HT Super-Dups - 1/6

Today is "el Día de los Reyes" in Spain (or Three Kings' Day, or Epiphany).  Our family across the pond has the day off and spent the day enjoying each other's company and opening gifts.  We saved a few little gifts from Christmas to open today, but we haven't gotten around to it yet.  My treat to myself, though, was to get back on the coupon wagon and hit up Harris Teeter's super doubles sales.  It feels good!  Here's what I came home with:

In list form (with the final price after coupon/sale):

• 1 bottle Soft Scrub - $1.99
• 1 4oz can HT green chiles - 77¢
• 2 bags Snyders tortilla chips - $2
• 1 box Banana Nut Cheerios - $2.12
• 6 Clif bars - $4.10
• 1 8oz box Annie Chun brown rice noodles - $3.49 *no sale/QP for this one :(
• 4 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats cereal - 94¢
• 2 jugs HT premium orange juice - $4.54
• 10 Yoplait yogurts - $5
• 2 Chobani yogurts - 80¢
• 2 1/2 gals Smart Balance milk - $1.50
• 2 HT soda 2 ltrs - $1.74
• tax - $1.10

TOTAL: $30.09
TOTAL SAVED: $38.90 = 56%

Definitely worth the trip.  Now if I can keep the momentum going, but without buying so many deals that I blow the budget :)

Feeding my family on the cheap... Soli Deo Gloria.

AO Update

I realize that after many months of not blogging, the LAST topic anyone who reads this expected me to blog about would be my produce delivery :)  However, I've been meaning to do this math again anyway, so I went ahead and figured I'd share it with the world while I was at it.  Here's a picture of the box of organic produce that I received from Absolute Organics just today:

And here's the cost comparison if purchased at my local Harris Teeter:

• head of cabbage - $2.07* (assuming it weighs 3 lbs - who knew they sold cabbage by the pound? and i'm too lazy to go weigh it now that i've put the scale away.)
• 3 kiwi - $2.37*
• 1.5 lbs banana - $1.50
• 2.5 lbs pink lady apples - $7.23
• 2 red navel oranges - $2
• 1 bunch kale - $2.49
• 2 yellow bell peppers - $5.58
• 4 lbs potatoes - $8

TOTAL: $31.24 at HT and the * indicates that that item is not available organically.  Not to mention that HT won't deliver to my doorstep.  And I paid only $30 for 100% organic produce dropped at my door.
I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever owned a cabbage before!  I have no idea how this is going to work out, but I have 2 recipes that I'm interested in trying with it, so when I saw it on the list I decided to take a leap and go for it!  Within the next week or two I hope to try Lynn's Coconut Milk Asian Noodle Soup and Vonda's Spiced Cabbage and Apple Slaw.  And you can bet your bottom dollar that the kale and potatoes will end up in a Kale and Potato Spanish Tortilla on a day when I have plenty of time to be in the kitchen!
So, nearly 2 years after starting to receive Absolute Organics deliveries, I'm still glad to be getting them and we're still eating more (clean) produce and saving money in the process... Soli Deo Gloria.

AO Price Check-Up

It's been a while since I've posted about my Absolute Organics deliveries, but have no fear - I still get them!  Don't know what I'd do without them.  Well, not completely correct... I DO know what I'd do without them, but it wouldn't be pretty (i.e. wouldn't eat nearly enough fruits & veggies).
Anyway, no picture today (my kitchen is a bit of a mess), but I weighed and price-checked my goodies and have a list to share with you.

• 2+ lbs plums = $5.75*
• approx. 1 lb carrots = $1.49
• 1 dry pint cherry tomatoes = $4.64*
• 1 lb red onions = $1.99*
• 1/2 lb spinach = $5.58
• 1 small head Romaine lettuce = $2.99
• 4 lbs 6 oz Fuji apples = $12.20

All prices are listed from my local Harris Teeter's website, and a * indicates that they don't seem to offer it organically, so the price is for non-organic.  If my calculator adds correctly, that adds up to $34.64 - and mine was ALL organic and delivered straight to my door.  Ummhmm.   You know you want some.  Go ahead, just call/email Vonda and she'll be happy to get you set up (if you live in her delivery area... sorry for those that don't!).  Tell her you've got a brochure that says $10 off your first order (I'll give it to you next time I see you) and be sure to tell her that I sent you, too.  I would love the free box of yumminess she'd send my way, just for you trying them out :)

Eating organic produce... Soli Deo Gloria

A wonderful new "trick"

Stopped at EarthFare the other night... great store, too far away.  BUT - it was right on the way home from our friends' house where we had been for dinner, so I couldn't NOT stop :)  Didn't get much, but I had a coupon for a free pound of organic grapes (wonderful, since they're on the so-called dirty dozen list), another for a free reusable lunch bag, and a third for $1.50 off some organic chicken.  Needless to say, it was a pretty successful trip, savings-wise. 

So what's the trick, you ask?  First, a bit of history:  I found a recipe a while ago for Pork Chili Colorado since I had gotten some cheap pork (also at EarthFare, if I recall properly).  I stuck the pork in the freezer since the recipe is more of a winter stew-type, and will pull it out this Fall when the weather is better for that sort of thing.  The recipe, however, calls for 1/2 tsp of Ground Coriander.  As it turns out, I don't have that particular spice, nor do I have room in my cabinet for any more spice jars.  Not to mention, since I have "survived" without it for the full 3 years of my marriage, I wasn't too keen on spending $5 for a spice that I'm probably never going to use up.  Being a "perfectionist" - especially when experimenting with new recipes, I wanted to make the recipe correctly.  So, I decided to be modern and offer a trade on Facebook... I buy Basil, Parsley, Cinnamon and Garlic Powder at Costco, so I've got more than enough to trade.  I got a few offers, but all the local ones were for Coriander Seed, not the ground kind.  Having it mailed by a friend in California was somewhat appealing, until someone posted that EarthFare sells bulk spices - who knew such a concept existed?  Sure enough.  I came home with this:

They don't have actual measuring spoons there, but it's close enough to 1/2 tsp to work for me.  And it cost 14¢!  I will DEFINITELY be keeping that in mind for future spice needs that are not native to my pantry :)

Buying bulk spices... Soli Deo Gloria

What $20 can get you

I guess I took the latter part of the summer off of blogging, even though it wasn't exactly intentional.  Oops.  I've got at least one post in my head, but haven't taken the time to get it out yet... but you still have to wait for that one :)  Don't feel too bad, though.  Most of what I would've written would probably have involved commentary about the TV show Bones, since I spent a good chunk of my free time this summer watching the first 4 seasons on Netflix.  Now I've got to wait until October for season 5 to come out on DVD... argh.

Anyway, I've also taken some time off from couponing a bit.  Between 10 days of vacation (and the preceding days of clearing out the fridge), and then my husband's extensive business travel lately, I haven't been cooking much and thus haven't been shopping much.  But with school starting up, I decided to stock up on some lunch snacks - especially when I saw the General  Mills promotion on Southern Savers.  Yes, I probably spent an hour finding the right coupons and trying to determine whether it was worth it or not to run the deal, but I'm totally thrilled that I did!  Basically, a bunch of GM products were on sale, and if you bought 20 items, you got $6 off your order instantly.  So... grab a bunch of items you've got coupons for, and it works out pretty well.  Here's what I ended up with:

Grand total:  $20.00 (yeah, even... which is awesome in and of itself), and most of these items have BoxTops on them that give money to the school, which I love.  The organic tomato paste was not part of the deal, but in working up the deal I found $0.75 coupons which doubled to $1.50... and since they're only $1.55 and I needed some anyway, I grabbed some nearly-free ORGANIC tomato paste - sweet!  I also realize that most of these items are very NON-organic, but there is a convenience factor :)  And they were cheap.  Let's face it - 7 boxes of cereal, 5 boxes of granola bars, 4 boxes of fruit snacks, 4 4-pks of yogurt, and 2 cans of tomato paste = 22 items for $20.  Who could turn that down?  I think my receipt said I saved $40+.

And it gets even better!  The granola bars and fruit snacks had special promotions as well... buy 3, 4 or 5 and get coupons for $$ off your next purchase.  So the 2-lb bag of frozen shrimp (normally $26) that was on sale for $8.65 ended up costing me a little over $3.  See why I had to post?  As one blogger I read would say - yeah, I took an hour to organize the coupons... but I saved over $60.  That's like getting paid $60/hr :)

Saving money... Soli Deo Gloria

7th Abs. Org. Delivery

Life has been a little hectic lately (parents' move, end-of-school-year chaos), so forgive me for not posting about my last produce delivery.  I'm excited about today's, and I've got some numbers for you - yeah for numbers!
Since my last delivery, I turned another year older (remember the deep freeze?), and my parents were kind enough to gift me this Salter Digital Kitchen Scale.  My Mom never used a kitchen scale while I was growing up, but in the last several months I've felt like it would be handy to have.  A friend said she loved her Salter, so I asked specifically for that one.  I've used it several times (to weigh potatoes in this Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie recipe, for example) and am very happy so far.  Necessary?  Of course not.  Fun?  Absolutely!
Today I put it to good use and weighed my Absolute Organics produce.  Here are the results:

• 1 large and 2 small broccoli crowns (1 lb 9 oz)
• 1 lb 8 ozs bananas (4 ct)
• 1 head of lettuce
• 1 lb strawberries
• 7.75 oz white mushrooms
• 2.75 lbs apples
• 1 avocado
• 2 green bell peppers

weighing in action!

Then, I did my little trick and hit up Harris Teeter Express Lane to check some prices.  Here's what I found:

• Broccoli - $3.29/ea = $6.58
• Bananas - 99¢/lb = $1.50
• Lettuce - $2.99/head = $2.99
• Strawberries - $3.99/lb = $3.99
• *White Mushrooms - $3.49/lb = $1.69
• Apples - $2.49/lb = $6.85
• Avocado - $1.99/ea = $1.99
• Green Peppers - $2.49/ea = $4.98

This means that if I went to Harris Teeter and purchased the SAME amount of stuff, I'd have paid $30.57!  And the mushrooms wouldn't even have been organic (it appears they don't sell fresh organic ones).  WOW!! I was thrilled.  This stuff was brought to my door for only $30.  That means I saved 57¢, the gas to get to the store, and the excuse to not buy produce because it's too expensive.  In case I had any doubts, I'm with AO for good.  Thanks, Vonda and Steve!

Soli Deo Gloria

Spoils of CVS

Saturday, after a quick trip to Winston-Salem for a wedding shower for one of my dear college friends, I swung by CVS in hopes of a few good "scores."  I had been out of the CVS "loop" for a while (no great deals, good stockpile, and higher food spending due to healthier eating are the primary causes), but saw several potential deals and thought I'd try to snag them.  Forgetting that the CVS nearest my house restocks on Friday night/Saturday morning (wow, it has been a long time), I was doubtful that I'd get much... but I ended up with EVERYTHING on my steals-list.

• 2 Right Guard mens' deodorant > $2.49 ea = $5 - $3/2 QP = $2... $2 ea ECB = $2 moneymaker
• Stayfree > $3.79 - $2 QP = $1.79... $2 ECB = 21¢ moneymaker
• U by Kotex > $5 - $1 QP = $4... $4 ECB = free
• Carefree > $1 ea - 3 x $1 QP = free
• Crest ProHealth toothpaste & Rinse (each) > $2.75 - 75¢ QP = $2... $4 ECB = $2 moneymaker ea
• Purex 3-in-1 Laundry Detergent Sheets, 20ct > B1G1 @ $8.99 - 2 x $2 QP = $2.50 ea
• Carmel candy > 33¢
• reuseable bag (mine) to be able to scan Green Bag Tag > $1 ECB = moneymaker

I had no ECBs going in, but I shelled out less than $5.50 cash (which includes all the taxes, of course - I added the carmel candy in order to be able to use another ECB and not spend more OOP) and still have $6 in ECBs left to use next time I go in.  Now THAT'S what I call a great trip to the store :)

Soli Deo Gloria

Swag

Since there's already a picture here, just a few posts below, of me looking ridiculous and "eating" my homemade yogurt, I figured I might as well post the picture I just emailed The Swag Guy after receiving my first, official, tangible Swag prize.

Here I am "drinking" out of my Ecousable purple (yeah!) water bottle!  At 16oz, it's a bit smaller than I had envisioned, but I think that will be good, because my other one was almost too big to carry around (maybe it was 24 oz?  not sure).  Plus, not having a straw should be nice.  Notice how I am talking about the other one in the past tense, as if it no longer existed.  It does, I just don't like it.  So there.  Just don't tell my sister... she gifted it to me for my birthday just under a year ago -- oops.
To get your own free stuff through Swagbucks, sign up using my referral link on the left sidebar.  I think I've earned $15 dollars in Paypal, $10 in Amazon, and this neat-o water bottle.  Just from searching via their site over time.  Not bad, huh?

Soli Deo Gloria

Another produce delivery!

Today was an AWESOME day!  The sun was shining and though it was chilly, it wasn't deceptively cold, like several days last week.  It was Teacher Appreciation Day at school, so I didn't have to pack a lunch and we got a wonderful, homemade meal and 45 minutes to just chill with co-workers while volunteers supervised lunch/recess with the kids.  I got some cheap Kashi cereal at CVS & Target (went to both places so I could use ECBs/gift card, and actually paid only 6¢ out of pocket for 4 boxes!).  And last but not least, my second Absolute Organics delivery arrived!  Who knew produce could be so exciting?
First thing I did was head to the bathroom scale to weigh myself with the full cooler, and then I reweighed after emptying the cooler.  What you see on the picture below is 13 pounds of fresh, delivered, organic produce!  That's $2.30/lb average, which seems pretty good to me.  Did I mention it was DELIVERED?!?!  :)

 

I'll give you a list, just so you know what you're lookin' at:

• 6 seedless, Gold Nugget oranges
• 7 Braeburn apples
• 2 Haas avocados
• 1 mango
• 1 lg. head of lettuce
• white mushrooms
• 3 averaged-sized broccoli crowns
• 6 bananas

If I've convinced you, just be sure to give them my name when you order so I can get some free produce for referring you!

On another note, here's a picture of my homemade yogurt served over that granola-type cereal I had in the stockpile.  Since mine turned out a bit thinner than I prefer for yogurt, it works great when mixed in with something like this!

Soli Deo Gloria...

Organic Coupon Giveaway

One of the only sites I've found that does Earth Fare coupon match-ups is Frugally Farming Family.  I'm still adjusting myself to the "deals" at EF, which don't seem much like deals to me, compared to the amazing ones I've gotten in the last year on so-called conventional foods.  I went ahead and entered their Organic Coupon Giveaway in hopes of some more deals/savings on healthier options for my small family.  Go ahead... if you sneak it in today, you've still got time to possibly get in on the action!

Soli Deo Gloria...

Saving on Groceries Video Series

I've been following this gal's blog for a while, and she's given me a bunch of good ideas. She's currently doing a video series called "10 Ways to Slash Your Grocery Bill." Some of the points are very basic, but they're good reminders. Plus, she's from England so her accent is fun to listen to! Check it out here: