Grocery Mama

Walgreens Coupon

Walgreens has a coupon for $5 off $20 or more. Can be used in store or online and works towards photos as well!

Photo's are an additional 25% off photo print orders of $10 or more. There are some cool collage ideas there. I'm using this for the pictures I took with my pumpkin photo shoot!

Welcome SITS's!!!!

Welcome Everyone!!! I'm so excited and am so glad you stopped by!

My blog is about saving money at the grocery store while living a healthy life!

I started this blog back in june as a way to right down everything was learning about keeping my grocery budget under control. My family had to make some changes after I switched jobs to be able to work at home so I could spend more time with my kids! It has been one fun journey and I wouldn't have it any other way!

In the process, I learned that I love blogging and am passionate about healthy living. And of course who doesn't like saving money!!!

I hope you enjoy your visit! And please come back soon! I can't wait to visit all of you as well!

Enjoy,

New Store - Check it out!

The grand opening of Sprouts Farmers Market opened in my area today, so I thought I'd go check it out. Since I do buy organic as much as possible, I was eager to see if they had better deals on sometimes expensive items.

Before I went, I checked out their ad online. Wrote down a few items on my list and even had some coupons in hand. What I was excited to see was the bulk bins. The bins contained granolas, trail mixes, rice, sugars, flour and nuts to name some categories.

Since it was the official grand opening - the store was super crowded. Good for the store, but not so fun to check everything out. I do want to go back soon to see all that the store has to offer.

Some things to find out before going to a new grocery store concerns coupon policies and other ways the store manages pricing. If you can't find it online, don't be afraid to call and ask.

Here are some of my questions I'll call with:

What is your coupon policy? Or more specific is - do you accept online coupons? Do you accept coupons at all? Do you double them and to what amount?

What Does BOGO mean to your store? Sometimes, BOGO (buy one get one free) will mean both items are half price. So if you only buy one bogo item, that one is half the original cost. Or the store could price the bogo items as the first item is rung up as full price and the second item as free. Know which is which so you don't forget your free item.

2 for Price items? Most stores, if they have pricing of 2 for $4, one item will ring up as $2. Make sure this is the case. That if you only buy one it's $2 and you don't have to buy 2 items to get the sale price.

Also, ask if there are special bonus days or extra sale days. The better you know your store policies - the more money you will save.

Check out new stores as they come in your area, or others you may not have visited yet. You never know what savings you may find!

Printable Ziploc coupons

Right at Home has two printable ziploc coupons available!

$0.75 off Ziploc bag or container

$1.00 off Ziploc brand freezer starter kit

Some printable savings for Tuesday

FrontLine: Claim Your 20% Off Coupon on Pet Medication

Gerber Printable Coupons

$2.00/2 Johnsons 2-in-1 Shampoos and BUDDIES bath products

$1 off Honey Nut Cheerios

Many coupons from Betty Crocker

Sweepstakes:

TotallyHer.com is a community designed to provide real information, stories, resources, and tools to the women of the world. Sign up for membership and enter contest to receive Amazon, Walmart and Target Gift Cards.

My 2 cents - recent article

Ok, I just had to get this off my chest. The Sunday Denver Post published an article this last Sunday concerning childhood obesity and the plight of many schools to reverse this trend. The article highlighted the fact that sometimes the health lessons at school do not translate at home.

There is a quote in the paper, "If we have to make something quick, I turn to Hamburger Helper," she said. "It's not that good. The kids don't like it. I don't like it. But sometimes it's nice and quick. If  you want a meal to be healthy, it takes time and money."

I understan the price of food has gone up. But with this particular product - you still have to purchase the meat. Would it be that much harder to cook the meat, toss in some canned tomatoes (price $0.60), can of beans (price $0.60) and some salt, pepper and chili powder (price $0.05). Boil some rice or even wheat noodles ($1.25 - maybe). And there you have a healthy and quick meal. Not a major cost difference. And you are NOT eating processed foods!

Healthy meals do take planning. So plan for a few healthy meals and continue to rotate them.

I found this link to Recipes and Tips for Healthy Thrifty Meals from the USDA for meal ideas if anyone needs them!

But you tell me . . . is it too expensive to eat healthy? (you know my answer to this one!) What are your healthy budget recipes? Comment below and I'll post them as they come in!

Coffee for a monday morning!

Barnes and Nobles is offering a complimentary cappucino. Print the coupon here! Expires 10/31/08!

And here's a reason to watch the world series - Taco Bell is giving away a free taco when a base is stolen. See their Steal a Base. Steal a Taco promo!

Consumers can obtain their free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 (if base is stolen in Games 1-4 on October 22, 23, 25 or 26), OR Monday, November 3, 2008 (if base is stolen in Games 5-7, October 27, 29 or 30), ("Redemption Date") only. To obtain the Free Taco, consumers must visit any participating Taco Bell® restaurant in one of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (local time) on the Redemption Date only and request a Free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco.

Cookbooks for a cause

My church, The Orchard Church, in colorado is sending 12 people on a missions trip to the Phillipins this week. They are leaving October 24th and will be back November 2nd!

To raise funds for the trip, the team is selling cookbooks. The cookbooks are $12 each and include 160 recipes from members of the church.

Some of the recipes are: Baked Chicken Parmesan, Dish Cinnamon Swirl, Angel Food Candy, Layered Enchilads and Double Chocolate Brownies!

I am paying for these to be shipped. So all $12 goes to the trip.

Thanks so much! (paypal account is under cruz creations)

Pumpkin Photo Shoot

I love the colors of fall and wanted to take advantage of them! So I bought some colorful pumpkins and a bale of hay and set up my own photo spot on my front porch!

This way I get to take as many pictures that I want and print out many different sizes!

Another low cost option is to take your kids to the pumpkin patch and snap pictures there!

Either way, have fun! You never need an excuse to take some colorful pictures!

Get a BOGO coupon for Rachels Yogurt

Rachels Yogurt has a link to try a free sample of their wickedly delicous yogurt when you sign up for their newsletter. Prints out a BOGO coupon!

I actually tried this out and it's pretty tasty. Any one else have any comments about it?

More BOGO printable coupons:

Del Taco: Buy 1 classic Taco get another one free. Join thier fan club and get two free chicken soft tacos.