Engagement Pictures!

My best friend did our engagement pcitures yesterday and they turned out wonderful!

You can take a look HERE.

I kicked butt at Publix 9/25, you can too!

       

  TWENTY DEALS TO SAVE AT PUBLIX THIS WEEK!
         I saved $101.84 today, and so can you.
         What to do?
          1. Sign up for Publix digital coupons
          2. Print the coupons I have listed here.
          3. Dont forget to stack store and outside coupons!
         


1.       Deal: $1 off Publix shredded cheese when you buy one Mission Super Soft Medium Tortilla, 10 ct.

a.       Get coupon HERE

b.      Mission Tortilla: $1.99 (Currently on sale for this price, 80 cent discount)

c.       Publix Mild Shredded Cheddar Cheese: $2.50 (On sale for a 99 cent savings)

You can also sign up HERE to get future Mission coupons via email.

2.       Deal: $1.50 off Any two Sargento Shreds, 5-16 oz

a.       Get Coupon HERE

b.      2 chef blend bags at $4.19 each

3.       Deal: Free Nature’s Own White wheat Healthy White Bread, any 20 oz. WYB Jif Peanut Butter, any 28 oz. or larger AND Smucker’s Jelly, any 17 oz. or larger (Publix Coupon) – Publix Fall Savings Grocery Advantage Buy Flyer- Ask for it at the Customer Counter

a.       Smucker’s Natural Grape Fruit Spread $2.29 

 Get $1 off Sugar Free Smucker's HERE

b.      Jif Peanut Butter: $5.19

c.       Bread: $2.63 (I got this free!)

4.       Deal: Muller Greek Corner Yogurt 5.3 oz, 10/$10

a.       -$1/3 Muller Greek Corner Yogurt 5.3 oz Fall Savings Flyer

b.      -$1/3 Muller Yogurt Products,– 08-04-13 RP Insert (exp 9/30/2013) or THIS

c.       Final Price: $0.33 each

5.       Deal: $2 off Nature’s Own 100% Whole Grain or Honey 7 Grain Bread wyb 1 Frito Lay Variety Pack Chips 20 ct, Fall savings flyer

a.       -$0.75/1 Nature’s Own Bread Or Buns, Any – 08-25-13 SS Insert (exp 9/30/2013)

b.      Frito Lay Big Back of Chips on sale for $5.99

c.       Final Price: As low as $7.13 for both items

6.       Propel Zero is one sale BOGO free. I didn’t have any coupons, but I love this stuff and ½ off is a great deal.

a.       Price: $2.15

7.      Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits, 16.3-17.3 oz. - $1.25

a.       STACK: $2/3 Pillsbury refrigerated dough items (Publix Coupon), Italian Tonight booklet

b.      Print additional coupons:

                                                              i.      Here

                                                            ii.      Here

                                                          iii.      Or here

8.       Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken $8.49 store price

a.       Any One (1) Tyson® Grilled & Ready ® Chicken or Beef, 16-22 oz., or Tyson Wholegrain Chicken, or Lightly Breaded Chicken Strips, 24 oz. Sold Frozen (excludes Gluten Free) $1 off GET IT HERE

b.      Stack with $1 off manufacturer’s coupon

9.       Ore-Ida Simply Fries Regular $2.99

a.       $1 Publix coupon

b.      Stack with 55 cent manufactures coupon

10.   Farm Rich Mozzerlla Sticks

a.       BOGO at Publix, $3.50 each

b.     Coupon

11. Atkin’s Entrees, $3.99

                a. Get Atkin’s Coupons by signing up for their starter program at Atkins.com

12. Glade Scented Oil, double refills

                a. BOGO, so $2.75 each

                b. Get Glade Coupons HERE

13. Deal: Fall Savings Flyer, $3 off 1 Smucker’s Uncrustables 4 ct. AND 1 R.W. Knudsen Juice, 32 oz.

                a. Target Smucker’s Coupon, $1 off (1.89 with coupon)

                b. Knudsen Black Cherry Juice, $4.59 (Save $1)

14. Windex Window Refils

                a. BOGO at $2.70 each

                b. Get Windex coupon HERE

15. Barilla Pasta, Buy One Get one Free

                a. Publix coupon, Fall Savings, 55 cents off 2 Barilla Veggie Pasta

                b. Barilla Coupon HERE

16. Jif Whipped. If you haven’t tried this in Chocolate, do. It’s your treat for saving money on groceries.

                a. 55 cent coupon HERE

17. Kraft Velveeta Cheesy Skillet Dinner Kit or Casseroles - BOGO $3.39 ($1.69)

            a. Get Coupon HERE

18. Publix Lemon Dill Sauce: I highly recommend this product. ANY meat you cook that needs a pick-me-up, put some of this on it. In fact, pick up some salmon while you’re there and try it. $4.59

19. New York Brand Products - 50% Off Includes Texas Toast, Pizzeria Dip 'N Sticks, Old World Ciabatta Rolls, Garlic Loaves, Knots or Breadsticks

            a. Get coupon HERE

20. Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing or Farmhouse Originals – BOGO $3.19 ($1.59)

            a. Get coupon HERE, comes to 9 cents!!!

 

CVS Trip: September 23, 2013

The Spoils of War!

CVS Trip: September 23, 2013

1.       $5 ExtraBucks when you spend $15 on Fantastik, Pledge, Windex, Scrubbing Bubbles, or any Glade. (Limit One)

a.       Glade Automatic Spray Starter Kit            $14.49

                                                              i.      $2 off coupon

b.      Glade Sense and Spray Kit                           $10.49

                                                              i.      $2 off coupon

TOTAL: With ExtraBucks and 25% off Coupon, $5.99 each.

2.       Progresso Soups, 2/$3

a.       1, 25 cents off one coupons

b.      2, 50 cents off two coupons

Total: $1.25 each. Normal price: $2.67 each.

3.       Edy’s Outshine Strawberry Fruit Bars

a.       On sale, $3.99

b.      $1 off coupon

Total: $2.99, Normal price: $4.29

4.       Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal

a.       On sale $2.50

b.      $1 off coupon

Total: $1.50, Normal Price: $3.69

5.       $3 ExtraBucks when you spend $10 on Maybelline.

a.       Foundation        $9.99

b.      $1 off coupon

Total: With ExtraBucks and 25% off coupon, $3.49

6.       Spend $10 on CVS disposable razors, Edge, Skintamate, or Schick shave gel, get $4 ExtraBucks.

a.       Edge Shave Gel                                 $4.79

                                                              i.      $1 off coupon

b.      CVS 4 Blade Razors          $5.79

Total: With ExtraBucks and 25% off coupon, $1.47 each

7.       Pantene Big Bottles, 2/ $12 , get $3 ExtraBucks

a.       BOGO Free Coupon

b.      Normal price: $6.99

Total with ExtraBucks: $1.50 Each

8.       Digiorno Pizzas, On sale $5 each

a.       Normal price: $7.79

b.      $2 coupon off of 2

Total: $4 each

9.       Select Candy on sale, 2/$5, get $1 ExtraBucks on 2

a.       Bought 3 bags, $1.50 off coupon (on 3)

b.      Normal Price: $4.19 each

Total: $1.67 each

10.   Milk, $3.79

a.       With 25% off, $2.84

·         I purchased 20 items, for a total of $46.09

·         This comes to $2.31 per item.

·         My receipt showed a total savings of $72.02

My Publix Trip 9/19

I have recently (Yeah, I know.. Way to be behind, Emma...) figured out that I can Google "Coupon Matchups for STORE NAME" and find someone who has done all the hard work for me.. finding coupons that coincide with the store sales. Now, let me say this first. I AM NOT AN EXTREME COUPON PERSON! My household budget is so tight that I can't even go the extreme coupon route. Each week I have to buy just enough to get us through. I usually go to CVS every week, Publix every other week, and we get Schwan's every two weeks as well. That, coupled with Dollar Tree runs and the beef we get from our cows, is pretty much what we get to eat.

I've always been a shopper, and I love finding great deals. So, with having no full time job, I got excited to finally get in to coupons. I'm still a beginner, but I wanted to share with everyone my experience today. The best part was the cashier congratulating me and pointing out that I must have taken time to plan to save this much.

What I bought:

• Two Bottles of Tropicana FarmStead Juice $3.99 each. I have a $1.50 off 2 coupon from a Sunday paper. Also, $3 off cut fruit when you purchase one bottle.
• Cut fruit: $3.84. This came to only 84 cents when I used the Publix deal coupon.
• Caramel Dip $3.49. I printed off a $1 off coupon.
• Apples $3.99. I have a Publix coupon for $1 off when you buy Apples and Caramel dip
• Perdue Chicken Breasts 32 oz. $7.29. I have a Publix coupon for $1 off and a manufacturers coupon for $1 off.
• Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks 2 at $2 each.I have a coupon for $1.10 off two
• Green Giant Vegetable Chips $2. I have a 50 cent coupon that doubled plus a Publix digital coupon for an additional 50 cents off
• FiberOne Protein bars $2.50. I have a 50 cent off coupon that doubled. I also had a Publix deal coupon for $2 off when you purchased four listed items. The four I just typed qualified.
• 2 boxes of Bisquick. $2.35 each, Coupon for $1.10 off two.
• Honey Nut Cheerios, $3.60. $1 coupon
• Nature Valley Granola, $4.49
• Grapes $4.30, got $2 off for buying fruit and the granola.
• Rice $1.39
• Goya Maria Crackers, 2 at 59 cents each
• Flan 2 at 99 cents each

On top of the deals I mentioned, I got about $3 back for my Upromise account.
 I got lots of box tops to send to school with Belle
I am particularly happy with my ability to get some fresh items this trip, not just stuff from the middle isles.

My savings Summary on the bottom of my receipt says:
Vendor Coupon: $7.95
Store Coupon: 10.00
Special Price Savings: $6.90

I spent $38.87, and saved $24.85. At this rate I have high hopes to be saving more than I spend before too long!

What do you do to save your family money? Let me know! I can always use new tips.

I'm thinking photobooks as Christmas Presents...

I love Shutterfly! I'm able to get some GREAT deals. Like... I usually only pay tax and shipping. This includes $30 photobooks to address labels to greeting cards. AND ITS ALL PERSONALIZED!!

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WE GOT ENGAGED!!

205 days until I'm a married woman!

Beginning My No-Carb Struggle....with Green Fritters.

I hope you’ve missed me lately. I haven’t been blogging because I haven’t been able to play around in the kitchen much. GASP! I know, let me set the layout for you a bit…

I’ve had the blessing of having this summer to revamp. Now this is a bit of a joke. When you have three bodies other than yourself that live in your house, there is never a moment of peace. Certainly not a morning where you wake up feeling you have nothing left to do. Unless of course you stayed up until 3 cleaning and got up at 6 to start all over again. HOWEVER, I have really enjoyed my summer. I did get to organize and clean a few parts of my house that would have otherwise had to stay dirty until I “one day” got around to it.

At the beginning of this month, I started going to a new doctor. With my gyn over an hour drive away, and my endocrinologist is always an hour wait to get in, I wanted to find one doctor that could handle everything. Instead of getting advice from four different people, I wanted a whole body approach. I got in for a consultation with Robin Otte. She’s a nurse practitioner who at first made me nervous, but I don’t have a good excuse as to why. She was wonderful. She discussed all of my individual health issues with me, and put me a super no-carb diet. I thought this sounded great as I left. Except of course, for the end of my Dr. Pepper addiction (more on that later). She made it clear that I was never going to lose weight, and most likely never get pregnant, until I got my carb count under control and lost some weight…

Talking about my weight has never been easy for me. When I weighed 140 (quite thin for a big boned sister like me at 5’7), I thought I was a cow. I dreaded being close to all the skinny minis. In fact looking at pictures, many of the people I was around…they weren’t bigger than me at all. It was all in my head. Since this was my teen years, I get why I felt so much pressure to be thing, to compare myself to others. Now, 70 pounds heavier, I’m much closer to what I was so afraid of then. Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I have been a pretty solid advocate of eating planned, homemade meals straight from your own kitchen. I do love the treat of eating out, but if you do it too much, it isn’t a treat but a convenience.  I’ve been lucky to always have someone to cook for. This prompted me to try to get keep balanced, yummy, and easy meals ready at all times. People talk about my cooking. And that makes me a very happy girl.

When I got home from the doctor, all of this began to sink in a little more for me. All of my favorite recipes, from meatloaf to salmon patties, bread and pasta in any shape, it was all gone. And oh my god, Dr. Pepper. I’d tried SEVERAL times to stop drinking it, but it was always my comfort. Some people like a beer in the afternoon. Me, I like a Dr. Pepper five or six times a day. No wonder I struggle with my weight, eh? I went through my food cabinets which were nice and full after three weeks of some serious successful couponing. I looked at every label. If one serving had more than 5 carbs, there’s no way I’d stay under 20 per day. I was in a very uncomfortable shock when I realized I could eat a whopping, eh, about 1/16^th of what I had in my pantry. I knew meat and cheese were acceptable, but I try not to buy too much cheese. Adam and Belle eat it like candy, and it makes the grocery bill easily double.

WHAT WAS I GOING TO DO!?!?

1.       Go on Pinterest and search like a mad woman….CRAP! Nothing looked good. (Most likely from lack of bread and pasta. Not to mention some funky ingredients)

2.       Look at Atkins. I’m old enough to remember the no carb low carb hard to chew faze America went through. The website is VERY helpful, don’t get me wrong. But they are seriously pushing their name brand snacks that are quite pricy. HELLO, sister is on a serious budget here!

3.       Google. Surely a Google search would point me in a direction that would tell me I could secretly go to Rigatoni’s and eat bread and chicken alfredo until a popped. You can find anything on Google, right? Wrong.

4.       Really really really want a Dr. Pepper and a donut.

A few days later I got a phone call from the doctor. She had my blood work in and needed to talk to me. Turns out, there were more than few little problems… then she hit me with the big one. My insulin levels, which ideally are between 8 and 10, were over 200. I was clearly insulin resistant. I was beyond insulin resistant. I was SUPER insulin resistant, or whatever… She told me I needed to get in with my endocrinologist and have him look at my test results ASAP. She even offered to call the office and make it clear this was a time sensitive matter. I was pretty freaked, so freaked; I wanted a Dr. Pepper and a donut.

So now my research had shifted. I was no longer looking for no carb yumminess, but rather, PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT GOING TO GET DIABETES AND DIE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Overreaction, maybe. Mmk. Most likely. But after I’d lost both of my grandmothers within four months, I was well aware that I wanted nothing more in life but to be healthy. I get it now. The need to be healthy, and in turn happy, for your family and for yourself. I am determined that Adam and I are going to be the hot grandparents who embarrass the hell out of their grown grandchildren.

I got in to Dr. Ahmed pretty quicky. After my usual wait, I got the speech I was waiting on. The gist of it was that no drug or diet secret was going to get me healthy. I was on the only thing that could get me healthy. Determination and okay, a little metformin to keep me from becoming diabetic.

So now I am back at the planning stage. I feel like all summer I’ve been planning. But now, this plan has to be one that I can implement for the rest of my life. Maybe not forever, but for longer than I usually stick to my plans.

Otte recommended the following:

1.       A serious kenogenic diet.

2.       Vitamin d3

3.       Fish Oil

Ahmed recommended:

1.       Regular exercise

2.       Metformin

3.       Some serious self determination

So, I have decided that I want to transform what I was already doing to fit my new lifestyle. So far I have…

1.       Downloaded the Atkins app so I can track my carb intake.

2.       Went to the Piggly Wiggly a lot when I run out of things I can eat

3.       Put the scales where they are easily accessible to keep myself accountable.

4.       Make myself take the Metformin, side effects and all

5.       Look more seriously into the Paleo lifestyle. I feel confident that once I get over this beginning stage of the diet, Paleo would keep me on track.

6.       Drink Diet Dr. Pepper whenever I feel like I need Dr. Pepper. Most of the diets say you can have diet soda, but recommend against it. While I’ve given up on the sugar stuff, I need something to keep me from wanting to kill someone. I feel like I can eventually cut it out as well, but I am not afraid to say I’m not yet ready.

7.       Do some serious self-talk.

8.       Tell Adam everything, from what I am eating to how I feel about it to how I hate him when he’s eating cheese puffs in front of me. This sounds like a no brainer, but as my partner, he’s been great. He keeps me accountable. Seriously accountable, like way more than I ever would myself.

My experiment for today was to try to make salmon patties fit within my carb count. They are still a little high, but I am going to try again to get them lower with more research…

Green Salmon Fritters:

Ingredients:

·         1 pack Chicken of the Sea Salmon (2.5 oz)

·         Salt and Pepper

·         2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil

·         2 Celery stalks, put through the food processor (2.4 CARBS)

·         ¼ of a large green bell pepper (2 CARBS)

·         1 tbsp. garlic powder (6 CARBS)

·         1 tbsp. parsley (.2 CARBS)

·         ½ c. French fried onions, put through the food processor (12 CARBS)

·         2 eggs (.8 CARBS)

·         ¼ c. AP Flour (22 CARBS)

Directions:

Mix everything together. Fry in vegetable oil until they brown (they’ll still look green too).

Makes 8 fritters. This comes out to 5.6 CARBS per fritter. I’d like to get it down to half of that.

Do you have any suggestions as to how I can cut the carbs?

How about making some salmon patties that are lower in carb count?

I welcome and need all advise.