I’m working on new routines for fall and winter. One of those routines is bi-weekly grocery shopping. For years my daughter and I have done huge, periodic monthly grocery shopping trips. We take a day and go to the city to really stock up. We aren’t doing this as often as we used to, in part due to the fact we have an Aldi in town and it carries a lot of what I need.
I have found myself picking up groceries just whenever it was convenient but I’m going to try to doing two week Aldi grocery hauls. I went Friday and I think this is going to work, and hopefully help me reduce my grocery budget.
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Two Week Aldi Grocery Haul
I’ll need to pick up some more lettuce and fresh fruit next week but otherwise, along with what I already had on hand I should be able to feed us for the next two weeks on this grocery haul.
Here is what I bought:
- organic whole milk, 1/2 gallon (2)
- lactose free milk, 1/2 gallon
- half and half, quart (2)
- heavy whipping cream, pint
- organic plain yogurt, quart
- cottage cheese
- organic butter
- deli sliced cheddar
- sharp cheddar, 8 oz. (3)
- organic eggs
- habanero cheese sticks
- string cheese
- Frank’s Hot Sauce
- bread and butter pickles
- honey
- white vinegar (large bottle)
- organic chicken stock, quart (2)
- organic vegetable stock, quart
- organic pasta sauce
- diced green chiles (3 cans)
- pineapple chunks (1 can)
- mandarin oranges (1 can)
- whole berry cranberry sauce (1 can)
- organic diced tomatoes (2 large cans)
- olive oil cooking spray
- yellow onions (one bag)
- baking potatoes (5 lb. bag)
- celery
- sweet potatoes (0ne bag)
- bananas
- roma tomatoes
- cherry tomatoes
- Caesar salad kit
- baby lettuce
- corn on the cob (4 pack)
- zucchini (3 pack)
- green bell peppers (3 pack)
- multi color peppers (3 pack)
- organic croutons
- sourdough bread
- raisin bread
- flour tortillas
- organic spaghetti noodles (2 pkgs.)
- raisin bran cereal
- honey wheat puffs cereal
- grass fed organic ground beef
- black angus chuck roast
- “Never Any” chicken breasts (3 to package)
- frozen broccoli
- frozen California blend vegetables
- honey cornbread mix (2 boxes)
- cotton swabs
Total: $154.46
Lisa and I will still do big shopping trips to the city whenever we can but otherwise I’ll be doing my basic grocery shopping every other week at Aldi.
How often do you shop for groceries? Where is your favorite place to shop?
Here is the link to my menu for this week:
From the archives:
How to Create a Weekly Menu Plan
Also read:
I LOVE Aldi! I didn’t understand what a great store it was when it first moved into town but once I visited, I was hooked. I do a once a week trip to Aldi and really like how their selection is limited – prevents choice paralysis. I’ve been happy with almost everything I’ve bought there and the prices can’t be beat (plus I love their corporate ethic).
I thought I was the only one who actually appreciates the smaller selection. I think, as Americans, we have become obsessed with the idea that more is better in every aspect of our lives. But more choices available mean more choices to make.
Our shopping is complicated these days, but it works for us. We get bread from the local bakery every few days, I do an Asda order that’s delivered each week for most of my shopping, we do a fourtnightly shop in Iceland for Kelly’s shopping, and anything I can’t get that I need from Asda is either picked up by Kelly from one of the wholefood stores when he goes in to do his shopping or ordered by me from The Vegan Kind.
Non-perishable items are restocked in the next shop from where we get them as soon as they’re getting low, while perishable items – like fresh fruit and veg – are brought more frequently, hence my doing a weekly Asda shop. I’d love to use the local fruit and veg shop, and did try to for some time, for my fresh stuff, but they’ve never been too great for variety, and I both want and need a better variety than they stock (honestly, if you want more than potatoes, onions, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, apples, and oranges, you’re likely to be out of luck at our fruit and veg shop, unfortunately).
Everyone’s situation varies. I often wish I lived somewhere that I could easily pick up perishables every few days – more like the typical French way of shopping. We don’t have any bakeries in our town for fresh bread which I suppose might be a good thing considering my weakness for good bread – ha!
Haha! Yeah, I’m sure any bakery near you would soon know you by sight, if not by name, if you had one close enough you could visit more. 😉
Have you had any problems with produce spoiling quickly? It doesn’t seem to last as long as produce bought at other stores.
No, I haven’t really noticed that. I am careful to check the dates, though, and use up the more perishable things first.