Couponing for Healthy Food. Myth? – Far From It! – Part 1
I love couponing, I love food. Eventually both caught up to me when I realized I was 28 and over 250 pounds (key word WAS, 48 POUNDS DOWN!). This is nothing like a dieting column or anything like that, actually to insert a disclaimer here: I am not a doctor, and diet changes should be consulted with your doctor. I am just here to tell you how to get healthy food for less. That’s it.
Paleo, Keto, Vegetarian, Vegan,Gluten-FREE Diabetic, or you just want more FRESH stuff? I’ve got you covered.
Moving On..
I hear ALOT and I mean ALOT of people complain that “coupons never come out for healthy food”, “only processed “crap” is free or cheap”
Let me just stop you right there. Not True. Not True. Is it rare? Sure.
It’s not as common as Kellogg’s Cereal, but coupons for meat and veggies and fruits DO come out. How we miss them? No Idea
But there are other ways besides “coupons” to eat healthy, and get fresh items for less (don’t worry I’ll get into the coupon part eventually).
I will be honest with you, Yes Fresh Items will cost more, Yes it MAY be a little more time consuming than just filling your cart with 20 boxes of cereal.
What I will tell you is, you DON’T have to break the bank. There is so much information, that I am splitting this into a few parts to cover all the bases.
Today…let’s just start with the basics.
Rebate Apps can be your best friend in your healthy food venture. I see a lot of fresh and organic rebates often. Also they are fantastic for household items.(you can also get money back for getting “non-healthy” items too , shhh don’t tell, this is my healthy post). If you want a list of rebate apps & how to Click – HERE
There are a few ways I spend my “rebate money”. I PREFER to use all the rebate money I accrue on Christmas, but sometimes I will withdraw early just to help out with grocery expenses, especially in the winter when the price of produce is astronomical. I consider it FREE produce. It’s money I didn’t have to “spend”. It’s money I received by making purchases I needed to make.
Meat and Produce Mark Downs
I wish I had the clapping hands emoji right now. If.Meat.Is.Marked.Down.BUY.IT. Don’t wait, don’t let the lady next to you get it. Buy it. Get the wheels in your brain turning and start thinking about what you can make, how many meals it will make, how much your cost will be. I have eaten better than a millionaire some days! Seriously. Buy it. As for my fellow individuals that only eat Organic and Grassfed Meat. I didn’t forget about you, organic and grassfed meat also goes on markdown, and actually it’s more so than the “regular” meat, because it’s so pricey, no one buys it. If you’re an east coaster, Shaw’s and Stop & Shop have amazing meat and organic meat markdowns.
Produce is the same thing. If I see salad for 75% off, I’m buying it. Bananas? YUP! You can always ask your grocery manager where these special “spots” are, that they put the discount produce
Buy Frozen
Frozen Veggies, are REALLY cheap. Buying a weeks worth of veggies for under $7 I’ll take it. Usually store brand is a little cheaper, if you have an Aldi or Price Rite near you, you can also get them for a little cheaper.
Discount Supermarket Chains
Speaking of Price Rite and Aldi, it’s time to shine some light on the discount supermarkets. I have found some of my favorite items at these store. I personally follow a low keto diet. I can’t eat anything “good” LOL. Aldi has a wide variety of low carb and diabetic items. I’ve also noticed a lot of gluten-free items at Aldi lately as well. Aldi doesn’t accept coupons, BUT they do have very competetive fresh produce prices. Price Rite DOES accept MFR coupons, but their inventory is a hit or miss. Keep an eye on their sales flyers.
Store Coupons
Speaking from experience, check your store flyers, especially my Stop & Shop people. You know that little tab of coupons, on the edge of your flyer? If you look back at prior ads, how many of these are fresh fruit, veggies, or meat? A very large percentage, yet I never see anyone raving about them! There are some AWESOME prices. On meat, veggies and fruit they are usually limited by POUND, not by quantity, so when you can get these items at a GREAT price. BUY IT! Last summer I bought 15 pounds of Asparagus. Yup, I did. 15 Pounds, and I blanched it, and I froze it. Why? it was $1.77 a pound. I used 1/2 a pound per meal which equals to 30 meals. That’s 22¢ per person, per meal, for fresh Asparagus. Intrigued yet?
Water?
Water. We Need it. You need to drink it. Luckily for you, it goes on sale often, and coupons do come out often. I find that the drug stores have better deals on water than the grocery stores. GO FIGURE!
CVS offers deals with Extrabucks or Cash Cards, Rite-Aid Offers Bonus Cash. You can buy your water , use coupons AND earn money. Make sure you join our drug store groups to keep an eye on the water sales! – HERE
Stay Tuned for Part 2 Catalinas, Coupons and Overage OH MY!
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