Thursday, February 9, 2012

Heart Healthy with Coupons??

Yes, it's possible!
I have recently had a family emergency and found myself in the middle of Florida with just my coupon binder, an open heart patient, a 2-time stroke patient and an entire kitchen full of things neither could eat.  Let me begin by saying the one that had the 2nd stroke the day after her hubby had open heart, made it a regular habit of eating only one meal a day...for YEARS...starving her body.  Lost 30 pounds in just right at 5 weeks!

I brought them both home from the hospital and had to begin teaching them both how to cook and eat 3 meals a day with snacks.  (we are still working on this).   My sister-in-law who had the stroke has mild deficits which are mending, but has some cognitive reasoning and processing problems...however, I found 20 or so bags of food packed up ready for giving away to charity or friends.  I pondered what she might be up to....but I found that she read every label on every item and had began understanding the trouble with the food they had been buying for several years.  It kinda shocked me.

Fortunately, I came to Florida with my coupon binder =)  I went to work learning about the local markets....NO ONE DOUBLES coupons here!!  Are you KIDDING me??!!  UGH.  So I rolled with the punches and made a series of 4 trips/lists over the course of 2 sale cycles.  I managed to completely restock and actually stockpile their kitchen for a 50% savings on everything including meats, fresh veggies, fresh fruits and lean unprocessed deli meats.  I jumped through all the constricting hoops here for precious dollars off when you buy (X number) of items (which I had coupons for and were heart healthy).  With that savings I found a B1G2 on fresh chicken breast and stocked them up!  Pasta sauces, whole grain pasta, juices, yogurt, fat free shredded cheese, light mayo (they actually had a Unilever deal here....not nearly as nice as the one we had a home, but it scored me 10 bucks for meats, etc)....and even had a free produce coupon for buying salad dressings which I got to marinade chicken in!

I also found myself up against a problem with a need for Boost supplements.  Many thanks to my blog readers/friends for sending me a TON of high value Boost coupons!!  I was able to get 10 - 6packs regular price $80 for just under $25!  =)

Moral of the story...realistic couponing is highly possible!!  Even if it is an "on demand" need!  So...to the nay-sayers who do not believe it is possible to get things they NEED....or get HEALTHY items....I'm saying to you now, it IS possible!!

<3  Manda

2 comments:

  1. Totally agree with you! That was one of the biggest complaints I always heard - you can't eat healthy on a budget. Great job teaching others how you can!

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    1. Thanks =) It sure was a challenge in Florida...now my personal challenge is to dump 50+ pounds while still using coupons and saving money :)

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