time to renovate.

Lidl differs from its European counterparts in that its US stores are about twice the size and offer nearly triple the products, with a greater emphasis on organic and locally sourced ones.

Lidl had carts in 2 sizes for smaller shops and big hauls

Its carts didn’t require a deposit and were available in full and half sizes. Some locations even have miniature carts for children.

There was also a station stocked with sanitizing spray, paper towels, and gloves.

Upon entering, I felt lightness and brightness

An airy vestibule had special buys stacked against wallpapered faux-rustic walls.

The high ceilings and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows, polished concrete floors, and bright-white track lighting felt industrial chic. The openness and modern ruggedness recalled trendy loft housing designs.

The Lidl felt comfortable and homey. And maybe because of the open-rafter acoustics, the lack of music wasn’t immediately noticeable — there was white noise and ambient rustling.

A metal divider separated the exit path from the entry and was lined by a garden area with small plants and bouquets.

The next thing I saw was a bustling produce section. Unlike Aldi, where I was thrust into a shopping aisle, Lidl had an expanse for you to catch your breath and survey the space.

In the newer stores, you can go right to the greens or hug the wall to peruse baked goods.

Though not every Lidl has the same layout, the chain has aisle signage and categories, which I sorely missed at Aldi.

Lidl’s bakery section blew me away

By the front door was a display of mass-produced baked goods, like cookies, two-bite cupcakes, brownies, pies, and tray danishes.

In addition to stocking American basics, Lidl gave a nod to its European roots with imported treats like Swiss loaves, sponge cakes, and seasonal baked goods.

Fresh-baked items are part of what has made Lidl such an impressive newcomer — viennoiseries, artisan breads, oversized cookies, yeast doughnuts, and more are made on site.

It also had incredibly moist muffins (I ate three in bed in one night) and iced cinnamon rolls delivered from its distribution centers.

The selection of pastry items was wide. Croissants had different percentages of butter or fillings such as almond or chocolate. Some offerings were European specialties.

Lidl’s ciabattas, focaccias, and rustic loaves came in a nice variety and could be sliced to order.

Day-old breads were 30% off. These kinds of bins were found throughout the store to help shoppers make the most of already low prices.

On the next wall, Lidl had its own branded rolls, bagels, and sandwich breads alongside breads from King’s Hawaiian, Dave’s Killer Bread, Nature’s Own, and Martin’s, and lavash and naan from Atoria’s.

The prices were low: $0.59 for white bread, $1.25 for wide-pan multigrain loaves, $1 and change for bagels, and $2.29 for brioche.

Conveniently next to the bread were spreads like peanut butter, honey, European jams, and more.

This wall shared an aisle with the produce, lit up to make the greens pop as they do at high-priced organic markets.

Lidl’s produce section was way bigger than Aldi’s and had less plastic

In the middle section I found bags of produce in the boxes they were shipped in, similar to how Aldi stocks its fruits and vegetables.

The selection was bigger and more diverse than what I found at Aldi, with rows devoted to several types of apples, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. Many organic vegetables were available too.

While I could select some vegetables — like broccoli, melons, some tomatoes, and cabbages — most were already neatly bagged, with a less jarring amount of plastic than at Aldi.

Lidl also had salad kits and leaf mixes to rival any conventional supermarket — with prices on par with the best sales. Most were under the Lidl or Lidl Organic labels, with appearances by Dole and Taylor Farms.

Trail mixes, dried fruit, and nuts rounded out this section of Lidl

The nuts were a mix of brands and quality. I’ve had a few stale nuts from the store but used my “Love It Guarantee” to get a refund.

Some nuts were in a bulk dispenser like you’d see in a Whole Foods. An assortment of coffee and tea ended the aisle.

Continuing on, I saw impressive displays of raw and prepared seafood and meats

Lidl prides itself on its salmon selection; all the packages were stamped with their country of origin.

Atlantic, Chilean, Norwegian, farmed, marinated, cedar-planked — I found it all, with one variety or another on sale. Many were in vacuum-sealed packs.

There was cod, whiting, flounder, mahi-mahi, and other popular white fish, plus bay and sea scallops, a fantastic score on sale.

Bagged shrimp in different sizes were in the vicinity, but the per-pound pricing wasn’t quite as competitive.

The meat section was also great. Lidl’s steaks were individually packed, perfect for smaller households or stocking in a freezer.

Unlike at Aldi, meat was easy to buy in bulk at Lidl, with cheap whole loins of pork, beef, and even turkey.

Aldi’s pork selection was a little more varied with better value than what I saw here, but Lidl had some recognizable brands including Premio and Johnsonville.

Open chillers were loaded with juices, cold cuts, cheeses, and more

The in-wall open chillers started with a section for seasonal items like holiday cookies and rolls.

There were lots of refrigerated beverages, such as juices, espresso drinks, kombucha, and iced tea.

Then came enormous take-and-bake pizzas (think what you might find at Costco) plus fresh ravioli, stromboli, sushi, and deli sides.

Completing that wall was a greater range of cold cuts, shredded cheeses ($2.79, same as Aldi), and sliced cheeses (under $2).

I recognized brands like Oscar Mayer and Hillshire Farms next to Lidl’s own lines.

Lidl had bulk and smaller packs of cheese with different qualities and price tiers, from budget-friendly resealable packs of slices to fancy-sounding blocks.

I appreciated some of the specialty imports and the fun regional American items like cheese curds and string cheese.

The dairy section was excellent and quite large

The section started with typical and gourmet cheeses and kept impressing me as I made my way down the wall.

The butter offerings included alternatives, name brands, and Irish and European styles. There were different flavored and textured cream cheeses, plus yogurts from multiple brands made with milk, almonds, or soy.

The nondairy alternatives carried over into the creamers and milks, which were conventionally packaged and cheap, at $1.32 for a gallon and $0.75 for a half. Organic milk was $2.89.

In the well-stocked egg section, a quart of liquid whites was only $2.25 — less than half conventional-brand prices — and 18 cage-free eggs cost $3.29.

I reached a corner with name brands and premade foods

This section was as fun and full of surprises as Trader Joe’s frozen-foods area.

I found box meals from Boston Market and Lean Cuisine; snacks from national favorites like White Castle, Hot Pockets, and Super Pretzel; regional snacks like toasted ravioli; and global goods including falafel, Indian curries, and egg rolls.

The international-foods corner transitioned into an impressive frozen-pizza selection with thin-crust pizzas to rival Newman’s Own for nutrition and taste; rising-crust pizzas; and organic choices.

Lidl’s European influence came through again with tarte flambées, stone-baked pizzas, flatbread crusts, and a line of pizzas imported from Italy.

Lidl’s dessert case smoked Aldi’s in terms of variety

Lidl offered flavors of its brand of gelato alongside American favorites, bulk pails, and half-gallons of churned ice creams.

Ice-cream-truck favorites followed, and pint-sized premiums gave way to another dessert case of imports.

Macarons, German cakes, Berliners, baklava, eclairs, tiramisu, and frozen cakes lined the shelves above cheesecakes available by the slice or whole.

Next to this aisle was a strip of display cases with items families tend to stock up on, like different iterations of potatoes, from fries to tots, in regular and bulk sizes.

From the Preferred Selection brand were gems like Duchess Potatoes and Belgian novelties like chunky chips (crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside) and potato waffles.

There were frozen vegetables just as likely to be from Green Giant as Lidl.

For cost-conscious families there were massive Tropicland bags of plain staples.

Lidl’s selection of heat-and-eat chicken included popular items from Tyson and Fast Fixin’, and two dinosaur-nugget choices.

The Farm Rich and Cooked Perfect meatballs provided variety, and there were a few types of frozen Lidl beef burgers.

I saw a case for overflow clearance items and last-chance deals on seasonal stuff. Nearby were “while supplies last” specials that change every month or so.

This area included an Aldi level of motley items piled messily in the case. I saw Bantam blueberry stuffed pancakes, Caulipower chicken tenders, and specials like Irish beef burgers.

The spices-and-seasonings section was exciting and varied

I found this section to be exciting, reducing the need to go to a specialty market for interesting spice blends or canned goods.

After this mini square was one for beverages. There was plenty of water, plus an assortment of sodas and iced teas.

Lidl’s wine section was bare, though the paper goods seemed fully stocked

Lidl’s wine is curated by Adam Lapierre, one of about 400 Masters of Wine, but this store seemed to have underestimated demand. Many price tags sat below empty shelves.

Aldi’s wine section was much more well-stocked and varied.

The last stretch of the perimeter was dedicated to bulk paper goods that asked to be compared to Charmin, Angel Soft, Bounty, and Sparkle.

At the center of the store were seasonal items, housewares, stationery, crafting supplies, car-care products, and clothes

This is where you stumble upon the odds and ends you’ve been meaning to buy — I scored furniture-feet covers and drawer dividers.

These reminded me of Aldi Finds, except a lot more organized.

The bins kept these irregularly shaped products from looking too haphazard, and the organization made a lot more sense than at Aldi.

At Lidl, the car stuff was with other outdoor stuff, the laundry baskets were with the mesh laundry bags, and the seasonal kids’ things were together.

Lidl had a lot of personal-care basics for adults, kids, and babies

Where those miscellaneous bins dropped off were shelves of toiletries and medicines from Lidl and some national brands.

The store had necessities for baby care including food, diapers, and cleaning products. Aldi didn’t have a section like this at all.

Lidl’s pet section was no slouch either, with jerkies, treats, and grain-free snacks and limited-ingredient foods under brands like Evolve and Furtrition by Lidl.

Then I was back to aisles with pantry staples

The Latin food section, a permanent feature in the store, was impressive and well-organized.

The organic section is also a year-round display.

These options are sprinkled through other sections — a merchandising decision that makes sense given Lidl’s emphasis on organic, locally sourced products — but reserved shelf space to feature highlights makes it easy for shoppers to get in and out with exactly what they need.

Even better, the prices of these organic items were much lower than what I’d seen in other mainstream US supermarkets.

Lidl’s gluten-free section was clearly labeled and filled with pastas, cookies, crackers, and mac and cheese. It felt much more thoughtful than Aldi’s small gluten-free section.

The snack section was bustling with options

Aldi may have put snacks front and center, but Lidl represented. Case after case of potato chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, salsas, and popcorns dominated a row.

The variety was consistently excellent, and so was the stock. I think Lidl’s regular chips give Lay’s chips a run for their money.

Lidl’s cookie selection is better than what I’ve found at both Aldi and even wider-selection grocery stores

Lidl’s cookies and crackers didn’t miss either.

Lidl’s offerings resembled Nabisco and Keebler favorites and included some gourmet options like chocolate-covered butter cookies, crepe cookies, Café Noir coffee-glazed cookies, Belgian thins, bags of Italian shortbread, speculoos, Jaffa cakes, and sugar-crusted Dutch butter cookies.

This section is a gourmet-cookie lover’s heaven. Right next to it were interesting twists on classics, such as filled cookies and paper-bag cookies that reminded me of Pepperidge Farm.

This area had name brands like Ritz and Triscuits, plus store-brand cheese crackers and club crackers.

Organic and specialty chocolate bars and name-brand candy concluded this aisle.

Lidl’s pasta offerings were OK, but its nontraditional sauces blew me away

Lidl’s pasta sauces and pasta shapes were as limited as Aldi’s. But I appreciated the pestos, Banza chickpea and pea pastas, and gnocchi.

Lidl’s pasta sauces were lacking, but its condiment-and-sauces section was not.

The assortment reminded me of Trader Joe’s because of how varied and fun it was.

It offered interesting flavors from across the country and around the world in curries, dipping sauces, marinades, dressings, barbecue sauces, and seasoning blends.

For sauce-and-spice collectors like myself, this pocket of flavors was hard to walk past, as you never know which new ones have joined the collection.

Lidl’s baker’s corner was a treasure trove of essentials and higher-end natural-market products

The baking-product prices were much lower than, say, a big bag of Truvia or almond flour at your local Kroger or Sprouts. The availability of newer health-conscious choices at a discount is a boon.

There were tried-and-true pie fillings, nuts, and frostings, as well as good-quality baking chips and more indulgent novelties like Andes mint chocolate.

Lidl’s canned-foods aisle had tons of grocery-shopping staples

Lidl’s canned pulses and vegetables had prices comparable to Aldi’s.

It had multiple varieties of basics like canned tomatoes and mixed bags of rices.

The main aisles are within range of the registers

The cashiers at Lidl stand, as they do almost everywhere but Aldi. Though Lidl’s products don’t have easy-scan bar codes, these cashiers are not slowed down.

The conveyor belts at Lidl’s checkouts split into two channels after passing the scanner, allowing a cashier to start another customer’s order while you’re still paying for or bagging yours.

Lidl register — Lidl had two-lane conveyor belts.

Newer Lidl locations have swing-arm credit-card machines that let you pay and pack while the next customer’s groceries are sorted down the other side.

If that’s too much pressure, there’s a long Aldi-style counter just beyond the registers where you can bag at your leisure. Lidl also charges for bags.

Lidl is the hybrid, no-fuss grocery store I’ve been waiting for

Since Lidl came to the US, it’s been compared to Aldi. But Lidl should be viewed as a threat to every US supermarket — it’s totally coming for the crown.

Delays in Lidl’s expansion in the US allowed the chain to observe and perfect what Americans want in a shopping experience. There’s a vivaciousness and wholesomeness that makes Lidl feel like a more premium store, with casual, whimsical branding decisions that keep it feeling accessible.

Lidl is a wonderful hybrid of the no-frills, white-label approach of Aldi, the wide selections and on-site bakeries of conventional supermarkets, and the “surprise” goods of Trader Joe’s — minus the fuss, crowds, and chaos.

It’s budget without the feel, quality without the pretension. It offers consistency without being stuck in “basic” mode and novelty without sacrificing authenticity. And it provides a ton of trusted national brands without overwhelming you with redundancy.

In other words, Lidl makes Aldi look like a dingy, low-rent prototype.

Call me a Lidl convert, because the new kid won by a landslide.

The better experience, assortment, and quality of white-label and premium goods at similar prices have Aldi in checkmate.

Lidl is coming for the budget-buy throne, and it’s not planning on stopping there. It’s on a quest to change how America shops for groceries.

And I, for one, am ready for it.

The post I shopped at Aldi and Lidl to see which grocery store was better, and the newer chain was clearly superior appeared first on RECIPES WELLNESS.

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Prince Harry Shares New Photos of Archie and Reveals His First Words – Yahoo Canada Shine On

In his new Apple TV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See, Prince Harry revealed sweet new details about Archie Harrison, his two-year-old son with Meghan Markle. Among them: Some of Archie’s first words were “Grandma Diana.” Harry said: “I’ve got a photo up in his nursery…and it was one of the first words that he said. Apart from ‘mama’, ‘papa’, it was then ‘grandma’, ‘grandma Diana’. It’s the sweetest thing but at the same time makes me really sad.”

Harry also shared short clips of his son for the docuseries, marking the first time that he and Meghan have shared photos of Archie’s face. The new clips show Archie playing on a swing and frolicking with his mom on the beach. Previously, Harry had shared another of Archie’s first words with James Cordon: “crocodile.” “Crocodile, three syllables,” he told Cordon. “He is hysterical, he’s got the most amazing personality. He’s already putting three, four words together, he’s already singing songs.”

Apple

Of Diana, Harry said: “I wish she could have met Meghan. I wish she was around for Archie.” He also spoke candidly and at length about the mental health struggles he faced in the aftermath of his mom’s death. “I was so angry with what happened to her, and the fact that there was no justice at all…The same people that chased her through that tunnel photographed her dying on the back seat of that car.”

He shared his memories of the funeral: “It was like I was outside my body and just walking along doing what was expected of me. Showing one tenth of the emotion that everyone else was showing.” Looking at the sobbing crowds, he thought: “This is my mum. You haven’t even met her.”

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Thursday, 7 October 2021

How to Go Vegan Gradually

The choice to go vegan often comes with the pressure to be perfect. There’s no denying that the vegan community has a…particular reputation. And look—I’ve never been someone who is inherently against eating animals. But even for those of us concerned with the meat industry’s impact on climate change and the rights of workers, I understand how easy it is to shrug off the power of individual choice against Big Meat. (Are we all picturing someone throwing starfish into the sea?) At the end of the day, though, I believe that going a little vegan is better than doing nothing at all.

If you’re curious about dipping your toe into veganism, don’t let the pervasive all-or-nothing mentality stop you from making small changes. Whenever you want to make a habit stick, gradual change is often more sustainable than a sudden cold-turkey lifestyle change. So here are some tips for gradually going vegan.

Think about adding, not taking away

This tip comes from our guide to going vegetarian (or eating less meat):

The easiest way to eat less meat is to eat more of everything else. A good first step is to sit down and make a list of non-meat foods you already love. Don’t be afraid to take this assignment extremely literally: Even a list of 10 vegetables you like is valuable, and it’ll make meal planning easier…If you’re used to a meat-heavy diet, you’ll need to eat way more other stuff to make up for it. I’m not talking about nutrient macros—I’m talking sheer volume.

Rather than framing veganism around what you’re cutting out, focus on all the foods you’re adding in.

Motivate yourself with treat meals

Another way to fight the idea that veganism leads to “missing out” is to get adventurous with new vegan recipes or restaurants. (It doesn’t hurt to read up on how to order vegan options when they’re not on the menu).

Broaden your horizons in your own kitchen by exploring YouTube or cookbooks for recipes from all over the world. I recommend checking out the fried rice description under the “make sure you still eat like shit” section here.

Disclaimer: I don’t encourage attaching a reward/punishment mindset to any food. At the same time: Oreos are vegan. Just saying.

Vegan until 6 p.m.

If you’re getting started running, you might incorporate strategic walking breaks—why not set aside times to eat non-vegan? While this is in no way an endorsement of the “VB6 Diet” popularized by Mark Bittman, the idea still stands: Eat vegan all day, then treat yourself to whatever non-vegan foods you miss after the clock strikes 6 p.m. Obviously you can choose whatever time works for you, as long as you create a clear goal (and deadline) around when you get to eat vegan and get to eat non-vegan.

This approach also comes with built-in chance to feel a sense of accomplishment every day, which can do wonders for your motivation. Just be careful that you don’t fall into a buck-wild “cheat day” mentality.

Meatless Mondays

This one is self-explanatory. Baby steps are still steps!

Don’t go it alone

We’ve talked about the benefits of finding an accountability buddy, whether your goal is to save money, workout more, or stay productive working from home. In addition to the accountability factor, transitioning into veganism with a friend (or friends!) helps to frame this change around community and shared experiences. After all, isn’t that what food is all about?

Be easy on yourself

The same tips you might use to introduce your kids to a vegan diet can work on yourself. When I say “feed your inner child,” I mean “feed the most picky and difficult version of yourself.” This means practicing patience when change doesn’t happen overnight. It also means employing sneak tactics to work vegan substitutes into your meals (tofu puffs, anyone?). Take it one meal at a time.

At the end of the day, every little choice can be an opportunity to take a step in the right direction—whatever that means for you.

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Prince Harry is disregarding the consequences of attacks on his family, says royal biographer – Yahoo Canada Shine On

Watch: Prince Harry ‘volunteered’ to shoot therapy session

Prince Harry appears to “disregard” the consequences of his interviews, according to a royal biographer.

Harry, 36, has spoken again about his relationship with his family and his upbringing, in a series of mental health documentaries he helped produce for Apple TV.

The programmes follow a podcast with Dax Shepard, in which he said there was a cycle of pain and suffering in his family that he wanted to break, and an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he said his father Prince Charles had cut him off financially and stopped taking his calls.

Sally Bedell Smith, who has written biographies on both Charles and Princess Diana, has drawn comparisons between Diana and Harry, saying he is echoing her.

Writing in The Times, Smith said: “In an echo of his mother, Harry repeatedly entwined the intimate details of his mental health struggles with attacks on his family.”

She added: “Both mother and son appeared to disregard the hurtful consequences of their deeply personal assaults.”

Smith also claimed that Harry’s suggestion his father was unsympathetic to mental health struggles was “wide of the mark”, saying Charles had sought help for Diana when she was showing symptoms of depression and anxiety in the early stages of their marriage.

She also said Charles saw the same therapist he introduced her to for 15 years.

Harry has drawn his own comparisons between his story and his mother’s, saying he’s “got a hell of a lot of my mum in me”, and that he felt history was “repeating itself” when he started his relationship with Meghan Markle, now his wife.

Watch: Harry accuses Royal Family of ‘total neglect’ in documentary series

In one of the Apple TV documentaries, he said: “My mother was chased to her death while in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white.

“And now look what’s happened.

“You want to talk about history repeating itself.

“They won’t stop until she dies.”

Harry’s series, The Me You Can’t See, was released the day after the Dyson investigation shared its report into the 1995 Panorama interview of Diana conducted by Martin Bashir, which concluded he used “deceitful” methods before the princess agreed to the interview.

Smith also compared mother and son in their attitudes toward the Royal Family. Diana told Bashir “I’ll fight to the end”, while Harry has said he felt “trapped” in the institution, and added that he would not be “bullied into silence”.

Harry said he felt as though the press would not stop until Meghan was dead. (Apple TV) — Harry said he felt like history was repeating itself. (Apple TV)

Harry said his CBS interview with Winfrey had been “compassionate” and he intended to keep the door open for reconciliation with his family.

However, it’s previously been reported that when he was in the UK for his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral he had only a brief conversation with his brother William that broke the ice but did not resolve any issues between them.

Harry is next due in the UK on 1 July, when he and William are scheduled to unveil a statue of Diana in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace.

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

Watch: Who Is Prince Harry?

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Kraft Heinz to invest $199 million in British manufacturing facility – Reuters

A Heinz Ketchup bottle sits between a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese and a bottle of Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce on a grocery store shelf in New York March 25, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Kraft Heinz Co (KHC.O) said on Tuesday it plans to invest 140 million pounds ($198.83 million) in its food manufacturing facility in northwest England over the next four years, subject to U.S. approval.

The investment would be the company’s biggest expansion of an existing manfacturing site outside the United States in more than 20 years.

The plans for the Kitt Green plant northwest of Manchester would be aimed at adding production of Heinz ketchup, mayonnaise and salad cream. The money will also fund equipment and technology and create up to 50 new full-time jobs, the company said.

The plant will continue making Heinz soups and pasta. It already makes 1.3 billion cans of food per year.

“The Kraft Heinz investment is a vote of confidence in the UK economy from a major U.S. firm and a boost that will mean jobs and growth for the local economy,” UK Minister for Investment Gerry Grimstone said in a statement.

Kraft Heinz said the plan was one of the largest proposed investments in British manufacturing since Brexit but did not provide details.

($1 = 0.7041 pounds)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Wednesday, 6 October 2021

You Should Eat Salads for Breakfast (Wait, Don’t Leave)

Let me start by saying that I have nothing against a greasy bacon-egg-and-cheese. As someone who contains multitudes, however, I have also been fully convinced by the case for eating salad for breakfast. They’re filling, simple, and most importantly, they help me kickstart my day with a slight superiority complex. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician. I am not a guru. I am but a writer who likes salads in the morning for all the following reasons.

Starting the day on a strong note

It’s no secret that your decision-making upon waking can set the stage for the rest of your day. It’s why I opt for morning runs, and why I sometimes read a chapter of a book instead of scrolling through Twitter in bed.

By choosing a healthy and satisfying meal first thing in the morning, I get a sense of accomplishment to carry me throughout the day. For reference, here’s exactly what I look like first thing in the morning.

Eating more veggies in general

Many of classic “American” breakfasts, like waffles or bagels or cereal, are typically less nutrient-dense compared to meals that get unfairly pigeon-holed as “lunch” or “dinner.” I don’t like to think of eating vegetables as something to “get out of the way,” but incorporating more veggies into your first meal of the day can be a great strategy to get more into your diet in general.

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Getting your “business” moving

Anecdotally, the breakfast salad gets all my…digestive processes…flowing? I’m not great with innuendo. Starting my day with all the fiber found in plant foods really helps me out, okay?

Experimenting with new recipes

If you’re picturing a wimpy garden salad, it’s time to expand your horizons. Key to my personal breakfast salad experience is starting with a pile of greens, but from there, you can get creative with your proteins and all other kinds of fixin’s. You can find a bounty of ideas from r/EatCheapandHealthy. And regardless of when you’re eating them, check out our secrets to building a better salad.

Now that you’re fully on board the breakfast salad train, here’s our guide to making your own.

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10 Vinegars You Should Have in Your Kitchen (and How to Use Them)

Rice vinegar (or rice wine vinegar) is a staple ingredient that’s used in a wide variety of Asian cuisine, and there are many different kinds. It’s much milder than white vinegar (with about half the acidity), can be made with white, brown, black, or red rice, and can also be seasoned with other ingredients such as sugar, salt, and MSG. Seasoned rice vinegar makes a great two-ingredient pickle, a bomb salad dressing, and exquisite sushi rice (though it’s good on any rice, in my opinion).

The flavor of white rice vinegar can differ depending on the style—Japanese rice vinegars tend to more delicate than their Chinese counterparts. Brown rice vinegar is made with unpolished brown rice, and has a darker, toastier color, and a few more nutrients.

Red rice vinegar is made with fermented rice, which gives it its color and slight sweetness; some brands have a distinct wine-like flavor. According to The Woks of Life, red rice vinegar is “probably the least used type of rice vinegar in Chinese cuisine,” but it does have a few very specific, very delicious uses, like Chinese fried pigeon, dipping sauces, and as a finisher for soups.

Black rice vinegar is made from fermented black sticky rice (or glutinous rice) and other grains like sorghum, millet, and/or wheat. There are Chinese black rice vinegars and Japanese black rice vinegars, and both have a distinct smoky flavor and a deep, dark color. It’s a fantastic condiment—just sprinkle and go—as well as a great base for dipping sauces and stir fries.

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Nigeria’s Mono raises millions to power the internet economy in Africa

In February, Nigerian fintech startup Mono announced its acceptance into Y Combinator and, at the time, it wanted to build the Plaid for Africa. Three months later, the startup has a different mission: to power the internet economy in Africa. It has closed $2 million in seed investment toward that goal.

The investment comes nine months after the company raised $500,000 in pre-seed last September and two months after receiving $125,000 from YC. Mono’s total investment moves up to $2.625 million, and investors in this new round include Entrée Capital (one of the investors in Kuda’s seed round), Kuda co-founder and CEO Babs Ogundeyi; Gbenga Oyebode, partner at TCVP; and Eric Idiahi, co-founder and partner at Verod Capital. New York but Africa-based VC Lateral Capital also invested after taking part in Mono’s pre-seed.

In a region where more than half of the population is either unbanked or underbanked, open finance players like Mono are trying to improve financial inclusion and connectivity on the continent. Open finance thrives on the notion that access to a financial ecosystem via open APIs and new routes to move money, access financial information and make borrowing decisions reduces the barriers and costs of entry for the underbanked.

Launched in August 2020, the company streamlines various financial data in a single API for companies and third-party developers. Mono allows them to retrieve information like account statements, real-time balance, historical transactions, income, expenses and account owner identification with users’ consent.

When we covered the company early in the year, it had already secured partnerships with more than 16 financial institutions in Nigeria. In addition to having a little over a hundred businesses like Carbon, Aella Credit, Credpal, Renmoney, Autochek and Inflow Finance access customers’ bank accounts for bank statements, identity data and balances, Mono has also connected over 100,000 financial accounts for its partners and analyzed over 66 million financial transactions so far.

Mono has done impressively well in a short period. While it appears to have figured out product-market fit, CEO Abdul Hassan is quick to remind everyone that the burgeoning API fintech space is just an entry point to its pursuit of being a data company — a case he also made in February.

“The way I see it, our market is not that big. Compare the payments market now with 2016, when Paystack and Flutterwave just started. The payments space in 2016 was very small and the number of people using cards online was very small,” said Hassan, who co-founded the company with Prakhar Singh. “It’s the same thing for us right now. That’s why our focus isn’t only on open banking but data. We’re thinking of how we can power the internet economy with data that isn’t necessarily financial data. For instance, think about open data for telcos. Imagine where you can move your data from one telco to another instead of getting a new SIM card and making a fresh registration. That’s where I see the market going, at least for us at Mono.”

Abdul Hassan (CEO) and Prakhar Singh (CTO). Image Credits: Mono

He adds that the company is taking an approach of building a product one step at a time until it can fully diversify from financial data offerings, including connecting with payment gateways (Paystack and Flutterwave) and other fintechs like wealth management startups Piggyvest and Cowrywise.

“When you’re able to connect to all the systems, a lot of use cases will come up. The first step is how can we connect to all available data and open it up for businesses and developers,” he continued.

Therefore, Mono will use the funding to reinforce its current financial and identity data offerings and launch new products for diverse business verticals. Also, a long-overdue pan-African expansion to Ghana and Kenya is top priority. The last time I spoke with Hassan, the end of Q1 looked feasible to get into at least one of the two markets but it didn’t turn out that way. But the wait seems to be over as the company said it’d be going live in Ghana next month with a handful of existing customers from Nigeria and new ones in Ghana. Some of these partners include five banks (GTBank, Fidelity Bank and three unannounced banks) and the mobile money service arm of MTN Ghana.

“Our expansion is mostly inspired by our customers looking to expand to other markets, same with some of our products. We work with our customers to give them the right tools to build new experiences for their customers,” Hassan stated.

Image Credits: Mono

Mono is one of three API fintech companies to have raised a seed investment this year. Last month, another Nigerian fintech, Okra, closed $3.5 million while Stitch, a South African API fintech, launched with $4 million in February. Back to back investments like this show that investors are incredibly optimistic about the market. Avil Eyal, managing partner and co-founder of Entrée Capital, one such investor, had this to say: “We are very excited to be working with Abdul, Prakhar and the entire Mono team as they continue to build out the rails for African banking to enable the delivery of financial services to hundreds of millions of people across the African continent.”

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Actions You Can Take to Tackle Climate Change

The Earth Hero app (iOS, Android) helps you calculate, track, and reduce your personal carbon footprint, and it connects users to climate action groups. You can set emission-reduction targets for yourself, browse suggested actions based on IPCC recommendations, track your progress, and join a community of climate activists. Each action includes an explanation about its relevance and importance, along with tips for various levels of implementation.

Good Empire (iOS, Android) is a new social app whose mission is “to gather, unite, and empower an empire of good humans to save the f**king world.” Good Empire features challenges that highlight direct actions individuals can take to help reduce their carbon emissions and plastic waste, address hunger and poverty in their communities and around the world, and empower women and girls. Actions must have measurable impacts and are aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Good Empire just launched in September 2021.

Brightly.eco is a community platform with the mission to “empower conscious consumers around the world.” Brightly features news about zero waste, sustainable fashion, circular economy, clean beauty, conscious consumerism, DIY, and eco-friendly recipes. The Brightly app (iOS, Android) offers monthly eco-challenges and community chat groups. The Brightly Shop connects users to verified ethical and sustainable brands and small businesses to simplify the guesswork of conscious consumption.

I’m not saying that the best way to alleviate climate anxiety is to rush out and buy a bunch of eco-friendly products, but we are all consumers, whether we like it or not, and our purchases have a direct impact on climate change. If we can choose brands and products that are truly ethical and sustainable, it can help shift the culture toward more sustainable options.

Carbon Offset Tools

Carbon offsets are not a stand-alone solution for climate change: They’re basically a “pay to pollute” scheme that only works if companies and individuals are doing everything else possible to reduce emissions. However, they can serve a useful role in funding emission-reduction projects and raising awareness about climate change. For an individual, carbon offsets are a tangible way to supplement other actions. There are multiple apps that let you calculate and track your carbon footprint, pledge actions, and donate to emission-reduction projects.

The Klima app (iOS, Android) lets users fund science-backed projects that can be tracked in real time. Klima selects projects with the greatest impacts in accordance with Project Drawdown rankings, supports programs designed to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and verifies projects by an independent third party. Even if you don’t have a lot to donate, it adds up collectively.

Ecologi.com is a program that offsets user emissions from flying and travel. In addition to funding new emission-reduction projects like renewable energy, Ecologi.com plants trees for long-term impact. It offers a directory of climate-positive gifts, carbon awareness and education, and goal setting for low-carbon living.

Ecosia is a search engine app (iOS and Android) and extension for all major browsers that automatically offsets every internet search you make through the service. Ecosia plants a tree for every 50 searches. It is free to use and earns revenue through clicks on advertisements. Ecosia markets itself as a carbon-negative search engine, meaning it generates more renewable power than is needed to run its servers, and it exports clean power back to the grid. Ecosia built solar plants to provide 100 percent clean energy to power its searches.

Community Support Resources

Thanks to technology, climate anxiety support is available anywhere there is an internet connection. Pre-Covid, many support offerings were only available in person in urban centers or the home communities of organizations. Now, support circles and groups meet online, and we get to make friends all over the world.

This past spring, I was able to participate virtually in the Good Grief Network’s 10 Steps to Personal Resilience & Empowerment in a Chaotic Climate program. Each week, I joined 13 other amazing humans from across the globe to process our difficult emotions about climate change, examine our own privilege, and build individual and community resilience. This was hands-down the most helpful resource I’ve experienced to navigate climate anxiety.

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Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Chia Pudding Recipe: Whip Up a Healthy Breakfast in Seconds

If you’re anything like me, you probably find you never have time to make a ‘proper’ breakfast. Morning meals are usually thrown together in a matter of minutes, with little time for experimentation with new flavours or recipes. I’m here to remind you that there is a breakfast recipe you can turn to that only requires a couple of ingredients, a tiny bit of forethought and a few spare seconds – enter the chia pudding.

This dish is a popular one because it tastes like a dessert, it’s easy as hell to make and it’s pretty healthy for you as well (it’s super high in fibre), depending on what kind of toppings you add to it.

For those who have never made chia pudding before, there are endless takes on how to whip one up at home yourself. All you really need is chia seeds, your milk variety of choice and some topping options.

Here is a particularly popular take from, you guessed it, TikTok, which will get you a sweet, berry-loaded chia pudding breakfast in no time.

Chia pudding recipe

This chia pudding recipe comes from TikTok creator @kizedwards_ and has been liked by over 783.1K people at the time of publishing. Safe to say it’s been pretty widely enjoyed.

What you’ll need:

2 tbsp chia seeds
3/4 cup milk of choice
Greek yoghurt
Mixed berries
Maple syrup

Directions:

Add the chia seeds and milk into a bowl, and mix together
Cover the mixture and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight
Pour the pudding into a serving bowl or glass and top with yoghurt, berries and a drizzle of maple syrup
Enjoy

Check out the full video for yourself here:

@kizedwards_
chia pudding ???? #chiapudding #chiapuddingrecipe #healthybreakfast #healthybreakfastideas #easybreakfast #healthyrecipes #healthyrecipeideas #breakfast

♬ Get Into It (Yuh) – Doja Cat

If you’re more of a chocolate fan, you can add cocoa powder to your chia pudding like @edenvonweiss here, or if you’re after banana take on the breakfast, @myhealthydish has a banana chia seed pudding recipe for you here. Happy breakfasting!

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