The Best and Worst New ALDI Products Launching Right Now
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One thing that never changes at ALDI is the affordable prices, but you can always count on finding a new treasure trove of items every seven days at your local supermarket. The low-cost retailer, which is in the middle of a huge store expansion, refers to these weekly additions as its "ALDI Finds."
The latest drop of ALDI Finds includes various additions to our reader's favorite sections of the grocery store: the bakery and the frozen food aisle. While some of these groceries make a delicious and nutritious addition to any pantry, others are loaded with a hefty amount of carbs and sugar.
We took a look at the nutritional information of the newest crop of items from ALDI's premium "Specialty Selected" brand. Then we created this helpful list of the healthiest and unhealthiest items among the pack.
Related: 13 Brand New Items You'll See at ALDI This Month
Worst:
Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Ravioli
Two servings are included in these $2.99 packages of Goat Cheese & Caramelized Onion Ravioli, which hit store shelves this week at ALDI. However, for adults looking to keep their blood pressure and heart health in check, one serving alone has almost half of the ideal daily limit of sodium recommended by the American Heart Association.
Mind you, this is before you add any sauce or other ingredients. Beware of using sauces with a lot of salt, as doing so could easily push this meal closer to the excessive amount of sodium that many Americans consume every day—about 3,400 milligrams.
Black Pepper and Goat Cheese Risotto
Similar to the ravioli, two servings of pasta are included in these $1.99 packages of Black Pepper & Roat Cheese Risotto. If you make the whole batch, there would be 700 calories, 120 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of fat, and 1,550 milligrams of sodium (which is just more than the daily recommendation) on your plate.
Though often eaten as an entrée, risotto is sometimes served as a side dish. This risotto wouldn't pair well with a main course that's already high in carbs and sodium. Consider sharing a small portion among multiple dinner guests.
Related: Surprising Side Effects of Not Eating Carbs, Says Science
Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
This "worst" ALDI item is a good deal at $4.99, especially since it can easily be cut into four slices. Only one slice has 50% of the daily recommended value of saturated fat, as well as more sugar than two glazed Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnuts.
Browned Butter Pecan Cheesecake
Though this other new cheesecake contains less saturated fat per slice, it has more carbs, sugar, and sodium. For a less hefty holiday treat, consider cutting this cake into eighths instead of fourths.
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Best:
Spinach Noodles
The ingredient list for these noodles only contains four items: durum wheat semolina, egg, spinach powder, and salt. In addition to being low in fat and sodium, they even have 8 grams of protein and a little bit of iron (because spinach is a high-in-iron food). Pair it with a sauce high in vitamin C for better absorption.
Sensitive Recipe Pasta Sauce
Anyone with dietary restrictions knows how hard it can be to find foods that are the right fit. In this week's ALDI Finds, there's a Sensitive Recipe Pasta Sauce made with only dried basil, olive oil, salt, and a few veggies (Italian tomatoes, carrot puree, and celery).
Thanks to these whole-food ingredients, the sauce is low in calories, carbohydrates, and fat. It would be a good option to pair with a higher-sodium pasta.
Tiramisu
The new Tiramisu available at ALDI contains six slices of heaven. As with most desserts, it's still high in carbs and sugar. However, one serving (1/6 of the cake) contains half the calories, 1/3 of the fat, and considerably less sodium than the Browned Butter Pecan and Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecakes.
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