I spend $100 a week at my UK Lidl to feed my family of 3. Here are 16 items we buy and how we use them.
Matt Ng
- With a full-time job and a family of three, I shop at a UK Lidl on a $100 budget almost every week.
- I go with quick yet nutritious items like the Organix carrot-cake bars and Red Hen chicken wings.
- I love cooking shortcuts, like the Chef Select garlic-bread baguettes and Ocean Sea fish sticks.
Matt Ng
Whether it's soups, stews, or pasta dishes, the Chef Select garlic baguettes go well with many meals. If I need a quick lunch, pasta, sauce, and baguettes go together nicely.
A two-pack of baguettes costs £1.50, or about $1.90.
Matt Ng
Kids' snacks can be expensive, so we try to limit them to when our daughter has hunger pangs and there's a while until dinner. The Organix carrot-cake oaty bars are organic and have oats, raisins, and carrot juice to help keep kids going.
According to their packaging, the bars don't have any artificial ingredients, which is reassuring.
A pack of nine bars costs £3.80.
Matt Ng
The large Birchwood pork leg joint will feed many mouths. Plus, getting that perfect crispy, crackling exterior always wins people over.
Moisture is the enemy of great cracking, so I like to dry the skin with a paper towel, score with a knife, rub with plenty of salt, and stick the leg joint in the fridge overnight. I bake it in a preheated oven on high for about 25 minutes and then reduce the temperature to about 340 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes.
I made sandwiches with the crispy pork leg joint when we hosted a New Year's Eve party, and they went down a storm.
I got a 3 1/2-pound leg joint for £7.10.
Matt Ng
Sometimes, all you need is a decent cheesecake. The Confiserie Firenze strawberry cheesecake can be left out to defrost and ready to eat in under an hour, so it's great for when you have guests.
It's fairly light for a dessert, so your only real challenge is making it last two sittings.
Each cheesecake costs £1.90.
Matt Ng
We let our 3-year-old daughter cut up Hartley's strawberry jelly cubes with a plastic knife because the soft texture is great for teaching her the basics of cutting food safely. She feels very proud when the light jelly, which has no artificial coloring, is ready to eat.
One pack of Hartley's jelly costs £1.
Matt Ng
If I'm making soup, stew, or curry, I always have a box of Belbake corn flour around. It can thicken any sauce and takes away that thin, watery consistency. But I recommend mixing it with cold water before adding it to a dish to prevent the powder from clumping.
You can also add a pinch of the Belbake cornflour to beaten eggs for an extra fluffy omelet.
The box costs £1.20.
Matt Ng
A Jammie Dodger, or Linzer cookie, is simply jam sandwiched between two layers of shortcake. The tanginess of the jam complements the sweet shortcake, making it a hit with the whole family.
A jumbo pack of raspberry Jammie Dodgers costs £1.30.
Matt Ng
The Rowan Hill bagel thins are a great vehicle for all sorts of toppings, like classic ham and cheese or smoked salmon and cream cheese.
The bagels can also handle eggs and bacon and other spreads like peanut butter or jam.
One pack of six bagels costs £1.30.
Matt Ng
All of us, including our 3-year-old, love Oaklands broccoli when we fry the smaller florets with a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil.
Sometimes, we add a little honey and sesame seeds to sweeten the deal. The broccoli also gives stir-fries an extra crunch and soaks up tons of flavor in curries.
One crown of broccoli costs about £1.
Matt Ng
A filet mignon might be the most expensive cut of beef, but in my opinion, rib eyes are the king of steaks.
Though some recipes say to get the pan as hot as possible before grilling, I sometimes cook the Birchwood rib eyes with a cold-sear technique. I think you get a more even cook throughout by gradually bringing up the heat of the cold pan and steak. Plus, you're less likely to set off all the smoke alarms in the house.
A pack of two Birchwood rib eyes costs £9.
Matt Ng
In my opinion, the Alesto Texan-style BBQ crunch snack is comparable to Graze's BBQ crunch mix at a fraction of the cost. The crunchy chili peas and salted BBQ corn kernels give the mix a satisfying texture and salty flavor.
One pack of the snack mix costs £1.
Matt Ng
The Ocean Sea omega-3 fish fingers are full of goodness. They're great in a sandwich, but we'll also often have them with ramen.
A pack of 15 fish fingers costs £1.90.
Matt Ng
Birds Eye potato waffles can serve as a fun alternative to french fries.
They're suitable for mealtimes or as a snack, and if you're feeling adventurous, they can also be a brunch base for your eggs or bacon.
One pack of Birds Eye potato waffles costs £1.70.
Matt Ng
The Red Hen chicken wings come out tender in less than 20 minutes in the air fryer. For an extra kick, toss them in some peri peri sauce and put them in the air fryer one last time.
We like to serve our wings with some garlic bread and a salad.
A pack of chicken wings costs £4.
Matt Ng
My family can't resist churros if we're at the beach, so the Sol & Mar treats always take us back to wholesome seaside times.
We like to melt some chocolate to make a dip and sprinkle some extra sugar on them.
One pack costs £2.
Matt Ng
We try and balance our kid's nutrition with greens and other healthy vegetables and fruit, but some days she can be pickier than others.
Luckily, the Minavit multivitamins help her get the vitamins she needs.
The gummies come in an orange flavor, so she never passes them up. But the bottles we buy don't have childproof safety caps, so just be aware of that.
A bottle of 30 gummies costs £2.