Could You Eat Reindeer This Christmas? Share a Lidl Magic

Tonight Michael and I went along to probably the most impressive launch night we've been to, as  Lidl NI showcased their range for Christmas 2015.

They had set up a replica Christmas market inside the Life Church in Belfast. Sparkly lights on Christmas trees and stalls brimming with treats. 

The entertainment came in the form of the Bugle Babes. 

So what can we expect in store? As usual Lidl's deluxe range is out of this world, with oysters, chowder and the finest meats. 

Have you ever made one of these gingerbread houses? I've tried. Never again. So thank goodness Lidl have a ready made one you can buy! 

These little desserts are so cute. One is chocolate orange and it tastes amazing. Good idea as a Christmas dinner dessert, when you're so full of turkey & trimmings that you couldn't squeeze a full size dessert in. 

And here it is, the infamous reindeer meat! Could you try it without feeling like you're chowing down on Rudolph? 

My Mum always does a buffet on Boxing Day, so I'm going to have to bring a pack of this and see what everyone's reaction is! 

I realised I had never tried oysters before. They were tasty. 

So there we have it. A little taster of Lidl Christmas 2015. I'm all in a Christmassy mood now. 

Lidl Autumn/Winter Fashion Event- In Stores Starting This Thursday

Lidl launched their first fashion collection last spring, and it was a great success for them. Classic macs, coloured jeggings and smart striped tops all sold out quickly. I really liked their choice of pieces for that season, so I was excited to attend their autumn/winter fashion launch this morning. 

The showcase was held in Belfast's Sixty6 cocktail lounge, at the peak of four or five flights of stairs. I think everyone needed a sit down by the time they got up there! But the trek was worth it, to get a sneaky peek at what will be in our local stores in the coming weeks, starting with  these items this Thursday.

The rest of the collection will be released over the coming weeks until November, so if there is a specific item you've set your heart on, you might have to make weekly Lidl trips to catch it. 

This is the £14.99 leather look jacket I had seen on other blogs from the south and fancied. It's also available in tan which would be my choice. 

And you know I love my leopard. There are tops, fine knit sweater and jeans in leopard print for this winter. 

YI love this tshirt. I'm addicted to stripes so I simply HAVE to get this when it hits my local Bangor store. 

One of my other favourite pieces was the dogtooth wrap. There are wraps coming instore in various colours and designs, and the wool is great quality, it doesn't feel like it would ball up. They'll be £22.99

I love the women's collection but I find the kids wear a bit hit and miss. The quality is fine and the prices are great, but they just don't appeal to my style. This hooded top obviously did though- but I want one in my size! 

The men's wear is great too, and complimentary to the women's looks. 

So here are some of the items that should be instore from this Thursday. The leather look jackets I mentioned and the tan stretch trousers are on my list. 

What's instore this February at Lidl?

Part of the fun of Lidl is never knowing what they'll be selling that week. Yesterday my son was in luck as this super soft, cosy, hooded dressing gown was in our local store for £7.99, with some cool Star Wars slippers for £3.99.

There are also some pretty smart trainers for the coming spring months. 

I rave on Twitter about Lidl's fruit and veg. The quality and prices are amazing compared to the main supermarkets. I find if I buy fresh vegetables from another supermarket, if I don't use them that day or the day after, they go soft or gross really quickly. Lidl fruit and veg is significantly cheaper, and LASTS. I challenge you to do your fresh produce shop there this week, and see the difference for yourself. Especially if you love grapes. Mix and match two punnets for £2; in other supermarkets you wouldn't even get one punnet for £2. 

I also love Lidl for my smoked salmon fix. You get a lot of salmon for your £. These packs with mustard and dill dressing are just £2.29. The little pots of various antipasti are £1.79.  Lazy-mummy pregrated cheese is so handy and it's £1.99 for this big bag.

Lidl has a lot in for Valentines. I don't know if I'll get any Valentines this year yet, so I bought myself my own chocolates! Just £2.99 and very much like Thorton's Continental Selection. 

The Heat, Eat & Enjoy range has been expanded. I picked up the honey roast root veg (£1.79) and the honey mustard ham (£3.99) for a delicious and easy midweek meal. 

Finally, sometimes you just can't beat a dinner of chicken nuggets, chips and beans. Lidl nuggets are just £1.99 for a family pack. 

United Tastes of America at Lidl Week Inspires Me to Serve Everything on Skewers!

It's been American Week at Lidl, with lots of treats in store.

Of course I had to stock up. I don't know if anyone else felt inspired by this Buzzfeed post about skewer food last week, but as a mother of a picky eating six year old, I was keen to try some of the ideas out.

I picked up all the ingredients in my Bangor Lidl store. For savoury skewers for the adults I bought the outstandingly delicious sirloin steaks, a red pepper and baby potatoes.

I simply boiled the potatoes then tossed them in butter. I fried off the red pepper in olive oil, so they still had a little bit of crunch and wouldn't fall apart when I added them to the skewer. The sirloin I chopped into pieces and fried in the super hot pan, adding a dollop of honey thirty seconds before the end to give it a lovely taste. They were SO GOOD.

For my son's savoury skewer I added Belgian waffle quartered, cherry tomatoes in coloured varieties and hotdog sausage chopped up. What do you know, instead of fighting over eating, the novelty of the presentation had this meal demolished in minutes.

The easiest and yummiest looking dessert idea was this brownie one.

I had run out of clean skewers at this point, but for soft foods you can use drinking straws. Also a safer plan if you want to avoid giving six inch metal or wooden spikes to kids! Again these were a success. I might make dozens of these come birthday party time in October.

If you're into your healthy snacks then you can pick up a popcorn maker which uses hot air, not oil, for just £8.99.

For bakers, there are cake pop makers and doughnut makers, £11.99 each. Plus ready made doughnut batter in store.

I also spotted, but didn't pick up, these 'Nutella' filled cookies. If anyone tries them let me know are they worth trying on Twitter, I'm @rudedoodle.

A couple more products caught my eye, some very Ikea-a-like meatballs, and almond tarts. Also fancied this big pork fillet to make pulled pork, it was £4.99.

Another taste-a-like, a bag of Starbucks' type hard waffles for less than the price of one waffle bought in their chain! These are a spot on taste match.

Lastly, you may wonder how I'm even finding time to blog, what with school holidays and no moment of my own anymore, well, Lidl to the rescue once again. For the past hour Michael has been busy colouring in this cardboard playhouse we picked up with our Lidl shop for £7.99!

Don't forget you can check out the Lidl NI website to see what themed offers are coming up in the next few weeks, influding some fab duvets and jammies boys and girls in July.

I Spent £38 in Lidl- See How Much I Got

It seems like if I just walk in the door of Tesco these days I'll be leaving £20 down, even if I've only just called in for something for that night, or break time in school. You know I'm a huge Lidl cheerleader for their Deluxe range and cheaper, good quality fruit and vegetable, but it's increasingly becoming a political issue for me. Everyone is worse off than five or ten years ago, and food prices are increasing by the week. Lidl is the only place I can do a big shop and not be terrified when I get to the checkout.

I was round today to pick up some things for the weekend and spent just around £38. Here is everything I got for that price. I would guess similar products would cost around £50 at LEAST elsewhere. 

Mozzarella sticks (like McDonald's serve!) £1.55

Banana Fritters £2.00

World Cup Pizza £1.29

Potato Gratins £2.00

Pork Rib Rack £2.99

Chicken Wings £1.99  

Strawberries £1.29

Blueberries £1.99

Kinder multi-packs 2 for £2

Cereal Bars £1.39

Tortilla Wraps 89p

Babybel £1.84

Grates Cheddar £1.59

Double Gloucester £1.39

Peanuts in Chocolate 99p

Chocolate Bars 99p

Sparkling juice £1.69

Salsa dip £1.00

Spring Onions 49p

Sweet Baby Peppers 74p

Black Pudding 99p

Bacon £1.49

Get Refreshed for The World Cup with Lidl

It's no secret I've been working with Lidl NI the past 12 months, bringing you posts with bargain and new, exciting products. This however is not a sponsored post.

Over the past year I've gone from visiting Lidl about once a month, to choosing it as my 'big shop' location every fortnight with a couple of visits in between for fresh fruit & veg (& their bargain, beautiful smoked salmon with mustard and dill which I'm addicted to for breakfast). 

If you follow me on Twitter (@rudedoodle) or Instagram you'll see me giving shout outs about what's new in store, as one of my top reasons for shopping Lidl is they get a brand new range in weekly, so there's always specials to try. 

Next up, this Thursday, is their World Cup collection. I'm a sucker for a big event and will be getting some tshirts for the family. I was in store today and they've already got some World Cup themed food in- yes! Plus party packs with plates, cups, plastic cutlery, football whistles etc. for £3.99

I didn't buy these today, but I'll be buying them once the event starts.

Now the days are getting warmer there are some interesting options for keeping hydrated. Many flavours of iced tea, including some zero calorie options. Beautiful with ice and a slice of lemon. 

One of their themes this week is Mexican food, so as well as a selection of spices for 69p each, salsa, taco kits and fajitas, they also have this unusual cactus drink, which someone like me couldn't resist trying at £1 for a litre. 

And what about this water jug? So stylish and looks far more expensive than it's £3.99. There are matching tumblers and salad bowls in two sizes too. All come in either green, clear or deep pink. Lovely for BBQs. 

Finally here are the rest of the World Cup items which should hit stores on Thursday.

Is January EVER Going to End? Lidl Bargains to Tide You Over to Pay Day.

Seriously, January? Christmas was about twelve weeks ago and it's STILL JANUARY. Overdrafts are emptying, tinned cans are being used up for dinners like it's the the end of time, takeaways are but a fleeting lustful thought as we tuck into baked potatoes or stew. 

Hopefully your payday is this week, but here are some every day bargains from Lidl which will save you money on your weekly Big Shop, money left over for their equally well priced wines as a farewell-to-January treat. 

The veg is noticeably cheaper, and the same, or better quality than the big chain stores. 

Chocomoons cereal has a special place in my heart as I was addicted to it when I was pregnant with our son. Eat three bowls in a go. An online friend, Nick, decided to do his big shop at Lidl last week after reading my Lidl Deli post. He says he saved around £30 off his bill, and that the big test would come when his two children tried the cereal. They loved it!

The pre-cooked wings and legs are like the packs you get in M&S. Handy if you can't be bothered cooking. Sit with the tv on and a bowl of wings on your lap. Don't forget the kitchen roll for your hands!

These salsa and sour cream pots are identical to Doritos branded ones. The Lidl version of Cheesestrings are nicer than the real ones, for me. 

The fresh meat and fish selection in store is vast. They use local producers, which helps our local farmers.  Both these packs cost £3.59 each. You'll also find some exotic meats, like partridge and veal. Keep an eye on the freezers.

Go forth and save money!

12 Reasons Why Lidl Should Become Your New Local Deli in 2014

Everyone is too broke to be snobby about Lidl anymore. But take a trolley around the cut price supermarket & you may be pleasantly surprised at the range of products available. One of the reasons I visit Lidl once a month, is to feed my habit for loving the new and unusual. Each visit to my local Bangor store brings a new selection of treats I haven't seen elsewhere. As well as European foods, Lidl NI offer great priced local produce, their meats are especially good quality.

Here are 12 products that may tempt the foodies amongst my readers to try their local Lidl store. 

1.  Pear Balsamic Vinegar, also available in Apple.

2. Jalepeno pepper relish. This would be awesome on crackers with mature cheddar.

3. Irish Pea and Ham Soup. This is amazing, one of my repeat purchases. Probably not a suitable soup if you're on a diet (such as the Limmy porridge and soup diet) as it's made with cream. 

4.  Lemon Curd Yoghurt.

5. Devon Style Toffee Yoghurt. These are 59p each. If I've been at Lidl before you there will be no toffee variety left because I LOVE them. They have little toffee pieces through it. 

6.  Toffee Spread

7. Coconut Spread. If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I'm addicted to this stuff. You know the white versions of Ferrero Roche? This tastes like the inside of those. I currently have three jars of this stock piled. 

8. A big pile of smoked salmon for £2.69, yes please.

9. Smooth Irish Cheddar with Seaweed. SEAWEED! 

10. Black Forest Ham. This is a Parma ham style meat and at a fraction of the price you would pay in a deli or posh supermarket.

11. Honey cure bacon

12. Lardons. I honestly can't get these anywhere else. Super handy for in omelettes or pasta dishes.