A British mum has explained how she saves money on her Aldi shop to feed her family using some simple changes. Claire Barnell regularly shares her budget family meals online and a recent video about her £15 food shop has accumulated more than 48,000 views.
Three Meals for £15
The 36-year-old revealed that she rustled up “three proper meals” for her family after a quick trip to Aldi. In the clip, Claire can be seen preparing each of the three dishes: a roast dinner tray bake, cottage pie and mozzarella stuffed meatballs.
The video is one of many Claire has created to show that a cheap food shop can actually go quite far. “Three meals. Five people. Around £1 per portion,” Claire, who is based in Luton, said.
Smart Swaps to Keep Costs Low
The mum of three made a couple of simple changes when doing her shopping in order to keep costs low. She changed the meat on her roast for chicken legs, and made cottage pie using pork mince instead of beef. She also used a couple of basic cupboard staples she already had at home, such as salt and pepper, oil and herbs, to add flavour to the meals.
“This entire series was created from a single £15 shop, showing how far simple ingredients can stretch when you plan carefully. For me, it’s not about being extreme with budgeting, it’s about showing that, with a bit of planning, you can make meals go further and still enjoy proper home-cooked food as a family,” Claire said.
She added: “I chose these meals because they’re all family favourites that most people already know and love, just made in a slightly more budget-friendly way. I also wanted the portions to be generous and filling, while still being simple enough to make at home so that anyone could recreate them, even on a tight budget.”
Viewers Impressed
Claire’s video left viewers impressed, with many taking to the comments to share their thoughts. One person said: “Amazing.” Another person wrote: “looks really lovely.” Someone else added: “Yummy I've got two older kids and they eat loads! Thank you for this.” Another person said: “Ooooof these all look so good!!!”
Claire said: “I started the series because I know how expensive food shopping has become, especially feeding a large family. I wanted to show that you can still make proper, home-cooked meals without spending a fortune, and hopefully give other families some realistic ideas they can try themselves.”
Claire's Budget Aldi Shopping List
- 500g Pork mince x 2 = £4.50
- 1 kg Chicken Legs (5 legs) = £2.25
- Beef Gravy = £0.99
- 2.5kg White Potatoes = £1.65
- 0.5 kg Carrots = £0.44
- Frozen Peas = £1.09
- Brown Onions = £3.09
- 9 Tins Tomatoes x 2 = £0.86
- Red Pepper = £0.70
- Spaghetti = £0.28
- Mozzarella ball = £0.69
- Parsnips = £0.50
- Garlic = £0.42
Total cost = £15.36
