Growth Spurt Shop

The Growth Spurt Shop

We've teamed up with The Children’s Dietitian Lucy Upton to help parents and guardians navigate one of the most costly and complex periods of family life.

Our Growth Spurt Shop is your go-to guide for growing teens, helping you to understand nutritional needs, inspire you with ideas of what to cook and give you practical ways to access everything they need, without breaking the bank.

We commissioned research of 1,000 parents and guardians with children aged 13–18 to better understand the financial impact of fuelling growing teenagers as well as the nutritional knowledge gap that exists.

81% of parents say their overall grocery bill has increased as a result of their teenager’s growth spurt
65% of parents admit that keeping their teens fed while managing food expenses is a challenge
48% of families say dinner remains the biggest drain on budget
28% of teenagers regularly ask for second helpings
46% of teenagers reach for extra food between 3pm and 6pm
26% of parents are making at least two extra trips to the shops each week
19% of parents are unsure what nutrition their teenagers actually need during rapid growth

Lucy’s five top tips

For parents and guardians fuelling growing teens…

Expect bigger appetites

A sharp rise in appetite is completely normal. Support extra demand by serving meals family style, let them help themselves to seconds.

Enhance their favourites

Add small nutritious extras to familiar foods: peanut butter in smoothies, olive oil in pasta, cheese on bolognese, or milk powder in mash.

"Self-serve" snack stations

Try batch-prepping nourishing snacks: overnight oats, energy balls, smoothies, and trail mix so teens can self-serve when hungry.

Fuel their growth

Teenagers need iron and calcium for bone growth. Iron sources: baked beans, tuna, eggs, cereals. Calcium sources: cheese, milk, yoghurt.

Protein is important

It supports growing muscles and fullness.  Easy sources: glass of milk, yoghurt, two eggs, baked beans, or nuts all provide ~10g protein.

BRAMWELLS

Baked Beans in a Rich Tomato Sauce

410 G

(£0.10/100 G)

£0.39~~£0.40~~

VILLAGE BAKERY

Wholemeal Sliced Loaf

800 G

(£0.09/100 G)

£0.75

CUCINA

Wholewheat Pasta 500g, Fusilli

0.5 KG

(£1.50/1 KG)

£0.75

NATURE'S PICK

Bananas

5 Each

(£0.16/1 Each)

£0.78

EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS

Porridge Oats

1,000 G

(£0.09/100 G)

£0.85

GRANDESSA

Creamy 100% Peanut Butter

0.34 KG

(£4.38/1 KG)

£1.49

COWBELLE

Semi Skimmed Milk 1.7% Fat

2.27 L

(£0.73/1 L)

£1.65

LYTTOS

Greek Yoghurt 10% Fat

500 G

(£0.40/100 G)

£1.99

FOUR SEASONS

Summer Fruits

0.5 KG

(£3.98/1 KG)

£1.99

Total basket cost: £13.04*

*Prices correct at time of publication and based on items available at aldi.co.uk. Prices online may vary from prices in store.

How Aldi supports parents at every stage

The Growth Spurt Shop is just the latest example of Aldi's ongoing commitment to supporting families with quality food at affordable prices, from the very first days of parenthood and throughout the teenage years.