Aldi Challenge Week 2

**This month I am challenging myself to shop primarily at Aldi, in order to see if it can help reign in my ever-expanding monthly grocery budget.  The rules are that I can only spend $300 at Aldi for the month of July and $50 at other stores (Aldi does not carry everything I need, so allowances have to be made!)

3lbs of pears $3.49 (great price)

Celery $1.29

Meatballs $4.39

Carrots $.99

(5)Blueberries $1.79 (great price)

Tuna $.79

Chicken thighs $4.32

Chicken tenderloins $4.38

3lbs of Sweet potatoes $1.69 (great price)

Pork Shoulder Steak $5.25

Mushrooms $.99 (great price)

Pepitas $2.19 (great on salads)

(2)Oats $2.39

Smoked Sausage $2.29

Low Carb Bread $1.79 (Cheaper than the name brand version)

Ham $2.39

(3)Shredded cheese $1.99

Block cheese $1.69

Bananas $.39

Babybels $2.68

Cream cheese $.79

Cottage cheese $1.79

Low Carb bars $4.99 (splurge)

Black pepper $2.59

Chia seeds $3.49

(2)Avocado $.39

String cheese $2.79

Aldi total: $87.13 ($131 spent so far and $169 left….so far, so good)

(2)Frozen Apple Juices $.99

Wheat hotdog buns $2.29 (Ben uses these as miniature hoagie buns)

Pepperoni $2.09

Apples $2 (Kroger always has the best apples!)

Other grocery store totals: $9 ($39 spent so far and $11 left…this might be a challenge!)

 

Here are some of the meals we had this week, just in case they might inspire you to beat a cooking slump (we have all been there):

1. Grilled chicken tenders, sweet potato fries, and broccoli w/cheese

2. Spicy BBQ Hamburgers (Basically you add chopped pickled jalapenos and barbecue sauce to hamburger meat before they are cooked…delicious!), cucumbers, and carrots

3. Meatball subs

4. Grilled pork steak, sautéed mushrooms, cauliflower rice

5. Grilled chicken salads

6. Chicken Cordon bleu and buttered carrots

**This was more of a usual grocery week for me, so my totals were a bit higher from last week’s. However, my average for the first two weeks is only $85, which is way less than my usual weekly grocery budget.  So this strategy, might actually work:)