Aldi Freezer Meals Blog - 21 Meals under $150

[KBecks2]

I am not associated with this blog.  The author is charging a few dollars for her meal plans and shopping lists.

But it is kind of cool  -- freezer meals at a low cost shopping at Aldi.  I honestly love Aldi and have been getting used to it over the past 3 -4  months.

http://www.iamthatlady.com/aldi-freezer-cooking-meal-plan/

I am going to read the blog a little more since she seems to know Aldi, and I am loving the savings at the store.  I am not sure if freezer meals are for me or not, thawing is a little bit of a pain.

Karen

[Neustache]

Very tempted.  I freaking love Aldi!

[Runge]

It might be because I'm still not awake, but I'm not sure if she's counting meals as per person or 1 meal feed her family of 6.

If it's 21 meals and each meal feeds only one person, then that's not very cheap... I could eat 21 meals at chickfila for under $150.

But...if she's counting one meal as feeding a family of 6, then that's a whole different story. Basically $1.19/mouth. Which isn't that bad.

[aetherie]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

[thd7t]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

I hate that idea, too, but I don't have as many children.  It might change the time premium.  Also, if they are small, they might not be much help cleaning up, yet.  As they get older, she could probably use more permanent dishware and have the kids pitch in.

[aetherie]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

I hate that idea, too, but I don't have as many children.  It might change the time premium.  Also, if they are small, they might not be much help cleaning up, yet.  As they get older, she could probably use more permanent dishware and have the kids pitch in.

Can you safely freeze, say, a 9x13 Pyrex dish? I wasn't even thinking about time being an issue.

[MrsPete]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

You can buy them from ebay cheaply -- perhaps 25 pans for $10-12. 

Or you do what I do when I'm on top of my game:  Buy a bunch of pyrex dishes with lids -- all in the same size -- and once the contents are frozen, slip them out of the pan (perhaps with a quick dip into hot water) and freeze them in a ziplock . . . then when you're ready to bake, plop the still-frozen contents back into the dishes to defrost. 

[aetherie]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

You can buy them from ebay cheaply -- perhaps 25 pans for $10-12. 

Or you do what I do when I'm on top of my game:  Buy a bunch of pyrex dishes with lids -- all in the same size -- and once the contents are frozen, slip them out of the pan (perhaps with a quick dip into hot water) and freeze them in a ziplock . . . then when you're ready to bake, plop the still-frozen contents back into the dishes to defrost. 

My issue is more with the amount of waste than with the cost. But your "on top of your game" method sounds genius!

[HipGnosis]

How much is she charging?

Just because she uses disposable trays doesn't mean you have to.  And unless they are really cheap, you can use them more than once.

[4alpacas]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

I hate that idea, too, but I don't have as many children.  It might change the time premium.  Also, if they are small, they might not be much help cleaning up, yet.  As they get older, she could probably use more permanent dishware and have the kids pitch in.

Can you safely freeze, say, a 9x13 Pyrex dish? I wasn't even thinking about time being an issue.

Yes.  Pyrex is freezer-safe.  I don't usually freeze things in my baking dish, but I use pyrex containers in the freezer to hold premade food. 

[mskyle]

There's also reusable Glad Ovenware or you could use any appropriately-sized plastic container and just dump it into your pyrex (or other reusable) baking pan when it's time to cook. Cooking time might be a little different in pyrex than in disposable pans. I love the idea but we have to eat gluten free, unfortunately.

[Thegoblinchief]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

[2ndTimer]

Obviously, I will not buy her plan but I may steal her recipe for Thai peanut pork.

[CopperTex]

I freeze stuff in my Pyrex containers all the time. Can't stand the thought of using/disposing aluminum or plastic.

[jackiechiles2]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

[Thegoblinchief]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

Absolutely. My person-meal average is $1.33, but that includes beverages, snacks, and all personal care, cleaners, etc. And that's with almost all pasture-based animal products and local and/or organic plant products.

If you cut snacks, luxury items, and miscellaneous personal care stuff, my person-meal average is a bit under a $1.

Real food.

[Villanelle]

These recipes will feed 4 – 6 people. We have 4 small children and all of these meals feed us just fine.

I'm interested, although I hate the thought of buying all those disposable baking trays.

I hate that idea, too, but I don't have as many children.  It might change the time premium.  Also, if they are small, they might not be much help cleaning up, yet.  As they get older, she could probably use more permanent dishware and have the kids pitch in.

Can you safely freeze, say, a 9x13 Pyrex dish? I wasn't even thinking about time being an issue.

For many meals, you can line a dish with foil, freeze, then remove the foil to free up the fan.  Come cook time, you place the foiled block back in to the dish to defrost. 

You are still using foil, but it's still much less waste than a disposable container.

[OSUBearCub]

I freezer cook.  Here are some tips for singles:

These plans are super ambitious and you've got to really plan ahead for supplies and to block out time.  Also, for single people, you're looking at whipping out the equivalent of a stouffers lasagna every time you want dinner.  I.e. get ready to eat the same thing for six consecutive lunches and dinners.

I've incorporated freezer cooking into my lifestyle with a couple alterations.  1. I never double a recipe - it's just entirely too much food at risk of going to waste due to boredom.  2. I tend to look for recipes that are "great for freezing".  3. After cooking a single batch, I take half and freeze it right away with reheat instructions.

I've slowly built up a running stock of 10 meals for the nights when I know I'm not going to be in the mood to cook.  A half sized foil pan also defrosts in a fraction of the time of a great big 9 x 12.  I also buy my small foil pans at the dollar store 3 for $1 to cut down on the cost.

[jackiechiles2]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

Absolutely. My person-meal average is $1.33, but that includes beverages, snacks, and all personal care, cleaners, etc. And that's with almost all pasture-based animal products and local and/or organic plant products.

If you cut snacks, luxury items, and miscellaneous personal care stuff, my person-meal average is a bit under a $1.

Real food.

You need to share your shopping/cooking list with us. 

[2lazy2retire]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

Absolutely. My person-meal average is $1.33, but that includes beverages, snacks, and all personal care, cleaners, etc. And that's with almost all pasture-based animal products and local and/or organic plant products.

If you cut snacks, luxury items, and miscellaneous personal care stuff, my person-meal average is a bit under a $1.

Real food.

You need to share your shopping/cooking list with us.

The article talks about dinner meals, I suspect this guy is averaging over all meals, so not apples to apples

[Thegoblinchief]

The article talks about dinner meals, I suspect this guy is averaging over all meals, so not apples to apples

Irrelevant. Dinner is often the cheapest meal of the day for us, especially when you're feeding kids that are hungry ALL. THE. TIME. (Seriously, my youngest could give an orchard a run for its money the way he devours fruit.)

It's healthier to eat big meals (if you're going to eat a big meal) for either breakfast or lunch anyways. I've never understood why dinner is such a huge fixation of Americans.

[APowers]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

Absolutely. My person-meal average is $1.33, but that includes beverages, snacks, and all personal care, cleaners, etc. And that's with almost all pasture-based animal products and local and/or organic plant products.

If you cut snacks, luxury items, and miscellaneous personal care stuff, my person-meal average is a bit under a $1.

Real food.

You need to share your shopping/cooking list with us.

The article talks about dinner meals, I suspect this guy is averaging over all meals, so not apples to apples

Disclaimer: I have not read the blog linked in the OP.

But.

I wanted to put my two cents in for $1.70 per person/meal being expensive. When our entire food budget for four (two adults, 2y/o, 3 y/o) is about $160-200/month, I can't be lavishly frittering away $1.70 or even $1.19 per person on just dinner.

Running a quick calculation, assuming $200/month food cost*, we prepare meals for about $.55 per person per meal (assumptions: 3 meals/day, 30 days/month). If I had to guess at the proportional costs, it's probably something like: 25% breakfast, 15% snacks, 10% lunch, 50% dinner (often lunch = dinner leftovers).

*$200/month gives us a lavish-feeling amount of groceries. More than enough to feed 4. If we were to shop/eat really frugally/cheaply, it'd be less than $150/mo on average. This is for normal groceries, not weighted toward organic/local/grass-fed, as Thegoblinchief said his were.

[Thegoblinchief]

You need to share your shopping/cooking list with us.

It really depends on your preferred cuisine/diet and your bio-region. We try to follow the seasons, and I'm slowly upgrading how many preserving methods I have, and the space for them to get through the lean months. So our diet often changes through the year, but right now it looks something like this:

Note that basically all things are made from scratch (bread, snacks, granola, yogurt, etc). I'm a SAHP but most of my recipes are very minimal hands-on time, so even a working person could easily do these things (IMO).

Breakfast: eggs on toast (me), scrounged baked goods (wife), waffles/granola/yogurt (kids)

Daytime: since I homeschool, we tend to graze throughout the day. Kids typically eat seasonal fruit, one of them will also eat veggies and mushrooms, granola, crackers, PB sandwiches, etc. DW usually takes whatever leftovers we have, or a sandwich as a last resort.

Dinner: pasta marinara, pizza (cheese, mushroom, unfortunately I struggle to find humanely-sourced charcuterie, so we haven't had meat toppings in a while, though I will do sausage-making when our hog order comes through in a few weeks), stir fry, fish pastries, lentil+rice burritos, tacos with bison 50:50 with shredded summer squash, breakfast for dinner, frittatas, etc. So many inexpensive options that can be made in big batches.

Budget Bytes is a website many Mustachians like for inexpensive recipe ideas. I occasionally use it for inspiration.

I track every single grocery purchase. My current spreadsheet doesn't have much live data yet, since I completely redid the categories, but if it's helpful:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iqnuCwHE-Ok9tXGfC9e0yCzs-Qax7JvnZzUf9XeINfs/edit?usp=sharing

We do garden as well. Last year it shaved a few hundred dollars (mostly from summer and winter squash) - significant, but not earth-shattering. This year it will be bigger, but the soil is still quite poor, so we'll see what kind of yield we get.

Not sure if that helps or not.

[mm1970]

$150 for 21 meals, even 80-100 person-meals, is actually kinda expensive.

$1.70 for 4 people or $1.19 for 6 people per meal per person is expensive to you?

Absolutely. My person-meal average is $1.33, but that includes beverages, snacks, and all personal care, cleaners, etc. And that's with almost all pasture-based animal products and local and/or organic plant products.

If you cut snacks, luxury items, and miscellaneous personal care stuff, my person-meal average is a bit under a $1.

Real food.

You need to share your shopping/cooking list with us.

The article talks about dinner meals, I suspect this guy is averaging over all meals, so not apples to apples

Disclaimer: I have not read the blog linked in the OP.

But.

I wanted to put my two cents in for $1.70 per person/meal being expensive. When our entire food budget for four (two adults, 2y/o, 3 y/o) is about $160-200/month, I can't be lavishly frittering away $1.70 or even $1.19 per person on just dinner.

Running a quick calculation, assuming $200/month food cost*, we prepare meals for about $.55 per person per meal (assumptions: 3 meals/day, 30 days/month). If I had to guess at the proportional costs, it's probably something like: 25% breakfast, 15% snacks, 10% lunch, 50% dinner (often lunch = dinner leftovers).

*$200/month gives us a lavish-feeling amount of groceries. More than enough to feed 4. If we were to shop/eat really frugally/cheaply, it'd be less than $150/mo on average. This is for normal groceries, not weighted toward organic/local/grass-fed, as Thegoblinchief said his were.

Location and diet will be a huge impact on this.

$1.19 per person on dinner is pretty dirt cheap.
I don't garden
I cannot eat a lot of carbohydrates (so, yeah I eat beans and rice, but only about 200 calories worth a day)
I have a budget goal for the year, and it's going to be a hard one to hit.  But if I do, it will be $1.19 (almost to the penny) per person per MEAL, including breakfast, which is on the cheap side.