Comparison Shopping

I've been wanting to do this for awhile. I took my weekly Aldi receipt and did a direct comparison of prices at our local Wegmans. It was very eye-opening for me. There was not one single item that was cheaper at Wegmans. There was only one item that was the same price. (Spaghetti sauce was 99 cents at both stores.) All the rest of the items were cheaper (and some by a lot) at Aldi. And I'd have to say, the comparison for taste and quality are at least equal. There is not a single item that I bought at Aldi that I would prefer to buy at Wegmans. Granted, I do still shop weekly at Wegmans for things that Aldi just doesn't sell, but the majority of our food each week comes from Aldi.

The total I spent at Aldi that week was $45.20. For the same food at Wegmans, it would have cost me $58.66. That's almost a $14 savings. Add that up over a year and that's a $700 savings. Who wouldn't want to save $700 a year?

* This shopping trip was actually a smaller trip than I usually do, I normally spend about $60-65/week at Aldi. So I would imagine my savings would really be more than $700/year!

Beaumont Coffee K-Cups

* * * Update: ShopAldi has moved to a new home! Come visit us!  * * *

Happy New Year! We're starting the new year off on the right foot in my house. Coffee is first thing on the agenda for New Year's Day. We received a Keurig for Christmas this year. (I know, we're late to the Keurig game, but better late than never I guess!)

Since then, we've been experimenting with various brands and flavors of K-Cups. And let's face it, they're not cheap. A friend gave us the Aldi Breakfast Blend K-Cups as a gift and we picked up the Hazelnut flavored K-Cups during our last Aldi trip. In my opinion, they are terrific. We've now had several flavors and several brands, and the Aldi K-Cups are just as good as the others. But of course, they're a lot less expensive. A comparable flavor and the store brand at Wegmans is priced at $7.49 for a 12-pack. At Aldi, they are $5.79. That's a $1.70 difference. That's a big savings!

* * * Update on Beaumont K-Cups - check my latest blog post about the new K-Cups! * * *

Fresh Flowers

I love fresh flowers in my kitchen. It brightens the room and always makes me smile when I see them. Aldi has very affordable flowers, and they're always fresh and last several weeks if taken care of properly. (I change the water daily.) 

Aren't they gorgeous? These particular fresh flowers from Aldi only cost $3.99. Such a small price to pay for a few weeks of smiles! 

Little Salad Bar All Natural Salsa

I came across this salsa in the refrigerated foods section last weekend. It was fabulous! And it goes really well with the Clancy Multi Grain Tortilla chips. It's great for a snack or as a side dish on Taco night.

Super Sunday Chicken Wings

We love chicken wings in our house. I bought 2 packages of fresh wings yesterday at Aldi. They were $2.19 per pound, which was the same price that BJ's was selling them for, Wegman's also had the same price. Must be the biggest weekend ever for Chicken Wings! (Um, yeah...) Anyway, I went with the Aldi wings.

We like our wings dry and crispy. A friend of ours gave us her recipe, and it's super easy. Set the oven to 300 degrees. Place the wings on the top of a broiler pan. I sprinkle a lemon-herb spice on top of the wings, and place them in the oven for 3-4 hours. Sometimes I'll sneak the temperature up to 375-400 towards then last half hour or so just to make them even crispier. They're fantastic. Perfect fare for a little Sunday football game!

Caesar Salad Kit

I bought this during my last outing to Aldi. I love a good Caesar Salad. This kit was fabulous. I split it into 2 servings and there was more than enough. It was comparable to the Wegman's Caesar Salad kit. As a matter of fact, I'd be willing to do a taste test and I would bet they taste the same. The Aldi salad kit was $1.99. The Wegmans version was $2.99.

Menu Plan Monday 1/28/13

Aaaand it's Monday again. How does that happen? I guess it's just one week closer to Spring, so I'll take that. It's been a bitter cold week here in New York. We're filled with comfort foods this week.

Sunday:
Homemade Chicken Soup
Rolls

Monday:
Pork Chops (from last week's menu that we didn't eat)
Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Lima Beans

Tuesday:
Baked Mac 'n Cheese
Broccoli

Wednesday:
Track Meet & Pizza

Thursday:
Baked Chicken with Stuffing
Corn
Crescent Rolls

Friday:
Ground Turkey Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

As always, be sure to check Organizing Junkie for lots of great menu planning ideas!