The other day I tried Instacart gluten-free shopping for the very first time. I know grocery delivery has been around for a few years but I live so remotely that this has never really been an option for me. There are a couple of fast-food restaurants about 3 miles from me that deliver – but unless I want pizza a la Papa Johns or Dominos I’m sh@t out of luck.
Get $10 off your first Instacart order when you use my discount code: LSMYTHE1DF154. What a bargain!
Usually, when I type in my address all the delivery services – Grub Hub, Delivery Dudes, Slice Life, etc. it comes up empty with suggestions for local food delivery. Although my mailing address shows I’m in West Palm Beach, I’m actually on an acre and a quarter of land way out in the middle of nowhere area of Loxahatchee. To give you a better idea of where I live, I’m so remote that I’m across the street from the eastern edge of JW Corbett Wildlife Management Area. That means I can literally roll out of bed, go out my front door, and BAM – I’m in 60,348 acres of Florida wilderness. Although I live in a very beautiful rural area the online delivery services don’t share my enthusiasm – LOL!
New Aldi’s in Loxahatchee Groves
About a year ago I got wind that they were building a new Aldi’s grocery store in Loxahatchee Groves. FYI: Loxahatchee to Loxahatchee Groves is about 8 to 12 miles from my house depending on which section of the Groves you’re trying to get to. I took a chance and went to the Aldi website to check the hours for the new store and saw a bar across the top to click on for grocery pickup & delivery.
I thought I might try pickup to buy a few items so I could make my favorite gluten-free blueberry muffins, but then I clicked on the delivery button, typed in my address, and SUCCESS! Instacart says they deliver all the way out to my remote location. Prior to the Lox Groves store opening my closest Aldi was about 18 to 20 miles away and they don’t offer delivery to my house.
Gluten-Free Online Shopping for the Win
Another happy finding – on the left-hand side of the Aldi shopping website they have food categories for their most popular items. About a year or so ago I had to change to a gluten-free diet due to health reasons. Not sure if I’m officially celiac but I know if I eat anything with even the hint of gluten I get sicker than a dog – skin rashes, headaches, dizziness, difficulty breathing, joint pain, digestive issues, etc.
Although Aldi is a smaller store, with less selection compared to a big grocery store like Publix, they actually have a nice selection of gluten-free shopping items. The problem with most grocery stores is they merchandise their gluten-free food all over the place and it takes me FOREVER to find what I’m looking for.
My First Instacart Order
My online Aldi shopping experience was an EPIC time saver. I simply clicked on the Gluten-Free category on the left menu bar and was shown a selection of food that was all safe for me to eat. I also selected a few fresh produce items and canned goods to complete my order.
It actually took me a day or two to place my first Instacart order. The night before I placed my order I created an Instacart account then took my time looking around the Aldi website. I immediately received an email from Instacart with an offer for free delivery on my first order. I wasn’t immediately convinced online shopping was the way to go – are they going to identity theft me or what!?!
You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Anyways, I woke up the next day to another email from Instacart. This time their offer was free delivery PLUS $20 off my first order. Well, heck yes to saving twenty bucks, so I went immediately to the Aldi shopping site. Since I had set up my Instacart account the night before, all my gluten-free and other grocery selections were already saved to my virtual shopping cart.
I’m a bit of a word nerd so I documented my entire newbie Instacart shopping experience on my personal Facebook page. I know, I know, I’m an old lady finally jumping on the online grocery shopping and home delivery technology bandwagon, whatever. So, without further ado, I’m going to share some screenshots throughout this blog post as a running commentary of my Aldi’s Instacart Facebook conversation. Kind of like an online journal of my first gluten-free shopping experience.
Time is Money or Why I Love Online Shopping
I was extremely happy with the speediness and quality of my first ever online shopping experience. One of my items was out of stock so Travis/Trevor used the Instacart app to ask if I wanted to cancel that item. He also offered three possible substitutions and I thought it was nice that he took the time to find an alternative for me instead of just automatically canceling that item.
A few of my friends reached out on Facebook to ask if I thought the fees associated with home grocery delivery were worth it. You can judge for yourself – here are even more screenshots of my Facebook conversation.
Future of Online Grocery Delivery
So, that’s my first ever online gluten-free shopping and delivery service experience. Do you use online grocery delivery services for home delivery or curbside pickup? I’d love to hear your story – good, bad, or otherwise – when shopping online at any of the big box stores such as Aldi’s, Publix, Hannaford, Walmart, Target, BJs Wholesale Club, etc.
Let’s Keep in Touch
Do you have any tips or tricks you’d like to share? Leave a comment on this post or shoot me an email: info@thecreativecottage.net and I just might feature your story in a future blog post.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe
Founder and Chief Blogger
The Creative Cottage
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