Lidl Full Shop - The Coughlan Family

Week 1

 

My son is making is his First Communion this weekend and we are having the family back to our house afterwards for a party.  I’ll be keeping it simple with a buffet and some quiches.  The most time consuming part of making a quiche is the pastry, so imagine my delight when I spotted pre-made short-crust pastry in the refrigerator section in Lidl! Because it was refrigerated rather than frozen, it didn’t even need to be defrosted – just literally ready to roll.  Couldn’t be easier – easy on the pocket too.  Everything I needed was sourced in Lidl.  I got smoked salmon from Lidl’s Deluxe range and it was absolutely gorgeous, flavoursome and a lovely deep pink colour.

 

This was my first experience of Lidl and two things jumped out at me straight away. Firstly, I was really surprised at the checkout to find that my full trolley load of groceries only cost €97.  I am used to paying €150 to €200 for a full trolley as part of my big weekly shop.  I wasn’t even paying attention to special offers, just trying to match the type of essentials I would typically need every week.  That is a massive difference and a very welcome one!  The second pleasant surprise was that everything I needed was there - one stop shop.  I’ve always assumed that they wouldn’t have everything I needed which is why I haven’t tried Lidl before.  As a working mum, I don’t have time to go to two separate shops. 

 

I was especially impressed with the fruit and veg section.  I got a net of red onions for 59c, a punnet of cherry tomatoes for 79c, blueberries for €1.79 and a pack of 10 fun size red apples for just €1.39!  These are far less than half the price which I would normally pay and they were fresh and really good quality.  The pasta range is also really good with spaghetti for just 47c!  And they stock Malt Wheaties for €1.19 – about a third of the price of the usual branded cereal I buy and according to my fussy eaters, they taste the same!

 

As an unexpected bonus, Lidl were promoting plants and flowers on special this week.  I picked up some colourful geraniums to brighten up the garden for the communion party!  They cost just €2 each.  I got 6 for €12 (which would cost €20 as part of a value deal in my local garden centre).  Chuffed!  All in all, a pretty good start to my new Lidl adventure!