Full Circle Farms Organic Produce Delivery

I have to confess, I have never been into the whole "organic" food thing, but there are a few things that bother me about the foods we get at the grocery store (growth hormones in milk for example).  I know a lot of moms that went all organic when their kids were born. I did not do that...however I did do organic milk for a while (have gotten away from that but am thinking that I will probably go back soon).  

A couple months ago I took the girls to my friend Kendra's house for a play date.  Aliyah and her daughter are only about 10 days apart in age and they just love to play together.  Because Kendra has some food allergies she has been very careful about what her daughter eats and when and how she introduces new foods to her.  She tries really hard to make sure to use organic produce and simple healthy items that I have honestly never even thought to introduce Aliyah to.  It's been good for me (and Aliyah) to have ideas for other items that Aliyah can and will eat for snacks and meals. 

Kendra was given a gift certificate to this place called Full Circle Farms for delivery of organic produce. When we were there to visit she had just received her first shipment and was telling me about it.  I was intrigued but thought it was more expensive than what I wanted to pay.  BUT, since I've been saving so much using coupons, I can afford to spend some of those savings on quality organic produce and milk.  

So I signed up!  I pay $34 for their "Standard Size" delivery (designed for two adults and one young child) and get a delivery every other week. They don't do home delivery in my area so I have to drive to a community center to pick it up, but that's no big deal.  I got my first delivery this week and here's what I got:

1 ea. Cantaoupe

3 ea. Apples, Braeburn

2 ea. Corn, White Sweet

1 bunch Carrots

4 ea. Oranges, Navel

1 ea. Mangos

1 ea. Eggplant

1 ea Avacado

1 lb Tomatoes, Roma

0.4 lb Mushrooms, Cremini

1 bunch Lettuce, Green Leaf

1 bunch Cilantro

I had to stop at Safeway on the way home so took the list and compared prices with both regular and organic produce. The prices with Full Circle were around $10 more than the non-organic and about the same for the organic at Safeway.  So I was satisfied with that.

It wasn't until I actually started eating the produce that I got really impressed.  Everything was sooooo good!  The flavors were so much better and everything was crisp and fresh.  I really, really loved it! I I couldn't believe how much more flavor everything had...the oranges were incredibly juicy and sweet, in fact, Aliyah ate a whole one all on her own when every other time we've given her oranges she just spit them out.  After eating those carrots I don't think I will ever go back to store bought ones. 

Bottom line, I'm VERY happy with this service and will definitely continue.  We will see how the budgeting goes this month and maybe I will change over to the Family Size (for a family of 4 = $46) every other week instead...just so we get a little more than what we got this time.

IF you want to try it out, head over to the Full Circle Farms website and get $15 off your first delivery.  Be sure to put my name down as having referred you so I can get $15 off my next order too!

*all photos taken from the Full Circle Farms Website...hope they don't mind.  :)

Lisa's Spaghetti Sauce

It's the end of the month and the grocery budget is spent, so that means I have to make meals out of what we have on hand. That's when Lisa's Spaghetti Sauce came to mind and I started having a craving...and started cooking!

"Who's Lisa" you ask?  When I was single I moved around a lot.  I didn't make enough money to live on my own and so I lived with several different families and individuals.  In fact, at one point I had moved 12 times in a year and a half.  I got so good at moving that I could literally pack my belongings, move and unpack all in one day.

Dave and Lisa Oschner opened their home to me during that time and allowed me to rent the little studio apartment they had above their garage for a few months.  It was a GREAT little place....one of the favorites on my list!  During my time there I spent a lot of time with Lisa and the kids and Lisa made the best spaghetti sauce I had ever tasted!  I begged a little and she gave me her recipe (I didn't really beg, but it sounds good for the sake of the story).  So, now I shall share the goodness with you!

I made a few modifications to this recipe to work with what I had on hand.  For example, I didn't have any tomato paste but I did have stewed tomatoes that my mom cooked up earlier this week so I used those instead.  I also used Jimmy Dean pork sausage instead of Italian sausage...and it still tastes GREAT!  So here you go:

Lisa's Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:

1lb Ground Beef

1/2 lb Italian Sausage

1 Medium Onion, chopped
1-2 Bell Peppers, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 1/2 Jalapeño Peppers, chopped
2 cans Tomato Paste
2 cans Water (using tomato paste can)
1 can Tomato Sauce
4 Tbl Sugar


Directions:
Brown the meat.  
In a separate pan saute the onion, garlic, jalapeños, and bell peppers until onions are opaque.     Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, water, sugar and meat.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a 2-3 hours.

Albertson's Twice The Value Coupon Run - 5/22/11

I received these Albertson's Twice The Value coupons in the paper today and made coupon shopping run this afternoon.  It was a good trip too!  I got $44.85 in product for a grand total of $7.74.

Twice the Value Coupons - You will find these periodically on the Albertson's ad/flyer in the Sunday paper  (anywhere from 1-3 times a month from what I've heard).  Basically they will double any manufacturer's coupon for up to $1 (if the coupon is for $1.01 you can not use it with the twice the value coupons).  You can use 3 Twice the Value Coupons per transaction and can do up to three transactions total.  Here's an example from today's shopping trip:

Lawry's Marinade - Regular price $3.59
Albertson's Sale price - $1.00
Manufacturer's coupon - $.50 off 1
Twice the value - $.50 (because it doubles the manufacturer's coupon)
Final price:  FREE!


I got three of these in one of my transactions and paid $0 out of pocket.  I like that! Can't argue with free stuff, right?  Here's what else I got today:

9 bottles Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce - Reg price: $2.99  - with sale and coupons total = $3 ($.33 ea)
3 Lawry's marinades - Reg. price $3.50 - with sale and coupons total = FREE
6 pkgs of Bar S Bologna - Reg. Price: $2.69 - with sale and coupons total = $4.74 ($.79 ea)

Have you started using coupons yet?  Doesn't this make you want to?

Safeway 5/11/11

I went to Safeway today to pick up a few things  (milk, cheese, etc) and while there I took advantage of the General Mills Cereal sale. I didn't get a chance to take a picture today because there was just too much going on with the kids, but here's what I got:

12 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios - Regular price $3.29
On Sale $2.99
3 - $4 off when you buy 4
12 - $.55/1 coupon
Final Price:  $1.44 ea

2 Milano Melt cookies - Regular Price:  $3.99
On Sale for $2.50
2 - $1/1 coupons
Final Price:  $1.50 ea


C&H Sugar - Regular price $3.69
On sale for $2.99
$.50/1 coupon
Final Price: $2.49

2 - Cheez-It Baby Swiss  - Regular Price: $4.19
On sale for $2.50
2 - $1/1 coupon
Final Price: $1.50 each.


Grand Total Regular Price: $59.53
Club Card Savings: $22.66
Coupons: $11.10
Total Price: $25.77

I also received 4 coupons for free milk Catalina coupon (the ones that print at the register) when I purchase 3 General Mills cereals in the future.  I will definitely take advantage of that!

I did a separate transaction for the items I didn't have coupons for (makes it easier for me to figure out how much i saved with the coupons) and spent an additional $16.46 on milk, cheese, and bologna using a $5 off your next order Catalina coupon.  So all together I used $16.10 in coupons today.  It was a successful trip and we are stocked up on cereal!!  wow!

Target Coupon Shopping 5/9/11

Went to Target on my way home from Aliyah's 18 month check up (can't believe how fast she is growing).  Here's what I got...all for $17.77!!

Want details?  Here's the breakdown:

TOTAL Regular Price: $41.58

TOTAL AMOUNT PAID: $17.77

Total Savings:  $23.81

4 - Men's Nivea body wash
Reg. Price: $4.04
on sale for $3.23
$3/1 printable coupon from Target.com
Final Price:  $.25 ea


4 - Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice
Regular Price: $1.52
$.75/1 coupon
Final Price: $.77 ea

4 - Ortega Taco Seasoning and 2 guacamole seasoning

Regular Price: $.79

$1/2 coupon

Final Price: $.24 ea

2 - Colgate Pro Clinical White Toothpaste
Regular Price: $3.79
$1.50/1 printable coupon from Target.com
$.75/1 coupon
Final Price:  $1.54 ea

2 - Colgate Total Whitening Toothpaste
Regular Price: $3.49
$1/1 printable coupon from Target.com
$.75/1 coupon
Final Price: $1.74 ea


2 - Colgate Toothbrushes
Reg Price: $.97 ea
$.75 coupon
Final Price: $.22 ea

2 - Colgate 360 Toothbrushes
Reg Price: $3.24
$1/1 printable coupon from Target.com
$.75/1 coupon
Final Price: $1.49

My First Coupon Shopping Escapade - May 6, 2011

I spent a few hours earlier this week preparing for my first big couponing shopping trip.  There is definitely a learning curve to doing this and it can get overwhelming at times.  I am finding that as long as I have a DETAILED shopping list and my coupons all arranged, I can make it work.  Still, I'm sure it takes me 2-3 times as long to get organized and actually do the shopping as others who have been doing this for a long time.

My first big haul! $145 worth of food for $64, all picked up in one trip to Safeway. I got an additional 6 boxes of cereal and 2 chocolate chips that aren't in the photo because I gave them away before I took the photo. Here's the breakdown:

TOTAL Regular Price: $145.47

Club Card Savings: $68.20

Coupon Savings: $17.70

Total Savings:  $85.90

6 - Del Monte fruit cups:  

Reg Price: $3.19 

on sale for $1.49 ea with in-ad coupon

6 - Nestle Toll House morsels

Reg Price: $2.99 

on sale for $2.50 

$1/2 coupon ($1 off when you buy two...so it equals $.50 each) 

= $2 each

16 boxes of cereal (Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Quaker Oatmeal Squares): 

Reg Price $3.99-4.98 

on sale for $1.88 each - 

$9.50 coupons

 = average of 1.29 each

4  bottles Welches Grape Juice: 

Reg. Price $3.99 

on sale for  $2.99 

- $4 when you buy 4

- $1/1 coupon 

= .99 each

12 - Yoplait Yogurt

Reg Price: Unknown (i forgot to look)

on sale 10 for $7.50 ($.75 ea)

- $.40/6 coupon

 = $.68 ea 

(this is not a great discount I know...but we were out and we needed them.)

4 - Gallon Zip Lock freezer bags 18ct

Reg Price $3.29 

on sale for $1.49 

- $1/2 coupon

= $.99 each

2 - Clorox Bleach

Reg Price $2.29 -  

$1.49 with in store coupon

I spent an additional $20 on other stuff (eggs, butter, etc). didn't have coupons for those items but they were all on sale still. Think I did pretty darn good for my first big trip. I can see how this can be addicting.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons!

Dave Ramsey has a way of stirring up people to change their lifestyles. His plan for getting out of debt works, but it really takes work.   It means cutting down on expenses, living on (and sticking to) a budget, and doing things that you might not have considered doing before...like using coupons.  Yep, that's what I said...COUPONS.  If we are going to succeed at this then we need to change the way we live and couponing is a GREAT way to decrease my monthly grocery/household expenses.

To be honest, I was pretty reluctant to enter into the world of coupons.  I had many misconceptions and quite frankly, pride that had to be overcome.  But thanks to Extreme Couponing TV show on TLC (that show is crazy!), the encouragement of friends (including my husband), and most importantly some EXCELLENT blogs, I have taken the plunge. I did some research and took a class.  And I have found that, yes, it takes time, but it is also very fun!  I have enjoyed watching my items add up and then watch the total plummet as my coupons and club card savings are entered.  It's AMAZING!

I started out by having three Tacoma News Tribune newspapers delivered to my house every Sunday (this is where I get a majority of my coupons) and have begun scouring the internet (sites like coupons.com, couponnetwork.com, Target.com, Safeway.com, etc) at every opportunity to find coupons that I can print. Then I watch my favorite local blogs (Queen Bee Coupons, Frugal Living NW, Thrifty Northwest Mom) for the "match-ups" that link the weekly store ads/sales with the coupons from the paper.  Then i make a list, pull my coupons and head to the store.

I am currently in the process of building a "stockpile" of items that we will actually use (that's the key) and buying them they go on sale.  The best time to stockpile an item is when the item is on sale, you have a store specific coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon...I call this Coupon Nirvana. This is how you get things for really, really cheap!

I am going to begin sharing my escapades as they happen hoping that it will encourage all of you as you plan your shopping trips.

Do any of you use coupons regularly?  What tips do you have to the newbs out there?