Celery sticks spread with crunchy almond butter is one of my favorite lunch sides.

I buy Trader Joe's unsalted almond butter because it only contains almonds — no inflammatory oils or sweeteners — which often appear in other brands.

A 16-ounce jar of Trader Joe's chunky almond butter cost us $6.

These garlic-stuffed olives from Trader Joe's are a fairly light and delicious pre-dinner snack, especially when paired with cheese.

A 16-ounce jar of Trader Joe's colossal olives cost $4.50 on this trip.

We usually pair our olives with a few thin slices of baby Swiss cheese.

It usually costs about $5 per pound at Trader Joe's.

I like that this three-layer dip contains tasty layers of traditional hummus, cilantro-jalapeño hummus, and spicy hummus.

It pairs nicely with blue-corn tortilla chips or almond crackers.

We usually pay $4 for a 12-ounce container of this dip from Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's Asian-style vegetable stir-fry mix includes snap peas, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and more.

I like cooking these pre-chopped veggies in olive oil with a protein, like lean ground turkey, to whip up a satisfying dinner within minutes.

The 18-ounce bowl of veggies costs $5.50.

Trader Joe's pico de gallo salsa contains fresh-tasting ingredients like tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeños, and lemon juice.

It's a delicious side with any meal, and we sometimes add it to scrambled eggs for extra flavor or use as it as a dip with blue-corn tortilla chips.

A 12-ounce container of Trader Joe's pico de gallo salsa cost us $3.

Popular in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, dolmas are grapevine leaves typically stuffed with rice, onion and seasonings.

We like the ones from Trader Joe's, which are especially nice as a light appetizer before lunch or dinner.

A 9.86-ounce can of Trader Joe's dolmas cost us $3.50.

Green tea is high in antioxidants, and I often drink it with breakfast.

A box of 20 bags of Trader Joe's green tea cost $3 on our last trip.

We like using Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute on meat, poultry, or fish that we cook outside on our grill.

The spice blend contains a flavorful mix of ingredients like onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne, parsley, basil, and oregano.

A 2.2-ounce bottle of it cost us $2.50.

Trader Joe's mochi ice cream is a hit with my husband, who especially enjoys the vanilla and dark-chocolate flavors.

These tasty gluten-free treats are essentially a chewy rice dough filled with ice cream.

A package of six vanilla mochi usually costs us $5 at Trader Joe's.

We regularly eat baked wild salmon with a dill and lemon sauce.

One of the sauce's key ingredients is coconut milk, which adds a nice creaminess to the dish without making it too heavy.

A 13-½ -ounce can of Trader Joe's organic coconut milk costs just under $2.

One of the first things we do when we walk into Aldi is grab the weekly circular, which is usually stationed on a rack right by the main entrance.

The ads showcase Aldi's current deals, so it's a great guide for anyone looking to save. Oftentimes, we deliberately plan our meals around which items are on sale.

When we focus on discounted items, we also get less sidetracked by flashy deals on products we didn't intend to buy.

We try to avoid premade meals, heat-and-eat dinners, and specialty deli items like dips and cheeses.

Although convenient, they tend to be significantly more expensive per serving than cooking something from scratch. Instead, we stick to buying staple ingredients, like fresh produce, canned beans, tortillas, and chicken.

By focusing on these core items, we've created a weekly meal plan that's cost-effective and healthy for our lifestyle.

The Aldi Finds aisle features unique items, seasonal treats, and specialty goods that aren't part of the store's regular inventory.

The signage might make shoppers feel like they're getting some sort of deal, but this aisle can be a trap for impulse buys.

Sometimes, we find hidden gems here, but Aldi Finds are usually not essential to our weekly shopping list. Looking through them can just lead to us spending more money.

We usually skip this aisle entirely so we're not tempted.

Aldi has a bring-your-own-bag policy, so bags are not free at the register. Instead of buying them, we usually grab a large, empty produce box from the shelves.

Most Aldi stores have a section where you can find these boxes in a bin with recyclables, so it's pretty easy.

You can also just bring your own reusable bags, but we've found that the box is an even better solution for us.

It's much easier to pop one box in the trunk of our car and carry it into the house in a single trip. Once we're home, we reuse the box for storage or recycle it.

Shopping around the store's perimeter helps us stick to our budget.

In most Aldi locations, more basic essentials, like produce, dairy, and meats, are located around the outer edges of the store.

In contrast, the center aisles usually have Aldi Finds, holiday items, household goods, snacks, and other products that are more likely to encourage impulse purchases.

When we shop, we literally snake our way around the perimeter, only detouring into the aisles when we need something on our list. It keeps our shopping trip efficient and minimizes our exposure to nonessential items.

This story was originally published on December 12, 2024, and most recently updated on April 28, 2025.