Saturday, November 15, 2014
The Aldi 25 Experiment - Day One
Can you make 25 meals for less than $150? Maybe. Can you make 25 meals for less than $175? Definitely.
So, yeah. I kinda blew my $150 budget. But only by a little. Oh well, move on!
Lauren over at iamthatlady.com has come up with a meal plan that can be purchased from Aldi for around $150. My guy and I were discussing it and decided to give it a try since we'd like to save some money for xmas (which is fast approaching). I realize we could eat beans and hot dogs everyday and save a ton of money that way but pinching pennies doesn't have to mean eating a diet fit for skid row. The goal is to keep it nutritious (relatively) and as fresh as possible.
This was a HUGE undertaking. I painstakingly meal plan every week. I try to be as frugal as I can while still preparing delicious and nutritious food for my family. I’m beginning to get a little burned out in the meal planning department which is another reason I wanted to give this a try. Planning for over 4 weeks of dinners and one huge shopping trip was nothing short of a nightmare. I feel as though I rose to the challenge even though I overshot my budget, slightly.
My first hurdle was the same one I always run into when I use a pre-made meal plan. Either I or someone at my table won't eat at least a third of those meals. Let the swapping begin.
I began by coming up with affordable substitutes for 5 of the dishes on Lauren’s original list which needed to be removed for various reasons. A family member has a sensitivity to eggs so both Frittatas were out, Tilapia was a no-go since I had canned salmon in my pantry already (and the teen is iffy about Tilapia), I can’t in good conscience serve Mac and Cheese as a main course so that was a no, the Roasted Pepper Chicken would have gone over like a lead balloon at my table and the same goes for the Pepper Kielbasa Pasta. I substituted with Tuna Casserole (twice), Salmon Patties, Taco Pasta (twice), Skillet Cassoulet and Sausage Penne Alfredo (recipes coming in future posts). I figured sticking with smoked sausage would keep my meat costs down. I also swapped the ground turkey for ground beef, which I'm actually kind of regretting in a couple instances.
In the coming weeks I will be posting a weekly rundown of what we ate along with the recipes and what I paid for them at Aldi. I will also be posting my meal plans and other tools I used to make this happen.
Things I’ve already learned from this experience are: 1) preparing the master shopping list takes more than one afternoon especially an afternoon spent soothing a fussy baby. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare, it will save you stress in the end. 2) Take into consideration that Aldi might be out of an item that you need. Have a backup plan, even if that means shopping more than once. 3) These meals are pretty strictly portioned. We have some big eaters around our table so I’m supplementing several of the meals with a large salad. I’ll dish up each person’s plate with the proper serving size. If that isn’t enough food to fill them up there will be a big bowl of salad on the table. There will also likely be dessert a couple times a week.
To kick things off here is my calendar for the upcoming month of meals. Several days have “Do Ahead” tasks that will save me time in the future. I also get to start using my new (well, not new but new to me) deep freeze! I’m actually kind of excited about that. I’m a simple gal :)
Click HERE to take a peek at my calendar for the next 4+ weeks.
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Thanks for trying out my meal plan! I am excited to read along with you to see how it goes!
ReplyDelete[…] is the first meal of The Aldi 25 experiment. What is The Aldi 25 experiment? Click HERE to find […]
ReplyDelete[…] is meal #2 of my Aldi 25 Experiment: Spaghetti and Meatballs with Yeast Rolls and Salad (the salad was optional and only one person ate […]
ReplyDelete[…] meal #3 of my Aldi 25 Experiment we had Taco Pasta with broccoli and […]
ReplyDelete[…] French food on a budget? Yes, indeed. French food is essentially very simple ingredients that, when combined, create a complex merging of tastes and textures. This Skillet Cassoulet is a fine example of that. Best of all, it’s affordable. Which is why this meal is a part of my Aldi 25 Experiment. […]
ReplyDelete[…] #5 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was a slow-cooker recipe. And thank goodness for that since I’m still sick and fatigued. […]
ReplyDelete[…] #6 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was Chicken Noodle Soup. With Thanksgiving coming up in less than a week making this meal now […]
ReplyDelete[…] #7 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was Chicken & Biscuits. This is an old recipe from my repertoire which was inspired by a box […]
ReplyDelete[…] #8 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was a first. I’ve never before made nor eaten Salmon Patties. I usually make Tuna Patties […]
ReplyDelete[…] #10 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was my Tuna Casserole. After a long day of Thanksgiving Eve cooking the last thing I wanted to do […]
ReplyDelete[…] #9 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was Souvlaki (we’re calling them Greek Chicken Tacos). They were very yummy and super easy […]
ReplyDelete[…] #11 of my Aldi 25 Experiment was good ol’ Chili. I made a big double batch and froze half. I’ve modified by […]
ReplyDelete[…] meal #12 of my Aldi 25 Experiment we retrieved the other half of our batch of meatballs, spaghetti sauce and rolls from the freezer. […]
ReplyDelete[…] Chicken Sammies were on the menu tonight. This was meal #13 of my Aldi 25 Experiment. Tonight marks the halfway point of this journey. If you like to see what my totals are at this […]
ReplyDelete[…] just had meal #13 tonight which marks the haflway point of my Aldi 25 Experiment. I’d like to do a quick recap to get an idea of what our total is so far and what […]
ReplyDelete[…] meal #14 of my Aldi 25 Experiment I made one of my own recipes. Sausage Penne Alfredo is very easy to put together and very quick […]
ReplyDelete