One man has taken on the challenge of feeding himself for a week by spending less than £1 per day at Aldi amid the cost of living crisis. Grocery prices have been soaring far above the rate of inflation, prompting YouTuber Karl Tabley to hunt for the most affordable food items he could find at the renowned budget supermarket.
Karl documented his challenge, starting with a trip to his local Aldi in search of some bargains. After tallying up the total cost of his groceries for the week, the bill came to just £6.95, equating to less than £1 spent on food per day. However, he was able to supplement his options for the week by making use of more natural — and free — food resources nearby.
In an effort to bolster his haul, Karl decided to visit some nearby fruit trees to see what he could find, stating: “In order to improve on my challenge for £1 a day, I’m going to put a bit more focus this time around on free stuff. One of them would be the blackberries and then you’ve got these yellow plums.”
With his plums, he made jams while he used bacon in his lentil stew as well as adding it to his potato curry to sustain him through the full seven days of the challenge.
The YouTuber also ensured that he found as many ways as possible to make each item stretch, using each ingredient in as many different dishes as he could.
Having bought back bacon for just £1, he cleverly incorporated it into his lentil stew and potato curry, ensuring not a single rasher was wasted.
He also made a point of batch cooking several dishes, including a lentil and bacon stew, potato curry, and a chilli bean wrap.
His mornings would begin with a simple yet delicious porridge topped with berries, while apples and plum jam — made from fruit picked at the start of the week — were also on the menu.
As the week drew to a close, he reflected on his culinary efforts, highlighting the chilli bean wrap as a standout dish: “I think I did a good job of that challenge, I mixed it up, I made different meals.
“So, meal-wise, we’ve had the potato curry, the lentil stew, the chilli beans were lovely, they went really well in the wrap this lunchtime.”