100 Calorie Pack Deal at Amazon!

My husband is on a "homemade" version of Nutrisystem, "homemade" by ME! I just go to the grocery each week and buy the frozen dinners for his lunch and dinner (I know this does NOT follow my natural, healthy philosophy, but this is merely designed for the short term, and I buy the meals that say no preservatives!!) His breakfast consists of Jimmy Dean D-Lights and Eating Right Steel Cut Oatmeal, alternating. He has a Light & Fit yogurt and snacks like Zone Bars or 100 Calorie packs. His daily calorie intake is between 1300-1500 per day, though he is allowed to go to 1900. In 25 days, he has lost 20 pounds! It's obviously working! We are very happy for him and we are all back on track with our healthy living. Working out, eating right, Green Smoothies, watching our calories.

I found these by accident this morning on Amazon. These run $4.50 a box at the grocery store - they are on sale at Amazon 79% off - 5 boxes of them are $4.66. If you buy 3 cases (5 boxes per case) at $4.66 each, shipping is $8.85, making them $1.52 each box! So now we are stocked with snacks. I know these aren't "health" food - but they are serving a purpose for the moment! Run to Amazon as they change these type sales quickly!!

Living Well, Feeling Great Promo at Safeway!!

After this promo, I am Feeling Great! I've saved so much dough these past 2 weeks it's crazy! Here is a picture of some of my hauls - I've lost track of my receipts, but I was doing the buy $30 of certain items to get $10 catalina - and the Arrowhead water Catalina of $2 for every 2 you buy - I kept rolling those deals and at one point I paid $.69 for 12 packs of water and 3 packs of Precious Cheese Sticks! That was a fun day!

I've been back for the water several times and they are always out! So tonight I took the $21 I had in Catalinas and the $54 I had in coupons and made it home with tons of great food - regular price $115.86 - I paid $29.75!!! I got Organic chicken, 3 seven-bone roasts, a pizza, meatloaf and mashed taters (these will all come in handy as I'm working the rest of the week - quick meals), Good Belly's we've grown to love thanks to a tip from my friend Rachel (get your coupon here -these are both a vitamin and probiotic) , Healthy Choice no preservative meals and raw Lara Bars (minimal ingredients and processing - love it)! Yummmm! That is Money Saving Mom worthy!!


Thanks to my friend for "hooking" me up with the Organic Grass Fed Beef markdown at Safeway! (Read here a bit why grass-fed beef is so good for you!) I got it for $1.99 a pound. I pay $5.99 a pound for this on a regular basis without batting an eye! SCORE!!!

Eating from the Pantry Final - and other Goals from February!

It's the last day of February - so I'm clocking in with my final numbers!  I came in $355.58 under budget for groceries this month!  I would have liked to had the number smaller, but it is what it is.  This month I re-committed to eating whole foods, no matter the cost (meaning, I know I can buy lots of boxed items at the regular grocery store for free or close to free, but if it is doing my body no good, there is a high price to pay in the end.)  I have really enjoyed Lindsay's blog at Passionate Homemaking.  It's hard to link just one article from Lindsay's Blog, so I will just link her home page.  I just saw she has another new article today I am going to read on additives and preservatives.  

I spent time at the Feingold website this week too reading to my children what is in all those "great" foods  - additives that come from crude oil sources, or the throw aways from paper factories.  Scary stuff to me.  I made a deal - if they refused the bad snacks offered them at church this month, I would give them $10 each.  They have made it to the end of the month and they succeeded.  Everyone is now $10 richer!  And richer in health for NOT eating the sugars, additives and preservatives.  It really does make a difference in how they behave.  

This month we began doing some soaking of grains for pancakes and oatmeal ala - Nourishing Traditions.  I'm still studying on this, but think it has some validity for certain foods.  

We added Lifeway kefir (I'm not ready to make my own YET) to our diet and I've already seen the benefits in the way of improved digestion.   The kids really love the kefir smoothie!

I also started buying only sprouted grain products like the kind from the Food for Life company (sprouted bread, english muffins and tortillas) and trying to eat less grains and more whole raw vegetables and fruit.  

I feel we've made some great strides this month in our already pretty healthy diet.  I'm trying my best to keep our family healthy so we can be able bodied to do God's work while we are on earth! 

Super Saving Safeway - Last Rally!

Here's my last ho-rah!  The Rally is over.  Got all this grub for $29.09 total. 

First trip - bought 25 cans of beans - had $5 Catalina - paid $20 even. 

Went back and got the rest, paid $9.09.  I had some great $1 coupons for Simple Harvest (and it was b1g1) and $2 coupon for cheese sticks, found Natural Ham marked down to $1, had $1 coupons for Danactive (already on sale), b1g1 free coupons for Lysol wipes (and on sale) and coupon for free Harvest Surprise Juice. Yippee!

Super Saving at Safeway!

The fun continues!  I had no idea the Safeway Rally Promo was going to go on this week -surprise! These pictures show you what I was able to get for next to nothing!  

First picture - cost me $.08 - that's right - $.08!!  I first bought the 15 Snapple Green Teas/White Teas and 1 bag of Sunflower Seeds - after my $20 catalina I owed $.49.  That was a 98% savings!  That then generated another $10 catalina - so I bought some treats - V8 Juice, Fruit Bars, Ice Cream Bars and they owed me $.41!  So, that's how I arrive at my $.08 shopping trip!  I'm starting to feel like those CVS ladies!  

Thanks to a tip from Melanie over at Money Saving Mom, I saw the S&W beans qualified for the promo, so off I went tonight.  I had 1 $20 catalina and 1 $5 catalina left!  This has sure been a fun ride, I hate to see it end!  I just might have to spend another $25 to get back in the game!  I bought 25 cans of assorted S&W beans - total $25- less $20 catalina - I owed $5 (and I used $5 from my free money that was left from last week so basically free to me.)

Next order I just got tons of veggies and things we needed like good turkey breast for sandwiches - had good produce coupons (Fresh Express, Chiquita)- after coupons, sales and $20 catalina I owed - $14.17!  I used my very last $5 bill from my free money - so I was out $10 for the bigger picture!  Whooo-hoo!  The Safeway game is my new hobby!  I have one $5 catalina left.

On another note - I went to Whole Foods and spent $47 (0rganic greens for my smoothies, kefir I'm going to try and some supplements) and I got grass-fed beef at another store to the tune of $20 - so I have to add $80 total to my budget for this month - however, I am still at 1/2 of what I had been spending, so this is working!   And I will use the leftover $$ for some of our remodel we've been working on!

Eating from the Pantry Update 3!

Tonight I made a store run - we were out of eggs (which I eat a lot of!) and milk and since I had 3 $20 Safeway Catalinas - I thought I'd get a few other items.  I got:

1 gallon Organic Milk $6

1 96 oz OJ $5

1/2 pound no preservative chicken breast from deli $4

2 pounds of grapes $3

2 packs of Organic steak marked down 50% - $6

2 boxes Simple Harvest granola bars (after b1g1 and $1 coupons- $1.14 each)

2 dozen Egglands Best -around $6.50

I had my free cash left from last week and I used a $20 catalina- so essentially, these groceries cost me nothing.  And, believe it or not- I was given another $5 Catalina left by an earlier customer!  The blessings from this Safeway Rally just keep pouring in..........I have $45 remaining in Safeway Catalinas and $12 cash.  

Eating from the Pantry Update 2!

It's mid- February - 2 weeks to go!  My total for the month so far is $340 - which may sound like a lot to some, but it's waaaaay under my usual grocery budget.  I'm hoping that I keep on learning how to reduce my grocery bill and then I can apply the savings in that part of my budget to something else!  

I now have 3 $20 catalinas from the Safeway Rally, and $28 in cash left from my found money last week.  I hope to sell some other things to the consignment store again this week for a few more $$.  So, I'm thinking with almost $80 in free money I can make it to the end of February looking good! 

Safeway Rally Promo! $117 for $26 --77% Savings!

In honor of Valentine's Day I'd like to say I LOVE Safeway!  They just keep giving me free food!  

This week so far (and it's only day 1 of the promo) I've gotten $117 worth of groceries for $26!  

It started out this morning when I got 25 boxes of Rice-A-Roni Whole Grain.  When I checked out, it only generated a $10 catalina.  They sent me to Customer Service and they could not figure it out - after a while of studying the receipt, I realized he only rang up 22 boxes - hence the $10 catalina.  The Manager just took me back to a register and rung up more Rice-A-Roni to try to get another $10 catalina- instead it gave her a $20 one - so she told me I could keep the $20, the $10 and the extra boxes of Rice-A-Roni!  JACKPOT!  

I went back and used my coupons, and the $30 catalinas and got more!  I'm happy I was able to get some healthy options, as many times these type sales offer only junk food.  I got no sodium can tomatoes (I use a lot in soups) whole grain rice, cheese, cottage cheese, ziplocs, Cheerios, veggies.  I bought 1 box of Fruit Roll-ups for the kids to have a treat for Valentines.  

I now have another $20 catalina and I have my $30 in free cash left over from last week (came from rebates, and consignment store sales) so I should make it through February pretty well.  

UPDATE:

I went back today and I can't believe the good fortune I had!  In my first go around I got Pasta Roni, Pop Secret, Tomatoes, Chips, Brownie Mix, Veggies, and Toothpaste- before coupons & catalina total $76.25 - after $14.73 an 81% savings!  

I got a $.50 catalina and wanted to do the Green Giant veggie deal again (buy 3 get $2 off) plus the large bags had $1 coupons on them!  So I went back and got 3 bags of veggies and 2 packs of Jennie-O burgers marked down to $2 each - I had $3 off coupons - so I was able to use the overage towards my other items.  Total before coupons $18.37 - total after $3.27 a savings of 82%!  The BEST part was I was just chatting away with my favorite cashier - and he said "You are one of my best customers, so I have a present for you" - and he handed me a $20 catalina!! Whoo-hooo!  He had no idea how happy he was going to make this girl - I think I jumped up and down right there in line!  Crystal is so right when she says that God will provide for you and bless your efforts!!

Super Saving Saturday - $132 of FREE food!

I'm trying to stay on track for my Eating from the Pantry in February and this week I feel so blessed by what I was able to do with our food budget.  

Using the $3.00 Jennie-O coupons I had, I got 18 packages (only took a pic of 6) of assorted turkey products (burgers, lean ground turkey, breakfast sausage, italian flavored ground turkey) for FREE!  The value of those 18 packages is $80.82!

After buying the turkey, a Catalina generated at Safeway for FREE Juicy Juice! (value $2.59)

I had a $6 coupon at Target for any item so I bought Organic Milk for $5.99.

This week I got my Costco rebate check for $42 - I was able to buy several needed items including Organic Ground Beef at $3.99 a pound (so happy to find that!), organic tomatoes, bananas, popcorn for our air popper (our new frugal way of eating popcorn) and tortilla chips (other frugal snack) and I took the $11 change and went to Trader Joe's and got Organic Apples and yogurt.  

We went by the local consignment shop today and sold some items and took $22 store credit (we got a game and art paper) and $22 cash which I can save to use for future grocery needs like milk, bread or eggs.

Financial Shape in 2008!

I'm joining the check in at  Money Saving Mom.

Well, I'm going to be truthful and  I'm going to make you all feel good!   I am OVER budget by $153 on groceries!  How can this be I ask myself?  I worked so hard to use coupons with sales, make the best of every promo and I even got many things FREE!  I have to console myself by saying I did a ton of stockpiling and it WILL get better over time as I get more practice at the whole "game".   Can't fault a girl for trying eh?  Maybe I'm a little "too" overzealous for the deals!

I am happy that I have a written budget and I am keeping up with tracking all my expenses on my own homemade spreadsheet.  It helps a ton to see the expenses in "real" time.  It's very motivating and gives me a great incentive to work hard to come in UNDER budget for February!

Eating from the Pantry update 1

It's only day 6 but I thought I'd post an update. I spent $20 at Target one day because the coupons were so good - I did not really need the items, so I won't be doing that again! I bought organic milk at Safeway and a few items I needed for our church potluck. 

Yesterday I spent $16.xx at whole foods buying grass-fed beef, organic butter from grass-fed cows and some Ezekiel spouted cereal (I'm trying to shy away from my yogurt, granola snack b/c there is too much sugar in the granola-also going away from having cereal for a snack if the sugar content is more than 4g) - the Ezekiel sprouted cereal will be my snack and my add-in for my greek yogurt with organic jam.
That's $42.  

I spent $50.50 at Trader Joes on eggs, bread and organic produce, milk and yogurt and $6 at Safeway for bagged apples (using up the last of my coupons on those $.25 packs!)

Today I went to Foods Co - it's new in our area and I understand run by Kroger - I'm looking forward to seeing if they have better prices than my usual haunts!  I was able to get 12 packs of Jennie-O Turkey for free with coupons and paid $18 for my other dairy items (cheese, yogurt).  I thought I was going to be able to use the overage of my Jennie-O coupons towards the other food, but they would not let me and I did not want to ask to put back all the other stuff, so I just paid for it -didn't quite work out like I thought!  Oh well, still a great deal.

So I'm at $116.50.  I will have to buy milk again in a few days, but I'm good on bread and eggs and fruit for at least a week.

Safeway Jennie-O buys!

Using those great coupons I found on the front of the freezer at Safeway, I picked these up:

Breakfast sausage links -$3.29 - $3.00 coupon =$.29
Breakfast Sausage patties $3.49-$3.00 coupon=$.49
Turkey Burgers $3.99 - $3.00 coupon= $.99 for 4 burgers (I noticed these are on sale at Lucky tomorrow for 2 for $6 - so after coupon they would be free)

These coupons say Jennie-O Turkey Store Oven Ready Turkey Breast or Turkey Breast of Any Variety! Wouldn't Bob on the Biggest Loser be proud! (hahaha- you know how much they talk about Jennie-O on the show!)

Safeway Savings January 24, 2008!

I had to reeeeallly go searching for the deals this week! Wow! They were few - I found some though!

First off, the few "hidden" deals:

Chiquita Bites individual packs - on sale for $1.00 each (reg. $1.49) - there were "blinkie" coupons for $.75 off ANY size - so $.25 each pack. I bought apples and apples w/carmel - they also have apples & grapes. These aren't my standard organic sliced apples from Trader Joe's - but for the price and convenience, I got some. 21 packs for $5.25 - regular price would have been $31.29 - isn't that ridiculous?? I think they are even pricey at $.25 each! The only other time I buy these is when they do a b1g1 on the large packs and I use the $.75 coupon off 2 - making them around $1.50 a pack (not individually wrapped) but the big packs aren't on sale right now.

Jennie-O Turkey Roast -lean white or lean white/dark - these are in a box in the freezer section - they were $4.69 and had a "blinkie" for $3 off any Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey Breast or Turkey Breast any variety (which makes me think you can use it on the ground turkey on sale this week too perhaps?) So $1.69 for a lean turkey roast - that you have to do NOTHING to prepare - no thawing -just pop it in the oven for 2-3 hours in the pan it came in and it serves 6!! Yipppeee - this is even better than cooking and freezing your food! Instant meal (if you think about it early enough to get it in the oven that is!) You can see it on their website here

Fresh Express Spinach is on sale for $1 and Fresh Express Coleslaw for $1 - they still have the "blinkies" that take $2/2. So FREE on your veggies.

The other great buys were on meat in the frozen section! I found these Mickey Burgers - 85% lean - 8 burgers in a box for $5.99 - b1g1. So $3.00 for 8 burgers - I can't ever beat that price! Of course on the other hand, I went out of the store with $12 in Grass Fed Organic Beef for my Sloppy Joes this week! Go figure! I try to do organic, but at prices this good, I'm hoping a little other non-organic meat won't hurt! You can view them here

They also had Foster Farms items at b1g1- I was very excited to find my favorite turkey meatballs that they quit carrying at Costco - they are sooo much lower in fat than the meat ones and they are tasty! Many I've tried are NOT! Ended up $4 a bag- that will do several meals. Also got frozen Foster Farms chicken strips - these are awesome for my homemade chicken strips and no extra prep in cutting. So $5.50 a bag -I can't remember the pounds.

Safeway Savings January 17, 2008!

Ohhh-eeee! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! I did sooo well on my weekly Safeway shopping thanks to the return of my beloved $10 off 10 breakfast promo. Check out the middle of the new flyer for what qualifies. We can eat cheap breakfast for the rest of our life if these deals keep up!

1st order:
3 boxes Quaker Instant Oatmeal on sale $2 each (use 3 $1 coupons)
7 boxes Jimmy Dean Turkey sausage on sale for $2.50 each
Total before sales and coupons-$45
Total after sales, coupons and promo- $10.50
That's a savings of 77%

2nd order:
2 boxes Fiber One Cereal on sale for $2.50 each (use 1 $1/2 coupon)
2 boxes Life Cereal on sale for $2.50 each (use 1 $1/2 coupon)
1 box Cinnamon life on sale for $2.50 (use 1 $1 coupon)
3 Tree Top apple juice on sale for $2 each (use 1 $1/2 coupon)
2 Quaker Simple Harvest on sale for b1g1@ $5.29 (use 2 $1 coupons)
Total before sales & coupons- $48.20
Total after sales, coupons & promo- $6.29
That's a savings of 87% or average of $.63 an item!!!

So bottom line - I got $93.20 of groceries for $16.79! My dream of becoming like my hero Money Saving Mom is coming closer to fruition! Love and thanks to Crystal!

Going back this morning for one more round broken down like this:

2 Quaker Simple Harvest on sale b1g1 $5.29 (use 2 coupons $1 and $.75)
2 Eggland's Best eggs $7.18 for 2 (use coupons $1 and $.75)
2 Cinnamon life on sale for $2.50 each (use printable coupon $1, $1)
2 Toaster Strudel on sale $2.50 each (use printable coupon for $1/2)
2 Fiber One Cereal on sale $2.50 each (use coupon $1/2)
Total before coupons and promo-$27.47
Total after sales, coupons and promo-$9.97
(I don't have the retail prices on this one since I still have to go to the store today and don't have the receipt!)

Safeway Savings January 11, 2008!

I had to run some post office and library errands and popped into Safeway for my 4 for $6 cereals and found a few other goodies that worked with my current coupons!

I got $70 worth of groceries for $20! The cashier was so excited! He said "I bet you saved $20!" Then when he read the receipt it said "You saved $47 or 71%" - he was floored! It is so fun to see the cashier's reaction!
Safeway has Ragu Pasta Sauce on sale for $1 (reg. $3.21)
Barilla Plus Spaghetti was an unadvertised sale for $.99 a box! (I had one coupon $1/2) the cheapest I ever get this is $1.84 a box at Target so I bought 6
2 Cheerios and 2 Nature Valley (used $.75 off 2 and 2 $1.10 coupons - making it $.57 a box!)
Rice-a-Roni on sale for $1 a box - used a $.50/2 - making it $.75 a box (normally $1.99) - I use these in soups quite often

Super Savings Saturday!

I am on a bargain high tonight! I hit Target to take some Christmas things back and hit the Glade Jackpot! With markdowns on the Christmas scent Apple Cinnamon (my fav anyway!) I got some real steals using coupons! The Wisp candles as low as $2.39 (retail $10.99) Scented Oil for $1.50 (retail $6.99). Happy with that and hopping along, I about jumped up and down in the aisle when I came across Burt's Bees Kits marked WAY down! This picture only shows part of what I got - but one kit was $3.99 (has shampoo, pore scrub, peppermint soap and loofah (I usually buy just the shampoo at $8 and scrub $8, soap $5). The other kit was $4.99 and had body lotion, hand creme, cuticle cream,coconut oil for feet and pumice stone. (I buy this hand lotion and it is $10 a tube alone! Whoo-hoo! Happy dance!

Then, just going through Safeway last night on a particularly quiet night, my eyes caught this new product called Attune. It's near the yogurt in the refrigerated section. They are granola bars with probiotics in them- 5X more than yogurt - 7 in a package. They were listed at intro. price for $1.25 a box! The chocolate ones taste just like a dark chocolate crunch bar - so delicious! I was so excited! I bought several.

It was a great Super Saving Saturday! I'm becoming a bit obsessed with the Target markdown, I'm going to have to call it quits soon! I never did find the Bounty paper towels or the girls PJ's I was looking for.......can't get 'em all!

Safeway Deals December 30, 2007 (sunday ad)!

There was a flyer in Sunday's paper that has some things worth mentioning.

Nature Valley Granola Bars - 6 for $4. (regular $4.49 each)- need in-ad coupon good until 1/8

Hormel Natural Lunch Meat (no preservatives or nitrites) 3 for $7 (regular price $4.99 each)- need in-ad coupon good until 1/8

Proctor & Gamble Promo - instant $5 off if you buy 5
There is a page showing lots of items, but the best deal was the Dawn Dish Soap - either Foaming or Simple Pleasures or Regular. On sale for $2.79 each - I used 4 $1 coupons from Sunday insert and one $1.50 coupon - then instant $5 off - makes total of $3.45 for 5 or $.69 each! I plan to go back and do this one again this week! The Dawn Foaming is my favorite!

Fresh Black-eyed Peas on sale for $1 for 11 oz. (NEW YEARS!)

Uncle Ben's Long Grain Rice on sale for $1.50 - use $.75 coupon from www.coupons.com =$.75 - I needed this for my New Year's Day Hoppin John recipe.

Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage - on sale buy one get one free=$4.29-$1.00 coupon from www.coupons.com=$3.29 for 2 or $1.65 each (regular $4.29 each) - I'll NEVER do as well as I did during that $10 off 10 promo they did a few weeks back - but this is a close second!

One day left for Nabisco $6 off promo -many crackers are on sale for $1.66 each right now - making them $.66 a box.

Fresh Express Coleslaw on sale $1 - Blinkie coupon for $1 off - makes it free.

New products- Green Superfood and Fage Yogurt!

I love Fage non-fat yogurt - but it's pricey! The cheapest I've gotten it is at Trader Joe's -BUT Costco has started carrying it! Yeah! It was $6.99 for a 35 oz! That is a considerable savings. I eat it with a tablespoon of TJ's Organic Preserves and some of my super cheap granola I got a few weeks back! Yumm.

I am also trying these new Amazing Grass products- I'll post how I like them after I use them awhile. They seem great. Check out their info here. The cheapest I've found it to buy is here.

Grocery Deals this week! Target too!

Thanks to Jennyand Crystalfor the Target tips! I ended up $17 out of pocket - but I have a $10 Gift Card for another time. I got 4 wipes, 2 post-its, 2 Glade candles, one candle refill and 2 bags of Hershey's I needed for Christmas cookie baking.

At Safeway I spent $10 and got 6 boxes of Crackers ($.49 each), 2 bags of spinach ($1 each), 2 bags of coleslaw (both free after coupon) - we use a lot of cabbage and spinach in our daily Vitamix drinks so this comes in really handy- and a box of Clementines ($3.99) and a carton of sweet peppers (forgot to put in pic).

A few good deals in Sunday Safeway ad.

Looks like the Nabisco crackers are on sale again 3 for $4.98 - the $6 off 6 promo is good until the end of December (that's what the sign says in my store) so you can get 6 boxes for $3.96 making the crackers $.66 a box.

There is a coupon for a pound of Lucerne butter for $1.99 and 3 2-liter sodas for $1.

Pillsbury Crescent or Cinnamon rolls are 4 for $6 - if you have coupons these could be a great deal too.