This post for Shopping at ALDI: a Beginner’s Guide is sponsored by ALDI. Thank you for supporting brands that make Food, Folks, and Fun possible.

Today, I am thrilled to share with you my new favorite place to shop for filling my refrigerator, freezer, and pantry without breaking the bank: ALDI! Here you’ll find everything you need for navigating your first trip to ALDI in this Shopping at ALDI: a Beginner’s Guide post!

Recently, ALDI opened its doors in Southern California (find the nearest location here), and I cannot be more thrilled about it! I haven’t shopped at ALDI since we lived in Virginia over 3 years ago and I have missed it terribly! Lucky for me a new ALDI store opened up right around the corner. ALDI has helped me stock my refrigerator, freezer, and pantry again without breaking the bank!

To help all of my California friends out there that might be new to ALDI, I compiled a couple of helpful lists.

Why I love shopping at ALDI:

1. Budget shopping at its finest! The prices are insane. Like jaw-dropping insane. Like people walking around the store just to gawk at the prices insane. On a recent trip I met a man who was there just to gawk at prices. His wife had just come home from her very first ALDI shopping trip and he wanted to see the amazing prices for himself! This man was most impressed with the organic produce prices. And honestly I was, too. I cannot remember the last time I saw organic strawberries for this price. 
2. Seasonal items. ALDI rotates some of its selection of food and household products regularly. This way they can make way for seasonal items. For instance, right now they have a nice selection of Father’s Day gift ideas and outdoor summer fun items. They also have a nice selection of barbecue favorites; everything from meat, buns, sauces, and sides. Basically, you can get your Father’s Day grocery and gift shopping done in one place! 
3. Award winning products. They have quite a few ALDI-exclusive products that have won national recognition. From the liveGfree® line of gluten free items (their liveGfree® Gluten Free Pretzel Minis, liveGfree® Gluten Free Brownie Mix, and liveGfree® Gluten Free Plain Wraps are a MUST-TRY) to parent approved snacks like Happy Farms String Cheese, Nature’s Nectar 100% Apple Juice, and Benton’s Mini Bear Grahams Snack Packs .
4. Fresh food without the added junk. ALDI prides itself in fresh, affordable food. And when I say fresh, I mean fresh because everything is fresh! Everything from their produce and meats to their organic products and better-for-you brands like their SimplyNature® PLUS ALDI products are completely free from MSG, certified synthetic colors, and trans fats.  

ALDI Shopping Tips:

1. Don’t forget a quarter! ALDI has done a few things to keep overhead low and pass those savings onto its customers. Like their shopping carts. ALDI keeps all of their carts outside the entrance of the store. They’re all connected, and to release a cart you insert a quarter into the slot. When you return your cart you get your quarter back! I also love this system because you don’t need to worry about abandoned shopping carts dinging your car in the parking lot!  
2. Don’t just stick to your shopping list. Part of the fun of ALDI is trying new products and seeing what seasonal items they have in stock. I always leave some room in my cart for such items. This is one of my kid’s favorite things (besides putting the quarter in the cart!). I usually let them have their pick of a couple food items we haven’t tried yet.  
3. Become an ALDI insider. Sign up for ALDI weekly emails on their website and you’ll have deals on seasonal and holiday items, meat, produce, pantry, frozen, and refrigerated items delivered to your inbox. I like to use these weekly emails as a jumping off point for my shopping list.  
4. Bags: bring ‘em or buy ‘em! Plan on bringing your own bags when you shop at ALDI. This is another way they keep costs down, plus it helps you be a little greener by reusing bags you already have! If you forget your bags, don’t fret. ALDI has reusable bags and grocery sacks available at checkout. They also have freezer bags available to purchase to keep cold items chilled on your trip home.  

As part of my partnership with ALDI they sent me a box full of some of their non-perishable ingredients to get me cooking! The box was full of pantry staples that I shop for on a regular basis like Stonemill Essentials spices, California Olive Ranch Olive Oil, SimplyNature® Organic Vegetable Broth, SimplyNature® Organic Asian Ginger Dressing, Stonemill Essentials Iodized Salt, SimplyNature® Organic Quinoa, a variety of SimplyNature® canned beans, L.R. Rice Raw & Unfiltered Local Southern California Honey, Southern Grove Chia Seeds, Southern Grove Chopped Walnuts, liveGfree® Gluten Free Multiseed Crackers, SimplyNature® Squeezable Fruit Blends (my kid’s favorite), Choceur Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts, SimplyNature® Organic 100% Apple Juice, and more! Basically ALDI filled my pantry!

Along with these ingredients they sent me four ALDI Craves recipe cards directly from their Test Kitchen! Since my ALDI delivery I’ve enjoyed making these four recipes including: Garden Bean Salad (recipe coming to the blog soon!), Quinoa Lentil Tacos, Blueberry Chia Pudding, and Lemon Fruit Bruschetta!

In my next ALDI post I will be sharing how I took these delicious ingredients from ALDI…

And made this fresh Garden Bean Salad recipe that ALDI provided to me. All you need to know is that it is a must-make for summer! It’s perfect as a barbeque side dish, lunch, or even hearty enough for dinner! Plus it will only cost you about $1.12 a serving!

For more find ALDI here:

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