For the next 6 weeks I shall be shopping at each of the major UK supermarkets. My goal is to feed my family of four clean food for £60 or under. This week I shopped at Aldi, possibly the lowest priced supermarket in the UK and I had a lot of fun! Aldi has come a long way since I last shopped there and I was very impressed with their fruit, vegetables and meat. Although there is very little organic food on offer, I was able to buy some organic milk and a free range chicken so I was more than happy with that! Here’s what I bought…
*Porridge Oats 1kg £0.75
Bitesize Wheat Shreds £1.29
*Milled Linseed £1.99
Romaine Hearts Lettuce £0.69
Rocket £0.65
Mixed Peppers £0.89
Cucumber £0.45
Baby Plum Tomatoes £0.69
Celery £0.65
Radish £0.55
Rocket £0.65
Sugarsnaps £0.69
Garlic £0.89
Clementines £1.19
Blueberries £1.69
Galia Melon £0.69
Watermelon £1.99
Cherries £0.69
Mini Bananas £0.99
Pineapple £0.65
Peaches £0.69
Closed Cup Mushrooms £0.89
Beetroot £0.69
Baby Potatoes £0.69
Red Onion £0.79
Kale £0.89
Broccoli £0.45
Carrots 1kg £0.65
Asparagus £0.75
*Chopped Tomatoes £0.31
*Chopped Tomatoes £0.31
Tomato Puree £0.37
*Red Kidney Beans £0.23
*Chick Peas £0.39
Free Range Chicken £4.99
Turkey Mince £1.79
British Pork Mince £1.99
Mackerel £1.59
Turkey Steaks £2.59
Houmous 200g £0.65 – (This contained the preservative potassium sorbate and wouldn’t be considered clean)
Medium White Cheddar £1.75
Goats Cheese £1.49
*Greek Style Yoghurt 500g £0.85
*Unsalted Butter £0.95
Apple & Mango Juice £0.99
Whole Milk 2 Pints £0.79
Organic Semi Skimmed Milk £0.89
Organic Semi Skimmed Milk £0.89
Tortilla Chips £0.46
Wholemeal Pitta Bread £0.49 –
Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour £0.99
*Yeast £0.59
Oatcakes £0.66 – (I wasn’t a huge fan of these and you can buy cleaner brands elsewhere).
*Walnuts £1.89
Tuna Chunks In S/Water £0.69
15 Pack Free Range Eggs £2.19
Frozen Sweetcorn £0.89
Total £57.22
*Items marked were either not used or bought as extra storage because I already had them at home making the total cost of the food I used this week: £48.96. I was also left with enough money to buy some non dairy milk and extra organic milk and still be under budget.
Please note: These prices were correct on Thursday 10th July 2014. Some items were on offer and prices may differ as promotions change.
This is what we ate:
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken (I just put the chicken in the slow cooker by itself – you could also just roast it) with baby potatoes, steamed broccoli, carrots and kale.
- Turkey Tacos with salad, tortilla chips and Tortilla Wraps made with the bread flour (they turned out great).
- Pitta Pizzas topped with tomato puree, dried herbs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn and cheese with salad. (These pitta breads do not classify as clean, see note above)
- Chicken Noodle Soup from the leftover chicken with Homemade Bread
- Kale Lentil and Pork Ragu, without the lentils and with added mushrooms and peppers instead. (I used all of the mince but kept the recipe the same and froze half of the meal for another day).
- Turkey Fried Rice – I just used all of the leftover vegetables: mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, kale, onion and garlic.
- Mackereal Asparagus Spaghetti and sugar snap peas.
We also enjoyed:
- Fresh fruit salad
- Watermelon Pineapple Smoothies
- Scrambled eggs with veggies
- Leftover chicken salad sandwiches
- Goats cheese and cucumber sandwiches
- Quesadillas
- Goats cheese, beetroot and rocket salad
- Porridge and banana
- Porridge and blueberries
- Shredded wheats and raisins
- Shredded wheats with maple syrup and walnuts
- Shredded wheats with fresh pineapple
- Tuna salad sandwiches
- Oat cakes with goats cheese and rocket
- Cheese salad sandwiches
- Garlic Bread
Please note: Some ingredients may have come from my Clean Eating Cupboard Essentials. See a full list here.
The quality of the food we ate this week was fantastic. The fruit was amazing and the meat was no different to any other supermarket. As far as clean eating goes, it would not be possible for me to shop solely at Aldi because my local store does not currently sell wholegrain rice, pasta and quinoa (I also like to buy organic dairy products – but that is a personal choice). However, doing the bulk of my shopping at Aldi and popping to any other supermarket for wholegrain’s isn’t too difficult and would be well worth the extra trip to save some major pennies! I was very impressed with this weeks shopping at Aldi and the amount of clean food I was able to buy. I shall definitely be shopping there again.
Here is a list of other clean food available at Aldi:
Any Fresh Fruit
Any Fresh Vegetables
Any Fresh Unprocessed Meat/Fish (Turkey, Chicken and Fish being the best options)
Herbal Tea £0.99
Honey from £0.99
Shredded Wheat
Extra Virgin Olive Oil £1.99
Olive Oil £2.59
Balsamic Vinegar £0.99
Passata £0.35 (contained salt, but no sugar)
Premium Chunky Chopped Tomatoes £0.39
Premium Chunky Chopped Tomatoes with herbs £0.45
Premium Peeled Plum Tomatoes £0.39
Peeled Plum Tomatoes £0.31
Tinned Sweetcorn £0.31
Tinned Sliced Carrots £0.19
Tinned Green Beans £0.69
Tinned Wild Pink Salmon £1.09
Tinned Wild Red Salmon £1.99
Black Olives £0.45
Green Olives £0.45
Dried Herbs £0.49
Dried Spices £0.49
Sea Salt £0.89
Almonds £1.49
Hazelnuts £1.49
Raisins £1.25
Nuts & Raisins £0.56
Pumpkin/Sunflower Seeds £0.99
Nut Mix £1.29
Pistachios £1.29
Cashews £1.29
Walnuts £1.29
Pressed Apple Juice £0.99
Pressed Orange Juice £0.99
Soured Cream £0.79
Fresh Salmon Fillets £2.39
Frozen Salmon £3.99
Frozen Tuna Steaks £2.99
Frozen Cod/Haddock £2.79
Frozen Chicken £3.79
Frozen Pineapple £1.39
Frozen Raspberries £1.49
Frozen Mixed Berries £1.49
Please Note: There may be other items not listen that are still clean. Just read the ingredients labels to be sure.
© Charlie Mace
The smaller packs of 130g Walnuts actually work out at a slightly cheaper price, 130g for £1.29 rather than 180g for £1.89.
That’s great to know, thanks Carl 🙂
Thank You
Just did this exact shop this morning. It came in at around £53. I’m impressed. Thank you 🙂
I love Aldi’s. Shop There regularly and you can’t beat their prices. Their brand is as good as any other, I think.