I love Aldi. I love having (almost) everything I need in just a few aisles. I love not having 99 different brands and variations of every item on my list to decide between. I love that they cut their business expenses (and pass the savings on to their consumers) with their “bring your own bag” system. This system not only reduces their expenses greatly by not having to purchase bags but it also encourages re-usable shopping bags which is great for the environment! Also you don’t get home to unload your groceries and realize you have 50 bags because there is only 1 item in half of them. I love the no-nonsense way the cashiers slide my items across the scanner an into my cart for me to bag myself which saves me time, allows me to bag the way I want and saves them from paying a bagger. I love that Aldi uses their “rent” a cart for a quarter system which encourages people to take their carts back up to the store themselves to get their quarter back (and also encourages getting more steps in their day…Happy Accident!). This not only eliminates the need of yet another employee to retrieve carts, but I also see people being so kind to one another every trip by passing their carts on to another shopper in the parking lot (which also saves them a trip up to the store to return it so win/win) but also refusing to take that person’s quarter.
Most of the time I can’t, or choose not to, get everything on my list at Aldi and end up heading to the big grocery store nearby afterwards for a few items. But because of all of the reasons listed above it’s still worth it to me to start at Aldi and I kind of make it a game to see just how much of my list I can accomplish there. Another thing I love about Aldi is they have a lot of healthy choices. I love to see what treasures I will find each trip and love sharing those finds.
One thing I think is super important in maintaining healthy eating is not feeling deprived. Not only is this crucial to make eating healthy a lifestyle rather than just a diet, but life is just too short. There definitely is the occasional sweet tooth in our home so I like to keep some choices on hand that aren’t completely full of sugar but will satisfy that craving.
This most recent trip I found these Coconut Cashew Crisps in Sea Salt Caramel flavor. These were yummy and like light little cookies. A serving size is 8 pieces and 160 calories but I think 4 pieces is plenty to satisfy most sweet tooth moments which makes a sweet treat for under 100 calories and only 4g of sugar. They also have 3g of protein.
My kids also love these Freeze Dried Strawberries. They are tasty but if you are seriously hungry they are not going to fill up your belly. As a matter of fact when you pick up the bag it somehow even feels lighter than empty. How is that even possible? Also 1 serving size is the whole bag which is a lot (but again won’t really make you full). It does mean that you can do some mindless eating with these though and even if you polish off the bag it’s only 130 calories. The downside is that would be 21g of sugar though so I recommend just a few.
These 100 calorie packages of little cookies are fun to sometimes throw in lunches. At 7g of sugar I can pack these as a fun surprise every once in a while without too much guilt.
One of the first things I grab every Aldi trip (because it’s the first thing I see when I walk in the door, but also a favorite) is fruit. I have found the day you shop will determine how good the variety is. One recent trip was obviously the day before produce deliveries and there wasn’t much in stock and what was left was over-ripe or even moldy. But most of the time I have better luck with their produce than the big stores and the price is almost always better. I love their berries and packages of sliced mangos. I also love grabbing some dessert hummus to dip it in as a little extra treat for those sweet tooth moments!
For “non-sweet” snacking I like these Butternut Squash crackers. I often throw a serving of these (about 44 crackers…they are small) into my lunch. For my Noom friends, you know how easy it is to feel like you can’t eat anything crunchy, but remember…NOTHING is off limits and although these are still in the Red catagory, only 100 calories for 44 crackers is a good way to add a little crunch to your life.
I almost always grab some of these guacamole singles on an Aldi trip. My kids pack them in lunches with corn chips, we put them out to add to turkey tortilla soup, and I use them for avacado bread in the morning (although that only requires about 1/4 of one of these so unless you are making it for several people the big tub is probably better since it can be re-sealed.
These flatbreads are great for wraps and only 90 calories. I like to use them with some thin sliced turkey, swiss, lettuce and a little mustard.
I grabbed these little egg rolls on my last trip but haven’t tried them yet. I think they will cook up nice and quickly in the air fryer and make a low-cal lunch. 3 of them is only 18 calories!
