No Brain Work Required

I have a new-found love for Aldis (which I recently realized is actually "Aldi" no "s," but I really like the way "Aldis" sounds so I'm not changing my ways and hopefully it won't terribly frustrate anyone).

I have been meaning to visit Aldis for a long time, but I knew I couldn't get all of the items on my shopping list there. That meant it would be an additional stop and I just couldn't bring myself to make two stops on shopping day.

But when gas prices hit their peak a while back and my grocery bill was getting higher and higher, I was desperate to find some ways to stretch our income.

So I went to Aldis and what an experience! There aren't endless options, which I actually like. If you get to frozen foods and realize you forgot something in the baking section it's not a ten minute hike back to retrieve said item. Every week they have new "special purchases" which I look forward to with anticipation (not that I necessarily even buy any of the special items, but just knowing there are new limited-quantity/limited-time only bargains is exciting!). And I never leave without my $1.29 Austrian dark chocolate, you know, because it has anti-oxidants.

It's exhilarating to spend $30 and get a whole cart of food (and maybe a really great candle or two - they have these Renwick Candles and they are the best - so fragrant! I'm burning a Creamy Vanilla Swirl now and it smells like wedding cake, yummy!) I was also saving over $1/half gallon on organic milk. I say "was" because they haven't had it the past couple of times, so sad. Hopefully Aldis won't start doing what Walmart has been doing for years: Walmart tracks my purchases and when I start buying something regularly they stop carrying it. Who knew I had so much anti-clout with the retail giant?

I still can't bring myself to haul the kids to two grocery stores in a row so what I've been doing is going to Aldis at night by myself and taking the kids with me to Walmart on Monday morning. Which is not a bad experience when I actually manage to get us all fed, dressed, and out the door by a decent time. Monday mornings before, say 10 am, the shelves are stocked, the aisles and check-outs aren't crowded, and we are all in a good mood!

And finally for the "no brain work required" part, I found this blog today with a shopping list and menu plan for Aldis. According to the blog's author, Aldis estimates you can achieve (there must be a better word choice, but it is escaping me at the moment) 90% of your shopping at Aldis, but she has personally made menus consisting of 100% Aldis ingredients. I'm excited to try it out! Even if you don't want to or can't shop at Aldis, just having menus and shopping lists is enough to make me happy!

I have been severely lacking in motivation in the kitchen lately. I'm hopeful this menu plan/shopping list will jump-start me back where I need to be. Because, incidentally, I have found a good way to not save money is to skip meal planning, list making, and a scheduled trip to any grocery store, then either eat out or make your poor husband stop at the store on his way home from work multiple times in a week. Here's to getting back in the groove and trying out the 100% Aldis' ingredients menu for one week. I'll let you know how it goes!