Money Monday: ALDI is my new BFF (again)

 ALDI IS A REVELATION.

We have had our moments shopping there-- here's Jack long, long ago when eggs were less that a buck a dozen

And here is toddler Minnie, sleeping sitting up in the cart

But we also have long stretches were we never ever go there even though it is the closest store to our house. I went the other day on a whim because I am tried of spending all my money on food, and WOW YOU GUYS WOW.

There are certain things I hate at Aldi-- bread, peanut butter, granola bars, knock off crackers and cookies, most ultra processed foods, most cheese, milk, off-brand yogurt-- and sometimes I forget to go there because I hate those things. Aldi will never be the only place we shop, but it definitely should always be A PLACE we shop. My goodness, I did not know that you could spend $100 and get two huge bags of groceries ANYWHERE in America anymore. But! That is exactly what happened on Thursday when I spent a mere $105 on a capsule grocery trip to get me and 4 kids through a holiday weekend. 

I got accessories for baked French toast (already had frozen bread cubes, eggs, and bacon but needed some berries and milk) for Friday night dinner, stuff for chicken quesadillas with chips and salsa and guac on Saturday night, and bake-at-home sourdough and veggies for avocado BLTS on Sunday. I also got a bottle of wine (that Wine Spectator says is good?), candy for Coop to eat on the plane to FL, candy for a pool snackle box, stuff to make chocolate chip cookies (trying the choc chips but do not have high hopes), nectarines, apples, and salad greens (a refill because we already ate all of ours, which makes me feel very virtuous), lunchbox cheese for Minnie, and coffee. That's a ton of stuff for $100. 

I also went to Aldi last week (along with Costco and Metro Market), so our cabinets were pretty stocked. I plan to go again tomorrow, once Ben gets home and we touch base about the upcoming week-- will also hit Costco and Metro, too. And probably Whole Food for take and bake pizzas and my favorite lemon parm bagged salad and something sparking to drink by a fire.

Metro Market: I mainly get 5 gallons of Fairlife milk (lol-- it is sold in half gallons, so this whole buying process is ludicrous and my cart must look nuts when the online shopping people are assembling it), my fave peanut butter, name-brand junk and lunch box staples that we just can't quit, chocolate chip ZBars (included in that former category, honestly, but I always trick myself into thinking they're healthy-ish), cooking accessories/spices, and some of our yogurt there, plus anything I couldn't find at Costco or Aldi. 

Costco: This is where we get certain things that we can only find there, as well as staples that we go through in massive quantities (think Chobani protein yogurt, lox, cereal, and chocolate-covered frozen strawberries, plus packs of Goldfish crackers, a couple varieties of pretzels and wine-- you know, the health foods).

Things on my permanent Aldi list:

organic produce and salad greens

eggs ($1.40 for 12!)

almonds

freeze dried strawberries

Colby jack cheese sticks for Minnie's lunch

whipped cream cheese

single origin coffee beans for cold brew

organic chicken

organic grass-fed 93% lean ground beef

salsa from the refrigerated section

frozen bagel pizzas (def an UPF but the kids like them better than Annie's and they are only like $6 for one million pizzas)

quinoa

organic tortilla chips

Random stuff I have found there lately:

name-brand candy for my snackle box

organic grass-fed sirloin steak for tacos

Chobani flips yogurts for WAY LESS than the grocery store

Built Puff protein bars for a little less than the grocery store

Things I haven't needed yet but will buy there when I do:

organic rice

frozen sweet potatoes

organic frozen berries for smoothies (these might actually be cheaper at Costco, so we'll see...)

organic plain greek yogurt-- will try this once before pledging forever loyalty back to Costco

baking staples (probably not chocolate chips, maybe not flour but sugars for sure!)

ice cream

frozen novelties (I saw Drumstick knock-offs and name-brand Snickers ice cream bars today)

Do you have any Aldi must-haves that I should throw in my cart?? We are generally not fans of stuff in the aisles themselves (except the random "Aldi finds" aisle which is a GEM and has everything from housewares to viral items of clothing), but the perimeter of the store is a gold mine.