A British mother has revealed how she keeps her Aldi food shop costs down to feed her family by making a few straightforward adjustments. Claire Barnell regularly posts her budget-friendly family meal ideas online, and a recent video documenting her £15 food shop has racked up more than 48,000 views.
Three Meals for Five People
The 36-year-old disclosed that she whipped up "three proper meals" for her family following a quick visit to Aldi. In the footage, 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 numerous clips Claire has produced to demonstrate that a thrifty food shop can actually go a surprisingly long way. "Three meals. Five people. Around £1 per portion," said Claire, who is based in Luton.
"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."
She went on to say: "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."
Simple Changes to Keep Down Supermarket Shopping Costs
The mother-of-three made a handful of straightforward adjustments to her shopping habits in order to keep her costs down. She swapped the meat in her roast for chicken legs and prepared cottage pie using pork mince rather than beef. She also made use of a few basic store cupboard essentials she already had to hand, including salt and pepper, oil and herbs, to bring flavour to her dishes.
Claire's video left viewers full of admiration, with many heading to the comments section to share their reactions. One person said: "Amazing." Another wrote: "looks really lovely." Someone else added: "Yummy I've got two older kids and they eat loads! Thank you for this." Yet another commented: "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
- 2.5 kg 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
