A helpful Whole30 Aldi shopping list to make your life a little easier. With over 30 items you can find at Aldi today in 2020. New to Whole30? This is a great guide for beginners to help you on your journey!
If you're new to the Whole30 or paleo lifestyle you may be wondering how in the world you're supposed to buy all this fresh awesome food on a budget.
There are many ways to save money while eating healthy but today we're going to talk about foods that you can find at Aldi that will fit into your Whole30 lifestyle. Making shopping at Aldi for Whole30 foods less complicated and easier for you. This Whole30 Aldi shopping list is not exhaustive so don't limit yourself to what you see here!
And to make your life even easier I have a 5 day Whole30 Meal plan you can check out here! Full of 5 days worth of comfort foods and a grocery list!
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Whole30 food shopping at Aldi
In general, when you are walking through Aldi, or any grocery store for that matter, for the best Whole30 experience you should be looking for the highest quality ingredients.
This means organic and seasonal for your produce. For your meat look for labels like organic and grass fed for beef.
Local organic grass fed meats are always best but if you are at Aldi, thats not happening. But! Don’t fret. Do what you can with the budget and resources you have. Even if you can’t afford organic that doesn’t mean you should forgo doing a Whole30, just buy what you can afford within the parameters of the program.
Check your labels
Checking labels for anything you buy is so important. Learning to do this now will be something you should continue to do after your Whole30 is complete. You must know what you are eating because unfortunately the USDA allows some pretty nasty ingredients into our foods. In fact most of the additives allowed in our food our banned in other Countries. Here is some more information on what to look for when reading labels
Compliant foods at Aldi
Let's pretend we have just walked into Aldi with our Whole30 Aldi Shopping List. You walk in the store and the first thing you usually have to walk through are a bunch of snacks.
Unless there are some dried fruits here, bypass these and head straight for the produce section.
Dried fruits
You can have dried fruits such as raisins, figs, and my Aldi even carries freeze dried organic strawberries. Check your labels to make sure the only ingredient is the fruit itself nothing else added.
Let’s talk about what you can eat from the produce section.
Fruit
You can eat ANY fruit. Should I say that again? You can eat ANY fruit on your Whole30 program. Aldi always has a ton of fruit options. Also look for dates while you are there. Dates can be expensive at other stores so snag them here. You will enjoy having these as they are very sweet and versatile especially for snacks.
Veggies
Moving on to the vegetables. Again you have so many options here but if this is your first Whole30 and you are nervous about the vegetables let’s talk about a few you maybe haven’t tried before. First, you can have any vegetable except for peas, lima beans, and corn. Corn is a grain, and peas and lima beans are gross. They are also considered a legume and those are a no go.
Some of my favorite ways to eat veggies besides a salad are on the grill and roasted in the oven. Roasted and slightly charred broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower are delicious. That is a great place to start because you can just throw them on a pan and roast with oil and salt.
While you are in the produce section don’t forget things like white potatoes and sweet potatoes. Again these are the types of foods you will really enjoy having around while doing a Whole30.
Aldi has a great variety of organic vegetables such as spinach, celery and broccoli. You can find most veggies at Aldi that you would find at any major grocery store. Just at a fraction of the price.
Also usually next to the produce is stuff like this salsa. Grab some.
After you have made your way through the produce section we head into a few ailses that have pantry staples. Aldi and Costco are the best places to stock up on staples for your pantry.
Whole30 pantry staples
Aldi has a ton of organic options for you to load up on, on the cheap. Here’s a few you should always grab while you are there some organic some not:
- Almond flour and Coconut Flour- great for breading meat and as a thickener or binder such as meatballs or meatloaf.
- Broth- They have bone broth and regular broth beef and chicken. You will need this!
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Ghee- again don’t leave the store without their ghee. Ghee is expensive and this is a great place to get it.
- Oils- Aldi typically has an organic avocado oil that is great, but you can also find olive oils and organic coconut oil.
- Vinegar's- Apple cider vinegar, balsamic, etc. You will need these to bring flavor to your dishes. I wouldn’t leave Aldi without Apple Cider Vinegar and balsamic vinegar.
- Canned goods- tomatoes, olives, pickles, chilies to name a few. Read your labels sugar sneaks into a lot of those as well as nasty oil.
- Nuts- These might be in a few different places at your local Aldi. Stock up on nuts and seeds you can find there that have compliant labels. Also no peanuts- those are legumes. Be sure if it says roasted you are looking immediately at the labels.
- Spices- Aldi has a TON of organic and regular spices that are so affordable. I grab new ones each time I go because they are so affordable. Just be sure to check labels if you grab something that is a spice mix for example cajun or creole seasoning. There is potential for sneaky additives and sugar.
As we keep moving along the Aldi aisles we are getting close to the meat, frozen and refridgerated section. Here are some things you should look for while in those aisles.
Meat/ protein options
We already talked a little about meat above. Look for organic and grass fed and read labels if you are looking at products that are processed like sausage or bacon.
I occasionally can find a sausage that does not have sugar added but it is rare.
Aldi will always have grass fed ground beef that is actually pretty good. It isn’t as good as some of my local farmers but compared to places like Kroger, it is decent.
They typically carry organic chicken, whole and breasts. But don’t be afraid to venture out of your comfort zone and try some other meats there if they are in your budget. I feed kids so we stick to the basics.
Don't forget to travel to the freezer section for a great variety of wild caught fish too.
Bacon!!
You will want to search the bacon section for sugar free bacon. Aldi does have a sugar free version of their "Never Any" bacon. It isn't always there and I can't find it for things like Instacart but definitely worth searching for.
Eggs:
Grab their organic eggs. They are cheap and taste pretty good. Do not pass go without grabbing at least 2 dozen.
Drinks
If you are someone who enjoys having a beverage that is not plain water stock up on LaCroix while you are there. Check with the Whole30 program for other drinks that are compliant.
Aldi also has drinks like organic coffee and water.
Don’t go hog wild on things like fruit juice just because they are compliant. They should be used for things like adding flavor to dressings, not for drinking by the gallon.
Checking out and wrapping up
So there you have it. A complete, but not exhaustive list of items you can find at Aldi for your next Whole30. I hope this gives you some hope that you can eat clean on a budget. It takes preparation, and a little up front work but it will be worth it when you see how amazing you feel.
Expert tips
Quick side note, if this is your first trip to Aldi you will need to bring two things! Don't forget a quarter to get a cart, which they give back, and bags to put your groceries in.
You can buy them there if needed or if on a solo run without kids you can use the empty boxes they have on the shelf to put your groceries in.
More Whole30 Resources
To make your life even easier I have rounded up 5 Whole30 recipes that you can make with ingredients you can find at Aldi. Check those out here: Whole30 Comfort Food Meal Plan and Grocery List.
New to Whole30 and still feel like you need a few more resources to make it through a trip at the grocery store? Check this guide out. This link will take you straight to Whole30's website where you can find really great resources and downloads.
Daisy
Great list
Loren Runion
Thank you so much Daisy!