I LOVE TO SAVE $$

 

We LOVE WinCo at our house.  Those of you lucky enough to live near a WinCo Foods are special.  Those of you who life near one but never shop there are... well... ridiculous.  Here's the thing, WinCo Foods is a GREAT resource for those of us trying to feed our families on a budget.  No where in town will you find cheaper deals on EVERYTHING.  I mean EVERYTHING.  The only exceptions here are diapers, wipes, and formula which I buy at Costco (when there is a coupon!).  I cannot tell you how much $$ I save on a regular basis because I choose to drive an extra 20 minutes into Eagle to shop at the cleanest & nicest best WinCo in the valley.  It is worth it.

I tried the coupon craze thing, but here is what I learned.  You CANNOT buy healthy food with coupons.  Yes, you can use them for toiletries, bathroom items, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, etc.  But anything you are putting in your mouth for consumption that you used a coupon for is most likely HIGHLY PROCESSED.  I tried.  For over a year I tried.  I even went to couponing classes and asked questions.  I asked them, "What if I don't want to buy a bunch of processed junk for my family?  What if I only buy fresh, perishable food? How will couponing help me?  Oh, girl!  You should have seen the eye-daggers thrown my way!  I had just unconsciously insulted every single woman in there.  They looked at me like I was farting ontop of their sacred coupon binders while sticking my tongue out and crossing my eyes.  They were not impressed with my late-20-something appearance and healthier-than-thou attitude.  I meant no harm.  I really wanted to know.  I thought I was missing some secret nugget!

So I ventured out on my own, cutting coupons sifting through website, running out of paper, getting cramps in my hands from scissors.  Bottom line.  It didn't work for me.  I was spending waaaay too much time getting ready to shop and waaaay too much time trying to find my 'coupon items' that my kids were going berzerck at the grocery store.What I realized is even with a coupon, the name-brand items are still more expensive than the generic kind AT WINCO.  I stress this because if you shop at other grocery stores, this will not be the case.  Again, the reason I stick with WinCo.  Their 'generic' is ridiculously cheaper than any name-brand item on sale, there is really no comparison.  Let me say, though.  I am NOT a name-brand snob.  I actually prefer generic and even bulk because knowing how much $$ I saved makes it so much sweeter.  If you are a name-brand snob, well... stick with couponing. I can't help you.

Knowing all of this, WinCo RARELY ever has store coupons.  Their prices are so cheap and they keep it that way because they don't spend money on advertising or fancy smancy anything.  It is a big, giant warehouse and you have to bag your own groceries.  Yep.  You do.  But in case you forgot, you are saving money, so MAN UP sister and put those bagging skills to good use!

I was crazy excited when I opened my mailbox on Thursday and found this lil' beauty staring at me from under a pile of junk mail.  What??? WinCo coupons?? Are you kidding???  That is like hitting the jackpot in... Jackpot!  Yeeeehawwwww!  Kids!  Load up! Weez goin' shoppin' todayyy.

The one valuable lesson I learned in all of my couponing craze is to stock up when you find a good deal.  Since you are going to buy an item anyway, you might as well buy more of it when its on sale instead of having to buy it at full-price when you need it.  Here are the things we are stocking up on:

1. Tenderbird Chicken Breast.  I use these all the time.  They help me when I am doing a meal prep (even use them in one of my soon-to-be-coming videos!)  They are all individually frozen and you can just take out what you need, when you need it.  You can even use them still frozen.  I know, sounds weird, but they are great.  The only down side, they aren't the HUGELY genetically altered porn-star chicken breasts available from other brands & you have to trim off the extra fat.  Oh, well.  I am not a fan of Pamela Anderson anyway. 

2. Malt-o-Meal Cereal.  I point this out because my children are unaware that cereal actually comes in boxes.  All our cereal comes in bags.  True story.  I typically get the honey-nut cheerios kind or frosted mini-wheats.  Every once in a while, I let them pick something with a little more sugar, like Fruit Loops or Capn' Crunch.  Most of the time, though, its 'healthier' breakfast cereal. 

3. Seafood.  We LOVE seafood in our house.  Anything from the ocean is devoured in less time than it takes to cook it.  WinCo sells tilapia fillets (an awesome protein source with NO FAT!) and pre-cooked shrimp.  I make dinners with both of these very regularly.  But Lisa, I don't know what to do with them!  Not to fret, my little friend.  I will show you, soon.  In a video.  Just trust me and go buy some.  Your mouth and your muscles will appreciate it.

4. Blueberries.  Holy cow!  Are these not one of the greatest delicacies the world has every known??  I usually buy the frozen kind and we put them in our NF greek yogurt, oatmeal, protein smoothies, basically any place we can.  But to get them FRESH??? Holla!  These are great in cottage cheese or just as a snack for the kiddos.  We gobble these up by the pound.  Here's a quick recipe for you (trust me, you will LOVE it)

1/2 c. non-fat, plain greek yogurt

1/2 c. fresh blueberries

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix it all together and enjoy!  Your quick snack just got you 244c. / 2g. fat / 18g. carbs / 40 g. protein

That's one powerful punch to get your body up and going!

5. Soda Pop.  I put this here because yes, you can treat yourself some times.  We buy the diet version because there are 0 calories and its just enough of a 'kick' to get you to your next meal.  The kids like to have them sometimes and no one can be perfect all the time.  Life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured.  If this, or any other treat for that matter, helps you enjoy then I say GO FOR IT!  But remember, a cheat is supposed to be just a MEAL, not a day or a week or a year or a decade. 

Now, you know where I shop, but here is a quick run-down on the how.  I keep in mind that we have a protein, carb and healthy fat in almost every meal throughout the day.  I start with the easiest, carbs.  Do we have plenty of veggies (peppers, spinach, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes), potatoes (red or sweet), brown rice, whole wheat pasta?  I inventory all our fresh fruit.  What do we need, what to we have plenty of.  I write down what we are lacking.  How is our protein supply (chicken breast, tilapia, ground turkey, chicken sausage, eggs).  Then I look at dairy (greek yogurt, yogurt for kids, cheeses, milk, etc.)  Lastly, I look at all the extra stuff - garlic, coffee creamer, you get the picture.  Bottom line, I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go to the grocery story without a plan.  That would be ridiculous. 

I typically spend ~ $120/week or 10 days on groceries for our family of 5.  That may seem like a lot, that may seem like a little.  This also includes all the household stuff as well.  It amazing how much produce you can buy for the same or less than anything canned/frozen.  It may not seem like we are saving all that much money, but we rarely go out to dinner too - which is where we really save.  If I don't cook the food, I don't know what's in it.  We save our "eating out" $$ for date nights, which are usually a cheat for us anyway (about every other week).  Plus, I don't want to drive out everyone else in the restaurant with our crazy brood, so we just eat at home.  But I promise!!  Our food would give any gourmet restaurant a run for their money!  We make some mighty-delicious grub so I don't really miss going out.

If this helps anyone out there, it is worth it!  Remember, fresh food, is fresh food.  I doesn't matter if it comes from a fancy grocery store or if you have to bag it yourself.  What matters is what you do with it.

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