I did get to Aldi as I had hoped and got a pretty great haul! I obviously had to share it with you so I have some pictures of that. I also took some pics of food I ate and I really wanted to share the lunch I had with my friend yesterday. It was so nice to see her and I'm so glad we were able to get together!
Up first I have the Aldi haul. I am going to put prices there so you can get an idea of the price as compared to regular stores.
Almond Milk ($2.29), Wheat Thins ($1.69), Green Pea Crisps ($1.39 for a pretty large bag), VEGAN CHOCOLATE FREAKING CAKE aka the reason I went in the first place ($7.49 - pricey for Aldi, average for vegan cake), 2x Chickenless patties ($3.29 each), Veggie Chips ($1.69), 2x garbanzo beans ($.69 each), 2x Vegan Cream Cheese ($2.39 each), Vegan Mozzarella Shreds ($3.29).
Vine Tomatoes ($1.49), Zucchini ($1.69), Asparagus ($2.39), Bag o' mini potatoes ($3.89), Mushrooms ($1.09), Bag of pink lady apples ($3.69).
As you can see, some of the price are amazing and some are fairly average. The pricing on the vegan products are very good, particularly compared to name brands like Gardein. I heard that the cream cheese is basically like Tofutti and that is a great price for tofutti. Tofutti also happens to be my favorite vegan cream cheese so double win. That's why I picked up 2 of them. I also have only heard great things about chickenless patties which is why I picked up 2 of those. I've heard mixed reviews on the shreds so I only grabbed one of those.
We (I went with my mom) went first thing in the morning so when I got home I had breakfast and tried the cream cheese and it indeed was basically Tofutti. That was a great deal and I'm glad I picked up 2! The date on the container was really good so it should last me a while.
As I mentioned, I met up with my friend for lunch yesterday. There is a new vegan/vegetarian restaurant that opened fairly near me that I haven't yet had a chance to try. She was down for trying some veg food so we headed over to Zen Garden for lunch.
They have a prix fixed lunch menu that comes with an entree, soup and rice. I was torn between the hot and sour soup (typically my favorite soup) and the wonton. I chose the wonton soup because my meal was going to be spicy (supposedly, ha) and it was really light and delicious. I ate both wontons but left about half of the broth to save room for my meal!
For my entree I chose the Eggplant with "Chicken" in Garlic Sauce and subbed out the bell peppers for broccoli. It was DELICOUS!!! I came with rice and I chose white rice. The veggies were cooked perfectly, the soy chicken was amazing and the sauce was really great. It wasn't super spicy but it had enough of a kick that it was satisfying the spicy craving.
Despite being stuffed we were right across the street from my favorite bubble tea place so we popped over to grab a bubble tea! I got a medium (which is the smallest so it's funny that they call it a medium) peach pulp tea with 50% sweetness and boba. Such a great way to finish the meal.
We caught up and had a great time in general. I love hanging out with her and hopefully we can make it a more frequent occurrence.
I wanted to have a lighter dinner that night so I made a snacks mediterranean plate. I had a few carrots, the last of my dolma, a small pink lady apple, some tomato and hummus. It was delicious.
I made another bento for lunch today and had to take a picture to share with you. I have the leftovers of my lunch yesterday and added my last giant honeycrisp apple and some raw almonds. I'll space all of this out over the course of the day but it all looks so good and I'm very excited to enjoy all of it.
Ok that's everything, finally! I feel like this post was really long but I hope you liked it! I'll be reviewing the Aldi's products as I try them so stay tuned for that! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and that your week is great. I'll see you back here on Friday.
11 comments:
Funny about the bubble tea size. I remember there being a show or movie where a character had an argument over cup sizes (he ordered a small and was told they only had medium, but if medium was the smallest size isn't that a small? sort of deal) I think I am less bothered by that, than when I worked at a coffee shop and people would order a tall (we did small, medium, and large) and then get mad because they didn't get the large. It's like if you are going to use someone else's ordering system, then know the names of the sizes! lol
I can't wait to see what you think of that cake! I saw it and was tempted to get it but passed since I've been doing a lot of baking. Wolfie just loves to do it. Plus there are lots of festive things going on, Mother In Law's Birthday (cake), Easter with Grandma (coconut cream pie), bachelorette party (booze, possibly ice cream?), Wedding (um.. like no cake, but will probably bake one so Woflie doesn't miss out XD), and another Easter celebration. Yeah, up to my neck in desserts lol
Great finds at Aldi! I am alllll about the asparagus lately! I actually found this crazy huge like double wide fruit and veg cart on the UWS the other day and he had gorgeous asparagus for $2 a bunch- totally made my day :))
Lunch sounds like a great success all around! Maybe you can make it a standing “date” for to go with her the first monday of the month....? I can’t remember the last time i had wonton soup, I’m always eating out with omnis so the usual places never have a veg one.
I hope your week is going well and you’re feeling better :)
Ttrockwood
The Aldi chickenless patties are AMAZING! The next time you are at Aldi's, look for the chick'n strips, chickenless patties and the vegan meatballs..seriously the best vegan meat replacements I have ever had!
That's a great haul! Sorry about the flare. Glad you had time with your friend and got to eat some yummy restaurant food. The prices at Aldi look higher than the local market I use most often, but are definitely at least on par or lower than most grocery stores near here. Mine doesn't seem to have the chickenless patties, etc., so perhaps I'll never learn about that side of Aldi. Oh, well.
Why did Aldi get so vegan friendly after I moved away??
I've heard great things about the chickenless patties too. I think the vegan shreds are the same as Trader Joe's vegan shreds, which I know a lot of people don't like but I like them. And you can't beat the price.
Great haul and deals.
I used to love wonton soup! Your whole meal looks delicious and I'm so glad you got to catch up with your friend!
Jennifer: It's so funny how sizes differ from place to place, what's wrong with small, medium and large? I just found it amusing that they called the small size a medium… I guess it sounds better than small? I can't wait to try the cake! Maybe I'll try it this weekend, I've heard it is really great! Sounds like you have a lot of fun stuff going on, hooray for all the fun times and treats!
Ttrockwood: I was so happy with this haul and I agree, I've been loving all of the thin asparagus lately! Hooray for spring produce :) Lunch was really great and I'd love to make a standing date, hopefully we'll be able to work our schedules out so we can get together more often. We have an idea for our next adventure so hopefully we can make that happen soon. The wonton soup was really good. I do like the one at Loving Hut in Orlando better but this was still delicious. Thanks! I'm feeling a bit better so being on the mend is always a good thing. <3
Anonymous: I'm so glad to hear they are good, it makes me happy I grabbed two! I saw the tenders and I don't know what I was thinking not grabbing any. I don't think I saw the strips or the meatballs but I'll have to look for them! Thanks for the tips!
The Student-Turned-Doctor: Thanks! It was really nice to see her. The produce prices are pretty on par with my local stores too but the vegan meat replacements are definitely a great deal. Gardein is almost $5 near me so this is a pretty good price comparatively. Sadly everything is really expensive here which is annoying. I hope that you'll be able to find them, they are great to have on hand when you don't feel like cooking.
Hillary: Oh noooooo! That's the worst. I still miss Wegmans which was my grocery store when I was in college. It is the best. I heard the same about the shreds which is why I only got 1. I'm not sure how I feel about that, I remember the TJs shreds being liquidy and goopy. The meal was great and the company was even better :)
That sounds like a lovely lunch with your friend, and the food looks great. I love bubble tea, though the pearls really are so filling!
US Aldi has so much cool stuff! I don't go into Aldi here that often, unless I have a specific product I am going in to get (I love Dutch week when they have the vegan cookie butter spread, and they have a really good ACV that is very reasonably priced as well). Our Aldi's have a few vegan things, but I'd love to eventually see the sort of range that you get there. Very exciting that the cream cheese is like tofutti as well, which is the best vegan cream cheese!
Susan: It was a really nice lunch and the company was even better :) Yes, bubble tea is so filling, I was stuffed after! It's such a great treat though. Yes, Aldi is awesome, they are really stepping up their game in the vegan department! The one thing that I don't like is that things don't last long there so unless it is in their permanent line you likely won't find something you loved the next time you go. I know, Tofutti is the best by far! And the price is so much more reasonable than other brands too.
Awesome hauls and so much good food! I haven't been to Aldi recently; that's so cool about the vegan chocolate cake, and that's great that you liked the vegan cream cheese, too! I'm glad you enjoyed hanging out with your friend; your meal looks amazing, and yay for leftovers!
Julie: Thanks! I am so excited about the chocolate cake! I'm still not sure when I'll get into it but I'm definitely excited. The cream cheese is awesome and a great price! I really enjoyed my lunch with my friend and I'm hoping to be able to meet up with her more often!
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