How an Aussie mum feeds her family-of-five for $175 a WEEK

An Australian mum-of-three has revealed how she sticks to a tight budget of just $175 a week on supermarket shopping – and how she keeps her meals fresh for a fortnight.

Eisha-Marie Eisel, from the Sunshine Coast, buys groceries once a fortnight and  spends a mere $350 by shopping at Aldi. 

The 29-year-old told FEMAIL she doesn’t need to shop elsewhere because the budget supermarket has ’99 per cent’ of what the family needs from food to cleaning products, hygiene and pet essentials.

‘I try to thoroughly plan our shop out before going so I don’t need to return for any top-ups to curve those impulse purchases,’ she said. 

Eisha recently spent just $88.43 on ingredients to make 34 meals for her, husband Zac, 29, and their three young sons – Ben, 11, Ollie, eight, Teddy, five. 

She bought ingredients from Aldi to make chicken panang curry, baked gnocchi, chicken tikka masala, pork rissoles with mash potato and beans, vegetarian chickpea pad thai, teriyaki beef with broccoli, and Tuscan style beans with garlic bread.

’99 per cent of my groceries are bought from Aldi – they have most of what I need week to week. I only need to shop elsewhere for more niche specialty items like bread, flour, and yeast,’ she said. 

‘There is nothing I avoid buying from Aldi, I have had great experiences across the board with all their products, so they are always my first pick.’

Most of her budget-friendly meals require between four to seven ingredients and are easy to make. 

She always bulks out dishes with affordable seasonal vegetables and legumes to make the meal go further while saving money.  

‘I also always plan out my meals and balance special dinners with more affordable dinners,’ Eisha said. 

‘Outside of groceries, I am regularly reviewing our budget and expenses, making sure we have the best deals on our utilities and plans.’ 

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The ‘number one question’ Eisha gets asked is how she manages to make fresh food last a fortnight.  

The family always eat the fruit and vegetables that will rot quickest first, such as strawberries and bananas. 

All the food is stored in Sistema airtight containers with paper towel at the bottom to absorb excess moisture – and the paper towel is changed after one week. 

‘Moisture is not your friend when it comes to storing fruit and vegetables,’ Eisha said in a video. 

‘If you have a particular item like cucumbers, these will go bad a lot faster when they’re exposed to moisture. So I always add an addition piece of paper towel on the top.’ 

Eisha swears by this tip when storing beetroot, tomatoes, capsicum, onions, berries and more. 

As for carrots and celery, these are sealed in a container full of water to ensure the vegetables don’t dehydrate. 

Watermelons or rockmelons are never chopped until the family is ready to eat them, and leftovers are stored in a container. 

Other fruits and vegetables are kept loose in the crisper section of the fridge.