Best items in Lidl, Grand opening of store in Charlottesville, Virginia

Since the grand opening of Lidl Food Market in Charlottesville, Virginia on July 14, I've been exploring their unique options. The first trip into the store I was a little overwhelmed by the layout and offerings. But the seduction of a register coupon for $10.00 off when you purchase $30.00 was enticing so I came back the following week.

My positive experiences with Lidl (pronounced Leedl) encouraged me to blog about our new store and some of the best tasting products that I have discovered thus far. I specifically hunt for items with limited ingredients or that are organic. Many of the tasty items of course contain sugar but my picks generally do not have an obnoxious amount. I will leave label analysis up to each of my readers.

The second time in the store was easier to navigate. During this trip I roamed through the non-food items that include kitchen and home goods plus a little clothing. I was shocked to discover they had tall back chair cushions that might fit my 1980's retro outdoor patio furniture. I gave up years ago on trying to find them but took one home for a fitting. Presuming I was on the only person on the planet that needed to fit this style of chair I waited until the following week to buy the other matching three. Sadly when I returned, they were all scarfed up! This led me to contact Lidl.com, who responded immediately and directed me to other nearby stores that had this item in stock. I was thrilled at the quality and great pricing of this item!

I'm totally hooked on the pack of four light and fluffy brioche burger buns. They toast up really quickly so beware, they can burn easily. Hands down better than any other plain bun that I've eaten and a nice quantity for households that don't have a large family. There also is an inhouse bakery that churns out a lot of different breads and pastries. None of which I've tried so there could be some really nice options here as well. 

I should mention the layout of our store, when you enter you will find produce and seafood freezers. The rest of the frozen food wraps around the entire back and other side of the store. Finding other packaged dinners, ice cream and veggies on the opposite side of the store near the check out lines.

Another favorite is the Lidl labeled Whole Wheat and 12 Grain Bread. My husband loves both of these pan sized breads and the price is incredible. The only downside is that they are not organic but I don't always purchase organic bread so it's not a deal breaker for us.

There were not a lot of organic produce options. Lidl advertises they provide the lowest prices so possibly this is a difficult task when supplying organic but one would presume consumers would realize organic sadly often costs more. Hoping the Charlottesville market will encourage Lidl on this front for future offerings.

Also stocked is refrigerated Lidl Orange Strawberry Banana Juice. I never drink any packaged juices but we had company in town and did serve this with breakfast and it was a sweet not overly banana in flavor blend. It was one of my few shocking amounts of sugar items (all bottled fruit juices will be) but was pleased that it was organic.

Next row over is the specialty imported item section. Mainly sweet treats, teas, coffee, oils, and jarred items. I found a nice bottle of  Grapeseed Oil. The only return that I made was for an organic bag of coffee that I found very acid leaving a very unsatisfactory, undrinkable taste in my mouth. I would not purchase again either of the organic coffees they offer. Lidl is a German company so possibly in Germany they prefer a more acid coffee. I disliked it immensely. Lidl has a 100% satisfaction guarantee in all their 10,500 stores, so you can always bring back what doesn't float your boat.

Lidl operates in 29 countries around the world.

In the specialty section we found two items that our household hands down loved. The number one sweet treat was the dark chocolate topped butter cookies. I even made a Smore out of 2 of them and it was fabulous. I purchased the Chocolate chip Shortbread cookies out of desperation when they were out of my number one choice and they too were very nice. Fortunately, I was glad to find the butter cookies in stock when I went back the following week! 

 

A few more honorable mentions; I was happy to find Lidl labeled organic apple sauce which was excellent! The organic Planet Oat Oatmilk is very nice and does not contain added sugar or Sunflower oil which is always a negative for me as that particular oil is highly inflammatory. The organic eggs are reasonably priced and are in recyclable cardboard - YAY! The Lidl flavored seltzers are tasty - mango and grapefruit I've tried and are nice. Happy to see bottled gallon jugs of Drinking Water that I need for my one sensitive stomach cat :) The box of 40 green tea bags has a decent flavor for bagged tea (I typically drink loose tea but nice to have a back up). The Lidl small chunk light canned tuna in water also has a nice pleasing flavor. Beyond Meat Sausage patties and a decent tasting Falafel are in the freezer section. Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies make my husband happy.

A few more items that I would like to try have been sold out. Understandable for a new store opening trying to gauge consumer likes and dislikes. No worries, I'm hooked so will be back!

I remember going into Trader Joe's for the first time and saying I didn't get what all the excitement was about. It seems we often think this way until we get used to the store layout and their offerings. I've changed my mind in both instances about Trader Joe's and Lidl. Give it a try a few times - leave a comment about your Lidl favorites so others can give them a try!

~Rebecca 

The Peony Flower

Red single Peony on Forsythia Hill

Is the Peony the perfect flower? It is very difficult for a plant lover to narrow the list down to just one Species but when thinking about how much delight a Peony blossom brings and weighing it against the others, it just might come out narrowly ahead. The top competitors in my garden are perennial Iris, Daffodil, Hibiscus, Lily, Daylily, Rose, Dianthus, and Primrose.

Pale Pink Tree Peony, 50 + yrs old in Ted's Cville Garden

Peonies are long lived, being recorded to live in flower beds for centuries. This Peony Garden article published by China Daily talks about plants over 100 years old and one 170 years old!

Top competitor, My Grandmothers Primrose, 50 + yrs old

Also long lived are Daffodils, Primrose, and Iris. I have some that my Grandmother planted 50+ years ago. I LOVE Dianthus and at one time collected it but they don't make it from year to year in my garden. Store away a little seed each year, from non-hybrids, to ensure you have a backup plan if they peter out.

Climbing Rose, Seven Sisters, on my trellis on Forsythia Hill

Roses are breathtaking and I have several, but once again, it all depends on the type of Rose as to its longevity. I tend to go for Climbers, Grandiflora, or Rugosa as for me they are easy to grow and require only pruning to keep alive and happy. Generally, if it does not have a glorious scent then I am not interested.

Faithful perennial Hibiscus, stunning in its own right

Daffodils are by far my favorite Spring bloomer and I collect them as well but most don't have the color variety or size like the Peony to make you GASP. Perennial Hibiscus is also a knock out plant that lives many years in the garden but it doesn't have the layers of petals like the Peony. Lilies and Daylilies come in all sorts of varieties and seem to last a very long time as well but I go back to the massive pillowy layers of petals in the Peony that brings out romance and reminds me of the finest of old fashioned floral arrangements.

This Double Peony head is heavy and will kiss the ground

My only complaint about the Peony is that often the big doubles get so top heavy they sink to the ground when it rains. To assist, I shake mine off and fluff them up. Also planting a few other clumps of Summer blooming sturdy plants in front of them helps to prop them up. That is one reason I lean toward the single Peony. It has less weight and is more upright. In my collection I have a Red and a single Pink that was my Grandmothers, planted at least 60 years ago and in appearance to the original Peony that all were bred from.

I don't have any Tree Peonies because they are so ungodly expensive but hopefully one day someone will want to share!

Glorious Single Hot Pink Peony on Forsythia Hill

After the Peony bloom dies, you can cut off just the bloom and leave the foliage (never cut this down because like Daffodils it provides needed energy for next years blooms) until it withers away. The leaves are actually very pretty as well and can provide a nice backdrop for small Summer bloomers.

What can outshine a faithful plant that returns each year, blooms its head off, and provides such delight. I would love to know!

-Rebecca

A Few of My Favorite Food Products

Currently there is a big push to EAT basic HEALTHY foods and buy locally.  I definitely agree with that mantra but lets face it, sometimes convenience foods come to the rescue when you just can't manage it all.  My main objective is to find prepackaged foods that are not full of sugar, salt, and chemicals that you can't pronounce.  The least number of ingredients and natural ingredients.  If it says Yogurt, then milk better be the first ingredient and I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup.  The most heavily used ingredients are listed in the first several slots in the ingredient list on the package.

Here are a few of my very favorite convenience foods that you might want to try.  I would love to know what you can't live without that doesn't contain a bunch of horrible ingredients ... leave a comment!

To reduce my dairy consumption (for pro-humane animal treatment - I don't have my own cow named Daisy) I switched to Almond Milk years ago.  I have found it can be swapped in baking without a taste or texture alteration.  If you like to chug milk in a glass with your Oreo's then I would recommend sticking to dairy milk.  The taste is just not the same, BUT a good substitute for that purpose is Silk Dark Chocolate PureAlmond Milk.  It is different but pretty darn good.  Coconut Milk is all the rage now and is basically equivalent in baking, but check the fat % before buying, sometimes it can be higher than Almond Milk.

I still have a weakness for dairy based Yogurt.  I have tried many different yogurts over the years and have found The Greek Gods Honey Flavored to be the absolute most delicious yogurt on the market.  It does have a higher fat % than some other comparable yogurts but this is my daily indulgence.  I pile it on my Oatmeal each morning and it is like butter on a cake.  It is my last dairy based item because I have yet to find anything non-dairy comparable.

I discovered several frozen faux meat products that even my husband loves!  My favorite veggie burger is Morningstar Farms Mushroom Lovers.  I've tried it seems every brand of frozen faux burger on the market but this is the only one that holds up on the grill and tastes BETTER than a grocery store meat burger.  If you like a big huge pile of meat, this will not satisfy you, but if you like a thin burger loaded with condiments, then this is the ticket.  The other Morningstar varieties are not as tasty.

Gardenin Crispy Tenders and Quorn Grounds, and Quorn Chikin Cheese Cutlets are abfab.  When you are enjoying your dinner, you can be relieved that this was never a factory farmed chicken or cow in a prior life.

I often match my faux meat with a side of homemade beans, salad, or to save time, grill some colorful veggies right in the pan with the frozen meat.

Making wise shopping decisions is your first step to improving your health and our planet.  Some faux meat products contain way too many weird ingredients so look at the label before purchasing.

May be eating meat free is new to you, so start with "Meatless Monday" and give some of my suggestions a try and comment on my blog as to what you thought!

-Rebecca