If you’re looking for cheap groceries then Lidl is a great place to shop. I find the vegetables are always good quality and don’t go off overnight. Even the fruit is often better (taste-wise) than the fruit I get at markets and bigger name grocery stores... Other than that Lidl is an odd place because it is filled to the brim with a bizarre selection of unfamiliar products often packaged in unappealing bargain boxes.
BUT, don’t let the budget appearance put you off. As food allergy shoppers we must leave no stone unturned! I’ve been doing a lot of browsing and label reading in Lidl and although there are not many Gluten Free foods there are a lot of Dairy Free bits and pieces to be found. Some seem completely free while others have
‘may contain’ warnings for the dairy free gamblers who live life on the wild side.
Lidl's highlights for me are:
-
Goody Special Muesli Luxury Fruit & Nut which is truly top notch, Peanut Free and amazingly affordable for muesli!! (If memory serves me correctly €1.89?!)
-
Dulano Beech Smoked Spicy Salami because before I stopped eating Pork cured meats were one of my FAVOURITE things but they're hard to get Dairy Free.
-
BelBake Marble Sponge Cake which I forgot to get the ingredients for but definitely contains egg and has a
may contain milk warning but if you are a gambler and like maderia cake then this is the cake for you! (Similar to the Belbake Double Chocolate Chip Sponge Cake)
The biggest put off for me are the number of outrageous, hard to pronounce ingredients in many of the ready-made foods such as the 'Sausage Rolls' and the 'Doner Kebabs'!
Also, some of the foods are scary and totally unnatural sounding/looking such as the 'Belbake Pancakes Mix’it' which comes in a bottle and the 'Harvest Basket Instant Mashed Potato with Nutmeg'... Call me old fashioned but mashed potato should not come in a box!
For all you coffee table browsers I’ve listed a few of my findings below in case you like to get your weekly shop done a bit faster and don’t have all day to read food labels in the store!
Belbake Pancakes Mix’it
*Dairy Free Adaptable
wheat flour, sugar whole egg powder, glucose syrup, flavouring, iodised salt (salt, potassium iodate)
Belbake Maderia Sponge
*May contain traces of nuts, peanuts, milk and soya
Sugar; Whole Egg; Wheat Flour; Vegetable Fats; Wheat Starch; Humectant: Glycerol; Rice Flour; Vegetable Oils; Glucose-Fructose Syrup (from wheat); Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder 1%; Raising Agents: Disodium Diphosphate; Sodium Bicarbonate; Acidity Regulator: Sodium Acetates; Salt; Emulsifiers: Monodiglycerides of Fatty Acids: Natural Flavouring.
Bridge Bakery Traditional Tea Brack
*Contains Glutenm Egg and Wheat.
*Made in a factory that handles nuts, soya, milk
Vine Fruits 38%, Tea 24%, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Egg, Mixed Peel (Orange Peel, Glucose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Acidity Regulator, Citric Acid, Preservative: Sulphur Dioxide), Molasses, Salt, Mixed Spices, Raising Agent: Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, Perservative: Potassium Sorbate.
Sausage Rolls
*May contain celery, eggs, milk, milk products, mustard, nuts and soya
Pork, Wheat flour, Water, Margarine (vegetable oils & Fats, Water, Salt, Emulsifier: Mono & Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Rusk (Wheat Flour, Salt, Ammonium Carbonate), Salt, Seasoning (Flavourings, Diphosphates (E450i, E450iii), Dextrose, Sodium Metabisulphite, Yeast Extract, Sodium Citrate, Antioxidant, Sodium Ascorbate, Colour: Carmines), Dextrin, Dextrose, Roasted Barley Malt Extract, Colour: Annatto
Doner Kebabs
*May contain traces of Celery, Egg, Milk, Mustard and Sesame
Seasoned Cooked Doner Meat (50%): (Lamb (39%), Mutton (39%), Seasoning [Salt, Sugar, Rusk (Wheat Flour, Salt), Wheat Flour, Spices, Stabiliser: Diphosphates; Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein, Herbs, Colour: Paprika Extract; Spice Extracts, Garlic Extract], Rusk [Wheat Flour, Salt, Raising Agent: Ammonium Carbonates], Soya Protein, Lamb Fat0, Pitta Bread (41%) (Wheat Flour, Yeast, Salt, Soya Flour, Wheat Starch, Preservative: Calcium Propionate; Flour Treatment Agent: L-Cysteine Hydrochloride), Chilli Sauce (9%) (Tomato Pureé, Sugar, Spirit Vinegar, Acetic Acid, Salt, Chilli Powder, Thickener: Xanthan Gum; Preservative: Potassium Sorbate; Ground Paprika).
Belbake Double Chocolate Chip Sponge Cake
*Contains Wheat, Gluten Egg and Soya
*May contain traces of nuts, peanuts and milk
Ingredients: Sugar, Whole Egg, Wheat /flour, Vegetable Fats, Vegetable Oils, Fat Reduced Cocoa 3.8%, Rice Flour, Humectant: Glycerol; Glucose-Fructose Syrup (from wheat), Cocoa Mass, Emulsifiers: Mono & Diglycerides of Fatty Acids, Soya Lecithins; Salt, Raising Agents: Disodium Bicarbonate; Acidity Regulator: Sodium Acetates; Citric Acid, Natural Flavouring, Cocoa Butter
Linessa Sorbet - Banana
*Gluten free
*Dairy free (may contain traces of milk)
Water; Banana Pureé; Sugar; Glucose Syrup; Stabliiser: Locust Bean Gum; Thickener: pectins; Citric Acid; Colour: Beta Carotene; Flavouring
Kanpur Garden Chicken Balti with Pilau Rice
Cooked Pilau Rice (44%): Water, Basmati Rice, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Garlic Pureé, Salt, Tumeric, Cumin Seeds, Cardamom Seed; Balti Sauce (36%): Water, Onion, Red Peppers, Tomato, Rapeseed Oil, Tomato Pureé, Spinach, Garlic Pureé, Ginger Pureé, Jaggery Sugar, Mango Chutney (Sugar, Mango, Sugarcane Vinegar, Salt, Chilli Powder, Ginger Powder, Garlic Powder), Coriander, Maize Starch; Chicken Stock (contains: Chicken Stock, Yeast Extract, Salt, Lemon Juice Concentrate, White Wine Vinegar, CArrot, Onion, Red Pepper, Rosemary, Bay Pepper, Star Aniseed), Ground Cumin, Salt, Ground Coriander, Ground Chilli, Cumin Seed, Ground Turmeric, Fenugreek; Cooked Chicken Breast (20%): Chicken, Water, Salt
Kanpur Garden Chicken Jalfrezi with Pilau Rice
Cooked Pilau Rice (44%): Water, Basmati Rice, Onion, Rapeseed Oil, Garlic Pureé, Salt, Turmeric, Cumin Seeds, Cardamon Seeds; Jalfrezi Sauce (36%): Onion (6%), Tomato, Water, Red Peppers (4%), Green Peppers (4%), Rapessed Oil, Tomato Pureé, Coriander Stem, Chicken Stock (contains Chick Stock, Yeast Extract, Salt, Lemon Juice Concentrate, White Wine Vinegar, Carrot, Onion, Red Pepper, Rosemary, Bay, Pepper, Star Aniseed), Jaggery Sugar, Garlic Pureé, Chillies, Salt, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Ground Chilli, Garam Masala (Corainder, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Spices, Ginger, Clove, Spice Extract, Bay Leaf), Cumin Seed, Ground Turmeric; Cooked Chicken Breast (20%): Chicken, Water, Salt
Harvest Basket Instant Mashed Potato with Nutmeg
*May contain traces of milk
Ingredients: Dried Potatoes 97%; Salt; Emulsifier: Mono and Diglycerides of fatty acids; Stabiliser: Sodium Diphosphate; Spice Extracts: Nutmeg, Turmeric; Preservative: Sodium Metabisulphite; Antioxidant: Ascorbyl Palmitate; Citric Acid.
Goody Special Museli Luxury Fruit & Nut
*Contains Nuts, Seeds, Gluten, Wheat, Sulphur Dioxide
*May contain traces of Sesame Seeds
Raisins, Sultanas, Sweet Dried Pineapple (Citric Acid, Sulphur Dioxide), Sweet Dried Banana (Banana, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Flavouring), Dates, Sweet Dried Papaya (Sulphur Dioxide), Oat Flakes, Barley Flakes, Nuts (Raw Coconut, Almonds, Roasted Hazelnuts, Pecan Nuts), Toasted & Malted Wheat Flakes, Pumpkin Seeds.
Dulano Chorizo Spanish Style
Pork, Iodised Salt, Paprika, Spices, Spice Extracts, Destrose, Perservative: Sodium Nitrite
Dulano Beech Smoked Spicy Salami
*May contain traces of Mustard
Pork, Iodised Salt, Glucose Syrup, Spices, Antioxidants, Ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbate; Perservative: Sodium Nitrate
Bridge Bakery Traditional Tea Brack
*Contains Gluten, Egg and Wheat
*Made in a factory that handles nuts, soya, milk
Ingredients: Vine Fruits 28%, Tea 24%, Wheat flour, Sugar, Egg, Mixed Peel (Orange Peel, Glucose Syrup, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Acidity Regulator: Citric Acid, Perservative: Sulphur Dioxide), Molasses, Salt, Mixed Spices, Raising Agent: Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, Perservative: Potassium Sorbate.
Rivercote Sliced Rye Bread with Wholegrain
*Contains Gluten, Rye, Sesame and Wheat. Suitable for vegetarians, no added preservatives
Ingredients: Coarse Wholegrain Rye, Water, Natural Sourdough (Wholegrain Rye, Water), Wheat Flour, Salt, Yeast, Sesame Seeds.
p.s. Note: If you can tolerate Goats milk there is some pretty good value cheese in Lidl too:
Goats Cheese
Slices €2.79
Wedge €3.53
Soft €1.99
