It’s been a while since I’ve shared about my love of shopping at Aldi! It’s the number one place to go if you have a grocery budget. The more I can save on groceries, the more I can spend on crafting supplies! 🙂 This week I was on a mission to find items I could use for this Easy Aldi Lunch Prep.
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Why should I lunch prep?
I’ve gotten into some pretty bad habits. I’ve been working for the past several months while my daughter is in preschool. I’m only there 3 1/2 hours so obviously I don’t have a lunch break. I go straight to pick her up as soon as I’m done working. At first I thought this would be great. I could eat a dried fruit and nut mix while I was working and just skip lunch. Maybe I’ll lose some weight. Ha! By late afternoon I am eating everything I can find in the house. It doesn’t help that my son pulls out all the snacks as soon as he gets off the bus in the afternoons! Now I am trying something different.
What did I purchase from ALDI?
I headed to Aldi yesterday to purchase items I could use for prepping lunches. They have such great prices on produce. A lot of these items are things I already purchase. I’ve just never tried to actually prep lunches with them. Anyone else ever buy a bag of baby carrots with good intentions but end up throwing it in the trash? I’ve tried lunch prep in the past using leftovers. It worked great and I also still had the containers I used for that.
I’ll give you a breakdown of all the items I purchased and what I paid. I know prices can change and they also vary by store. This might give you a good reference though.
- Pita Crackers – $1.99
- Baby Carrots – $0.75
- Blackberries – $1.79
- Strawberries – $1.49
- Raspberries – $1.59
- Pretzel Slims – $1.99
- Mini Babybel Cheeses – $2.68
- Hummus Mini Cups – $2.99
- Eggs – $1.13
- Southwest Salad Kit – $2.49
- Tri Color Rotini – $0.75
- Honey Ham – $3.09
- Sliced Cheese – $1.15
- Guacamole Mini Cups – $3.29
- Blueberries – $2.89
- Sweet Potato Chips – $1.89
- Cucumbers – $0.85
- Grape Tomatoes – $1.39
I ended up spending $32.20 on these groceries. Keep in mind some of these items are convenience foods so that I could do this as easily as possible. You may be able to buy a large container of hummus or make your own salad mix for a little less. I also had quite a bit of food leftover. I can use these to make even more lunches next week or we can eat them for snacks.
What lunches did I make with my ALDI haul?
Once I was ready to start prepping, I washed all the produce while the pasta and eggs were boiling. I was able to create ten lunches. Some of them were duplicates but I’ll share what I made with you.
This one was inspired by a lot of Bistro Boxes I see on Pinterest. It would also make a great snack box! It has hummus, carrots, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, pretzel thins, Babybel Cheese, and berries.
Next I mixed the Southwest Salad Kit with some of the pasta. You could also add ham and boiled egg to this for a little extra protein. I used disposable portion cups for the salad dressing. I also included cucumbers, carrots, and berries. My fourth grader took this to school today and loved it. I was pleasantly surprised!
For this one I used some of the remaining salad and pasta mix with boiled egg, guacamole, sweet potato chips and berries. If you haven’t tried the sweet potato chips from Aldi, make sure you pick some up on your next trip. They are amazing!
I did a few boxes with ham and cheese roll ups. This was our first time trying the Never Any Honey Ham and it is really good. I put the roll ups with pretzel thins, veggies, hummus, and berries. The silicone baking cups work perfectly to hold pretzel thins or crackers.
I also made a simple pasta salad with with olive oil, seasoning salt, ham, cheese, boiled egg, cucumbers, and grape tomatoes. These are for my husband since he is not a fan of hummus or guacamole. I added pita crackers and berries to these.
Make ahead cold lunches are great for work, school, and even for taking to the park or pool.
I was thrilled to end up with ten healthy lunches that are ready to go! This should help keep me out of the drive thru lines and the snack bags. Plus it was so nice to get up this morning and already have lunches ready. If you think you might want to try this, you totally should. It was really quick and easy. I am definitely not an organized person so I know you can do it!
Related Articles:
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These lunch’s look delicious !! I have a question about these….. If your making five lunches per week, how do the fruits and vegetables stay all week. Is Friday’s lunch as fresh as Monday’s lunch? Do they get soggy or dried out by the end of the week?
Thank you for your response.
sincerely,
Pat k.
Thank you! I had three people eating these so they only lasted three days for me. They were still great on the third day. The silicone cups help keep the crackers & chips fresh. The salad mix I used was mostly cabbage so it is a heartier salad that holds up better. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
You could always do cups of fruit packed in water or juice instead of fresh fruit if you are worried about the fruit spoilage