ALDI'S FOOD STORES MAKES GOOD CENTS

Greetings from Carmela's Cucina,

In these hard times shopping at Aldi's Food Stores (www.aldifood.com) makes good cents. And you will save dollars too, which is a good thing these days.

When I was writing my first cookbook Carmela's Cucina the food stylist that I was working with suggested that I shop at Aldi's for some of the food items that we were going to need for the photo shoot. I was very skeptical, but one of my neighbors confirmed that the new store in town was a great deal and fun to shop. So armed with my own grocery bags and a quarter for a shopping cart, I made my first trip to Aldi's and have been hooked ever since.

This is no frills shopping, and I always have to make a stop at a full service grocery store to complete my grocery list, but the savings are significant, so it is worth the extra trouble. Aldi's has it's origins in Germany and many of their specialty items come from that country. Anything that I have tried from the chocolates to the stollan at Christmas have been excellent.

A typical trip takes about twenty minutes unless the store is really busy and lately I see more and more people learning about what a great value this store is. I have a few favorite items that I always shop for that I want to share with you. I love their trail mix and granola bars. For everyday sandwiches and use their sliced cheeses are great, but when I want something fancy I do go to an up-scale store. I really love their salad dressing and their fresh vegetables and fruits are wonderful and cheap. I always buy their grapefruit which are sweet and delicious as is the pineapple, cantaloupe, honey dew and strawberries. Blueberries are usually available as are mangos, avocados, lemons and limes and kiwi fruit. Their zucchini, three to a package are a great deal as are their tomatoes, tri colored peppers, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower. Spinach is a bargain and so are the hearts of Romain.

Bread selection is limited, but they always have the multi-grain bread that we enjoy at about half the price and my husband loves their coffee cakes so I indulge. Butter for baking and sugar and flour are also less expensive and of good quality.

Last summer many of my flowering plants came from Aldi's they usually arrive on Thur. morning and there is always a great rush, so be prepared. My Easter lilies and Christmas flowers also come from the store. I can buy more because they are so inexpensive and any one who knows me, knows that flowers are my guilty pleasure.

This past holiday season I even purchased a crown pork loin roast and served it to guests and they raved about how good it was.

Now for a few tips if you want to save some money, shop Aldi's early in the day for best selection. Bring cash as they do not take checks, but recently began to take debit cards. Have a quarter ready for the grocery cart, you get it back when you return it to the stall. And bring your own bags, you can purchase them at the store for 5 cents, but hey you want to save some money here!

As my grandmother would say,"watch your nickels and dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves." Aldi's helps.

Buon appetito,

Carmela Tursi Hobbins