Aldi is now carrying ORGANIC! Today was the 1st day and of course I had to go and check it out. I used to shop at Aldi when I first stopped working outside of the house to become a stay at home mom. We reeeally missed my income and one effort to compensate was to shop at Aldi's.
Then after some time, we started to buy and eat organic and Aldi had nothing for me in the organic area. So, we slowly left Aldi and went to Meijer.
Now I am thrilled to find out (Thank you Tammy!!) that Aldi has a new line called "Simply Nature." And most of it is organic. Still read your labels though. Just because it says organic doesn't mean it is healthy for you and me. And some of the Simply Nature is "natural" which DOES NOT mean organic. Natural is just a pretty word for this still may have pesticides in it.
But as far as cheese and frozen fruit goes, Aldi's gets 2 thumbs up from me. Here's why....
First, I could not believe that Aldi carries KerryGold. When I can't find cheese made from raw milk KerryGold is my second in line (they also have amazing butter that I buy at Costco). All KerryGold cheese and butter is made in Ireland from cows who are only grass fed. Aldi carries two KerryGold cheeses. One is 7oz of Blarney Castle for $1.99 (which is a smooth and mild Gouda) and the second is a 7oz Dubliner cheese with Irish Stout for $3.99(oh how I used to love Guinness!). I can't wait to try both of them. (Meijer sells a KerryGold cheddar and I believe it is $5.99 for 7oz).
Then, I still can't believe this one! Aldi carries an 8oz block of Simply Nature Sharp Raw Milk Cheddar Cheese that is also organic for $3.49! WHAT!? Heaven. And we had it for lunch today, it is delicious (kids did not care for it but I thought it was divine). I am sure they will not complain when it is melted down for their cheese quesadillas. :-)
On to the frozen fruit. I usually buy my organic frozen fruit from Meijer. Not any longer. First, they are no longer carrying organic blueberries and second Aldi has Meijer beat hands down on price.
Meijer sells a 10oz bag of organic frozen strawberries for $3.99. Aldi has a 12oz bag of organic frozen strawberries for $2.39!! Rock on!! We use organic strawberries in our Kombucha and Christmas Jam, so this is going to save us a ton! Aldi's organic frozen blueberries are $3.49 for 12oz.
I also splurged and bought the kids some frozen organic fruit bars for $2.69 (4 per box). Ingredients do include organic sugar, guar gum and xanthan gum. Fyi.
They also carry organic yogurt (dairy has to be bought organic or don't eat it!!), pasta sauce, spaghetti, linguine, string cheese, olive oil, apple juice and chicken broth. Comment below if you want specific prices or look at their ad online.
I also bought a jar of spaghetti sauce, chicken broth (I always have some on hand if I run out of my homemade broth) and string cheese to try.
Here is a "chart" for those of you who like charts. :-)
Aldi Meijer
KerryGold Dubliner Cheese w/ Irish Stout 7oz $3.99
KerryGold Blarney Castle Cheese (gouda) 7oz $1.99
Organic Raw Sharp Cheddar 8oz $3.49
Organic Frozen Strawberries $2.39 (12oz) $3.99 (10oz)
Organic Frozen Blueberries $3.49
Organic Frozen Red Raspberries $3.79 (10oz)
Happy shopping!
Posts
Be weary of grass fed butter, and other items that are not organic.Countries do get feed for their animals from the USA. As a matter of fact we make most of the world's soybeans. Since the USA's primary animal feed is soy and corn, most cows are fed this in the winter months. These are mainly GMO, thanks to Monsanto and the Gov't close tie to this company needless to say having these ex Monsanto people on their staff. Unfortunately, they do not want GMO labeling even though most countries now have it and have freedom to choose to know what is in their food. This beats adding carrots and celery to school menus, I think!!Studies in rats have shown tumor growths and obesity linked to GMO's. Now Alphalpha has just been approved to be a GMO product which is discouraging because many products as labeled as grass fed could be eating Alphalpha from the good ol USA.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
DeleteI emailed Kerrygold and this was their reply....
"Thank you for your interest in Kerrygold. We're happy to report there has been no change to our cows' diet or to our Kerrygold butter. Irish dairy cows continue to enjoy a healthy grass based diet 365 days a year. For over 300 of these days our cows graze outdoors in green fields. No other consumer butter with such widespread appeal as Kerrygold, can make this claim. In fact it is our cows' grass based diet that gives Kerrygold its rich yellow color and distinctive taste.
While our cows' diet is overwhelmingly grass and forage based, our dairy farmers feed small amounts of dairy ration during the year to maintain their cows' health and well-being. The majority of this supplementary feed is grown locally with a very small percentage imported. The imported element is predominantly corn or distillers grain which can be difficult to grow in Ireland’s temperate, rainy climate. From time to time a small percentage of this feed may contain GMO. We feel it is important to stress that no GMO ingredients are used in any of our products.
It has to be said, we’re incredibly proud of our traditional family farms and of our sustainable, low-carbon, grass-based dairy system. To learn more about Irish farming practices you can visit our website or email us at kerrygold@idbusa.com.
Megan Huber
Marketing Manager
...................................
Irish Dairy Board, Inc.
(P) 847-492-8432"
To be honest, this is ok with me. :-)
I do agree with you 100%. GMO is out of control. And we should not be eating GMO. But if we ever eat out, we are probably eating GMO. I don't know your beliefs, but I will tell you that I pray over our food before we eat it, GMO or organic and ask God to cleanse it, purify it and restore it back to the way HE intended the food to be nutritionally, before we eat. I do my part the best that I can as a green consumer.
Thanks for sharing!!
Keep striving to be GREEN!
Blessings, Kerri
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteExcellent comment.
I contacted KerryGold and this is what they said...
"The vast majority of an Irish cow’s diet, almost 90%, is from rich, natural grass. Like so much of what we Irish dairy farmers do, the feeding pattern follows the cycle of nature. During the winter, when grasses stop growing, Irish cows are fed dried grass (known as silage). This grass is grown throughout the year, cut fresh and stored to be used when the winter comes.
Supplementary feed makes up about 10% of a cow’s diet. The majority of the cow’s supplementary feed is from locally grown Irish crops, such as wheat and barley. The balance of this feed can be composed of distillers grain (rapeseed, soy and citrus pulp – a blend of dried peel, pulp and seeds of oranges, grapefruit and other citrus fruit)."
You do make a great point. But as far as I can research I am comfortable buying KerryGold. Honestly, it is the only butter or cheese I will buy that is not organic.
Sarah Pope, who writes for The Healthy Home Economist blog is a supporter of KerryGold too, when she cannot get raw cheese and butter from her local farmer.
Thanks for reading and for your comment!
Do you know the source for Aldi's organic butter? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't sorry. Ours quit carrying the organic line and I haven't been back in there since. Does your Aldi carry organic butter on a regular basis? I either buy Raw butter where we get our Raw milk or buy KerryGold grassfed butter from Costco.
DeleteYes, we do get the organic butter, but not regularly. I would feel more comfortable buying it if it was source verified. I will look into it some more and see. We usually do whole foods, but the butter is ridiculously expensive.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to comment that Aldi was only testing their Organic line earlier this year. They have now decided to make the line PERMANENT! Check back at your local Aldi, the organic items may be back! :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! Thank you so much for updating!
DeleteI had checked into organic chicken broth at Auldi and thus far found that their I'd no patent in the US, for that brand. The legal site comes up and they have info to contact them EU etc.. I have found it difficult to find non GMO broth as organic does not mean non GMO due to feed. Milk and eggs ditto....... Pacific brand thus far is on the list of non GMO certified and by the way they have online store. Appreciate feed back and your finds thanks ahead .
Deletei want to know if the organic milk in the fruit coconut icecream bars which are smily nature is pasturized milk?
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, I would venture to say that it is most likely homogenized and pasteurized. I will look the next time I go. Thanks for reading! Kerri
DeleteBe careful! I just noticed that the "Organic" frozen strawberries I purchased from Aldi are a product of China. I have read that foods that carry the "USDA Organic" label from China are not reliable because they are certified in China instead of the US. They might even contain a lot of contaminates from the tainted water supply in China. I will be contacting Aldi about this.
ReplyDeleteMoni thanks for Catching that USDA Does Not Mean U.S. it could mean China or Mexico which have Tainted Water Supplies!
DeleteHi Moni! What did Aldi say? This one is a tough one for me. What do we do? Do we buy conventional produce that is grown in the USA with pesticides? Or do we buy organic produce grown in China or Mexico? It's a toss up. Obviosuly, I would prefer USDA organic from the USA. Keep striving for GREEN! Blessings, Kerri
DeleteI will start to shop Aldi's for the first time in my life because they have Organic!
ReplyDeleteWonderful!! Stay GREEN! Kerri
DeleteIs their frozen broccoli from Mexico tainted with boric acid or some other pesticide? Would like to know, if possible or if you have heard of products from Mexico and their exposure to chemicals like pesticides! Thank you in advance!
ReplyDeleteHowdy! I could have sworn I've visited this blog before
ReplyDeletebut after going through many of the posts I realized it's new to
me. Nonetheless, I'm definitely delighted I stumbled upon it and I'll be
bookmarking it and checking back often!
Welcome! Glad to have you here!
DeleteKeep striving for GREEN! Kerri