Aldi healthy basket

Aldi has come up with a “healthy shopping basket” of 49 products for under £45 in partnership with the British Dietetic Association.

The intention is a “healthy, sustainable basket of popular foods, with a further emphasis on being affordable”, according to the BDA.

The move comes with retailers and suppliers under pressure to do more to tackle obesity. The government’s latest obesity strategy, published in July, proposes banning products high in fat, sugar or salt from getting prominent positioning in stores.

The BDA said its own “insight work” suggested the pandemic had also changed the way the public prioritised health and sustainability.

According to the association, Aldi’s basket meets proportions set in the NHS Eatwell Guide while also selecting items in the most popular categories as defined by the Office for National Statistics.

At £42.72, it includes meat, fish and both fresh and tinned fruit & veg, as well as olive spread, two types of cheeses, eggs, milk, bread, pasta, rice and tea bags. Absent are sugary cereals and drinks, while it does contain porridge oats, crumpets and malt loaf.

Overall, it contains five times more plant protein than found in the average UK diet, according to Aldi and the BDA.

The basket, publicised on a new Aldi web page, shifts shoppers towards greater intakes of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain and dairy-free alternatives, such as soya drinks, the discounter said.

The supermarket is also working with the BDA on a report for dieticians on the “small changes people can make to ensure their shopping baskets are healthier and more sustainable”.

The discounter said it was part of its wider efforts to help its customers be healthier and more sustainable.

A new BDA web page on the project said it “looks at an approach to modelling a healthy, sustainable basket of popular foods, with a further emphasis on being affordable”.

“We have blended these with pragmatic choices of familiar foods which are appealing to many shoppers,” it said. “The basket and supporting communications convey the many simple steps towards diets that are nutritionally and environmentally ‘better’ without costing more.

“The main themes are increases in plant-protein foods without increasing protein overall, greater intakes in fruits and vegetables (compared to current typical consumption levels), greater intakes of wholegrain versus white/refined starchy foods, and reductions in foods high in sugars and salt.”

Here’s what’s in the basket:

4 loose bananas

Nature’s Pick small royal gala apples, 6

Nature’s Pick mini pears, 5

Bunch red grapes (500g)

Four Seasons Raspberries (frozen), 350g

Four Seasons Peach slices in juice, 410g

Carrots – 500g (7-8 carrots)

Onions – 3 medium white

Broccoli (whole head)

White cabbage (small)

Courgettes (3 medium)

White button mushrooms

Cucumber (medium)

Four Seasons tinned Sweetcorn, 340g

Everyday Essentials tinned chopped, tomatoes, 400g

Cucina concentrated Tomato puree, 200g

Everyday Essentials Garden Peas, (frozen), 907g

Bramwells Baby Beetroot, 440g

Village Bakery soft, thick sliced wholemeal Bread, 800g

Village Bakery Super Soft Seeded Wraps, 450g (8 wraps)

Foodie Market cheese & pumpkin Crispbreads, 150g

Savour Bakes rough Oatcakes, 250g

Worldwide wholegrain rice, 1kg

Harvest Morn wheat bisks, 684g (36)

Everyday Essentials Porridge oats, 1kg

Village Bakery crumpets, 6 pack

Village Bakery malt loaf

Cucina Fusilli, 500g

Cucina Wholewheat spaghetti, 500g

Nature’s Pick White baking potatoes, 4

Champion Sweet potato fries, 500g (frozen)

Cowbelle semi-skimmed milk, 2 pts

Actileaf soya drink (1l, sweetened)

Everyday Essentials Mild Cheddar Cheese slices, 200g

Everyday Essentials Mozzarella, 200g

Specially Selected roast beef topside slices, 130g

Ashfield Farm chicken breasts, 300g

The Fishmonger Canned pink salmon, 213g

The Fishmonger Fresh Cod Fillets, 250g

Merevale free range eggs, 6

Four Seasons tinned mixed beans, 400g

Highland Kitchen Red Split Lentils, 500g

The Deli Reduced fat Houmous, 200g

The Foodie Market crunchy Peanut butter, 280g

Foodie Market Cashews, 200g

Foodie Market Pumpkin seeds, 250g

Green Vale Olive spread, 500g

Solestra Sunflower oil, 1l

Diplomat gold blend tea bags, 80