Two Trips to ALDI: What I Bought

Time to talk groceries. As you all know, I really enjoy grocery shopping. I get consistent feedback that you guys like these “grocery haul” kind of posts from time-to-time. I totally get that as I tend to buy the same things over and over and personally get a lot of inspiration when I see what others are buying that have similar lifestyles and dietary preferences.

My grocery budget has always skewed toward the high side when I consider that I’m only shopping for myself and a small child. I am okay with that because I cook and eat the vast majority of our meals at home and I value good food. That said, goodness gracious…food prices are crazy expensive right now! My grocery bills have been significantly higher and I’ve found myself scrutinizing price and deal shopping even more frequently as of late.

WHAT I BOUGHT ON TWO TRIPS TO ALDI 

Today I am sharing with you what I bought at ALDI on two different shopping trips…one in March and one in April. I became an ALDI shopper back in 2014 when I was invited to visit their corporate headquarters. On that trip I learned so much about ALDI’s business model and came to really respect the brand and the quality of their food. I’ve remained a consistent ALDI shopper ever since and it’s been great to see them grow and expand in ways ranging from opening more stores to increasing their organic/natural offerings to improving store experiences by making them brighter and lighter to offering pickup and delivery and more.

Just a reminder that I frequently shop at several different grocery stores including Whole Foods, ALDI, Publix, Trader Joe’s, Food Lion and Harris Teeter. I have another post planned for the coming weeks with a big Publix shopping haul! I find that there are things about each store that I really like and when I shop in a rotation I get the best of it all!

In this post I have added an asterisk to indicate products that I frequently buy at ALDI. There is a double asterisk next to products that I LOVE and will make a trip to ALDI just to buy them. I don’t have my receipt from the first trip but I do for the second so I’ve added prices just so you can see some of the values you can find at ALDI.

TRIP ONE – MARCH 4

• Frozen shrimp* – while I will say that ALDI’s “jumbo” frozen shrimp are really more normal sized, I almost always have a bag of them in the freezer for an easy protein to stir into a pasta dish or top a salad with.
• Friendly Farms half and half – I bought this and the pie crust below for a quiche
• Bake House pie crusts
• Gold Hen pasture raised eggs – I regularly buy ALDI’s organic eggs but these pasture raised eggs were in the Special Buys section. They were nothing special and I will stick with the organic eggs in future!
• Crumbled feta* 
• Simply Nature organic chicken breasts*
• Simply Nature organic deli turkey
• Gouda cracker cuts – I often pack these in Finn’s lunch with crackers or serve them as a side with meals
• Spinach and artichoke tzatziki** – I love this stuff. It’s loaded with spinach and artichoke hearts and made with Greek yogurt. I am always putting it on my bowl creations!
• Simply Nature organic colby jack cheese slices*
• Simply Nature organic hummus* – really tasty, great texture, great price
• Appleton Farm prosciutto
• Organic shredded mozzarella*
• Organic shredded colby jack*
• Brie – ALDI has an excellent selection of various cheeses
• Mama Cozzi’s pepperoni and mozzarella flatbread – I always find some sort of delicious pizza or flatbread at ALDI. They have refrigerated and frozen options.
• Specially Selected frozen ahi tuna* – great price, great quality. Quick and easy to defrost for a single-serving protein.

• Plain seltzer water* – great price. I will note that I do not care for the Belle Vie flavored seltzers.
• Cheez Its – I’m a year into rediscovering my love for Cheez Its and the obsession is still going strong…haha
• Specially Selected marinara sauce** – I had always gone with ALDI’s organic tomato basil sauce but read an article ranking their Specially Selected marinara highly. I gave it a try and I’m a complete convert. I love this marinara sauce better than anything else I buy at Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
• Simply Nature organic white cheddar puffs* – Finn likes these for a snack
• Simply Nature chicken bone broth ** – ALDI offers this boxed bone broth in chicken and beef. I ALWAYS have multiple boxes of the chicken bone broth in my pantry. I like it in soups and for cooking grains and frequently use it in any recipe calling for chicken broth. I has 9 grams of protein per serving and is low-sodium.
• Southern Grove golden raisins
• Clancy’s Kettle chips
• Simply Nature organic blue corn tortilla chips
• Simply Nature organic, fair trade whole bean coffee** – at just $3.95 the price on this whole bean coffee just cannot be beat for the quality. It comes in two bean varieties – Honduras and Peru – and I always pick up one of each.
• Baker’s Corner marshmallows
• Simply Nature organic deluxe macaroni and cheese*

• Organic baby spinach* – ALDI has great prices on their organic greens. The spinach clamshell is just $2.59.
• Baby carrots – y’all know I give these to my dogs for treats
• Gourmet cherry tomato mix
• Baby portobello mushrooms
• Avocados** – EXCELLENT price! Always under $1/each.
• Strawberries
• Kent mangos – hot tip…Kent mangos are 100x better than Tommy. Read your labels!
• Medjool dates* – great price and quality. Use these in my smoothies.
• Cauliflower
• Russet potatoes

TRIP TWO – APRIL 7

• Specially Selected Spinach and Goat Cheese frozen pizza ($4.29)– told ya that the pizzas are delicious. I also almost came home with a chicken alfredo pizza that looked drool worthy. Might have to go back for that one. They’re always changing up the offerings, which is fun!
• Organic firm tofu ($1.69) – I’ve never seen tofu at ALDI so I was excited!
• Simply Nature organic plain whole milk yogurt* ($4.95) – while FAGE is hands-down my favorite plain greek yogurt choice, I have no problem using this one when I shop at ALDI and can’t get FAGE.
• Artisan cheddar cheese with honey and sea salt ($3.29) – this was a “special buy” and I couldn’t resist trying it as I’m a big fan of honey + cheese combos.
• Specially Selected cold smoked Atlantic salmon* ($4.29) – great price. Often have a package of this on hand.
• Simply Nature Organic frozen chopped spinach* ($1.95) – ALDI’s selection of frozen veggies isn’t big but what they do have is well-priced and good quality.
• Roasted pine nut hummus ($1.75)
• Never Any! uncured bacon* ($5.75) – Finn and I are big fans of ALDI bacon around here
• Never Any! mild Italian chicken sausage ($2.75)
• Fresh mozzarella ball ($2.35)
• Organic classic hummus* ($2.25) – see note above
• Spinach and artichoke tzatziki** ($3.19) – see note above
• Fresh Atlantic salmon filet ($7.51 – $7.99/lb)– while I prefer wild-caught salmon, I have no problem eating farm raised when it’s the better looking or lower-priced option. I’ve bought this salmon on a lot and it’s good!

• Clancy’s kettle chips ($1.23) – I think they’re just as good as national brands like Cape Cod or Kettle and cannot beat the price
• Friendly Farms oat milk* ($2.99) – great pice and very creamy. I like it just as much as Oatly.
• Pint and gallon sized freezer bags ($1.79, $2.29) – tip: get the heavier duty freezer bags instead of storage bags. I find the the storage bags break/rip at the zipper very easily when opening
• Simply Nature organic 90-second 7-grain blend* ($1.95) – new discovery and great for a fast and easy salad or grain bowl at lunch
• Specially Selected marinara sauce** ($3.49) – see note above
• Simply Nature creamy almond butter ($4.49)
• Canned diced tomatoes ($0.56)
• Canned diced fire roasted tomatoes ($0.91)
• Canned garbanzo beens ($0.50)
• Cheez Its ($2.39) – note the box at ALDI is a little smaller than the traditional Cheez It box
• Simply Nature organic, fair trade whole bean coffee** ($3.95) – see note above
• Simply Nature chicken bone broth** ($3.29) – see note above
• Simply Nature white cheddar puffs* ($2.09) – see note above

• Cauliflower ($2.29)
• Pineapple ($1.99)
• Baby portobello mushrooms ($1.69)
• Organic baby carrots ($1.19)
• Organic bananas ($1.13, $2.13/lb)
• Cilantro ($0.75)
• Limes ($2.89)
• Potato medley ($2.99)
• Avocado** ($0.89 each) – see note above 
• Strawberries ($2.29)
• Organic Cherub tomatoes ($3.29)
• Blueberries ($2.49)
• Simply Nature organic baby spinach* ($2.59)
• Simply Nature organic mixed greens* ($2.59)

And that wraps it up! I think in a future ALDI haul post I’ll break down how they do the branding of their different offerings like Specially Selected, Never Any!, Simply Nature, etc.

QUESTIONS

What grocery stores are in your regular rotation?

Do you have certain foods/products that you buy at certain stores? 

Have you made changes to your grocery/food shopping habits since food prices have gone up? Have you noticed your bill going up? 

Do you shop at ALDI? What are your “must buy” items there?