(bright music)
- Hey munchies, welcome to the channel if you're new,
or if you're not, I'm Alyssia,
and I'm so happy you're here either way.
I have done a few Aldi videos in the past
and you guys always get so excited about them.
I used to shop at Aldi when I lived in New York City,
but since moving to LA, I don't get over there as often
because the nearest one is about an hour away.
But when I got out there recently,
I was able to get stuff for a whole video
which I already posted,
and I decided to get stuff for a week of meal prep too,
because why not?
Today's meal prep is a super simple vegetarian meal prep
for two for weekdays.
Now it cost me about 50 bucks for everything,
but my intention
was not to make it specifically a budget prep.
I did buy some organic and higher priced items.
I'll show you all of it along the way.
But if you're trying to keep things as cheap as possible,
you could easily do this very same prep for around 35 bucks
with a few simple compromises
and I'll show you what those are as well.
To keep it easy
I am making a yogurt fruit
and granola parfait for breakfast,
a gluten free pesto pasta salad for lunch
and an easy enchilada casserole for dinner
with some snacks of course too.
This entire meal prep is vegetarian, so no meat or seafood,
and it's also gluten free.
I will say, if you're on a budget
doing no meat sometimes really helps with the price
but it also makes it simple
because protein is often the most irritating
or time intensive thing to cook.
The thing about Aldi is
you sort of don't know what you're gonna get
until you're there.
So I couldn't really go with a strict plan.
In fact, I did plan on getting oats
to do an oatmeal bake recipe I've been wanting to share
but they were completely out of oats.
So you'll have to wait for that recipe
but I was able to keep it simple on weekdays
with this yogurt fruit and granola parfait.
Aldi has some really affordable organic options like yogurt.
The organic berries were also on sale when I went,
I grabbed blueberries
because I know they'll last better for meal prep
than raspberries or blackberries,
but those prices were seriously good.
I also splurged and got some chopped mango.
This would not be a budget buy,
this was a convenience buy, a laziness buy,
and that is honestly how I stay sane with healthy food.
I personally try to strike a balance
between convenience and price.
But if your goal is keeping it cheap,
don't buy precut fruit.
They did have single mangoes on sale for 25 cents that day.
So I just felt like spending money I guess.
I've also got a gluten free granola
by Aldi Simply Nature brand.
It's a cranberry and cashew honey granola
and the ingredients are pretty solid.
There is added sugar in the dried cranberries
but that's to be expected.
Added sugar is usually what I look for in granola
and six grams is about as low as you can usually find,
so not bad.
Since I work from home,
I'm not typically meal prepping for on the go,
so I've actually just been assembling this breakfast
when I'm ready to eat it because it's super simple,
just yogurt,
a little honey or syrup for sweetness since it's plain,
the granola and the fresh fruit.
But if you want to do
the mason jar applesauce container hack,
which I've shared so many times,
you can totally do that
if you need to take your breakfast on the go.
Breakfast should be easy and this week it is.
For lunch, I am making a pesto pasta salad
and it's gluten free thanks to Aldi's LiveGFree brand.
This pasta is organic brown rice and quinoa
and I am a huge fan of that list,
two ingredients, brown rice and quinoa, yes.
Following the package directions,
I boil the water and add pasta and salt,
cook until al dente.
When it comes to gluten free pasta
it is really important not to overcook it.
So I usually cook it for one to two minutes less
than the package recommends and then taste it.
This package says to rinse with cold water and drain.
I let that cool completely
before making the rest of the salad.
To keep the noodles from sticking together,
I add a little bit of oil and toss to coat.
I find this to be especially helpful
with gluten free pasta varieties.
It is a pesto pasta salad
and Aldi has a pre-made jarred pesto.
The ingredients are moderate I will say,
Aldi tends to use more preservatives
and often products that will have added sugar.
That being said,
if this were the meat
five years ago when I started this channel,
I would have been like, "Heck no, I am not using that."
I have really chilled out
about added sugar and even preservatives.
I do try my best to keep it clean if you will,
but I have to find a sustainable balance.
I can't be pulling my hair out
about sugar being an added ingredient
when it's the only pesto on the shelf.
I don't want to make my own this week,
I don't want to go to another store,
and frankly, it's obviously so little sugar
because it says includes zero grams of added sugars
on the label.
It's not a big deal to me,
if it is to you, that's okay.
It's totally an option to make your own.
I have quite a few pesto recipes I've shared before
that I will link in the description
but today I am going with the store brand pesto
because it's an Aldi meal prep after all.
I am actually getting double use
out of that plain yogurt too from breakfast
and mixing it in with the pesto for my creamy pasta coating.
I toss together my cooled pasta,
some arugula and spinach,
which was organic, and holy moly, $1.49 for the box,
you won't find that anywhere else.
I also add some chopped bell peppers,
I got a bag of the organic mini-bell peppers.
They also had nonorganic if you wanted to save a few bucks,
cherry tomatoes which I am leaving whole
for meal prep purposes.
If you're eating this the same day or the next day
you can cut them,
but if you want this to last three, four or five days
don't cut the tomatoes.
Don't forget the chopped mozzarella
and some drained and rinsed chickpeas.
The beans at Aldi are another ingredient with preservative,
so beans and salt won't be the only ingredients
but it is what it is.
And last, add that pesto yogurt mixture
and toss lightly to coat.
Remember, there is no meat today.
Chickpeas are our protein
and what an amazing source and so affordable.
They're the cheapest canned goods I found at any store.
I also used to be a lot more hesitant about legumes
but I've really come around to chickpeas
and I think they're a great source of plant based protein.
And that salad is done.
Cold salad will last you four to five days in the fridge.
Leftover pasta is better cold than reheated in my opinion,
so why not make it intentionally cold.
The pesto is tasty and herby.
Even though it's a pantry items,
that yogurt helps to brighten and give a tang
plus we've got fresh vegetables
to add color, texture, nutrition and taste.
I love when lunch is easy too.
During the week,
there is no reheating or assembling required.
For dinner, I am making an easy enchilada casserole.
When I walked into Aldi,
I wasn't sure what I was going to make,
but a casserole is an easy thing to throw together
without a specific recipe.
It's just a bunch of stuff baked together
and all we have to do
is have some intention with the flavors we choose
and the ingredients we pair together
much like the Mexican and Southwestern inspired flavors here
and we'll end up with a real fake meal.
Watch how easy it is.
First, I combine drained and rinsed canned corn
and black beans.
The organic black beans did not have preservatives.
They were still affordable, so I got those.
Some enchilada sauce.
I did not read the ingredients until I got home
but it's got MSG in it.
Whoops! MSG as a seasoning made with sodium and glutamate.
A lot of people have heard that it's bad
and can cause negative symptoms
like headaches or digestive distress,
although the FDA does maintain it's safe.
That being said, I don't wanna consume it regularly.
It's just a personal choice.
Again, if that would be five years ago though,
would have said, "No way."
But the me now,
the more chilled out and less restrictive version of myself
says, "Okay, big deal, I'm still going to use it,"
but I will remember that this brand has MSG
and not buy it again.
But you have to weigh it out and do what's right for you.
The enchilada sauce is green
and that is what Aldi had, so that's what I got.
But red is fine too if you have that.
I also added salsa.
I found this avocado tomatillo salsa
in the specialty foods aisle and decided to try it.
It was a little more expensive than their regular salsa,
but you can use any salsa you prefer.
And cilantro which was a whopping 15 cents that day, okay!
Separately, I want to cook some veggies.
First of all,
I didn't wanna buy a whole bag of onions at Aldi
and they didn't have any individual ones,
only bags of onions,
but they did have green onion bunches for only 19 cents.
A green onion is essentially an immature onion.
They're not as potent and a lot of times the top green part
is just used as a garnish because of that,
but further down the light bulb it's stronger in flavor,
more like a real onion.
It's a fine substitute for a weeknight casserole, okay?
The thing is,
we don't wanna cook it as long as a regular onion.
So instead of cooking the onions first
I'm adding just the whiter part to a pan with oil
along with more bell peppers
and cooking that for just a couple of minutes
to soften not too long.
Add in some diced chilies and a little bit of taco seasoning
and then cook to integrate for another quick minute.
And then we're ready to assemble our casserole.
In a dish first layer some enchilada sauce and tortillas.
I am using white corn tortillas
which does keep this gluten free
but you can use yellow corn
or any other tortilla you like will work.
I am telling you, you can't mess up a casserole.
Then I spoon on a layer of that bean and corn mixture,
the veggie mixture, cheese,
and repeat with tortillas, beans, veggies, cheese,
tortillas, enchilada sauce
and the most important part on top more cheese.
This cheese was a specialty
cotija Mexican style shredded cheese
that they had available when I went.
It was a little bit more expensive
but you could really use any blend or your favorite cheese.
And into the oven it goes until browning up nicely on top.
Remember everything inside is already cooked.
You may have noticed I did not add extra salt.
A lot of those ingredients,
even after draining and rinsing the corn and beans,
have salt in them already.
So the salsa, the enchilada sauce, the tortillas,
the diced chilies and cheese, they all have added sodium.
So I recommend waiting to see if you need to add it
but if you know you wanna add salt,
be my guest, you know best.
Then it is ready to serve.
I added cilantro,
some of those green onion tops and lime wedges.
Feel free to make a triple use of that yogurt this week
with a dollop on top of your casserole
in place of sour cream,
if it's plain yogurt, not if you get the vanilla.
This was actually so good
and I love that you can add whatever you have
or whatever you can find, you can't go wrong.
Just add good flavors
that go together with varying textures
and I love when my food is colorful.
The tortillas give it all the structure
and it's almost like a Mexican lasagna.
Maybe it's the MSG making it tastes so good.
Just kidding.
For snacks throughout the week,
have a look at all the cool options Aldi has.
I was amazed how much it's grown
since I used to shop there about five years ago.
I got sweet potato chips, which were pretty clean actually,
organic carrots and organic hummus and some seaweed crisps,
but I also got a ton of stuff
that I shared in my haul video recently
that would make great snack options too
if you wanna check that out.
Just remember, the point of this video and all of my videos
is inspiration not replication.
Stay it with me.
- [Modulated voice] Inspiration not replication.
- Seriously, take what you want, leave what you don't,
let it inspire a new meal, a new ingredient,
a new way of cooking or thinking.
But the point is not for you to make this exact meal prep.
It's to take it and make it your own
to make it something that suits you and your preferences
your family, your needs.
You can add meat or other proteins,
swap out ingredients,
omit something that you hate, whatever you want.
These recipes are so easy,
you can manipulate them and you cannot mess them up.
These are not baked goods here.
So don't be afraid to experiment.
If you want more inspiration,
I have more Aldi meal prep and haul videos
and tons of other meal prep videos too.
I also recently shared a comparison video of prices
at Aldi verses Trader Joe's.
It's pretty cool,
and it's all linked in the description box.
I hope you found this helpful.
Let me know what else you would like to see
and what other stores you'd like me to shop at
and use for meal prep inspiration.
I appreciate you.
I will see you next week for a brand new episode.
And remember, it's all a matter of mind over munch.