It has been a long, long time since I have shared anything shopping related. In all honesty, while I really enjoy sharing my grocery hauls (which have changed quite a lot since my couponing days!!), there are seasons of life where it just doesn't fit into my time. This week it does. :)
A few weeks ago we randomly stopped into a newer Aldi store for the second time ever. I had made a quick walk-thru soon after it first opened a few years ago, and for some reason it didn't meet my expectations by a long shot. Recently I had heard several friends saying how amazing Aldi's prices and products are. One evening after a swimming lesson, in a moment of "it is late, mom is pooped, and we haven't had supper yet" we went in and bought some frozen pizzas. While there I was ecstatic to see several things we normally buy for really good prices! We snagged a few items and I knew I wanted to go back. I had the opportunity to go back alone, armed with my very long grocery lists for Kroger and Costco, my two usual stores.
Lo and behold, I found a LOT of things that were on my list for much lower prices than I typically pay! I was so excited when I checked out with a cart FULL, for pennies under $100! So much so that I sent Daniel a picture. Haha!! Then when I got home I went live on Facebook and shared it with the world!
My first real Aldi haul:
6 Boxes of Millville brand cereal, ranging from $1.15-$1.99 ea.
Fresh Pineapple, $.89; cucumbers $.49 ea.
3 2lb. boxes of macaroni, $.69/lb.
Organic baby food pouches w/ yogurt, $.79/ea.
The cheapest I've been able to get this at Kroger was $1/pouch.
3 bags dried fruit, $1.89, $2.39 & $2.49
I compared price-per-package at Kroger, and these are significantly cheaper.
10 pkgs. sliced cheeses, 7-8 oz. ea., ranging from $1.17 - $1.45 ea.
I got a variety of cheddar, Colby Jack, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Gouda and Havarti. At most it is $2.90/lb, which is a really good price for good cheese.
4 (8oz) pkgs. shredded Swiss + Gruyare, $2.99 ea.
Clancy's brand pretzels, $.89
Since this shopping trip, many friends have shared with me that the Aldi brand of foods tends to be very good quality!
Large Canister of Quick Oats, $2.29
2 bags Clancy's Kettle Cooked Chips, $1.05 ea.
2 large Cottage Cheese, $1.75 ea.
2 large Organic, Plain Yogurt, $2.69 ea.
3 pint Sour Cream, $.89 ea.
2 bags frozen Potato Puffs (hash browns), $1.55 ea.
3 bottles Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, $.89 ea.
1 pk./3 heads Romaine Hearts lettuce, $1.59
Carton Orange Juice, $1.49
Pure Almond Extract, $1.99
Lg. clamshell of Kiwi, $3.59
Cuties/Mandarin Oranges, $2.79
11.5 lbs bananas, $.39/lb.
4 lbs. seedless grapes, $1.19/lb.
small bag choc. Eggs, $.99
Total: $99.04
I didn't take a picture of it, but that same day I went to Kroger to finish getting my Kroger items that I hadn't gotten at Aldi. I had a couple of Kroger coupons, too, that I wanted to use.
6 Tombstone Pizzas (coupon + buy 6, save $2 sale), $3.49/ea.
5 (5lb) bags of King Arthur All Purpose & Bread flours, 2/$3.99 ea., 3/$4.99 ea.
I am waiting on a Wagon Train from the West to bring me my usual 50 lb. bag of baking flour from Sharp Shopper. The Wagon Train, aka, family, just hasn't been here in a while! So buying it from Kroger is how we roll at the moment.
Raisins (canister), with a coupon, $3.99
2 Kraft Mayo, $3.49 ea.
Chili Powder, $3.99
Quaker Instant Grits, $2.69
Oat Bran, $2.59
1 lb. dried Black Beans, $1.49
3 (or 4?) lb. dried Great Northern Beans, $3.49
2 lb. brown sugar, $1.29
3 bottles Kingsford BBQ Sauce, $3.49 ea.
This is the closest I have found to my homemade BBQ sauce, contains all the ingredients I personally use to make BBQ sauce, and I like to keep some on hand for when I need BBQ sauce but don't want to dip into my ketchup supply.
2 boxes Keebler Club Mini crackers, $2.99 ea.
1 qt. Whipping Cream, $3.69
1 large tub Ricotta Cheese, $3.79
1 roll marked down, fresh Goat Cheese, $4.97
3.86 lbs. Zucchini, $1.29/lb
3.40 lbs. Yellow Squash, $1.29/lb.
2 bags Mini Sweet Peppers, $1.99 ea. This was cheaper than their cheap bell peppers!! I've never seen this price before.
2 marked down Eggplants, $.99
large bag Chow Mein noodles, $1.79
3 store coupons totaling $5.70
Total $108.74
I did raid the Easter candy and Spring décor mark-down tables and bought several items. Some Easter Candy that we are using as school treats or special chore treats, a few games, some stickers, play-dough, and whatnot. I also restocked several personal care items like toothpaste and shampoo. Those items I do not include in our grocery spending. Some of the grocery items, like the Club Cracker Mini's, are specialty items I don't normally buy. Those are great snacks for Silas right now, and I just got them for some variety. The pizzas I like to get when they are on sale for easy, quick dinners.
So then... on my kid-free Friday, when my Mother-in-Law keeps all 4 littles for the day while I run errands and do office work uninterrupted, I made a Costco trip (for her and me, actually). I also realized I had forgotten a handful of things from Kroger, so I went back to Kroger to fill in those gaps. That is all pictured below.
Costco:
1 sleeve each Large and Med. Dixie Plates, $15.99 ea.
1 sleeve small Dixie Plates, $12.89
1 sleeve Dixie bowls, $9.99
12 oz. Dixie cups, $11.59
5 oz. Dixie cups, $10.99
Charmin TP, $21.99
2 bags frozen corn, $6.59 ea.
1 bag frozen peas, $6.99
6-can case Crushed Tomatoes, $6.99
#10 can Diced Tomatoes, $2.89
3 liter Extra Light Olive Oil, $17.99
2 pk. Grape Juice, $6.39
double bag shredded Mozzarella Cheese, $10.49
Tilapia filets, $15.99
Salmon Burgers, $15.99
2 pk. Kirkland thick-sliced bacon, $10.99
2 pk. uncured, sliced ham, $10.99
2 pkgs. Roasted Turkey Breast, sliced, $12.26 & $11.92
5 lb. bag sweet onions, $6.99
1 (3 pk.) Aidell's Sausage, $13.99
Spinach/Artichoke dip, $8.49
Feta Cheese, $7.39
3 pk. Chunky Guacamole, $8.99
2 (2 lb.) Strawberries, $5.99 ea.
Croutons, $6.99
Coffee, $16.29
Better than Bouillon Chicken Base, $5.99
3 box pk. Club Crackers, $7.59
Yeast, $4.49
Tostitos Scoops, $4.49
Stacy's Pita Chips, $6.99
Applesauce pouches, $9.99
4 jugs Apple Juice, $15.98
2 pk. Cooking Spray, $4.99
Total: $394.38
Kroger:
2 rolls Jimmy Dean Sausage (to make a sausage dish for our MOPS meeting), $3.79 ea.
3 family trays Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, $1.79/lb
1 family tray Chicken Thighs, $1.49/lb.
2 dented Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup, $.69 ea.
Baking Soda, $.79
1 Kraft Mayonnaise, FREE with coupon
3 pkgs. Kroger Muffin wrappers, $.99 ea.
Waffle Bowls (reward for the girls), $3.39
2 cans Bakers Joy cooking spray, $2.69 ea.
dented box Captains Crunch cereal, $1.49
3 boxes Valentines (for next year!), $1.00 total
Total: $61.33
Grand Total: $564.45
Many of these items will last a long time, such as the paper dishes, the baking soda, coffee, etc. One thing that I was a little disappointed about was that Costco did not have their large canister of Baking Powder or the large bags of Baking Soda. I have bought Baking Powder there and was counting on buying both Baking Powder and Soda there again to restock my stash! I much prefer to buy it in large quantities instead of multiple piddly containers. I have never had it go "bad" even though it takes us a while to use it.
This past Saturday Sylvia and Charity worked on the bananas I had bought at Aldi, and we mashed and froze 6 cups worth, I believe. In the past I have picked up marked-down bananas on the rare occasion I found them at Kroger, and used those to freeze. I haven't found any for a long time and had used up my freezer stash. Lo and behold, Aldi's banana price was the same as Kroger's mark-down price! That is why I bought so many bananas. We are eating about half of them fresh, and we froze the other half after they had ripened sufficiently.
In my next post, I'll share our menu plan and little about how I work our big shopping trips to last for several weeks at a time. :)
Report on our Aldi groceries so far:
The cereal definitely passes our quality test! I do not like cheap, "cardboard" cereal so I don't waste our money on off-brand cereals (why buy it when we don't enjoy eating it?). Because the boxes looked nearly identical to the brands we typically buy, I took the chance. It turns out I have found a huge savings on cereal!! When I was in Costco, I double checked the prices of the cereals we typically buy (which are bulk price!), and it ranged easily from $3.50 - $4+ a box!! We typically have cold cereal once a week on Saturdays, so it isn't a HUGE expense, but I am tickled to have found quality-tasting cereal for a much, much lower price.
The buttermilk ranch dressing is still up for debate. It definitely isn't the same as the high-end Yogurt Buttermilk Ranch we enjoy from Kroger. I'm not sure if I will buy it from Aldi again, or perhaps I'll try a different brand I saw, before deciding if we will get our Ranch Dressing from Aldi or not.
We REALLY love fresh fruits and vegetables so I am very, very excited to have this resource that will allow us these good, healthy foods much more affordably. I have discovered that they don't always have the same items, but with the haul I made this past week I am confident we can continue to shop there for the majority of our fresh produce and vegetables. Also their dairy quality seems good, and will be a big savings on our grocery budget. Typically dairy and fresh fruits and vegetables takes up a much, much larger portion of our grocery bill.
I hope to be sharing our grocery trips a little more regularly, at least for now. I'm sure once Baby 5 comes my time will again be used doing things besides blogging about grocery prices. ;)
0 comments:
Post a Comment