Whole Foods Coupon Match-ups (12/29)

I spent some time this morning sorting through my coupon folder to figure out which of my coupons would be expiring soon (a lot of manufacturer coupons expire on the 31st!). Since I have some downtime during my holiday break, I decided I would hit up Whole Foods for some things I needed and play coupon fairy... leaving coupons by products I wasn't buying in case someone out there was!

While many of the coupons I used today could potentially be found online, most were older coupons. I haven't printed any in the last couple weeks and some of these came from the Healthy Clippings flyer that was at a natural products shop near me (it's a nationally distributed coupon magazine so keep your eyes peeled!). I preface this post with this note, in case you can't find these coupons today, you will know why.

Before heading in, I grabbed two Whole Deal coupon books at the front of the store. Remember the month is almost over but the coupons are good through the end of January! Finally, I want to include the reminder that sales vary by store and you should bring a copy of the coupon policy for your store with you when shopping.

Arrowhead Baking Mixes were on sale for $3.19 (the GF mixes were also on sale but were just a little more). Using the Whole Deal $1 store coupon PLUS a manufacturer coupon for $1 found inside of Delicious Living (a free Penton Publication also available at the front of the store!) -- I spent $1.19 for Arrowhead Mills Kamut Pancake & Waffle Mix.

There have been a lot of coupons online and in magazines for Crunchmaster crackers (including on their Web site). I don't often buy crackers but I like to keep a package or two around for gatherings (make your own hummus!) or days when I want something crunchy with my soup. Whole Foods had them on sale for $2.79. Using my $1 coupon, I paid only $1.79 for Crunchmaster Sea Salt Crackers.

I had some manufacturer coupons for Seventh Generation products from previous purchases. It pays to file away coupons. Whole Foods has Seventh Generation dish soap on sale for $2.29. Using my $1 off manufacturer coupons, I got two large bottles of Seventh Generation dish soap for only $1.29 each.

Walking through the soup aisle, I spotted Imagine broths with peel-off coupons! $1.50 off two containers! The Whole Deal also had $1.00 off one Imagine product. I picked up two vegetable broth containers for $4.38 total. Subtract $3.50 in coupons and I got two Imagine Vegetable Broth containers for only $0.88 or $0.44 each!

If you like to use cooking sprays, Spectrum cooking sprays are all on sale. And the Whole Deal has a $1.00 off coupon to boot! I picked up a canister of Grapeseed Oil Spray which is normally $6.99 and was on sale for $4.99. Using the Whole Deal coupon, I picked up the canister of Spectrum Grapeseed Oil Spray for $3.99!

Rounding out the sales today, Traditional Medicinals teas are on sale for $4.49. I had a coupon from the Healthy Clippings book for $1.00 off which meant I could pick up a box of Traditional Medicinals Breathe Easy tea for only $3.49.

Whole Foods Coupon Finds (12/21)

The Whole Deal for November/December has coupons that don't expire until January 31, however word on the street is that they will replace these books come the beginning of January. So you might want to grab a couple books if there are things you use often.

Speaking of the Whole Deal, WF also has a monthly publication filled with articles and recipes. This month, there is also a manufacturer coupon in it for $1.00 off Sunspire baking chips. Whole Deal has a store coupon for $1.00 off Sunspire baking chips. My local WF had grain-sweetened dark chocolate baking chips on sale for $3.79. After applying the manufacturer and store coupons, it brought the price down to $1.79!

MamboSprouts still has some great coupons that you should print if you haven't checked them out yet. For example, the $1.00 off 3 Cliff bars is a great coupon to use at WF where the bars are normally $0.99 each (and they still have all of the holiday flavors!) so the bars ends up being about $0.66 each. A great price for an on-the-go breakfast.

Whole Foods also has Fig Food soups for sale for $3.00 each. MamboSprouts has a $1.00 off 3 Fig Food soups. They are still relatively expensive compared to making your own, however these organic ready-made soups are great to keep around in the office or pantry for a healthy quick meal. After the coupon, they end up being about $2.67 each.

About a week ago, I mentioned the non-dairy "Dream" beverage coupon in Whole Deal for $1.00 off a product. Well this week, my local WF had unsweetened vanilla Almond Dream on sale 2 for $2.67 which made the two containers only $0.67 total or less than $0.34 each!!!!

If you are a gluten-free oats fan, WF has Arrowhead Mills GF Steel Cut Oats on sale for $3.99 which if you use the manufacturer coupon for $1.00 makes them only $2.99. I didn't try to use the store coupon because it said Arrowhead baking only and I don't think this qualified, but you could ask!

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If you are a fan of supporting local businesses and also scoring some killer organic food coupons, I encourage you to look around your local healthy living store for Chinook Books. Heck, even if there isn't a book for your area, you may still want to pick one up. The entire back portion of the book includes organic and healthy food manufacturer coupons. I have already saved the cost of the book in food products and may be mentioning these coupons in upcoming posts.

Healthy Eating on a Budget -- Couponing: An Introduction

Have you ever seen the show Extreme Couponing? It's a TLC production that followers Americans as they grab way too many items they may never use into dozens of shopping carts and rack up hundreds of dollars in grocery bills. However through the magic of coupons, they pay less than one percent of the cost of the bill. Their homes and garages stocked with walls of these free or nearly free products.

Insane right? 

I agree. Additionally, I notice that many of these couponers rarely purchase healthy items, contributing to the common myth that it costs too much to eat healthy.

A dear friend of mine in Colorado turned me on to coupons and sales shopping when she sent me a link for a well-known company that makes organic soymilk. She thought I might like it. She was right. My goal since the first coupon has been to see how low I can bring my grocery bills. Shopping store sales, combining store coupons with manufacturer coupons (known as "stacking"), and seeking out the right time to use the coupons has almost become a game.

I have had a number of conversations over the last few weeks about my new hobby. My students laugh as I clip coupons at tournaments but then enjoy the coupons I share with them. My friends email each other with great deals they find or a coupon they have spotted. And a number of folks are intrigued by the savings you could rack up using coupons.

There are a lot of myths out there about coupons. For example, there are only coupons for processed foods with little nutritional value. While those coupons are exist, there are also a lot of coupons for healthy food items, including fresh produce!

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Here are some of the deals I found this week at Whole Foods:

365 Everyday Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (WF store brand): $2.69

After using a coupon from WF in-store "Whole Deal" coupon book for $2

I paid $0.69

Arrowhead Mills Whole Wheat Flour: On Sale for $2.19

"Whole Deal" in-store coupon for $1 PLUS

Arrowhead Mills printable coupon from their Web site for $1 OR

Pull-off product coupon for $1

I paid $0.19

Almond Dream Non-Dairy Unsweetened Vanilla "milk": On Sale for $2.00

"Whole Deal" in-store coupon for $1

I paid $1.00

Earth Balance Organic Coconut Spread: On Sale for $3.99

"Whole Deal" in-store coupon for $1 PLUS

Manufacturer coupon found on Mambo Sprouts for $1

I paid $1.99

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I recommend printing coupons that you know you will use. Then try to hold on to them until you find a sale to increase the value of your coupon. I keep an accordion file folder with an index taped to the front that has different product categories to keep the coupons sorted. This will make the coupons easier to find. Finally, make sure you read the coupon policy for your favorite store and the fine print of the coupons.

A few friends have asked me to blog my deals when I find them, but there are a lot of sites out there that post match-ups. The secret is having the coupons they blog about.

Places to find coupons:

* Subscribe to the Sunday edition of your local paper. There are a lot of great coupons that get sent out in this paper. For example, I got a $1 off any POM product which I combined with a sale at SaveMart this week to score a fresh pomegranate for only $0.50!!! You can also sometimes catch an online preview of what will be in the paper. Seriously, I save enough from the paper (plus I enjoy reading it) to make it worth the cost.

* Mambo Sprouts has a Web site full of healthy manufacturer coupons plus they sometimes have coupon books at your local health food store.

* Coupons.com has pages of manufacturer coupons, although you have to scout for the healthier products.

* Check your favorite companies out! Many companies offer coupons on their Web sites and Facebook pages!

Do you have any places you like to find coupons? Cool Web sites you want to share? Deals you have found? Please share them!

Blackberry Rosemary Wheat Focaccia

Blackberry Rosemary Wheat Focaccia

There is something about a rich doughy bread topped with jammy berries that screams - WINTER TREAT to me. So when Driscoll's Berries invited me to bring a recipe to an event they were hosting last week, I knew immediately what I wanted to attempt. This recipe is jammy, sweet, savory, and salty. What more could you ask for at a holiday party?

Last summer, Carolyn Jung (aka FoodGal) posted a killer recipe for a Cherry Focaccia with Rosemary which I proceeded to make for a wine party. It disappeared faster than the wine! Seriously, go make this recipe! 

I thought that with the blackberries, the dough needed a more earthy flavor. Plus I love to try to increase the health benefits of whatever I make. So I played with the recipe a bit, changed up the flours and oil amounts, and came up with a focaccia that has more fiber in it from the wheat flour. Using Carolyn's recipe as the base, this was the most I could increase the wheat flour and the lowest amount of oil I could use without losing the focaccia texture. I plan on continuing to play with it but this recipe was quite tasty :o)

Fair warning. This focaccia needs lots of time to sit and rise. Plan ahead if you want to make it. I tend to start it in the morning so I can do the later rises and baking in the evening.

One note about the awesomeness of Driscoll's Berries that I discovered in my own research about the company is that they have a program where you can find out where your berries were grown! There is a "Harvest Mark Code" located in the right corner of the bar code and you can enter that code on their MyDricolls Web site to find out where your berries were grown along with other interesting information about your berries.

Full disclosure: I was given the blackberries by Driscoll's Berries to make this dish for their event. I was not paid or asked to write about the berries or the company but I do love the company and was excited to share this with you!

Blackberry Rosemary Wheat Focaccia

Makes 20 total servings between the two 9-inch pie pans

1 pkg dry yeast (instant)
1.5 cups room temperature water
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cane sugar
8 tbsp unfiltered olive oil
2 cups Driscoll's blackberries
4 fresh rosemary stems full of needles
coarse sea salt

The first step is to make a biga. Biga is a type of pre-fermented dough that adds complexity to the bread as well as adding a unique nutty component to the flavor profile. It also helps lengthen the life of your bread, but the bread is so tasty you probably won't need to worry about it sitting out long!

 

To make the biga, mix the yeast and water together in a metal bowl. After the two have blended, add in one cup of the bread flour and cover with plastic wrap. You will want to place this in the fridge for 12 to 15 hours according to what I have read about making a good biga.

 

When you have let your biga ferment long enough, bring it back to room temperature. This will take 45 minutes to an hour. 

 

You are now ready to prepare the dough! Mix the biga with the remaining bread flour, the whole wheat flour, the 1.5 teaspoons of fine sea salt and the cane sugar. You can use a mixer with a dough hook or a good wooden spoon.

 

Spray a seperate mizing bowl with non-stick cooking spray and put dough in this bowl. You will want to stretch the dough up and over itself repeatedley, hand-kneading to get a satin consistency. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. For proper conditions, you want to place your dough in a warm place free from breezes. I like to put mine in my oven with the oven light on and the door to the oven left ajar.

 

The dough should take about two hours to double in size although it could take as little as 90 minutes. While the dough is rising, pour two tablespoons of olive oil into each of your two metal pie pans. Using your fingers, spread the oil around the inside of the pan. Divide the dough into the two pans and using your fingers, press the dough into the pan. Cover the dough for the final rising which will take about an hour.

 

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees (please don't put the dough in the oven this time for the rising!). Dimple the dough with your fingers (be careful not to push too hard and cause the dough to collapse!) and then remove the needles off of the rosemary stems and sprinkle the needles over the dough. Drizzle two tablespoons of oil over each dough loaf. Finally, sprinkle a light coating of the coarse salt over the dough.

 

Bake the dough for four minutes or so and then remove from the oven. Gently place the berries over the dough, pushing them down slightly. Pun pans bake into the oven and bake for 22-26 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack before serving.

 

Nutritional Information:

Per slice (if divided into 20 servings): 115 calories, 5.8g fat, 14.7g carbs, 1.9g fiber, 2.6g protein

Total Recipe: 2295 calories, 116g fat, 294g carbs, 38.6g fiber, 52.4g protein