The Vegan Supermarket Shopping Challenge!

Week 1 Aldi

Have you ever wondered in chain stores that operate in different countries offer the same goods and if they do offer the same goods, are they the same prices?  

Last week, two Instagram vegan bloggers, @louisamoss (me!) in Dublin and @yesdaveitsvegan in Essex started the #vegansupermarketchallenge.  Both had the same shopping list, on the same day, one shopping in a Dublin Aldi store and one in Aldi in Essex, England.

Which store do you think was cheaper? 

Well, most of the products were cheaper in Aldi UK – we were surprised by this because Aldi is an EU shop and well, you know, Britain, well, we won't mention the B word.

If you compare the lists you will see that the spinach and strawberries seemed cheaper in Ireland, but they were smaller pack sizes so were in fact, more expensive.

The only item that was cheaper in Ireland was Tortilla Chips!

 

Here is the price comparison.

                                                                        UK - pounds                                                 IRL-euro

Vegan Ice -cream                                         1.49                                                                2.49

Oat Drink                                                       .79                                                                  1.29

Baby Spinach                                                .99                                                                  .69*

Baby Plum Tomatoes                                  .85                                                                  1.29

Yogurt Errity                                                 1.79                                                                n/a

Vegan Puddings                                           1.79                                                                2.49

Strawberries                                                 2.69                                                                2.99*

Caramel Biscuits                                           .69                                                                  .99

Tortilla Chips                                                 .45                                                                  .34

Bread White Toastie                                       .45                                                                  n/a

Vegan Brioche                                              .99                                                                  n/a

 

*UK spinach was 200g, Ireland was 90g, UK strawberries were 400g, Ireland was 340g.

I hear that @louisamoss is still devastated about the lack of vegan brioches!

So, let’s convert the prices of the items that were the same from UK into euro using today’s exchange rate.

 

UK - euro                                                       IRL-euro

Vegan Ice -cream                                         1.71                                                                2.49

Oat Drink                                                       .91                                                                  1.29

Baby Plum Tomatoes                                  .98                                                                  1.29

Vegan Puddings                                           2.06                                                                2.49

Caramel Biscuits                                           .79                                                                  .99

Tortilla Chips                                                .52                                                                  .34

 

Total                                                               6.97                                                                8.89

 

So that’s a difference of nearly two euro on 6 low-cost items! 

Ireland was more expensive!

 

We will be continuing our research because it was so much fun!  And let’s face it, in these lockdown times, safe, essential fun is hard to find!  Follow us on Instagram @louisamoss and @yesdaveitsvegan for more comparisons!

 

 

 

 Carrot and coriander soup

Serves 6, 13 minutes in the Instant Pot, QPR

30 minutes including prep time

Serves 6 medium portions or 4 large portions

8 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

250g split red lentils, washed and drained

water

ground coriander

salt

coriander leaf 

A dessert spoon of olive oil if you wish

Add chopped onion, garlic, carrot, potato, salt and ground coriander to the IP and stir, add a little olive oil if you like.

Add split red lentils and 1.5 times as much water.  

Set IP to 13 mins high pressure.  QPR

Blitz with a hand blender.  Add seasoning, extra water and dried or fresh coriander leaf.

Enjoy <3

 Lentils with Orzo - Instant Pot detail at the end

Traditional Cypriot recipe given to my mum by a friend in Cyprus

Serves 4

250gr brown lentils, washed, soaked for 2 hours and drained

2 large onions, chopped

Olive oil - the recipe calls for 6 tablespoons

4 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled

1 litre of water

150gr orzo

salt and pepper

dried herbs of your choice

lemon juice to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.

Cook onions until golden

Add tomatoes and cook for five minutes

Add lentils and the water and bring to the oil

Cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until lentils are tender

Add the orzo and seasoning.  Simmer for 20 minutes, adding more hot water if necessary to prevent sticking.  

Pour freshly squeezed lemon juice on to serve

Nice with shredded steamed or boiled cabbage

Instant Pot changes!

I used a dessertspoon of olive oil with the onion and garlic, whizzed 250g of cherry tomatoes in the mini chopper and added them with some salt and a little extra cold water.  I sauteed for a few mins on high.  Added the brown lentils and 1.5 times volume water and cooked at high pressure 15 mins.  Then added a little bit more water with the orzo and sauteed for a few mins then left it on keep warm with the lid on for 20 mins.  Perfect!