A mother from Devon has left her Instagram followers astonished after documenting a price comparison of an identical Aldi food shop conducted 18 months apart. Amber, a mum-of-two under two, recreated the exact same grocery haul she had purchased before the birth of her first child, this time while eight months pregnant with her second. The difference in the final bill was a mere 56 pence, a rise of just 0.71 percent.
Batch Cooking for Postpartum
Amber, who regularly shares her family life with 22,700 Instagram followers, explained that she had originally done the shop 18 months earlier to batch cook meals for her postpartum period. That first haul cost £71.51 and yielded approximately 70 meals. As she prepared for her second child, she decided to repeat the exercise with the same shopping list to see how prices had changed.
"18 months ago, this exact food shop cost me £71.51. And from that, I was able to cook a whopping 70 meals, to help me through my postpartum period," Amber said in her video. She added that she was "really intrigued to see how much more money it's gonna cost me 18 months later."
The Shopping List
While keeping her precise list under wraps, Amber's trolley included frozen vegetables, lasagne sheets, penne pasta, milk, curry cooking sauces, chicken breasts, sausages, mince, bacon, puff pastry, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, and shredded cheese. She also took advantage of Aldi's "Super Six" vegetable deals, picking up carrots and cauliflower florets for as little as 4p or 8p each.
The total came to £72.07, a rise of just 56p. This works out at roughly £1 per meal for all the dishes she planned to prepare. Amber noted that the exercise highlighted the importance of planning ahead, as she had recently been spending between £100 and £150 a week on shopping.
Viewer Reactions
Before the reveal, Amber encouraged her followers to guess the final total, with estimates ranging from £80 to over £180. Many were surprised by the modest increase. One commenter said, "I think it's about the same because Aldi constantly makes things cheaper and has more deals." Another pointed out that the low price of the Super Six vegetables kept the bill down, suggesting it could have reached £80 at regular prices. A third theorised that package sizes might have shrunk, saying, "I am wondering if smaller size items in 2026... everything seems smaller!"
Amber later posted videos showcasing the various dishes she prepared in advance, ensuring none of her shopping went to waste.
