One of the biggest barriers I hear from people struggling to eat clean, nutritious food is the cost. While Fort Wayne has drawn more natural-based grocery stores in the last couple of years that offer healthier options, the open, airy, coffee-in-your-hand shopping experience can come with added costs. Enter ALDI, the no-frills, generic cousin to Trader Joe's.

ALDI has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that allows for money savings. For one, it mostly carries its own food, meaning direct sales with no middle man. Most grocery stores offer a generic brand, but ALDI is able to offer additional savings by cutting all of the frills you normally experience at a grocery store. Upon arrival at the store, you'll notice one big difference right off the bat - you have to pay for your cart. ALDI saves money that most grocery stores shell out to pay for someone to return carts to the store by requiring a quarter to unlock your cart, which you get back when you return it to the only corral, by the entrance. You'll also find that if you want bags, you have to pay for them.

Check out the way that simple, no-frills shopping can create savings on a handful of healthy food choices, when compared to a local, natural grocery store:

ALDI milk: $1.49/gallon
Fresh Thyme milk: $2.49/gallon

ALDI organic milk: $2.95/half gallon
Fresh Thyme organic milk: $4.29/half gallon

ALDI organic plain whole milk yogurt: $2.99/32 oz. container
Fresh Thyme organic plain whole milk yogurt: $4.19/32 oz. container

ALDI organic avocados: $1.99/pack of four
Fresh Thyme organic avocados: $1.99 each

ALDI seedless watermelon: $2.49
Fresh Thyme seedless watermelon: $3.99

ALDI eggs: $0.69/dozen
Fresh Thyme eggs: $1.49/dozen

ALDI grass fed beef: $5.89/pound
Fresh Thyme grass fed beef: $6.99/pound

ALDI organic free range beef or chicken broth: $1.79
Fresh Thyme organic free range beef or chicken broth: $4.79

While you may not be able to find everything you need at ALDI, if you're looking to save some money and eat well, you may find that it's the worth the extra stop for you. To find the ALDI store closest to you, check out their site.