I am an avid meal planner.  We eat most of our meals at home and I try to only go to the grocery store once per week.  I thought it might be fun to walk you through the process of how I meal plan and then show you a week’s worth of goods!

I start out by writing the days of the week that I am planning for, then I will go to my calendar and note any activities that may impact dinner – sports practices, orchestra concerts, going out to eat, or hosting friends for a meal.  I then make a list of meals that sound good.  I go through my Pinterest board, cookbooks, or just choose from our favorites if it’s an especially busy week.  After that, I plug meals into the days where they make the most sense (easier dinners for nights where we’re on the go, etc.).  I use this to make my grocery list and I am good to go.

Here’s what I got for this week –

My Love for Aldi

I love Aldi.  I have been shopping there for years and I truly feel that their quality and offerings have only gotten better.  While the majority of our groceries come from Aldi…

  • I do sometimes have to stop at Giant to grab a miscellaneous item that Aldi doesn’t carry or is out of
  • We get some staples at Costco (chicken breasts, dried pitted dates, dried mango, Parmesan cheese, shredded cheeses)
  • I recently got a cow share from our local farm, so our freezer is stocked with beef
  • I purchase two dozen eggs every week from our friends that have chickens
  • I bake most of the bread we eat
  • When in season, we grow lettuce, raspberries, cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc.

But still, Aldi has my heart.  Our family eats a lot and having delicious and nutritious food is really important to me.  Here’s what I grabbed this week…

Beverages, Meats, and Freezer

  • Organic 2% milk
  • Plain seltzer
  • 2 dozen eggs (we go through so many, I have to supplement)
  • Snickers ice cream bars (need no explanation – I actually just put these in the garage freezer with the hopes my kids won’t see them, ha!)
  • Uncured bacon
  • Uncured ham

Dairy

  • Yogurt cups for school lunches
  • Plain whole milk Greek yogurt (a couple of my recipes called for it this week, I also enjoy it drizzled with honey)
  • Fresh mozzarella cheese (my kids both love this)

Fruits and Vegetables

  • Limes (for margaritas, not gonna lie)
  • Bananas
  • Mango
  • Green grapes
  • Blackberries
  • Cilantro
  • Baking potatoes
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Scallions
  • Tri-color bell peppers
  • Avocado

Pantry Items

  • Oatmeal variety pack
  • Oats
  • Dark chocolate chips
  • Unsalted cashews
  • Baked cheese crackers (Aldi’s version of Cheez-Its)
  • Turmeric
  • Mandarin oranges in 100% juice
  • Applesauce cups
  • Tuna
  • Pasta
  • Avocado oil
  • Mini Naan flatbreads

What I picked up at Giant

I had a return to make and was in the same shopping center as the Giant, so I ran in to grab the few extra things I needed.

  • Simply Lemonade (we all drink a lot of seltzer mixed with lemonade)
  • Peaches in 100% juice (Aldi was out)
  • BBQ sauce (Aldi was out of the kind I typically get)
  • Cantaloupe (Aldi was out)
  • Corn (didn’t need a whole package, which is the only way they sell corn at Aldi)

I spent $116 at Aldi and $27 at Giant.  I keep our kitchen pretty well stocked so this will feed our family of 4 for a week.  The kids were invited to their friends’ house on Saturday and so Nick and I planned a date night (taking advantage of not needing to pay for child care!).  We are also having friends over Sunday for a happy hour and dinner.  This happens to be a fairly typical week for us, nothing too out of the ordinary.

This is what works for me – which is not to say it will necessarily work for you.  Having meals planned and ingredients ready helps me feel calm around food.  I feel like I have gotten into a really good rhythm of knowing what foods I love and what foods my body loves for me to eat – and so, those are the foods I buy and have available.  I also ask Nick and the kids if they have any meal requests or anything they want me to get for them and incorporate those into my lists.  Raising my kids as intuitive eaters is a post for another day, but we emphasize (and model) balance and access to all foods.

That’s all for now.  Hope this post was helpful!

Always here for you,

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