In a viral TikTok video, a graduate student shared what she gets at Aldi that’s both affordable and filling.
In the clip, Marlee Scott (@marleemscott) films from her kitchen after picking up her grocery haul from Aldi.
“Eating healthy but cheap from aldi,” the text overlay on the video reads.
Aldi is a discount supermarket chain with a cult following akin to Trader Joe’s. The company is known for having a limited selection and high-quality food at affordable prices. They also sell many private-label items akin to their name-brand counterparts. The stores are also known to have friendly customer service.
In the video, Scott explains that she wanted to share her Aldi shopping haul for people heading off to college soon and nervous about having to do their own grocery shopping.
In total, her food hauls hovered around $30 a week—about $120 a month.
@marleemscott college guide to: eating healthy but cheap at aldi (or in post-grad too if you’re like me) #collegemeals #collegehacks #cheapgroceryhaul #healthybutnottoohealthy #aldihaul ♬ original sound – Marlee | lifestyle + wellness
Scott starts off by sharing her favorite Aldi snacks, which include chips and guacamole or salsa and tomatoes with mozzarella and balsamic glaze. For meals, she’d grab the brand’s boxed organic macaroni and cheese, frozen cauliflower crust pizza, and frozen veggies to add to various plates like stir fry.
She also regularly grabs their Starbucks latte mix, muffins, and Coca-Cola. For a while, she says she didn’t purchase Cokes from the store but went to McDonald’s for her beverage craving, also buying a meal or treat when she could have just had the beverage in stock at home.
“Don’t deny yourself the things that you really enjoy to eat. And it’s gonna help college, or if you’re living in a new city, feel like home to find comfort in the food that you’re having, but it doesn’t mean that you have to spend a ton of money at every chance you get,” Scott says.
With close to 900,000 views and about 400 comments as of Thursday afternoon, the video seems to have struck a nerve with people struggling to eat healthy without breaking the bank.
“College guide to: eating healthy but cheap at aldi (or in post-grad too if you’re like me),” the caption read.
Commenters were grateful for Scott’s content and found her advice helpful.
“Please do a aldi weekly meal plan for me every week girl I needed this,” a top comment read.
“This is so niche and specific but it’s exactly what I needed thanks,” another person said.
“Thank you so much for this, im trying to kinda live below my ‘budget’ for groceries so i can save money and this is so helpful as a college [student],” a further viewer wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Scott for comment via Instagram direct message and to Aldi via email.
