Eating healthy while couponing?

[leqet]

Originally Posted by austinmomto2 The Organic Milk we usually drink is Central Market (HEB line). Do you think writing to them would help in any way?

I'm not familiar with that brand, but it certainly won't hurt to write them.

To save on meat look for coupons that say "$ off any beef". The good ones are usually wine tags, tear pads or in-store coupons.

[tunkany]

Sign up for the Mambo Sprouts coupons and you can also find them at Whole Foods. These always have Organic Valley coupons and other organics. We eat Country choice whole grain oatmeal and I use $1 coupons every time I buy them. I get store brand brown rice. Instead of sugar we use raw honey. Aunts Sue is one brand that has coupons (Sue Bee). Oh, Whole Foods has their own coupons too which you can combine with the Mambo Sporuts or homemailers.
It's not easy to eat healthy on a budget. My family prefers organic raw dairy that we get from a farm, so I can't cut sosts there. But as it was said before, write to the company that you like, send them a compliment and ask if they have coupons. A lot of Organic companies will send you coupons this way but they are not big enough to put these in the paper.
AS for fresh meat and produce, use winetags and rebates. If you can't find them, trade for them with people who have access to these. I jsut sent in rebates for Organic Foods for $10!
Some stores have cheap organics, especially if it's their own brand. I've found that even Whole Foods have better prices than Bloom or Giant when it comes to organic stuff.
Good luck!

[hotcouponmama]

I buy a mix of both processed and non-processed foods.

This month, I've spent only $26 at the store all month. Yesterday, I bought fresh fruits and veggies, 2 gallons of milk, bread, bagels, and some other items. Spent only $13. I used a $10 off $50 coupon combined with a GC for $25 from a prescription coupon I'd used earlier in the month. With manufacturers and I got to double one coupon, wound up at the $13. Saved about $80.

I look for items I can get overage on, use store coupons for things like Larissa said as well.

Have you printed from our HCW resources? The link the the Coupon Resources has items like Marrakesh rice, and several others that are "less processed". The Coupons.com link ad above has coupons for $1 off dole fruit. Yes, they are in a cup and in light syrup (the mandarin oranges have 10 calories more than a fresh one, but having worked in a nutrition program, getting any kids into fruit is better than none). The last time those came on sale, I wound up getting them for about .10c a 4-pk.

As to produce, stick with what's in season for better pricing and fresher products. I know in the coupon database there are links to printables for Organic valley milk. And if you did a printables search in general, you'd find many between our two HCW partners and the other links for the times of items you're looking for.

For me, meat is about $$$ off coupons wyb another item, usually tied to BBQ sauce and marinade. There's also a whole thread here somewhere for how to buy meat inexpensively, and I think there's that video clip of me somewhere talking about buying hamburger meat for cheap.

It can be done, you just have to be diligent. And if you are getting your HABA items for free, then you have more available cash to buy fresher items you are looking for.

[leqet]

Okay one more tip I thought of if you cannot find a good deal on organics and don't have coupons then you might check out warehouse stores such as Sam's Club or Costco. Just be sure that you are not spending more or getting more than you can use. Before I started couponing I found organic milk, organic produce and free-trade organic coffee at Sam's Club cheaper than regular grocery prices. The newspapers sometimes offer "free passes" for Sam's Club, so you don't have to buy a membership either.

[mfaust]

Some other things I'm doing:

If you are in a state that lets you do NBPR rebates, they area great resource for getting $$ back, and are very general on what you can buy. For example, there is an Organic/Natural foods rebate by Molson where you get $10 back on $20. Or meat rebates like the new Coors one where you get $15 back on $30, but you can buy the meat you want, organic or not.

I'm also learning about Wine Tags - they seem to be a great resource too, although tough to find for me as I'm in the land of no wine tags. I've just been trading for $2/2 lb salmon. I can buy what kind of salmon I want.

I've also noticed a lot more organic coupons lately. It is becoming more and more popular, I know my stores all have a section now, and even Kraft is starting to push their organic product.

Other than that, I subscribe to an organic farm share where I get my organic fruits and veggies for the same price or less of regular produce.

[flash]

It's not "hard" to do, but it takes some getting used to.

First, organic/natural product coupons: as said above, Mambo sprouts puts out an entire booklet of organic/natural product coupons every three months. You can usually get one copy in the postal mail if you sign up for it from their website. You can also pick up as many copies as you can use from whole foods, Ralphs, etc. We have an organic/natural stores forum and the info is kept up to date there :)

Also, many natural/organic/health food stores carry magazines that are only available in the store, and are free. Just ask at the cash register. Sometimes they are loaded with manufacturer coupons, sometimes less. Organic Valley milk, cheese, etc. are one of my favorite dairy brands, and they usually have coupons available in many places. Check the coupon database on this site, just search for Organic Valley, and you will find booklets, tear pads, sometimes blinkies, and magazines and printable coupons.

Other stores, such as Food Lion, also carry various health food type magazines, free in store, that have coupons. Annually, a booklet for earth day, titled Go Organic! for Earth Day, comes out loaded with coupons for organic/manufacturer brands.

More Kraft, General Mills, etc. brands are also shifting to organic products.

I don't buy loads of things like Hamburger Helper, and if I do buy it I always add fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, organic cheese and sour cream, etc.

Use the "deals" you do find. For example, last week at one store, a $10 on your next order when you buy xxx. I bought the xxx (Kellogg's, I think), with coupons and rebates it was free, and used the $10 OYNO coupon to buy 93% lean organic ground beef, on sale at $1.99/lb. A great buy, and I bought several pounds, divided into one pound packages and froze them.

Also used a $7 OYNO to buy fresh Portabello mushrooms for portabella veggie burgers, Earthbound Farms salad mix, some organic carrots...and bought a second Earthbound Farms salad mix with a FREE coupon they sent several months ago.

Costco is carrying more and more organic and natural brands, and if you can't find "deals" at regular stores, their prices are usually fairly good.

[melcotx]

Thanks for the all the great tips and reasurrance so far. Keep it coming! It helps to know that the qs are out there. I know I'm going to have trouble finding then, though. I'm just getting started with CVS and Walgreens, thanks to the boards here. But the board for my main grocery store, Kroger SW, seems pretty empty. Besides the obvious of the store boards, which forums should I be hitting to get in the know? This site is sooo much better than the others I've found, but it's a bit of information overload too.

[mominmichigan]

Originally Posted by melcotx Thanks for the all the great tips and reasurrance so far. Keep it coming! It helps to know that the qs are out there. I know I'm going to have trouble finding then, though. I'm just getting started with CVS and Walgreens, thanks to the boards here. But the board for my main grocery store, Kroger SW, seems pretty empty. Besides the obvious of the store boards, which forums should I be hitting to get in the know? This site is sooo much better than the others I've found, but it's a bit of information overload too.

My local Kroger stores are getting more and more organics in every week. One has one single aisle, another has 5 small aisles, plus 2 cooler areas for organics. The only thing to watch is the store brand Kroger organic milk if you have a young child. I believe the Private Selection whole does NOT have vitamin D. You could always try another local Kroger and call your managers to ask about getting more organic items in stock!

I actually buy a lot of the Meijer brand organics. Their organic milk goes on sale 2/$5 quite often and I stock up and try to get rainchecks. And they have a lot of % off sales on their brand organics too.

Also, with the couponing on other items (health & beauty, paper products), I save sooo much money that I can devote to healthier items.

**and whoever complained about the side-by-side -- I HEAR YA! ugh. We didn't pick it out, it came with the house. But I can't stand it.

[flash]

Originally Posted by melcotx Thanks for the all the great tips and reasurrance so far. Keep it coming! It helps to know that the qs are out there. I know I'm going to have trouble finding then, though. I'm just getting started with CVS and Walgreens, thanks to the boards here. But the board for my main grocery store, Kroger SW, seems pretty empty. Besides the obvious of the store boards, which forums should I be hitting to get in the know? This site is sooo much better than the others I've found, but it's a bit of information overload too.

Well, one forum I'd suggest (and would LOVE to get questions and feedback on this subject) is Organic and Natural Stores forum. While three major organic/natural "only" stores are included in the subforums, I'm using the main forum Organic and Natural Stores to write some articles, answer FAQS, explaing labeling, and how to know what you are buying and where to find prices. That way, no matter which store you shop at in the end, you can find the coupons, compare prices, and understand the terminology, labelling, and maybe what's important and what's just hype. Personally I think people have many questions on what is what, how to know if the benefit is worth the price, tips on how to find a balance. What the actual benefits are, versus the hype. And how to judge for yourself and your family in what it good for you and your finances, and what yourpoint of balance makes sense for you.

Me, well, I "edit" everything I cook. I buy fresh when it's in season, and cheaper. It's a rather holistic approach, eating organic dinner salads with organic beans, cheese, tomatoes, organic dressing or comprimising on a salad dressing with low fat natural dressing blended in with fresh yogurt or whatever suits what i need. Keeping the oven off and minimizing electricity use in the summer for our area is important, not only because power rate useage is high everywhere, but cooking warms the house, and more electricity is used overall in both heating the oven or stove and then increasing the need for airconditioning and dehumidifying the home overall. So spending a bit more on fresh natural produce reduces the overall electric bill and helps balance out the financial savings.

Just my opinion, but it usually helps to have clear understanding on what you want to "eat healthy" on, and why. Why is it important to you to eat organic or natural, or reduce fats or add healthy fats, or increase lycopene or whatever else you want to achieve in "eating healthy" and what benefit are you looking for. Many labeling, such as the American Heart Association seal of approval is a paid endorsement usually simply that the product has been reviewed and contains specific ingredients. It does not mean that other companies with similar or better quality products have not met the critieria, but that they have not paid for the endorsement. Those things irritate me a bit, since they are marketed to appear that they are better than something, but the AHA doesn't randomly evaluate products and choose the best to put their seal of approval on. Companies purchase a product review, receive the results, and then pay additional money to not only add the seal -- but clear the shelves for identical product that does not have the seal of endorsement. GE CFL bulb went through this two years ago.

I'm going on a bit...but I'd hope you would think through what you are really looking for, then check out the organic and natural forum and let's get a discussion going about questions and ideas. :)

[ksteven]

we are having the same problem. my DH and I are counting calories and eating much more healthy. All we have here is PC and HyVee, our Target is not a SuperTarget and is limited on the food they carry. Not any fresh stuff there.