Can I just say how much I love Aldi?
I spent $27 and there was just so much in my cart. Even the cashier said that was pretty impressive, haha. I attribute all our frugal living success to this store; the produce is almost always the cheapest, and their non-perishables are like rock-bottom prices. And I get excited when I see markdowns- I bought some ravioli for 50 cents, and I almost bought some uncured hot dogs marked down to 99 cents but didn’t want to spend the money. When we get back up to $75 a week I’m taking advantage of clearance again!
We ended up going to Kings Island on Saturday which included dinner, so I was able to skip a dinner last week- in this case, the homemade pizza. I still have the ingredients to make the sauce, so I’ll just make that this week for English Muffin Pizzas! A lot of our dinners are from the pantry, so I was able to buy a few extra things we were out of, like baby wipes.
As usual, here’s a disclaimer about my $30 weekly menus:
- I’ve lowered our grocery budget by choice. We’ve chosen not to pursue food assistance from the government.
- My pantry contains essentials such as rice, pasta, peanut butter, and baking items, as well as a little meat in the freezer. You may not be able to recreate this menu for $30 as I’m not exactly starting from scratch every week.
- I’m buying whole foods as much as possible- I won’t be perfect, but I’ll do what I can with the money we have.
Kroger
Extra gum: $2.19
Strawberries, 2-pound container: $2.49
Coffee Mate Natural Bliss creamer: $2.50
Total: $7.18, made free using a gift card
Aldi
Yogurt tubes: $1.55
Juice boxes: $1.99
Baby wipes: $1.39
Tortillas: $1.39
2 packages ravioli: $.50 each, marked down. I stuck these in the freezer for later!
Romaine hearts: $1.99
Eggs: $.89
2 cans diced tomatoes: $.45 each
Roma tomatoes, 16 ounces: $1.49
Sliced cheddar: $1.79
Grapes, 2.42 pounds: $2.15
Bologna: $1.19
Jarred jalapenos: $1.49
Salsa: $1.19
Cottage cheese: $1.59
Milk: $1.45
Bananas, 5.07 pounds: $1.93
Sweet potatoes, 3-pound bag: $1.99
Total: $27.46
Weekly Total: $27.46
Menu
Lunch is always leftovers. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were purchased in previous weeks.
Dinner
Annie’s mac and cheese* with canned tuna*, frozen veggies*
Baked bean* taco salad (Lettuce, tomatoes, cheese*, salsa)
Chicken Alfredo Pasta* from freezer, frozen veggies*
English muffin pizzas* (English muffins in freezer, making Slow Cooker Pizza Sauce), fruit
Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, banana
Waffles
Leftovers
Breakfast
Cereal*
Egg and cheese breakfast burritos (See my meal prep picture on Facebook here!)
Allison’s Lunch
Homemade Lunchable- Crackers*, sliced cheese, bologna, strawberries
What’s on your menu this week? Share in the comments below!