Aldi launch five-day Easter meal plan for kids - at the cost of school meal voucher

TV Nutritionist Lily Soutter has created 15 nutritional kids’ meals for £15 with Aldi in time for the Easter holidays, as new research commissioned by the supermarket reveals a third of parents are in need of inspiration when it comes to meal planning - and one in four feel it costs more to make healthy options.

The ‘Brain Booster’ and ‘Veggie Variety’ meal plans cost £15 and feature 15 meals each - 11 more meals than the average parent currently makes with a budget of £15 per child, according to 1,000 UK parents surveyed.

One in four parents said they don’t have the time to plan, with work and home-schooling, and as a result, are making the same lunch every day.

What’s more, almost half (46%) say they sometimes give up altogether and let their child choose what to eat to make life easier.

This has led to some interesting food concoctions, including one admitting to banana and crisp sandwiches being on the menu and others indulging in fish fingers and custard.

One child insisted on hot dogs in buns with marshmallows and 13 respondents said their child had requested Weetabix with baked beans following the recent social media hype around the unusual combo.

Parents up and down the country are so tired of preparing meals that appreciation for school cooks has soared.

Two-fifths (42%) said they had no idea it was so difficult to prepare five back-to-back healthy lunches and three in 10 plan to ask them the tricks of the trade.

Harley Street and TV Nutritionist Lily said: “The colourful and quick meal plans we’ve created using Aldi’s vast offering aim to not only help money go further, but also provide great taste, quality and nutrition to keep kids on track.

"For example, it is important to nourish the brain with omega 3’s for concentration, memory and mood.

"The Brain Power Fish Cakes in the Brain Boosting meal plan is the perfect way to help with this.

“We know from the research that one in four parents would like to incorporate more veggies, so we were keen on a dedicated Veggie Variety plan.

"The ‘Jam Packed Pancakes’ are not only delicious, but they also provide two of our five a day, whilst the ‘Wild Forest Pizza’ is an easy way to pack in the greens.”

The research also unveiled almost half of parents (48%) were keen to incorporate more veggies to help the environment, yet a quarter said they felt healthy recipes cost more to make.

Designed to cost the value of a National Free School Meal Voucher, the £15 meal plans which include shopping lists and nutritional hints and tips are available online at: https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/recipes

Aldi joined the Government’s Free School Meal Voucher Scheme in April, 2020.

The supermarket has also pledged to donate 10 million meals to families in need in 2021, working with giving platform Neighbourly, and with support of footballer Marcus Rashford MBE.

The new meal plans come as Aldi has been voted the UK’s favourite supermarket by consumer champion, Which?, the only grocer in the country to be given a five-star rating for value.

Top 10 unusual food combinations requested by kids:

Weetabix and baked beans

Fish fingers in custard

Banana and crisp sandwich

Hot dogs in buns with marshmallows

Ketchup and peanut butter sandwich

Cheese and pickle nachos with chocolate sauce and sprinkles

Spaghetti with marmite

Yorkshire pudding with eggs

Pasta with smoked salmon and caviar

Tuna and Kiwi sandwich

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