Thursday, September 12, 2013

NO EXCUSES!!

Ok so first off I PROMISE to get a Disney and Nation's TRI recap up soon.  Need to let the wounds heal a little before airing the dirty laundry, ya know?! This blog post is going to be about FOOD!!!! Shocker I know!!!

We all know that I like to have fun with couponing and getting the "best" deals.  This past weekend when reading the recaps on the couponing blogs, many posted about how great Sprouts was this week and that if you where going to try it, now might be a good time.  There just so happens to be a Sprouts about a mile from the kids school so I decided that I'd give it a whirl!! And I'm so glad I did!!! There were LOTS of $.88/LBS fresh fruits and veggies and LOTS of BOGO FREE items as well.  I decided I would try to get everything that I could see us liking and as close to 1 LBS as possible, just to see how much I would be spending and to see how much food I'd actually come away with.  This is what I got in terms of FRESH fruits and vegetables....

  • 1 LBS Organic Carrots 
  • Two 5oz Tubs of Lettuce (one mixed greens and one arugula)
  • .85 LBS Black Plums 
  • .86 LBS Broccoli Crowns 
  • 2 LARGE Cucumbers 
  • 1 Head of Garlic 
  • 4.35 LBS Potatoes 
  • 1.27 LBS Green Seedless Grapes 
  • 3 Hass Avocados 
  • 1.58 LBS Red Delicious Apples 
  • 1.34 LBS Sweet Potatoes 
  • .69 LBS Valencia Oranges 


That's a TON of produce kids!! And because Sprouts takes coupons I was able to use a $1 off 2 ($1/2) EarthBound Farm Produce, making my total a whopping $15.52.  No EXCUSE kids to NOT be buying fresh fruits and veggies.  Heck I'm not even sure what I'm making with all of this!!!  

I had some other good deals... like frozen organic blueberries in the BOGO FREE sale and tomato pasta sauce in the BOGO FREE sale.  All in all I spent $25 and came home with a truck full (ok that statement might be a bit of a stretch).  

Here are some of the GREAT deals at Sprout this week....
  • $.68 Hass Avocados 
  • BOGO FREE EarthBound Farm Organic Farm Salads 
  • $.68/LBS Russet Potatoes, Yellow onions, White Onions or Sweet Onions
  • $.88/LBS Roma or Beefsteak Tomatoes 
  • 2 for $1 Cucumbers, Red Bell Peppers or Green Bell Peppers
  • $.88/LBS Celery, Romaine, Red or Green Leaf Lettuce 
  • $.88/LBS Bartlett Pears, Gala or Red Delicious Apples 
  • $.88/LBS Black or Red Plums 
  • BOGO FREE Fage Greek Yogurt 
  • BOGO FREE Muir Glen Organic Pasta Sauce 
  • BOGO FREE Green Valley Pecan Halves or Pieces
  • BOGO FREE Earthbound Farm Frozen Organic Fruit 
  • BOGO FREE Annie's Homegrown Organic Snack Mix (my kids like these)
  • BOGO FREE Good Health Veggie Stix or Chips 
  • BOGO FREE POM Wonderful Juice (yes that FABULOUS Smoothie is made with this)
  • BOGO FREE Wholly Guacamole and Salsa (just in case you don't have time to make homemade with all of those other cheap items)
So on top of all of those items, Sprouts has monthly deals they put out in their stores and BONUS there are in store coupons in the flier!! WAHOO!!! 

Now, when at the cashier lane (UGH famous last words), I found a magazine (I know SHOCKER) and just HAD TO HAVE it (SIGH).  But after reading through it I learned just a little bit on freezing food items.  I mean lets face it we all know we can freeze casseroles and bread products but what else?! Well a lot actually!!! Check it out...
  • Asparagus 
    • It is recommended that you blanch them first so that they don't become tough
  • Bell Peppers
    • You want to discard of the stems, ribs and seeds and then cut or dice them first 
  • Berries 
    • Well DUH.... many find that if you freeze on a cookie sheet first they "stick" less 
  • Broccoli and Cauliflower
    • It is recommended that you cut them into florets first and then you blanch them before freezing
  • Corn
    • Can be frozen whole or cut but needs to be blanched first and do note that you will lose some sweetness in flavor (NOTHING BEATS FRESH)
  • Melons and Peaches
    • In order to keep it's color dissolve a couple vitamin C tablets in a bowl of water.  Then remove the rind and scoop out seeds and cut melon into chunks.  Then dip into water, drain and then freeze. 
  • Tomatoes 
    • You can freeze these whole or blanch, peel and then chop.
  • Cheese 
    • Hard and semi hard cheese (cheddar, swiss, provolone, etc) freeze better.
    • It's not recommended to freeze already shredded cheese
    • Wrap in wax paper, then plastic wrap, and then in a ziplock
It's not recommended to freeze cucumbers, green beans, zucchini or squash.

Guess it's time to go wash some yummy produce!!! 

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