My Favorite Whole Foods to Buy at Aldi

I love to shop at Aldi. I remember my first trip there. It was with my friend, Erin, from The Humbled Homemaker. I was visiting her and she told me we HAD to go, because I didn’t yet have an Aldi at home…but now we DO!

And now? I’m hooked!

My favorite thing about Aldi…okay that’s a lie. I have many favorite things about Aldi! We’ll get to that shortly, and we’ll talk about what I buy at Aldi that is whole foods friendly.

1. I love that there aren’t a BAZILLION choices.

You usually get one or two options for whatever you want. Do I want this mustard or…[seeing only one brand of mustard is sold there] oh, this mustard it is! I suffer with decision fatigue, so this is a huge selling point for me to shop at Aldi vs. a lot of other stores. I don’t need 50,000 mustard varieties. 

2. It’s like a treasure hunt every time you shop at Aldi!

Because Aldi carries a few staples, they have room to carry other seasonal or specialty items. I never know what I am going to find while I am there and that is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!

I have found: socks, undies, pillows, skillets, flowers, rain boots, letterboards, etc…all at a FOOD STORE. Although I know I could be blasted for blasphemy – because I love Target as much as the next girl – but I would wager to say that when I shop at Aldi, it is JUST AS GOOD as Target Dollar Spot!!!!!!!!!!

3. The prices are so great!

And it’s not because the quality is crappy, no matter what other people say. They don’t have to pay people to stock pretty displays and fix shelves because everything stays in boxes. You pay a deposit for your cart ($.25) that you get back when you return it, so that they don’t pay bag-boys (do they still call “stock clerks” that?). They don’t even have bag boys! Because YOU BAG YOUR OWN GROCERIES when you shop at Aldi.

I might be in the minority here, but I love that I can bag my own groceries when I shop at Aldi. I PREFER that, actually. The prices are lower because they don’t have to pay as many staff people – you are doing the work. And I don’t mind a bit. 

Let’s get to the shopping list already…

I get asked all the time about my favorites from Aldi, so I promise we’ll get there in just a moment. But before I dive in, let me make sure we’re on the same page about “whole foods”. The reason I used quotes is because my idea of whole foods isn’t everyone’s. When I say “whole foods,” I mainly mean, “stuff without a ton of crap in it.” 

Folks have told me: but shopping at Aldi means you’re just buying junk! Ummmmmmmmmmm, just about every store is full of junk. Even Whole Foods (Yes, I said it). It just falls under the label of ORGANIC JUNK…which apparently is kosher, while Aldi JUNK is just…junk. Not sure how that works. But moving on!

Here are my favorites:

• Organic veggies (ours has a great selection!)
• Organic fruits (again, great selection)
• Ciabatta bread (I don’t always get this, but I do as a treat occasionally because I LOVE IT)
• Oyster crackers (many crackers have bad ingredients. This one at Aldi, doesn’t.)
• Cheese, cheese, and more cheese! We love Aldi cheese! And they have an amazing selection of all sorts of gourmet cheeses!
• Nitrate free lunch meat
• Avocados (they get their own spot)
• Organic strawberry jelly
• Natural peanut butter
• Organic ketchup
• Canned chicken
• Organic corn tortilla chips (THE BOMB!!!!)
• Organic pastas
• Canned fruits and veggies
• Suck applesauce (that’s what my kids call it  applesauce in a packet)
• Canned beans
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Organic marinara sauce
• Organic, unbleached sugar
• All sorts of spices
• Granola (when it’s too hot to make it)
• Protein bars
• Paper goods of all sorts, plates, napkins, and toilet paper, etc.
• Take & Bake pizza (this isn’t a whole food but I wanted to make sure you knew they were AMAZING)
• Coffee
• LaCroix water
• Frozen fruits and veggies, organic and otherwise
• Turkey burgers
• StirFry frozen veggies
• Eggs
• Organic, whole milk yogurt
• Nitrate free bacon
• Almond milk
• Coconut milk
• BUTTER!!!!!!! Grass-fed!!!!
• Whipping cream

But wait…there’s more!

This does NOT take into account all the special things I find here and there when I go shopping at Aldi: specialty juices, seasonal items like apples and Thanksgiving foods, Kombucha. Oh my gosh – it’s so much fun because you never know what you’re going to find!!!!!!!!!!

So friend, if you aren’t going to Aldi yet, and you have one close by, PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! You will not be sorry!!!

Are any of your favorites on my list??