Best Budget Bites: $4 Shower Oranges From Aldi

'You have to trust me,' explains our student journalist.

9:06 AM CDT on June 9, 2025

Wikimedia; Kathryn Kovalenko

Racket collaborated with the Bethel University Arts + Culture Reporting class to produce the stories you'll read this week. Our editors worked with students, mostly juniors and seniors, to develop ideas, source stories, and edit them for the enjoyment of readers. Feel free to seek out these young journalists, photojournalists, and graphic designers to fill your internships and jobs. They like to get paid for their work, and thanks to Racket members and a grant from Bethel, they got cashed out for these pieces.

The cost of things these days? Far too expensive! Tariffs, labor, giddy price gouging from proprietors large and small—the boring factors are too numerous to count. To protect our readers, Racket launched the Best Budget Bites series, where we’ll showcase a toothsome, wallet-friendly food item that’ll actually fill you up. Have a nomination? Hit us up: tips@racketmn.com.

What: Navel oranges
Where: Aldi's 80 Minnesota locations
Cost: $3-$5
Availability: Year-round

Everyone’s heard of shower beers. But I’m on a mission to spread the gospel of shower oranges. Although eating an orange in the shower had 15 minutes of fame on TikTok a few years back, it’s still not getting enough attention. You have to trust me.

@makenzyksmith
the orange in the shower phenomenon is actually so legit. 🍊🚿 #showerorange
♬ original sound - Makenzy Smith

One day at dinner I tried to explain this phenomenon to my dad. He told me shower oranges were weird and said, “When you talk to a boy, take my advice and don’t lead with the fact that you eat oranges in the shower.”

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So, now I’m sharing it with millions of Racket readers online instead. [Editor’s note: Potential advertisers should know our readership numbers are… slightly lower than this!] Here’s what you need to do:

Step one: Purchase a $3-$5 bag of navel oranges from Aldi. Depending on the season, you could get Cara Cara navel oranges—they’re a cute pink color and have an interestingly sour flavor. You could also try another grocery store, but in these trying economic times, I recommend Aldi.
Step two: Take a shower and eat one of your new oranges.

This is really a spiritual experience that can’t be captured by mere words. But I’ll do my best to explain: You can peel the orange in the shower, so it’s mess-free and doesn’t stain your hands. The steam from the shower enhances the scent and the flavor of the orange. If you have a step in your shower routine when you need to let your conditioner or hair mask soak, it’s serendipitous to eat your orange. If you use five-in-one, you’ll have to figure something else out.

The experience is so life-changing you’ll make it a habit. Which is good because Aldi produce goes bad in approximately 2.74 days, so you’ll need to eat all the oranges quickly.

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Kathryn Kovalenko is a junior media production and journalism major at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she has spent three years as a reporter and photographer. She is passionate about storytelling through writing, photo, and video.