Healthy eating

[livvie25us]

I was wondering how do you coupon and incorporate healthy foods
into couponing. I want to eat better but that means rethinking what I get etc.
Any suggestion?

[chocolatefrog]

Seems like people have been asking this a lot lately, and I wondered myself too. My experience is that there are almost never any coupons for whole foods. Most of my savings from coupons comes from health and beauty products, cleaners/cleaning supplies, and CERTAIN packaged foods (pasta, PB, crackers, etc).
Even aside from manufacturer q's, my local grocery store (Meijer) doesn't give out store coupons for whole foods anymore either. They used to regularly print out $5 off $15 for produce, or $5 off $20 for meats. I haven't seen one of those in a year or two. I miss them!

[Coupon_Queen]

My tips for saving money on healthy foods:

*Shop at a day old bread store. Bread is usually 3-4 days from exp date, you can use right away and freeze. Choose whole wheat when you can.

*Incorporate sale veggies and meats into your recipes. Check for meat markdowns.

*Grow your own herbs, and fruits or veggies if you can. Even a tomato plant in a container can grow in the smallest dwelling. Free tomatoes.

*I only buy healthy cereals. Try to resist frosted flakes, etc. Cheerios is the best cereal IMO and it always has a deal.

*I stopped buying poptarts, rice a roni, most snack type foods. White or brown rice in a rice cooker is the best stuff ever.

*Start making more things from scratch. You don't have to slave, there are plenty of easy or semi homemade options. I have posted tons in the recipe section. Even homemade cookies are better than storebought because they dont contain preservatives, dyes, etc.

*Check labels. Triscuit has 3 ingredients. In my book its healthy enough. There are deals to be had on healthy stuff too. Goldfish crackers have minimal bad ingredients. Even gogurt has only 10 grams of sugar per tube. You can eat healthier without resorting to just spinach and wheat germ.

*Look for deals on things without coupons. Just buying fruit when its on a great sale is saving, you don't need a coupon for every item.

My List of healthy foods I use coupons on:

peanut butter
crackers
cereal
bagged salad
100% juice
yogurt
pasta
canned vegetables, fruit, tomato sauces
cheese
canned beans
applesauce -the natural kind
light butter popcorn
frozen vegetables


Healthy foods I don't always have a coupon for but still find great deals:

Rice
dry beans
wheat bread
wheat rolls, buns, etc
milk
dried fruit
produce
meat
pretzels


*My #1 tip is this: just because you can get it for .22, doesnt mean you have to buy it. Once you get out of the coupon 'honeymoon' stage, you'll realize you don't have to buy everything. I wouldn't say I eat 'healthy' but I eat healthier by following some of the tips I listed above.

[Coupon_Queen]

I take that back. I do eat healthy. Just not a health nut. lol

[IndianaMom]

Before I am prepping dinner each night I put out quite a spread for my kids- sliced apples, bananas, grapes, pears, baby carrots, celery, snap peas, radishes whatever we have. We have at least 5 vegetable and fruit options each night, plus big salads with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, tomatos, at least 3 nights a week. Shopping at Aldi has really helped us up our produce intake. It is my biggest expense besides meat.

I try not to buy too many processed foods, like I rarely buy ready-made frozen meals. I also don't eat many chips at all or drink soda. I only get those when they are really free.

[livvie25us]

Thank You for everything it helps me reprogram my thinking about how to get healthy foods in my diet.
I was at one time eating right and lost my way again. Well in 1 year I gained 35 pds back and thought
I better do something about it again or Im going to be back to the way I was 4 years ago.

[livvie25us]

Before I am prepping dinner each night I put out quite a spread for my kids- sliced apples, bananas, grapes, pears, baby carrots, celery, snap peas, radishes whatever we have. We have at least 5 vegetable and fruit options each night, plus big salads with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, tomatos, at least 3 nights a week. Shopping at Aldi has really helped us up our produce intake. It is my biggest expense besides meat.

I try not to buy too many processed foods, like I rarely buy ready-made frozen meals. I also don't eat many chips at all or drink soda. I only get those when they are really free.

Can you get snow peas at Aldis Im going to go after school?

[IndianaMom]

No, no snow or snap peas at Aldi - I wish! I still buy those at Meijer along with bulk radishes.

[livvie25us]

No, no snow or snap peas at Aldi - I wish! I still buy those at Meijer along with bulk radishes.

Thank You

[IndianaMom]

We also love roasted vegetables. Just wash, cut apart into uniform pieces as needed, dry, and roast at 350* for approx times depending on water content and size (watch closely until you know what time is good for your oven!). So good, totally different rich, creamy flavor. You can use a bit of olive oil, pepper, and salt, and toss and spread on a cookie sheet.

Broccoli - 25 minutes
Cauliflower - 25 minutes
Kale - 15 minutes (no longer than that!)
Carrots - 45 minutes
Radishes - 45 minutes