This trip was an excellent opportunity to try out my new grocery list technique – explained below.

As mentioned in last week’s post, I’m doing a blog partnership with the value grocery chain Aldi.  I’d never shopped at Aldi until this month, but it’s been a really eye-opening experience, especially as I work hard to whittle down our grocery budget.  

This Sunday, I decided to try a different Aldi, just to see what another neighboring store had to offer.  This store was a little closer, slightly larger, and carried a few more products.

While I was there, I noticed two Aldi-specific lines that definitely included more healthier options – the Fit & Active line and the SimplyNature line.  Many of the products that I naturally gravitated to were from SimplyNature. 

Hey, Mommas – I spotted these squeezy packs for kiddos.  They were only $1.99 for 4!  Henry isn’t into these anymore, so we didn’t test them out, but I wanted to point it out because the ones at my other grocery store are $1 a pop.

This store had way more dried fruit and nuts, as well as dry beans.

A few Aldi Shopping Tips:

Bring a quarter – it costs a quarter to get a cart.  You get the quarter back when you’ve returned the cart.

Bring your own bags – paper bags cost $0.06 each.

Pay attention to the store hours – Aldi is definitely not open 24 hours a day.  I was there at 6 PM on Sunday, and they practically closed the doors on me!

You can only pay with cash, debit, or EBT card – no checks or credit cards accepted.

You are responsible for bagging your own groceries.

All of these ‘rules’ help drive down costs and keep Aldi cheap.

Alright – so here’s what I bought this week.

(Prices and total won’t neatly add up because we bought multiples of some things, plus tax – but you get the gist.)

So – onto my grocery list idea.  I’m a huge fan of grocery lists and have tried numerous list techniques over the years.  Why are lists so important?  Well, of course, lists help you remember everything you need to purchase, but they’re also great for reducing impulse purchases and keeping your cart on the healthier side.  There’s even a little section about grocery lists in the Healthy Tipping Point book.  My favorite list tip from my book is to write one or two “freebie” spaces on your list so you can still have the satisfaction/thrill of impulse purchases without torpedoing your overall list.  I usually use my freebies for interesting stir-fry sauces!

The other day, I was reading the blog Large Families On Purpose.  One of my absolute favorite things is to read blogs written by people with entirely different life experiences/beliefs than my own.  I love this aspect of the blog world because otherwise I would never, ever get to have a ‘conversation’ with these people; I learn so much, and I’m not the kind of person who is bothered by opposing views (as long as they aren’t attacking others, I guess).  Anyway, Erika is a very conservative and religious mom with nine kids, and I think she is probably the most organized person that I have ever met.  When I stumbled upon her post about “Charts and Lists That Save My Sanity,” all I could think was, “YOU’RE A GENIUS!!!”

You see, instead of writing out a list every week with everything she needs to buy (“milk, eggs, bread, cereal…” <— time consuming AND you can easily forgot to list out certain foods), she created a master document on her computer with all of her weekly and monthly purchases.  She keeps a bunch of copies of her list in a file in her kitchen, and before each shopping trip, she pulls out the list and highlights everything they need to purchase.  At the store, she can simply look at the list and, if the item isn’t highlighted, there is enough at home. 

I created a list for our family and tested out the technique during my trip.  Instead of highlighting items that I needed, I crossed out ones that I didn’t (I don’t own a highlighter, go figure).   Here’s our {gluten-free and vegetarian} Every Week Grocery List.

(Here’s a PDF of the image above, if you’re interested).

Since we’re on the subject of shopping more efficiently and saving $$, I’d  love to hear some of your tips and tricks for couponing, skimping, and savings.  It’s challenging to reduce costs when you’re eating a whole food/cleaner diet – I know.  I’m willing to pay more overall, but trimming a few bucks from the ol’ budget is always nice. 

Here are some other tricks that I’ve been implementing to save cash, besides shopping at multiple stores and using a list:

1.  Stop buying so many convenience foods.  We got REALLY into ‘healthy convenience’ foods after Henry was born.  You know – pre-cooked lentils, pre-sliced veggies, etc.  These foods definitely served their purpose during the newborn months, but now I have a little more flexibility in the kitchen and need to make more things from scratch – there’s a big price difference!  I think buying these items are fine – in moderation.  Even switching them out for ‘from scratch’ items every other trip will make a big difference in the bottom line at the end of the year.

2.  Plant a garden.  We’re attempting to grow our own vegetables this summer.  I’m trying out a ‘tower’ garden – which definitely has an upfront cost – but I also want to find a space in the backyard to {cheaply} plant food, too.  We both have serious brown thumbs, so…. We’ll see.  At the very least, I’m sure I can keep herbs alive.  Heck, my mint bush singlehandedly fueled my Mojito habit throughout all of Summer 2013.  You think I’m joking, but I’m not. 

3.  Keep it simple.  This has always been a big one for me – I hate complicated recipes with 20 ingredients because it always ends up costing MORE to eat in than eat out! 

4.  Join a CSA {Community Supported Agriculture}:  If our garden doesn’t work out (and let’s be real, I will probably kill everything), there’s always a CSA.  This page does a great job of explaining (and linking to) a variety of CSAs across the country.  We’ve actually become friendly with an organic farmer – a real, live farmer! <—That my inner Big City girl freaking out – and we’re going to join his CSA.  SO excited.

5. Don’t Toss Food:  Henry is king of “let’s eat half this banana.”  Instead of throwing away his gnawed-on fruit, I trim off the bite marks, slice up the banana, and put it in the freezer for smoothies later.  We also have a shelf in the fridge that is designated “This Fruit’s About to Go-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh!” (sung to Ke$ha’s song “Blow”).  All produce that it about to go off gets put on that shelf, and then everyone knows to eat it first.

How do you do grocery lists?  What tips do you have for saving at the grocery store?