Grocery Adventures

Cheap, Healthy, and Much Needed

Does anyone else wait until literally the last humanly day to go grocery shopping before the fridge and cabinets start crying and asking why you hate them when you used to love them?

Okay, tiny bit of exaggeration, because my kitchen doesn't talk to me.

We are in a really bad habit of waiting until we really have to go shopping to do it, though.  In part it's because we're homebodies and hate to battle the grocery store.  This typically leads to us "picking up just a few things" here and there, eating fast food, or just neglecting a lot of the stuff we already had. You waste money, time, and so many calories just because you didn't take a minute and plan a grocery trip.

Braving the Public

So on Thursday we went to our favorite place: Aldi. 

Aldi is great because they have anything you could want as far as produce goes, lots of gluten free and organic options, and special little things like Advent Calendars and German treats and lunch meats! (They're a German-owned company.)  Essentially, they don't have a ton of commercialized junk food that you have to battle if you go to major supermarkets like Wal-Mart or Kroger. 

Aldi saves money for its shoppers by not providing shopping bags (you can buy some there for around $.01-.06, and they're pretty sturdy), and having you use a quarter to get a cart out of the shopping cart corral! This makes sure people return it, so they can focus their staffing on the store and not collecting the carts.

The Goods

If you follow me on Instagram  you already saw some of the pictures that I posted from this massive grocery haul, and know that the hubs and I are getting back on track to eat mostly-paleo and Whole 30 compliant foods, but I wanted to show everyone just how much we got for $108-- and just how much was healthy!!!!

The whole sha-bang

So the only thing not pictured here is the milk and coffee that we got (bonehead here put them away and forgot until after taking the pictures).  I love lining things up after we make an Aldi trip, just because it reminds me of how much we were able to get.  

Here: Prosciutto, Smoked Salmon, 2 bags of everything Pretzel Slims (definitely not paleo), Shrimp, Chicken Thighs, 10 lbs Ground Beef, 1 lb Ground Turkey, Bacon, Chicken Sausages, Green Beans, 2 packages Mushrooms, 4 cans Tuna, 4 avocados, 3 Cucumbers, 6 Tomatoes, 1 lb Cheddar Cheese, 1 block Pepper Jack Cheese, Bananas)

Here: Multi Color Peppers, 2 packs Baby Carrots, 2 lbs Red Grapes, Asparagus, 2 lbs Jalapeños, 1 container Greek Yogurt, Hamburger buns, 2 packs Garden Salad, 2 packs Spinach, Aluminum Foil, Gallon Bags, Sandwich Bags

Potatoes, Onions, & Apples galore

Another Day, Another Dollar

I think my key takeaway here is to fight the battle offering into the myth of "eating healthy is more expensive." It definitely isn't, especially if you choose a store that doesn't inflate prices. Processed foods are always more expensive, and they leave you feeling hungry.  This is enough food to last the two of us over 2 weeks, and with minimal prep it makes grabbing a snack or munchie really simple.

All of that being said, it's worth noting that we make a lot of shortcuts with prices. Since we are borrowing a bit of money to do school we keep in mind that every dollar we spend is essentially costing us 6% interest.  We don't buy organic everything, and we definitely don't go for higher quality and leaner meats. Maybe one day when we're attorneys that will happen, but for now we're living that 73% lean life.