Healthy Aldi Shop

One of the reasons I've always been unwilling to commit to clean eating before is due to my perception of the amount of money it's going to cost. But that was before I discovered Aldi. 

When Nick and I moved in together back in January the purse strings were tight after we'd spent money on things like bookcases and blenders. We were skint and had heard Aldi was amazing pricewise. Needless to say we were apprehensive. Don't get me wrong I love a good deal and I'm always in value shops like B&M and Poundstretcher scouting out the cheapest branded items they have in stock. But with Aldi I was very dubious - a value shop that sold it's own brand and fresh produce. I was imagining Iceland or Netto but with half rotten vegetables. Oh how wrong I was! I don't normally like to be proved wrong but I'm happy to say Aldi won be over almost immediately!

For those who are thinking about clean eating but are worried about the cost I thought I'd give a few pointers as to what to expect from Aldi if you've never been before, as well as my 'typical' healthy food shop (complete with total amount spent!)

My Aldi 101:

♥ Prepare for lots of people. You will be fighting down the aisles with a lot of people. They're regularly rude and sometimes they have screaming children in tow. More often than not they're unaware that there are other people in the store trying to get round with a trolley. There are people of this ilk in any shop but because Aldi's are usually smaller than your average shop you notice them more. But just take a deep breath and get going because it's well worth it!

♥ Make a shopping list. I cannot emphasis how important this is! Especially when you're eating clean as it helps you not get distracted and ending up down the chocolate aisle. If you have a list you're prepared and you can waltz around that store like you own the place. Which means you can minimise the amount of time spent with the people above. Win win!

♥ Don't expect the world. There will be some things they don't have, or they will have but they won't be of the highest standard. For example, I would not buy sandwich fillers like ham or sliced chicken from there (not that they're clean anyway). I'm sure it's fine but it's not for me. In terms of clean foods, they do have a good selection of staples like nuts, frozen fruit, herbs, eggs, and regular fruit and vegetables. What they don't have is things like almond milk and quinoa. No surprise there.

♥ Have a look at the Foodie Market range. This is a health food range they have that mainly comprises of crisp breads and chewy bars (kind of like the Nakd bars). I've not tried the bars because the sugar content is pretty high but the crisp breads are good and come in a few different varieties (3 grain, oats and chia seeds and spelt and pumpkin seeds - I think!) They're £1.29 a pack and they're really handy for a quick bite. Nick has been having them with cottage cheese (bleurgh) as a quick snack after a bike ride and they seem to be going down well so if you're into that, give it a go!

♥ Take your own bags. I think most people do this already regardless of where they shop but it's essential at Aldi as they charge for any kind of bag (3p for a regular carrier, about 7p for a more durable, bigger bag and then I think it's around 12p for a proper bag for life). 

♥ Move and pack. The check out staff at Aldi scan your shopping so quick you blink and you miss it. Common practice is to load your trolley up with your shopping and then move over to the side of the shop to pack it into your bags. You can try and pack your bags as they're scanning but I can guarantee this will get you dirty looks from people in the queue behind you. I think this is the biggest Aldi faux pau you could ever make and will definitely out you as a noob!

And finally...

♥ Check out the flowers. They have great bunches of flowers for the fraction of the price you'd pay in a more 'upmarket' shop and they are really good quality too. And with all the money you're saving you've got an excuse to buy some!

My Aldi Shop:

(My key ingredients for the next week, minus the meat as we normally get this from the local butchers. However we have had meat from Aldi before and it's always been of high quality.)

Cauliflower x2 (89p) - for cauliflower pizza base... watch this space to see how that goes! 

Pack of 6 sweet potatoes (89p)

Baby Spinach (99p)

Bag of Kale (69p) - for smoothies :) 

Bag of 4 Red Onions (85p) 

Mixed Chillies (49p) 

Whole Cucumber (39p) 

Closed Cup Mushrooms (69p) 

Bag of 3 Courgettes (89p) 

Cherry Tomatoes (75p) 

Pack of 6 Kiwi Fruit (74p) 

Pack of 8 Bananas (68p) 

Pack of 3 Lemons (59p)

Pack of 3 Limes (69p)

Frozen Raspberries x2 (£1.49)

6 Organic Eggs (£1.49)

Chorizo Slices (£1.79) 

Jar of artichokes x2 (99p) - for a mushroom and artichoke bake which is delish 

Halloumi (£1.39) 

Goats Cheese (£1.49) 

Dried Basil (41p) 

Californian Raisins (£1.29) 

Walnuts (£1.89) 

Mini Crispbread x2 (£1.29) - I've not tried these yet but I'm looking forward to it!

Full size Crispbread in Oat and Chia (£1.29)

TOTAL - £29.39

Since I'm a massive geek, I had a browse through the Sainsburys website and worked out that a similar shop (minus the crisp breads as I couldn't find a comparable product) there would cost around £39! 

Do you have any tips for maintaining a clean diet without breaking the bank?

Until next time :)

Clean and Lean Diet - Week One

So this past week has seen me embark on the Clean and Lean, or the Bodyism 'diet' from James Duigan.

The basic premise of the diet (I hate calling it that...) is to basically cut out all processed food and the majority of sugar (the unnatural kind) and cut down on the carbs. I've had the cookbook for years but apart from making the occasional recipe from it I've never really got into it. There was always a million reasons why I didn't fully commit to clean eating before - either I thought it would be too expensive, or too difficult when Nick and I still lived at home, that it would impact negatively on my social life etc etc. The thing is that when you're looking for an excuse you'll always find one. So after coming back off holiday both Nick and myself decided to give it a proper go. Granted, we didn't start straight away - we waited to get my birthday out of the way first, but on 1st of June we started eating clean.

Side note: I've also decided to combine the clean eating with the 5:2 diet (which everyone and their dog knows about so I won't bore you). But sadly I don't think the two go hand in hand - primarily because clean eating is centred around eating non-processed food which often contain high calories  whereas the 5:2 diet relies wholly calorie counting and eating low fat foods. It has been do-able but it has taken a lot of prep and forward planning that I'm not sure I can commit too long term.

I wanted to document some of my 'journey' (ewww) on here as I actually found it quite difficult to find any reviews of the clean and lean / bodyism approach to healthy eating before starting. I have the books and there are lots of interviews with James Duigan online but I struggled to find anything solid in terms of review.

I'll update more over the next few weeks and months - I may even include some recipes - but for starters my first week looked a bit like this...

♥ Breakfast - On a normal day it's a coffee and a smoothie and on a 500 day it's snacking on a few nuts until lunch and lots of water / green tea

♥ Lunch - On a normal day it's a salad, usually using avocado and either chicken or smoked salmon. On a 500 day it's a home made serving of ratetouille (I use this recipe) and a tiny amount of parmesan on top.

♥ Tea - On a normal day I've been working through the recipes in the clean and lean diet cookbook. So far my particular favourites have been Cajun Chicken and Salmon en Papillote with Ginger and Lime (I've also cooked a couple of things from the Hairy Dieters books - as long as the ingredients are clean it works!). On a 500 day I've been going through some 5:2 diet books and websites, so far we've had a pickled cucumber and prawn salad (here - not so good), halloumi and vegetable skewers (from a recipe book - amazing) and a prawn and courgette pasta dish (from a recipe book - pretty good!)