Friday I decided to try out Aldi a second time. I've been once but wasn't over the top excited about it but with my 4th baby almost here, I'm really trying to figure out a way to simplify our grocery shopping trips. I usually end up going to 2-3 different stores each week to get all the things we need and to be 100% honest with you, it's extremely exhausting. It's exhausting when I'm not pregnant but now big huge pregnant it's even harder. I get very tired when I push the cart and by the time I get home my feet and legs hurt so bad that I just want to sit the rest of the day, but of course that is never possible. It's also exhausting for the kids. I take them with me every time I go grocery shopping. I think I have gone without them maybe three times in the last two years. But three hours of grocery shopping every week is just SO much and I'm really over it. And once Jude gets here I'll have to nurse him in-between every store we go to and I'm thinking "o.my.goodness.!" Something has to change :)
Here's Liam & Alanna earlier this week at our trip to Costco to see what they have and if I like it better than Sam's. They were all happy and lovey with each other in these pictures but just a few seconds after I took these I heard Alanna scream and I turned around to see Liam pinching Alanna's eye! He had three fingers in her eye and was pinching her so hard that she was screaming and crying really bad. You probably guessed I kind of freaked out and just maybe...maybe I didn't handle it as patiently as I probably could have.
So all of that said to say that I am looking for a better, faster, easier, way of grocery shopping. Aldi is a small grocery store which means I get to walk less. It means that I can get out of the store much faster than at Kroger, Wal-mart, or Sam's Club (The three stores I normally go to) Their prices don't really change so I know what I'll have to spend whereas Kroger's prices sometimes vary from week to week. I was able to get everything I needed from Aldi that was on my list for this week except for spaghetti sauce that doesn't have any sugar added to it, and Dreamfields pasta. My sister told me that they do sell that type of spaghetti sauce I just must have missed it. I'm not surprised I missed it though because Liam and Alanna were in no mood to be there and Alanna was screaming to get out of the cart and kept trying to climb out and once Liam saw her acting that way he started running all around the place. I was just "slightly" distracted and was having a hard time focusing on looking at all the different things they had at the store. I really need to go back without any kids to see if Aldi will be a good fit for our family or not.
I'm not sure if I want to give up buying in bulk at Sam's Club though? But it may be worth it for a period of time to allow me to shop at just one store weekly. And then go to Wal-Mart once a month and stock up on the things that Aldi doesn't sell. I don't know? I really need to figure this all out soon though!
Here is what I bought at Aldi:
*I haven't bought the kids any processed snack foods like Graham Crackers or Pretzels in about two months. We really want them to be eating healthy and felt that all the processed snack foods were just not good for them. However, I have found that when I need a quick easy snack for when we are out and in the van, that something like pretzels or goldfish are just so much easier. It's a lot of work to pack up a cooler bag of fruits, nuts, & cheese every time we go out so I decided that for those times when we are out and they need a snack that I will give them these types of snacks. But at home, they will have fruit, veggies, yogurt, popcorn, nuts, smoothies etc.
- Skim Milk $2.25
- Whole Milk $2.74
- Ground Turkey $3.29 (1.2lbs)
- Ground Turkey $3.29 (1.2lbs)
- Spring Mix $2.49
- Honey $4.99
- Heavy Whipping Cream $1.69
- Bagged Broccoli $1.99
- Blue Chips $1.69
- Organic Baby Carrots $0.99
- Maple Syrup $4.29
- Half & Half $1.89
- Rice Cakes $1.29
- Cucumber $0.79
- Multi-colored peppers $2.99
- Green peppers $1.79
- Mozzarella Cheese $1.59
- Cheddar Cheese $1.59
- Graham Crackers $1.35
- Whole Wheat Flour $2.79
- Old Fashion Rolled Oats $2.39
- Honey Wheat Pretzels $3.49
- Seedless Watermelon $2.99
- Insulated bag $0.79
- Onions $2.59
*The only two things that were on my list that I couldn't find at Aldi was sugar free spaghetti sauce and Dreamfields pasta. I'll be going to Wal-mart today to pick those up along with some low-carb ice-cream.
With my leftover grocery money I plan on ordering protein powder which is $30 and possibly another bag of sprouted whole wheat flour if it's on sale.
With my leftover grocery money I plan on ordering protein powder which is $30 and possibly another bag of sprouted whole wheat flour if it's on sale.
And here is our Menu for the week:
Saturday *Nathan @ Station/ Beach with Nathan's parents!
B- Banana Bread (Cheat) Everyone
*I haven't found a banana bread recipe in a long time that I liked. I usually end up either over cooking it or it turns out super gooey. This bread was delicious. We ate it with a little bit of butter and peanut butter on it.
*I haven't found a banana bread recipe in a long time that I liked. I usually end up either over cooking it or it turns out super gooey. This bread was delicious. We ate it with a little bit of butter and peanut butter on it.
L-Turkey deli meat, string cheese, fruit (E) Everyone
D- Pizza out to eat (Cheat) Everyone
*We ended up doing a random beach day with my in-laws today
and so we ate lunch in the car and then had to eat out for dinner. My stomach was not happy with my choice of eating the pizza.
Sunday
B- Homemade Greek Yogurt with fruit, eggs (S) Everyone
D- Me & Nathan: Homemade Pizza & salad Kids: Leftover pizza from last night & fruit
Monday- *Nathan @
Station
B- Cinnamon Muffin In A Mug with Cream Cheese Frosting (S);
Kids: Banana Bread
L- Turkey meat,
cheese, & turkey bacon paninis with yogurt & fruit. (E)
*Alanna tends to
fight eating sandwiches so I will just give her turkey meat, cheese cubes and
yogurt with fruit.
D- Spaghetti with sausage in the crock pot over Dreamfields
Pasta & Salad (S)
Tuesday
B- Scrambled Eggs, fruit (S) Everyone
L- Leftover Texas Chicken Tortilla Soup
D- Low Carb Empanadas (S)
*I will be using ground turkey.
Wednesday
-
L- Broccoli Cheddar Soup (S)
D- Taco Bake (S)
*I'll be using ground turkey
Thursday-
B- Cake BatterOvernight Oatmeal (E)
L- Me: Chef Salad (S) Kids:
PB&J, carrots & ranch
*I know the recommendation is to only eat pasta once a week
but sometimes with 3 kids, homeschooling, being pregnant, & a husband who
works a lot...we eat it twice a week.
Plus I will already have the sauce made up so it will make
this meal super fast and easy to whip up.
Friday- *Nathan
@Station
B- Ham & Cheese Omelets, fruit (S) Everyone
L- Leftover Broccoli & Cheddar Soup (S)
D- Oat Flour Waffles served with syrup & fruit (E)
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