7 Day Budget Meal Plan (April 6 - April 12)

A 7 day flexible, budget-friendly meal planner to take the guesswork out of making dinner. All the ingredients are from Aldi because I'm a big believer in a one-stop-shop and staying on a budget. The plan includes the recipes and an itemized shopping list to make it all really easy!

Jump to:

• Why Aldi
• About the meal plan
• The recipes
• Shopping list

Hello, and welcome to the first Savvy Bites dinner plan using all ingredients from Aldi UK. If you're USA based, I'm sure you can get most of these items at your local Aldi, too. So here we are. In unprecedented times and unchartered territory. But the fact of the matter is, while we're all on lockdown, we're eating and cooking more than we ever have before. Partly out of necessity and partly out of stress relief, often both. I've included 7 recipes but, depending on the size of your household you may have leftovers. Or, if you're able, you may decide to support one of your local eateries and order takeout or delivery.

Why Aldi

I know many people might be new here, so let me just explain a few things real quick. I don't work for Aldi, nor have I ever. I'm not affiliated with them in any way except that they are my favourite grocery store and I think what they do is remarkable. Like many of you, I'm sure, I used to do my primary shop at Aldi, and then go to one or two other shops for "bits and bobs". It was costing me too much time and too much money. So, I decided to use my chef training and get creative and disciplined about making recipes using only ingredients from Aldi. And so far, it's been a hit!

About the meal plan

Meal planning has been an integral part of my life since I was a kid. Being raised in a single-parent household on a fixed income, it was vital that we didn't buy more than we needed and certainly never wasted anything. All of that means that I know a tonne about sticking to a budget and making a lot out of not very much. In times like these, both skills have come in handy. So, these meal plans are a way that I can help you navigate some waters you may not have a lot of experience with.

Especially in these days of Covid and lockdown, I want to use my experience and knowledge to lighten your load in any way that I can. I'm including 6 recipes (all ingredients available at Aldi), so you can either do a takeaway one night or have some leftovers. Either way, you get 6 recipes and the shopping list.

The recipes

30 Minute Korean Beef Stir Fry

Dhal Lentil Curry with 2 Ingredient Naan Bread

Creamy Tomato Pasta

Baked Chicken and Rice

7 Ingredient Chorizo Pasta 

Smokey 5 Bean Chilli

Some of the recipes are vegetarian and some are meat-based. They're all adaptable to what you have on hand and what you're preferences are.

Shopping list

Because it's so important to make sure that we're going out as few times as possible, these meal plans require you to go to one shop only, Aldi. The itemized list is categorised so that you get all your fresh stuff at once, dairy, meat etc without having to zig-zag through the shop. The recipes on this weeks list have less than 15 ingredients each. This number will include larder items you already have, like ketchup and soy sauce. Before you go shopping, have a quick cross-check of the list with your fridge and larder so you don't buy anything unnecessary.

I've linked all the recipes above so that you can go to each one for the top tips and the step by step photos and instructions.

 

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7 Day Aldi Dinner Meal Plan
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Print Shopping List

Larder/ Store Cupboard Items

• Soy sauce
• Honey
• Sriracha
• Olive Oil
• Turmeric
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Chilli powder
• Cinnamon
• Cocoa powder
• Dried oregano
• Red lentils (dried)
• 1 box vegetable stock cubes
• 1 package spaghetti (or any pasta you can find)
• 1 package rigatoni
• 1 bag basmati rice
• garlic granules
• 1 box passata
• 1 tube tomato puree
• 1 jar chargrilled peppers
• 1 tin sweet corn (or use frozen)
• 2 tins mixed beans
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1 bag tortilla chips

Fresh Fruit & Veg

• Ginger
• Garlic
• 3 Bell peppers (red or yellow)
• 2 yellow peppers
• 1 Courgette
• 1 bunch Spring onions
• 1 bunch Basil
• 1 bunch coriander
• 1 bunch rosemary
• 2 Yellow onion
• 1 Butternut squash
• 1 bag Spinach
• 1 punnet baby plum tomatoes
• 500g fresh tomatoes
• 2 red onion
• 1 punnet mushrooms
• 1 broccoli
• 1 avocado

Meat & Dairy

• 600g Rump steak
• 1 container double cream
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 block butter
• milk
• 1 small block cheddar cheese
• 200g Chorizo or another spicy Italian sausage
• 1 fresh mozzarella
• 1 package parmesan

Print Shopping List

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND  INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!