I have gotten better at not wasting vegetables like celery, carrots, onions, and bell peppers. When it looks like they aren't getting used up, they get chopped up and sauteed separately. Then I spread them on a sheet pan and freeze for an hour, then scrape into freezer bags separately. They don't clump together frozen this way. When it comes time to use them in recipes I can toss in as much as I need. It feels like a cheaty shortcut when making soups or adding to meatloaf mixes, etc.. Saves money compared to how I used to throw a lot away because it spoiled.
The almonds are for medicinal use, you can add your popcorn with home popped to stretch it out and you were just saving the life of that Hydrangea! That was a rescue.
Just for the record, I’ve been coloring my own hair for almost 30 years. I did the math the other day and I’ve saved us a whole car. 😎 Keep up the great work, Dawn!
“We’re all human!” and “People have different convictions during different seasons.” AMEN to those comments! We all do what we need to do, and we do what is right for OUR families. I hate that people always feel like they have to explain themselves to others, but it’s the world we live in. Thanks for the video! I love your channel.
Dawn, If you have a cookie sheet large enough for your cutting board to fit into, sit the cutting board in there before you cut up fruit that's really juicy and it makes clean up very easy...and no juice running all over the counter!
I always have a muffin mix on hand to use up any berries/fruit that starts to ‘turn.’ I also keep a pizza crust on hand For produce that starts to turn- I sauté any veggies/herbs starting go turn (peppers, mushrooms, spinach, onion, garlic, basil, zucchini, summer squash, etc) and make a pizza. (We are gfcf so I use fake cheese and some sauce, Turkey pepperoni.) For fruits that start to turn that aren’t muffin friendly; I cut up and freeze for smoothies, sorbet, or I can use in a dessert or slushy drink (like watermelon). This helps us with food waste. To save money; I always ‘cut’ meats with veggies/beans to create ‘more.’ For instance I add black beans, onions, garlic, salsa to my taco meat. So I use 1 pound of ground beef for a family of 5. For tuna I use red onions and celery, for chicken salad I use green grapes, walnuts(or nuts I have on hand) apples , shredded carrots. This uses up things I may needed for other recipes and needed to use up. Love this channel! ❤️
I love using eggs in everything- they are cheap (even in organic) and the best protein! (Deviled eggs are a great snack/cheap/fast in the IP) I make mini quiche/omelets in muffin tins all the time with leftover taco meat (or taco meat I make for quick meals), or sautéed veggies. I also make ‘meatloaf’ burgers. This stretches meat (which is usually the most costly) plus my kids are getting more vegetables/fiber in their diets. I have almost 3 teens; and they love to eat…it’s our current season. We also do meatless meals - vegetable stir fry or vegetable lasagna (with lentil pasta sheets). If we do soups - I like adding mung beans/julienne carrots, green onions (super cheap) to our miso ramen to stretch our ramen stash. (We are gluten and dairy free so our processed food stuff tends to be more expensive) I love fast/quick meals and I have never loved cooking/baking, but I have mastered the 30 min meal from prep to plate - even with my kids food allergies. Since removing 1/2 of my ‘inventory’ from my cupboards, cooking and cleaning up became a breeze and super fast. I’m loving this new system! I find myself skipping store bought cookies for cookies from scratch-which has always been a chore in the past. My kitchen is almost always clean now which is miraculous.
I laughed so hard when you were like, "okay this has quickly turned into a don't shop with me" hahahaha We are so similar - I now don't even let my eyes look in the direction of that aisle at Aldi! Hahaha
I ENJOYED this video! As a recent Cancer survivor, My recommendation: BUY ORGANIC (especially produce) We have ZERO Cancer in out family. I AM CONVINCED the tainted food we buy is the culprit. Love you guys! Hugs, Bethany 😘
I bought a pink hydrangea and a blue hydrangea at Sam’s about 5 years ago. They were tiny and 12.99. They both kept their color and are huge now!! I don’t think you will regret that hydrangea!!
Ohh please tell me how to care for one! My hubby bought me a plant with 4 beautiful pink balls and they turned brown 😭! The leaves are beautiful green still. I don't know what I did wrong.
Just water it but don’t trim it. They can only be trimmed after they bloom and go dormant in fall. We all Holly tone to ours in early spring. Keep them watered.
@@LOLA-kr7vn you can trim the brown blooms off right now. If the leaves are green then it’s still alive. They like the north side of the house and they are acidic and like fertilizer for acid loving plants.
@@10nurse29 the pruning depends on the variety. If mine are not pruned early they won’t bloom the next year, although actually I rarely prune mine at all except for getting dead wood out.
Thank you for normalizing that we can’t all afford all organic and grass fed! Sometimes we have to stick to the budget no matter what and that includes sacrificing organic and grass fed. Sometimes I can feel guilty or shame and don’t want people to know. But we all struggle with this, thank you for making me feel more normal! 💛
You can fertilize your pink hydrangea with lime and it will change the ph of your soil and keep it pink. If you want blue, add aluminum sulfate or even coffee grounds! Hope this helps. 🙂👍
We had a blue hydrangea and last year we moved it to another part of the yard. This year it has pink blooms, blue blooms, purple blooms and creamy white blooms...how did this happen and how can I make it happen again?
Love how you blush as you share your weeknesses with us. I count you a dear friend though we've never met. You are blessing my life and one day I will have my inventory manageable.
I am not a minimalist at all! BUT, that being said, you and your family are just so darn cute, that I can't help but watch. And I love Diana's channel, too. I learn a lot from you and it's wonderful to see Christian role models on RU-vid, or any social media for that point, that isn't "over the top." Thank you for sharing with us. Keep up the excellent videos you and Tom and Diana make. Love you guys! As for tips.... :-/ I'm still learning.
Hey Dawn! Re organic fruits and veg, you can look at the dirty dozen list (they do a US list), where you can see which produce has the worst rates of chemicals on and therefore if you were to buy organic, then you can lean towards getting those! Just a thought x
Dawn, don't feel bad when you're going camping and getting the kids some fun treats. Everything is expensive and eating out is expensive, so making your food, even if it's simple, more fun time with the family. We need some storage food and getting things on sale is a plus. Just rotate what you have downstairs by checking the dates. Have fun on your camping trip and make a video for us. Thanks for sharing.
This is so true, everything nowadays is so expensive. I used to spend $100 a week on groceries for my husband and I and now for the same items is close to $200. But still cooking at home is still cheaper for us than eating out. Sometimes we get some treats because we still gotta enjoy life though 🤷🏻♀️
I've been meal planning and sale shopping for years. Even have an upright freezer for those great deals. Never have I thought to shop one week at a time to save on waste. So Smart! Thank you!
Dawn, thank you for keeping it real here. I appreciate seeing that even people who are seasoned shoppers admit they have impulse ‘triggers’. Awesome content on your channel.
Considering how many hundreds and hundreds of things we say no to and pass on by, if we get just one, maybe two, impulse buys, I think we really did well!
Thank you so much for watching! I'm looking forward to hearing how you're saving money on groceries these days :) Also, here are links to some of the resources mentioned: Lazy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ImtgKF5G_ro.html Video with our basement food storage: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uQ9lcyOjQiQ.html Minimalist Meal Planning: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SlZbf7uKtQA.html Chicken Taco Recipe (& more!): www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2019/03/15/6-quick-chicken-dinner-recipes/ I hope you have a good day!!! - Dawn
I've noticed that you make a lot of references to Walmart. But isn't Target a big thing in Minnesota? I think their pickups are so much more efficient well.. everything is more efficient about Target. Aldi is the best, with groceries rising in price, at least the prices at Aldi are cheaper to begin with. Hydrangeas need very acidic soil and they are pretty hard to keep alive. But..KEEP your receipt bc Aldi honors returns no matter how long!! Wishing you 🙌green thumb success :) P.S. I have colored my own hair since I began in my late 20's. Why would a person ever not do that? It's easy, inexpensive, and relaxing! And these days, there are good hypoallergenic organic products. ( bc I too, go back & forth re. Organic ). As for 🍓 strawberries, I have learned to buy (2) at Aldi, freeze one and put the other in the fridge. I clean & slice the ones for the freezer first so it's not like you're biting into a whole, hard, strawberry. For a snack instead of ice cream, I grab a bowl of frozen berries and drizzle on some heavy cream or half & half. If you add few chocolate chips, it's over-the-top yummy!
If you have time, try making salsa chicken in the crock pot, but add the salsa to your chicken before it cooks. It'll turn out MUCH more flavorful! You can still shred the chicken in your kitchen aid after it's done cooking 😊
Over here in the UK Aldi is the best for fruit&veg too :) Their own brand and "specially selected" stuff is awesome quality too, which helps keep costs down vs other supermarkets and name brands. The only items I really bulk buy are things like a couple of sacks of pasta, canned tomatoes and beans on deals - stuff that'll always get used AND keeps a long time. Our freezer is basically used for bread, fruit and veggies (or short-stay items like a pizza for that night) so we don't panic if we have a power cut. I know spinach is doomed in my kitchen so I don't buy it any more, and as you said, having simple recipes with overlapping ingredients is pure GOLD. I just throw in different herbs/spices to make them feel totally different instead of having to keep a tonne of rarely used items.
🥦 frugal tip for organics: use "the clean 15" and "dirty dozen" lists to prioritize what to buy organic. For instance all mustard plants (BROCCOLI, cauliflower...) don't have many bug predator and therefor, almost no pesticides. So enjoy your broccoli guilt-free. 😀
Dawn, when my late husband shopped, he was so proud of getting good deals; he would unpack it all onto the island for me to oooh and aaah over. Me? Try to get into the pantry as cricketly as possible and get ‘er done! Thanks for the smile you brought me today! 💕
Reverse meal planning has helped us so much to avoid food waste. We plan our meals around what is on hand that needs to be used before it will go off. Most nights we have leftover because it is only the two of us, as the kids are grown. We usually try to cook once and eat twice. I find that I can eat things twice and then I have had enough of them. So, I have gotten much better at turning things into something else (like stir fry, omelets, soup, fried rice) or putting it up for later (by Freezing or pressure canning) We do shop about weekly but we have a fully stocked pantry/freezer/cantry as well. We do try to keep meals simple, like you. We love those Aldi sausages and Brats, too. Mainly we shop there and Sam's club for our food that we do not grow or get from local farms.
The first time I made the chicken for the chicken tacos recipe, my husband, who is from Mexico, said, "You made tinga!" So you can officially call this chicken tinga, Dawn. It's Mexican approved! 😉😁
Great real video! We on average have reduced our food waste from a 33 gallon trash bag every couple of months to less than 5% or none. What helped was weekly quick cleanup of fridge to see what we have, move expiring foods,veggies to eye level and let everyone know that it needs to be eaten. Check fridge and pantry first, before making meal plan, Keep meal plan very simple, (weekends we can have fancier meals if the energy hits us): make grocery list, LOOK at list at store, .. Put all meal items into a bin for next days dinner, with a note to others not to eat dinner items ahead of time,,,Rinse and Repeat,,,its alot of habit changes at first, but focus on one habit a week, then add another. Now everything takes me only a few minutes, as I do the steps in small increments throughout the day.. I many times now have to save some scraps aside so our chickens get a treat,,cuz we don't have vegetables st the end of the week that are going bad...Never thought we could get to this stage,,I'm really proud of me and my family for the savings,,,I hated that we used to waste so much food...little steps make a difference!
Wow the Aldi's over there are so HUGE! 😀 I would be in there for ages😂. The chocolate powdered almonds.... as long as you enjoy them & don'tvtry to save them like the special coffee that got stolen last time👍
I had been trying to just buy week to week instead of stocking up, but the last time I went to ALDI (18 miles away), I decided to stock up on some things because of the fuel-factor. Every little bit helps! I'm planning to do a $25/month budget for the rest of this month and again in July, so I can use what I have on hand and stay away from impulse buys as well. 😁
I so love that you only shop once a week, for a week at a time. Budgeting channels often recommend buying in bulk and/or having a massive inventory to work off of and that is so expensive to start and maintain. Not to mention overwhelming! Thank you 🙏
In case it's helpful, I tell my kids it's ok to love something in the store, and then leave it there. It takes practice, but I'll enjoy the thing, think about how pretty it is, and then I'm grateful I got to have that moment for free, and I'll leave it there. If I was whole and complete before I saw it, I'll be fine without it 😀. The exception is when it's something that had alreadt been in the back of my mind. I had a spot where I wanted a feux cactus in a cute pot. When I saw the perfect cactus (IKEA) and the perfect pot (clearance at TJ-Maxx when getting towels--many weeks/ months apart, I don't even remember), I grabbed it and felt no regret!
We call it the “Aldi junk isle” and a couple weeks ago I was especially blue (recent empty nesters) and my hubby said how about a trip to the junk isle?!?! I knew I needed to snap out of it then! Thanks for being real Dawn
There is a great trick to keep your strawberries fresh longer. I put the unwashed strawberries in a jar with a lid in the refrigerator. I wash the strawberries as we are going to eat. They stay great for two weeks. Thank you for your Channel, Dawn!!!
I think the captions aren't up yet but as a non native speaker I just wanna thank you again for the closed captions on all of your videos. It's really appreciated and I wish more RU-vid channels would do it. Besides that, the video was very interesting, I might have ADHD so I'm prone to impulse buying. But I just love grocery shopping so maybe I can try a mixture in the future like you bc I do see the benefits in pick up.
Our Aldi’s faves!… Dole Chopped Salad Kit Buffalo Ranch, Park Street Deli Pork Carnitas, Simply Nature Organic Original Beef Jerky, Freeze dried apples, freeze dried mangos, Simply Nature Unsweetened Applesauce, Southern Grove Pecan Halves … and you must try the Simply Nature Organic Chipotle Ranch Dressing on your chicken tacos! It’s like the sauce they put on Gordidas at Taco Bell in the late 90’s, I prefer it to sour cream! First time commenter I think. Long time watcher. I found you during the Holiday Overwhelm Season in 2020. You are my favorite channel. We bought our first house in 2019, and you’ve had a huge impact on making it feel like a home. It’s so fun to watch and come along side you as you stay true to what’s important in a crazy world.
I live on my own and I freeze various fruits. Grapes defrost fine, waternelon isn't as crunchy, but is much better than when it goes sour in the fridge.
Love this, it's so fun and interesting to see how people do things differently! I switched over to once a month grocery shopping right at the end of last year, I actually really enjoy it, but, with the weather warming up it's becoming a struggle because my onions and garlic keep molding and my potatoes keep sprouting and going soft, so I'm going to have to rethink how I store those but I have found for me and my season of life buying shelf stable items in bulk gives me an incredible peace of mind considering the way things are in the world right now. I want to cry each month when I go to the store and see prices jumping up dollars at a time.
This cracks me up because we're a vegan/vegetarian family, so our "grocery haul" is vastly different beyond the produce. It's always fascinating to me the different things that are "essential" in one family versus another. I like how realist you are about your grocery shopping, because it is all getting so expensive and you have to balance that with trying to still get the things you like.
Meal planning is overwhelming for me. I have ADHD, I used to take Ritalin until I lost my health insurance. So, now I have health insurance, but, it takes forever to get into a place that does these tests. So working with my crippled brain is a challenge. On the other hand, I want to be much more careful with food waste. I toss so much! I’m going to go check out your meal planning video and see if you have some helpful tips! I love your channel!
I also have ADHD, normally medicated but I'm out so supplementing with a ton of caffeine (I'm sure you know that doesn't do much!) But I'm in a household/kitchen hyperfocus right now. So I made a very loose year long meal plan that I can check, come up with specifics and shop weekly or whatever I need to do. Before I start that plan though, I made an inventory of the whole kitchen and I'm cooking what I have until I HAVE to shop. I'm terrible about waste as well, and trying hard.
I also got the hydrangeas!! They are gorgeous! I planted them in large pots that I also got in Aldis. They are thriving and healthy. We have a deer 🦌situation so I cannot plant them directly in the ground or they will be decimated in a day! Anyway whenever I look out on my deck from the kitchen I see my Aldis hydrangeas and feel No Regret just Happiness!! I 100% agree that I just shop for what I will be making in the immediate days. This has greatly reduced our food waste! Once again, great video! Thanks Dawn!
Aldi in Australia is set out differently 🙂 We have the food aisles...but we also have 'special buys'..which are the centre aisles. That is where you would find home goods and/or clothing for a limited time. Wednesday and Saturdays are the special buy days..and depending what they are..customers line up before opening. Catalogues let us know in advance. Once products they are gone..they are gone! I like that you have home aisles all the time! Love your videos x
Thank you for sharing your trip and tips with us! What fun "shopping" with you today!:) Alot of help and encouragement as always. I hope you guys have a great time camping!!! God Bless you and your family:) 🙂
I appreciate your truthfulness with the struggle. I feel the same. Plus we have food sensitivities. And sometimes it’s hard. I have a different situation in that I live in a tourist town. Our stores are expensive! (Plus in California, so already expensive). Our nearest big box store is 2 hours away. So I do stock up. But we’ve developed systems so we don’t forget food. I buy pretty much the same stuff every month. And by the end, we are like mother Hubbard with her bare cupboards. We all gotta do what’s right for our families. Though, if I had a normal store near us, I’d probably shop more like tbis
For the last 2/3 months I have been waiting for Aldi to put a desk on sale and it finally happened ($100 off). I had been looking for this exact desk because it only has one drawer. I didn't want a desk that could hold a lot of stuff.
Also, with produce, if you wrap each cucumber in a paper towel and place in the fridge, it stays fresh up to 2 weeks. If you wrap each individual pepper in plastic wrap it also stays fresh for 2 weeks. Wrap the celery bunch in foil and it has the same shelf life. And finally, green onions, I keep in a much of water on my kitchen windowsill, it continues to grow and I just snip off what I need for recipes and I haven’t had to buy a new bunch for months!
11:23 Dawn, try seeing if Gage (and you and Tom) does better if you get the Aldi organic sprouted bread. Aldi's brioche hamburger and hot dog buns use good wheat. Aldi GF pasta is good too (Barilla brand from Walmart has a GF spaghetti that's good too). When we eat wheat that is NOT ENRICHED (usually when it's organic it isn't enriched, or foods imported from Europe) we have less issues and feel so much better!
You are spot on on the hydrangea, I didn't resist either and am SOooo enjoying it! My daughter constantly does the organic or not organic dance. I admire you young Mom's, such a challenge as compared to 20 years ago! Good job, keep doing what you're doing! Love your videos!
Dawn, I'm laughing so hard. I went to Aldi yesterday and saw the same cute mason jar flower pot and decided to come back if it was something that wouldn't leave me.i actually thought of you. I totally forgot about it trying to keep the list for my moms shopping and our family separate. I agree, grocery pick up is helpful for curbing impulse buys. This video was helpful. Thank you for bringing us along.
I call that particular aisle at Aldi the naughty aisle. At my local Aldi I noticed they had the bins you have with the wooden lids. I rarely go into the grocery stores anymore. I’m much better at meal planning if I shop weekly. I’ve seen people say they save by bulk buying once a month and some who save by shopping week to week. I’ve been a monthly shopper but have switched to weekly. It’s hard to tell if I’m saving though with prices skyrocketing. I recently found boot trays at Aldi. They were roughly 15 inches square. I bought one for every member in our house (8). “Things that hold things will hold things.” But this is in a good way! If it doesn’t fit, put it in your room. I’m happy to report my mud room has been much tidier and I can walk through without tripping. 😁
My absolutely fav product from Aldi is the frozen veggie bag of cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. The cost per bag in Milw., WI is $0.99. I usually buy a bunch of them and add them to every meal. The name brand bags are double or more. The cost of food right now is ridiculous. I may only have two adults in my household right now, but your tips and tricks are 100% appropriate for any size household. Thank you! You are loved and appreciated.
I follow you AND Jordan Page....... Jordan says when something is on sale buy one for now and two for later and STOCK UP. You're saying opposite things and darnit if I don't agree with BOTH of you! lol. I love her idea of buying on sale and stocking up. AND I love your idea of keeping inventory low enough that I don't need the bandwith to remember what's going bad in the fridge. I take pieces from both of you as I figure it out over here in my crazy house. Thanks for all you do!
Zero shade or shame, life is challenging and processing a whole chicken is mentally more challenging if not actually a bit more challenging. BUT, if you put that chicken (can be still frozen) in a pot of water (add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, peppercorns whatever fresh herbs you have … or don’t add any of it), bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for a few hours, the meat will fall off the bones, making it very easy to take apart and it’s then basically shredded for you, and you have probably three quarts of the best chicken stock. Don’t be grossed out if your chicken stock cools and is like jelly. That’s actually a good thing, and when it’s heated you can’t tell at all. It does take pre-planning and getting in to the habit, but it’s so worth it when you have the time. Thanks for making this video!
That Herdez Guacamole Salsa is also excellent mixed with chicken in the Instant Pot. Only 2 ingredients and 15-20 minutes makes for a delicious meal. MMMM!! As for the budget: I don't think I could eat on $25 a week... pretty skimpy!! ($50 would be more logical for me... as a single person.)
I agree...I buy for my elderly parents and me...they eat pretty much the same foods every day, except that I try and change up the mid-day meal. I go almost every week and rarely get outta there under $200. But that includes paper products and other non-edibles such as detergent and the like. I definitely have an inventory problem. lol
Hi Dawn, have you ever checked out the "Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen" list for fresh fruit and vegies? It really helped me to figure out what fresh fruit and veg I wanted to spend the extra $$ for organic. Have a wonderful camping trip!
They've been saying to budget a $100 per person for years now and groceries have more than doubled!!! I'm planning on adding a couple meatless nights to our meal planning per week to see if that helps.
That is not realistic for families with growing kids with big appetites IMO. Especially trying to eat fresh clean food which is more expensive than processed
I love meatless meals. Canadian Living has a ton of great vegetarian meal recipes. I especially love their butter chickpeas and vegetarian sloppy joes.
Groceries are so expensive now and you have some great ideas for savings. It is hard even for a family of 2 and we are seniors. I am working to get my pantry down to much smaller inventory and i realize meal planning goes long way to help save money. Make sure we eat leftovers and not waste food. Thanks for sharing and good times on your camping trip.
Dawn, hydrangeas do really well here in Texas (between Houston and Galveston). They have always come back from when we have had freezes. I really hope yours does well. It has become one of my favorite plants in my garden. Also, from what I have heard, the color depends on the ph lever of your soil. Praying your trip is blessed and uneventful.
We have multiple food allergies so our product purchases are really simplistic - porridge oats, Weetbix or cornflakes for cereal, plain crackers, no store bought biscuits, etc... and yet it still costs $250 per person, per month, to grocery shop in my rural New Zealand town. I try to buy our fresh produce from the local Saturday market as it can sometimes be cheaper than the supermarket but I have come to the point of putting my hands up in surrender and saying "Whatever it costs, it costs and we will tighten our belts over something less essential than food."
Thank you for the grocery haul! I don’t know what it is about a grocery haul, but I enjoy them! We also LOVE that guacamole salsa!! 💕 Oh, and I decided to make chicken tacos tonight, thanks to you! 😁 I put my chicken in the crockpot. I have a hard time enjoying chicken cooked any other way!
Things we love at Aldi: frozen breaded Kirkwood brand chicken breasts, Greek yogurt spinach dip, gluten free pretzels, iced mocha in carton, fresh two-pack pork tenderloins, steelhead trout, salad kits, fresh produce, sea salt pita chips, children's board books (we've found some great ones there!), smoked sausages, spiral cut hams, cauliflower crust pizza, meats/cheeses/fruit for charcuterie board, and a lot more I can't think of right now. Also, we like the fresh chicken breasts, dry Italian dressing packets, canned french green beans and mini potatoes to make this recipe: Cut chicken into strips and lay in middle of 9x13 dish, wash and cut potatoes in half and put on one side of the chicken, drain french style green beans and place on other side of chicken. Sprinkle one package of dry italian dressing mix over it all. Melt one stick of butter and pour over. Cover & bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Delicious one-pan meal!
I have become obsessed with nail wraps. FYI you can buy that same brand from 5 below for a little cheaper than Walmart :) My game-changer grocery shopping process has been to use a notepad to write down my list in categories (instead of grocery aisles I break it down by Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, meat, and household....it's easier to see what I need to cut that way) ....I write the list in one color, then I take a different color to the store. I write the prices next to the item as I go (not as tedious as it sounds) and if I get anything unplanned, I have to write it on the list....in that different color. So it's obvious. It has helped a lot. AND i will probably never stop cooking with the Cook Once Eat All Week book, which I got because of you. It has seriously changed my life 😂
Thank you Dawn! We have basic favorites that we buy at Aldi - Parmesan and goat cheese, applewood smoked bacon, dried berries, english muffins, guacamole, some dairy and some produce (have to be careful and check for freshness). I try to avoid the aisle of shame but always allow for one "happiness treat" like the hydrangea. Shopped Aldi yesterday and our treat was two $1.99 chocolate bars😊I think there will eventually be a glut of housewares items on the shelves because people just aren't buying extra stuff right now which means minimalism so that's good!!
Brings back memories of shopping for a family of six! We also ordered "natural foods" through a food co-op, in which we had to help unload the semi, and divide the items among those who had ordered. I'm a firm believer in treating myself to a little something special - say, like a plant! The items in the "Finds" aisle don't tempt me unless I've seen it in their ad, and it's something I've been looking for. I live in MN too, and I think it would be fun to come visit you! I'm used to working on a farm and garden!
Ha ha my husband hates the fanny pack, he calls it the old lady purse, i use it at casinos. Anyway i told him i am a grandma and now a great grandma plus I'm no spring chicken!!! 60 tomorrow!!! I do minimalist shopping sometimes, just meat and greens but i don't have small kids. Anything your using and enjoying is ok.
This contraption for pineapples was one of my impulse buys from Aldi last year 😂 I thought repeatedly of decluttering it because it leaves behind a good amount of flesh. But if I'm too lazy to cut it my way it helps to have something quick and easy instead of letting the pineapple go bad. I might try a pineapple vinegar recipe with the rind.
I’m late here but you might consider making Thai Pineapple fried rice in the rind. My teen sons love a dinner of pineapple fried rice.easy healthy meal.
It is additional inventory to manage, but I like buying in bulk at Costco or BJs and then using the vacuum seal machine to divide up into meal-sized servings. And I completely agree, people have different convictions during different seasons. The inflation we are currently experiencing is very painful.
I used to obsess over organic. There is the dirty dozen list. I figure it’s better to eat conventional fruits and veggies than to not eat them because they aren’t organic 🙂
Have the pineapple gadget, great kitchen tool. We liked it so much gave as Christmas gifts to family. All appreciated something useful to make cutting pineapple so daunting.
During the pandemic I switched from Aldi to Walmart pick up and haven’t gone back. Though I like Aldi prices and organic foods, I like having limited grocery inventory, no impulse buys and saving sooo much time with Walmart pickup. I love how relatable you are and I appreciate the reminder that we all are in different stages with different priorities. Thanks Dawn!!
