Cheesy Paprika Garden Casserole and Finding Local Produce in South Carolina

This is my second contributing post for Whole Lifestyle Nutrition! I share about how I've found locally grown food, plus one of my latest recipes; Cheesy Paprika Garden Casserole.

"My newest seasonal recipe creation is my Cheesy Paprika Garden Casserole. I think you’ll really like it. It’s got a lot of the crowd pleasing tastes and textures of a classic potato casserole, but has a much more sophisticated flavor due to the addition of smoked paprika. 

It uses white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and spinach. I love one dish meals so I threw in a pound of ground beef, and of course some bacon. Bacon makes everything better.

Then all of these ingredients are bound together with a creamy sour cream and cheese based sauce. Since there’s no canned “cream of artificial ingredient” soup in the recipe, it’s suitable for a grain-free and gluten-free diet. Not to mention those of us who are trying to avoid processed foods!"

To read the rest of my post and view the recipe, head on over to Whole Lifestyle Nutrition by clicking below!

South Carolina Farm Share Boxes and Cheese Paprika Garden Casserole Recipe 

{This recipe is linked up at Wheat-Free Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, and Gluten-Free Fridays.}

Your Guide to Real Food Shopping at Aldi

Aldi; that discount grocery store you keep hearing about.

The Aldi right beside where we live.

Those of you who aren't familiar with Aldi probably picture a really dumpy store with very limited items available, must of which are highly processed.

Those of you who already shop at Aldi probably think it's the best grocery store on the planet and cringe when you have to purchase any item for a few cents more at Wal-Mart.

Aldi is an organized, clean, well-stocked grocery store with a big variety of grocery and every-day household items. It is indeed cheaper than your average grocery store, but the quality of their items is comparable to even the most expensive foods I've purchased at the high-end markets.

Whether or not you've ever been to Aldi, you might not know that you can indeed eat a healthy, real food diet while purchasing a big percentage of your groceries from this store. The bottom line is, if you are not buying organic, the the products at Aldi are identical to those you would get at your local grocery store, only much cheaper.

Here's a visual example of some of the groceries I get at Aldi. 

Knowing which items to buy at Aldi and which ones to avoid may not come naturally to you, especially if you are new to the real/traditional foods concept. I hope this list will be helpful for you as you seek to eat real food on a very tight budget.

Note: This post is specifically dedicated to Aldi shopping. For my complete post on finding affordable healthy food see Real Food on a Very Tight Budget.

Also, this post is not meant to discourage people from buying local items like produce and meat, when possible, or organic, when affordable.

Oh, and Aldi is not giving me anything to write this post. Aldi doesn't even know I exist!

Real Food From Aldi

Aldi logistics:

Bring a quarter to unlock your cart. You get the quarter back when you return the cart. This is Aldi's rather ingenious way to keep the parking lot clean and free of stray shopping carts. And it works! I have to laugh; all this to save a quarter.

Bring your own shopping bags, ideally reusable ones. You can also purchase shopping bags for a few cents (a paper bag) to a dollar (reusable cloth sack) at the check-out. This is another method Aldi uses to cut back costs.

Timing is key; shop between the hours of 9 and 5, and on weekdays (Aldi hours are 9-7). Once people get off work the lines at check-out are long and sometimes there is not as much produce available.

Dry Goods (shelf-stable items):
Nuts
Dried fruit
Real maple syrup
Honey
Natural peanut butter
Quick cooking oats (Not the instant oat packets!)
Rolled oats
Steel cut oats
Real fruit spread (Not the jams and jellies; Those contain high fructose corn syrup!)
Coffee
Sugar (To use in moderation with baked goods.)
White flour  (To use in moderation with baked goods.)
Spices (Can't beat these prices anywhere!)
Stevia (Yay! Aldi now has stevia packets!)
The chicken, beef, and vegetable broth cartons are all fine to use, but they are not very economical due to cost. You really should be making your own broth with the bones of the whole chickens Aldi has for super cheep.
Extra virgin olive oil
Vinegar

Mexican section:
Masa corn flour. This is actually a very healthy item as it has already been soaked in lyme (a traditional preparation) to enhance the nutrient content. Chili, and cornbread using this flour can make a very nutritious and economical meal from Aldi.
Pinto beans. Learn to cook your own beans at home to save quite a bit of money. (See my recipe here.)
Green chilis and other hot peppers, dried and canned.
Tomatoes and green chilies
Corn tortillas. The flour ones contain hydrogenated oil, so they are a no-no.

Diary:
Eggs
Whole milk
Sour cream
Heavy whipping cream
Butter
4% cottage cheese
Cheese. Get the blocks. The pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking and anti-fungal ingredients added (This is true no matter where you get pre-shredded cheese).
Feta Cheese
Blue Cheese

Aldi usually has a selection of specialty deli items like hummus and cheeses that have fairly healthy ingredients. If your budget allows, these are OK to get. But $3.50 for 6 ounces of goat cheese is not worth it to me.

Meat:
Ground turkey. Always get the fresh if possible. It is superior in taste and texture to the frozen but very similar in price.
Ground chicken
Whole chickens (The best prices anywhere! Just $0.85 a pound for the frozen birds. Roast a chicken, then use the bones to make healthy bone broth).
Chicken in pieces
Boneless skinless chicken breast for recipes like my Any Day Coconut Curry.
Beef; The ground beef and stew meat have the best prices.
Pork chops

Instead of the pork sausage I used to get here (stopped getting it due to the MSG) I now, when possible, get the fresh ground turkey and make my own homemade turkey sausage. You could also use beef, but I found the fresh turkey had a texture most similar to bulk pork sausage.

The one processed meat I do get here is the polish sausage. I know, I know...it's a processed meat with artificial ingredients. But I have one meal  I use it for (just  twice a month) and have not been able to find a good substitute.

Produce:

Any and all the produce. I am able to get all the produce I use here except fresh herbs, beets, and some other root veggies we use.

Carrots. To save a dollar buy the 2 pound bag of whole carrot and peal and cut your own carrot sticks or baby carrots (I also am skeptical about how the baby carrots stay fresh. There is a rumor that all baby carrots are soaked in bleach, though I don't know if this is true.)

They have the best price anywhere on sweet potatoes and white potatoes.  Both of these are good filler foods for those in the family with higher metabolisms (like dads and growing kids).

Avocados! Because of the excellent prices ($0.89 each) I now eat these regularly. I use them in salads, guacamole and even desserts! My baby loves them, which is a good thing, because they are super healthy for him.

Canned goods:

Canned goods should never be relied on for a significant portion of your vegetable intake.

Tomato products. All your canned tomato products can be purchased here. Canned tomatoes are the healthiest canned vegetables as they are canned at the very peak of ripeness.

Beans. Canned beans are okay to get occasional, but they are not soaked (traditionally prepared). It is of course most economical to make your own beans from dried beans. 

Corn. Probably zero nutritional value (it kinda goes right through you...) but my husband really likes it so I add it to chili and casseroles. Canned corn should not be considered a healthy vegetable side dish!

Mushrooms

Packaged snack items:

Aldi has a few snack items that I feel are okay to consume every once in awhile. While they would not necessarily be considered "healthy" they are not too unhealthy. For those times when you are craving a crunchy snack I wanted you to know what the better choices are.

Microwave popcorn. If you are OK with the microwave and non-organic popcorn, this is a cheap snack. Aldi popcorn has palm oil in - a healthy oil - and no hydrogenated oils like other popcorn brands.

Pita chips. The plain kind is made with white flour, palm oil and sea salt.

Sweet potato chips

Root vegetable chips

Frozen items:

Frozen fruit. Great for smoothies and fruit based desserts.

Frozen vegetables

Aldi's frozen fruit bars have fairly natural ingredients (they even contain real fruit - shocker!), as does one of their brands of ice cream. If you are going to indulge, these are the better choices.

Aldi now has a line of organic foods! Though not all the items could be classified as "real" food, I am very excited they are making efforts to offer more nutritious foods. The spaghetti sauce is the one thing I noticed that is a good deal and would be worth getting.

These are psuedo-healthy, non-real-food items to avoid:

Any of the boxed cereals, even the granola
Granola bars and prepackaged snacks

All the bread items

All their jams besides the "Real Fruit" spread. They contain high fructose corn syrup.

Any peanut butter besides that listed as "natural."They contain hydrogenated oils.

Any low-fat dairy items.

All their yogurt. It's all low-fat and most of it is filled with a long list of artificial ingredients and sweeteners. Read the labels the next time you go in. Real food yogurt should only have about 2-3 ingredients like "milk and active and live cultures". I make my own yogurt because it is so hard to find full fat yogurt. One quart of store-bought yogurt typically costs as much as a whole gallon of milk. For one gallon of milk I an make four quarts of yogurt at home!

All the salad dressings. Learn to make your own from the olive oil and vinegar you can get at Aldi.

Any juice items

Any of the boxed, canned  or frozen meals

With rare exception, all of the Fit and Active brand products. Their products are almost all low fat and filled with tons of artifical sweeteners, preservatives and generally unhealthy ingredients (ironically!).

{This post is linked up at Titus 2 Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday,  Family Table Tuesday, Wild Crafting Wednesday, and Whole Foods Wednesday.}

Do you shop at Aldi? What real-food shopping tips have you found helpful? 

Let me know and I'll update this post!

Real Food on a Very Tight Budget

The focus of my blog is to help the average person, especially one on a very limited budget, know how to eat a real food diet. I was going to title this post "real food on a real budget" but I've read other posts on other (albeit great) food blogs with the same title, and honestly, the kind of "real" budget they are talking about is a little different than the one I'm working with. Plus I have yet to find any that were super practical for shopping at normal grocery stores. In time you may learn about food co-ops you can join or where to buy local produce. I have lived in this area for a year now and am just learning about a handful of these things in my area. It takes time and you do have to be looking. For some people on the real food journey, you may always just get everything from the grocery store, and that's okay. But I also have a few tips at the end of this post on how to begin finding food from local farmers and such. 

For those who have come to this post looking for tips for real food shopping that do include food co-ops and buying from local farms, this post from Passionate Homemakers is the most practical I've seen for that kind of shopping. Plus I am very impressed with how little their grocery bill is for eating such quality food items: A Peak at our Real Food Budget. (Updated; A reader pointed out this blogger has a more recent post on real food shopping that you might find helpful.)

According to this official 2012 report by the USDA, American's are spending a lot more than I thought on groceries. And these stats aren't even specific to healthy eaters.

This is how much money the average American family of two is spending on groceries:

Thrifty plan =  $376  Low-cost plan =  $481 Moderate-cost plan = $579  

Liberal-cost plan = $748 (Are you kidding me?!)

This is how much money the average American family of four (with kids ages 6-11) is spending on groceries:

Thrifty plan = $629  Low-cost plan =  $821 Moderate-cost plan = $1024 Liberal-cost plan = $1244

The kind of budget I am working with is one that is even less than the "thrifty plan".  And we eat good, real food! I'll call it the ultra-thrifty plan.

This is the ultra-thrifty grocery budget for my family of two adults and a toddler (who does not eat much). I am still nursing so eating a little more than usual.

Approximately $225 a month. 

I shoot for $200 a month, but I have trouble sticking to it with my love for cooking and trying out new recipes. I think $200 is a good goal for me because I like the challenge of trying to keep our grocery bill as low as possible, but I also don't want to not eat something really nutritious I find on sale because we were over budget by a few dollars.

Now, I know some hard-core real foodies would disagree with me on my definition of real food since we don't eat organic and most of our meat is conventionally raised (as versus pastured). If finances allow you to eat even better than we do, then great! If you know where to get fatty pig organs to render your own lard, awesome!....Not everyone is there yet (or ever will be) on this real/traditional foods journey. Right now I just don't know where to find inexpensive local organic produce and meat so we don't eat organic. I know I am not alone here. People argue that by eating healthy you will save tons of money on medical costs and thus you really can afford free range chicken and pastured butter. While I do indeed believe eating the very best now will save money later, that does not make the money appear now. Buying a quarter free-range, grass-fed cow is no doubt the cheapest way to get super healthy beef, but many families simply don't have the money up front (even if there is a local option to do this.) Add to this the super expensive eggs we're supposed to get, the organic veggies, fermented cod liver oil, and the coconut oil that I believe we should squeeze into this budget, and the grocery bill could easily be double that of your average middle or lower income families. I have had several people find my blog after searching for "how to afford the Weston A. Price diet". I don't know how anyone affords a flawless traditional foods diet when following it perfectly. But this is my best efforts to help ordinary, lower income families now how to eat as close to this diet as they are practically able. Down the road of life, after learning more about nutrition, after knocking down some student loans, I hope you will start doing even more to eat healthy. But if this is the farthest you go, you will be doing so much better than the Standard American Diet (appropriately called SAD).


Okay, here's my list of the places I get my food the cheapest I've found anywhere local. (We live in South Carolina.) Over time you may learn of other places that are more cost-effective in your area. Some of the items I've listed you can buy cheap in multiple locations.

Note: I do note coupon at all. The main reason for that is that most coupons are not for real food items.  You have to spend a long time looking online and other places to find real-food coupons. The second reason is that Aldi is usually cheaper than most coupons. Careful (and time consuming) couponing can indeed save lots of money for people on the standard American diet. That's not me.

I am not going to go into detail why some items are on the list and not others. For more details on these things (for example, why breakfast cereal is never part of my shopping list and what to eat for breakfast instead) please see this post:

Eating Healthy on a Budget: Getting Started

Aldi:

I get the majority of my groceries from Aldi. If you have never been to an Aldi I encourage you to look online for your closest store and start shopping there, if possible. Stores like Save-Way, Save-A-Lot, and similar low-end grocery stores would be comparable in prices to Aldi if you don't have one in your area. I, however, have been very impressed with the the Aldis in our area. They are almost always very clean, well-stocked, and have a huge selection of items. I get about 90% of my groceries here. Wal-Mart would be a good substitute if you have no Aldi or Save-Way.

Click here to view my detailed guide to real food shopping at Aldi.

Nuts

Dried fruit

Natural peanut butter (Stay clear of regular peanut butter in general. It usually has hydrogenated oil in it!)

Real maple syrup

Honey

Coffee

Stevia
Cocoa powder
Baking soda

Quick cooking, old fashioned, and steal-cut oats


Masa corn flour 

Dried pinto beans

Canned beans for occasional use (Not economical for large families. Making your own from dried beans is healthiest and far cheaper).

Canned tomato products

Dry spices

White flour and sugar for use in moderation


All vegetables except herbs

White potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic

All fruit


Whole milk

Blocks of cheese (The shredded kind has additives to prevent molding and caking.)

Sour cream

Butter

Cottage cheese

Feta cheese

Blue cheese

Eggs

Whipping cream

All your frozen vegetables

Frozen fruit for smoothies and fruit based desserts


All your beef, pork, chicken and seafood
Bacon, polish sausage and pork sausage. Note: These three meats contain nitrates and other unhealthy additives. Sadly I love them too much to forgo them completely. I have found a good all natural pork sausage that does cost more (but tastes SO much better, so it's definitely worth it) at my local Earthfare that I have started getting, but I still have not found inexpensive nitrate-free bacon and polish sausage.



Sam's Club (and possibly Costco, though I've never been there):

Note: if you have a very small family getting a Sam's Club membership may not be worth it, especially if there is an Aldi nearby. I get a few items with my mother-in-law's membership, which is the way to go if you have a friend or relative with a membership and you have a small family.


Nuts (Best price anywhere)

Olive oil

Some dried fruit (Specifically the Craisans and dried apricots which are also both a much better quality here than from Aldi).
Vanilla extract

Some frozen fruits and veggies

Some meat


Sometimes their eggs, butter, and milk are cheaper here than at Aldi.


Whole wheat flour

White flour and sugar (For use in moderation. I don't use enough of these with my small family to make it worth getting the huge sacks.)

White rice

I've heard that Cosco has some really good prices on pastured butter and coconut oil, plus organic produce, which is great news for those who have a Cosco in their area!

Ethnic Food Stores (I have a big hispanic supermarket near me):
Whole cane sugar
Beans (Best prices anywhere!)
White rice
Brown rice
Palm oil (I have a few recipes that call for it which I'll be posting soon).
Palm sugar (Great prices on this, plus a variety of options.)
Fresh coconuts (For those looking for the adventure of opening them!)
Assorted roots, tubors and potatoes
Fresh produce
Beef liver, knuckles (for bone broth) and other random organs
Look for coconut products at your local ethnic food store, especially Asian markets. My local hispanic store does not have a big variety.


Regional grocery store or Wal-Mart:

Olive oil

Fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro

Dried beans

Brown rice
Dried fruit
Unbleached all purpose flour
Whole wheat flour
Aluminum-free baking powder
Table sea salt
High fructose corn syrup free ketchup
Coconut milk (Gold Star brand is about a dollar cheaper than Thai Kitchen and has no added ingredients.)
Spectrum brand organic coconut oil (Non-virgin kind. The virgin kind costs an arm and a leg!)
Palm shortening (Wal-Mart does not have this but your regional grocery store might).

Trader Joe's:
Pure maple syrup (Best price anywhere.)
Pastured butter (Best price I've seen anywhere!)
Free-range organic chicken. A whole chicken was only $2.75 a pound! By making chicken stock with the bones the increased cost (more than an Aldi chicken) will be very worth it for me.
Organic fruits and veggies - the best price anywhere I've seen.

This other blogger shared about how she eats healthy on a budget. They get a lot of their food from Trader Joe's. I thought her budget was fairly realistic. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby (I have to drive aways to get to mine so don't shop there often) you'd probably be interested in seeing what kind of stuff she is able to get at Trader Joe's from her post A peek at our real food budget.


To order online:

Vitacost:

Coconut oil. I order my coconut oil from Vitacost which has the best deal I've found anywhere, especially considering it is free shipping on Vitacost brand items. 

Vitacost brand coconut oil ($21 for 54 ounces.)

Vitacost brand raw apple cider vinegar

Vitacost brand supplements or vitamins you might be taking

Vitacost also has an amazing "refer a friend" program where if I refer you (by clicking here, or on any of the Vitacost links you see) you will get $10 off your first order (and I get $10 off my next order!)

Tropical Traditions:

TT has great sales on a number of healthy food items, but on a regular basis their costs are too high for us ultra-thrifty shoppers. Sometimes they are having a big discount on their coconut oil, or offering free shipping. That's the time to buy. Watch their deals by signing up for their newsletter.

What Tropical Traditions does have is the greatest price on coconut flour I've seen anywhere, especially during sales. Coconut flour is hands-down the cheapest flour to use in gluten-free, grain-free, or paleo baking.


To make at home:

Yogurt; Not that complicated and one gallon of milk is usually the cost of 1 quart of yogurt. Plus it is next to impossible to find full-fat yogurt. Read my post here about why that's important.

Bread; I am learning how to make bread with the sourdough method which is the most nutritious, but any kind of bread you make at home is going to be WAY healthier and way cheaper than storebought stuff, especially if you eat a lot of bread. You might consider getting a bread machine if you do eat a lot of bread. 

Beans; Cook your own from dried beans (using a recipe like mine here) then divide into portions and put into your freezer.

Bone broth

Salad dressing

Lacto-fermented pickles and other veggies. Don't be scared!  (As I was at the beginning). They just taste like regular pickles and are very easy to make.  I will be sharing some recipes soon. For now, I recommend recipes from the Pickle Me Too blog. She seems to really know her stuff. 


Needed Equipment:

A deep freeze (or two if you have a big family), They can be found cheep on Craig's list. We have the stand-up kind which is very helpful for not forgetting what you have in there.

Bread machine - if you are eating a lot of bread. I am going the sourdough route, which won't work with a bread machine. Some soaked bread recipes can be used in the bread machine like this one.

Yogurt maker. I don't use one, but if it will help you actually make your yogurt at home, then this is a wise investment.


Local items to search for, if possible.

Check Craig's list for eggs, meat, raw milk, seasonal produce, and raw, local honey.

Eggs; Through Craig's list you'll probably be able to find someone selling organic free-range chicken eggs locally. They are about $3 and $4 a dozen in my area. While this is about twice the cost of ordinary eggs, it is about half the cost of free-range store-bought eggs. Read this post here about how much more nutritious pastured eggs are than conventionally raised eggs.

Meat; I've seen postings for very reasonably priced cuts of meats, from quarters to per-pound options. None of them are close enough for me to get, but check your own area.

Raw milk from organic, grass-fed cows. Check also Realmilk.com for sellers in your area.

Raw honey; Check Craig's list. My grocery store also sells honey for a local beekeeper so I get it there. Raw honey is far more nutritious than normal store bought honey. 

Stop buying these items
 to save money and cut lots of corners:

All boxed breakfast cereal, even granola. We now only eat things like baked oatmeal and my healthy banana muffins for breakfast. (Click here for all of my healthy breakfast recipes.)
Yogurt.  Unless you can find a really cheap plain kind, even the kinds that are supposed to be healthy (especially the kinds that are supposed to be healthy!) are usually filled with artificial sweeteners, flavors, and thickeners, and are fat-free. 

Soda/pop

Juice of all kinds (It's expensive, usually has high fructose corns syrup, and is not actually good for you. We just don't actually need it.)

Chips (Well, *confession* we do eat corn chips on Mexican night about once a month. )

Boxed snacks of all kinds, even granola bars

Boxed, canned, and frozen pre-made meals of all kinds

Candy! No one needs it, especially the kids!!

All yellow vegetable oils and of course margarine and shortening. They are so unhealthy. I now use coconut oil, butter and olive oil as my only oils. Coconut oil can replace vegetable oil in just about any recipe.

Boxed cake mixes and any boxed bread/muffin mixes 

Bread
Canned vegetables and fruit 


(Photo credit, 1, 2, and 3.) 

{This post is linked up at Natural Living Monday, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Teach Me Tuesday, Family Table Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, and Fight Back Friday.}

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Are you on the ultra-thrifty real food budget? Please share any tips you have found to be helpful!