Extreme Coupon Education: Are Coupons Only for Junk Foods?

June 27, 2012 - 16 Comments

Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

One of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. Even though some coupons are for processed foods that does not mean I buy them all. Just becasue I have a coupon for cookies does not mean I buy them.

When we were featured in the New York Times Magazine many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. This was baffling to me because in the article it talks about how we bought milk, yogurt, tuna and pasta.  At first it really bothered me that people would say that we only eat junk food. They have not looked in my fridge, toured my pantry, or joined us for dinner. How can they accuse me and my friend of feeding our families poorly? But I quickly got over the hurt and bewilderment and realized that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy.

I wrote a series of posts addressing the following topics to help you get the full picture of how we use coupons and sales to save money and eat healthy!

All of the posts in this series….

If you have any specific topics on the subject of Eating Healthy and Couponing, that you would like me to discuss, please leave a comment. We can discuss in the comments or I will write another article to answer the question. 

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What the Yoder’s Ate For Dinner

May 6, 2012 - 58 Comments

I’m not very good about posting recipes we make each week. Because I feel like what we eat is pretty boring.  Dinner time has never been my forte, but I wanted people to see that my family doesn’t just eat processed foods.  Here’s what we had for dinner tonight:

 

We enjoyed wood plank smoked Salmon from Zaycon Foods (I told you how last Father’s Day gift was the best ever, didn’t I?), as well as smoked chicken (again, thank you Zaycon Foods  - which now delivers nation wide) with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce we snagged last night at Fred Meyer for $1.  We also enjoyed some corn from Costco and I made some homemade mashed potatoes.   Thanks to my Super Hubs for workin the grill like magic!

 

 

Char-Griller 5050 Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill

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It’s a JAMBEREE in Our Kitchen: Simple, Healthy Paleo Recipes

May 1, 2012 - 11 Comments

You asked for a few of our recipes and we will oblige. But 1st we’re going to answer a few more pressing questions:

  • Yes, I’m wearing a pencil in my hair. It’s a Dora the Explorer pencil to be exact and therefore is very stylish. It’s what all the hip kids are doing these days (especially if they are too lazy/busy to do their hair).
  • We’re in Joey’s kitchen. We typically tape at Joey’s house because I live out in the middle of nowhere. So you can pretty much blame Joey for that obnoxious oven beep. Something about the kids don’t care that we’re taping and still demand lunch. I know, right? Don’t they know who we are?
  • Yes, Joey will teach you her rad dance moves. Her stage name is Jammin’ Joey, so there’s definitely more where that came from. You’ll just have to come back for more.
  • Yes, we always wear dark colors apparently. Something about the camera adding 10 pounds or some such nonsense. We aren’t always coming back from a funeral (good thing too, cause I don’t think funeral attendees would think a pen in the hair is appropriate attire).

And now for a few of our favorite treats…

Amber’s Scrumptious Trail Mix Recipe:

Some raisins
Some almonds (raw or dry roasted)
Some sunflower seeds (raw or dry roasted)
Some unsweetened coconut flakes
A handful of any other delicious thing you can think of (dried cherries, pistachios, chocolate chips {non-dairy and at least 85% cacao}, dates)

Stir and enjoy!

Banana {Blueberry} Coconut Muffins

1 cup coconut flour
6 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup blueberries (I added this, but they are still delish w/out!)
4 T coconut oil
2 T coconut milk
4 T honey
1 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

Mix flour and baking powder together & set aside. In bowl or mixer, slowly beat eggs. Then add all remaining ingredients with the exception of the dry ingredients and the bananas. Once all other ingredients are well incorporated, add flour mixture and bananas. Blend well. Grease 12 muffin cups w/ coconut oil. Fill muffin cups w/ batter. Bake for 20 min at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!

Next week we’ll share Joey’s top secret ground beef jerky recipe and we’ll also talk about some ways to substitute and make recipes Paleo and gluten-free! It will give you time order this Nesco Food Dehydrator to make your jerky with:
Until next time…

Hugs,

-Jamber

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Paleo Tips and Recipes Week 1

Paleo Tips and Recipes Week 2

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JAMBEREE Take Two: Your Favorite Paleo Wannabees are Back!

April 27, 2012 - 15 Comments

Welcome back. We’re pretty certain you’ve been on pins and needles waiting for the 2nd JAMBEREE installment (here is our first installment all about Paleo). And since we don’t want to disappoint our fan (yes, Mom, we appreciate you watching!), we’ll dive right in. We’ve had a lot of you ask what exactly we are allowed to eat on a Paleo diet. As we mentioned in the video, we are eating A LOT! I’m consuming more food and more calories than ever before and I’m LOSING weight! It’s amazing how your body responds when you fuel it with the healthy things it needs.

Now with that said, let me pause for a second and address something that many of you might be thinking and not saying, or if you’re like many of my friends, saying to my face. I have become the crazy food person I always made fun of. My sister has been vegan for years now and I would give her a hard time about all the restrictions she was forcing on herself for no apparent reason. She had no food allergies (nor do I), she was a foodie who previously loved all types of food (me too!) and yet she choose to cut so many things she loved from her diet. I thought she had lost her marbles. And now I’ve joined her.

But now I also understand her. She made a decision to eat in a way that not only made her feel amazing, but also made her the healthiest she’s ever been. I totally respect her choice to eat as she pleases, and I get now why many choose diets that at one point in my life seemed so bizarre to me.

When Joey and I made the decision to switch entirely to Paleo, it came from a selfish place. We had been in “Mom” mode for so many years, tirelessly serving our kids/spouses/others. We weren’t Super Mom, we were Every Mom. As parents, our time often stops belonging to us, as our children’s needs require almost constant attention. We had stopped placing importance on eating right, exercising and basically, the overall state of our health/appearance. It’s not something we’re proud of, it’s just sometimes the journey life takes you on. Well we decided to rewrite that journey and pay attention to us for a change, and now you’re along for that ride!

Here’s how you can eat like us and still SAVE money:

Meat: We primarily get our meat from Zaycon in bulk, or we stock up when we see a pink star sale price.

Produce: We rarely see coupons for fresh produce, but loved this Earthbound Organic coupon recently! We do shop produce sales, farmers markets and local fruit stands to find rock bottom prices on fresh produce. We also both grow our own gardens (can I technically say that if my husband does all the work?), which produce a LOT of delicious (and free) produce!

Freebies: VitaCost is an amazing website chock full of Paleo, organic and gluten free foods, healthy products, vitamins and more. Get a FREE $10 coupon credit when you register! Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Other Paleo Friendly Food Coupons:

Earth Balance Coconut Spread
Organic Applesauce
Organic Stevia
Organic Blue Agave
Eggs
Almonds
Pistachios
Olive Oil
Silk Soy, Almond or Coconut Milk
So Delicious Soy, Coconut or Almond Milk
100% Juice Coupons
Maranatha Almond Butter

Recipes Using Couponed Ingredients:

Joey’s Magical Smoothie Recipe:

7 Strawberries
1 Banana
1 TBS Almond Butter (I double this amount, but I love the stuff!)
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
Crushed Ice

Blend and enjoy!

Also, here are the 2 Paleo cookbooks you’ll find our noses buried in almost daily:

Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen

Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids

Now we want your questions. Do you want to know how much we’re spending? Do you want more recipes? Do you want to see a Paleo shopping trip? Do you want us to stop making ridiculous little videos? You can email any questions/comments/concerns to amber at fabulesslyfrugal dot com or simply leave them in the comments section below. Until next time…

Hugs,

-Jamber

Paleo Tips and Recipes Week 1

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New Organic Veggies Coupon=Bag of Organic Carrots for $.13!

April 17, 2012 - 2 Comments

Because we’ve been talking about healthy couponing today (Paleo all the Wayleo), this  Earthbound Farm coupon is just up my alley! Click on “Today’s Step” over on the Earthbound Farm Facebook page and register to print a coupon good for $0.75 off any one Earthbound Farm organic product.

Then check out your local Walmart & see if you can score this deal:

Walmart

Buy Earthbound Farm Carrots $.88
Use $0.75 off any one Earthbound Farm organic product
Final Price: $.13 each

Thanks Hip2Save!

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Introducing JAMBER: Mostly Incoherent Ramblings From 2 Paleo Wannabes

April 17, 2012 - 16 Comments

Move over Brangelina! There’s a new duo in town.

Buckle up kids, it’s gonna be a wild ride! Joey (you know her by the handle Fab About Albertsons on our site) and I recently began an adventure transforming how we eat and therefore feed our families. We’ll walk you through our semi-logical reasoning for the transition to the Paleo lifestyle, share with you our struggles with a whole new way of eating, post new-to-us recipes and record every last ridiculous minute of it. All I have to say is it’s a good thing there’s a pause/stop/mute button on these videos. You’ll probably need them (we’re going to assume it’s so you can pause it while you take potty breaks or answer the phone, so you don’t miss one riveting second!).

Our Story:

Joey and I met almost 10 years ago, back when we had no children and therefore a few remaining brain cells. She’s funny. I like funny people. It was a match made in heaven.

Through the years our friendship has survived constant change: new careers, the birth of 4 spunky little babies, moves across town, death of loved ones, and a plethora of random adventures. The one thing that has remained constant? She’s always been the type of friend to tell me if I have macaroni and cheese mashed on the butt of my pants. Everyone needs a friend like that.

So when she said “Hey, wanna stop eating beans, milk, cheese, yogurt, pasta, cookies, donuts, cake, alfredo sauce, rice and every other heavenly thing that currently grace your lips in an attempt to shed our thunder thighs and get all healthy?” Of course I said, “Heck, yeah!” And so our Paleo journey began.

Our Mission:

During our weekly video segments, aka. Jamberees, our main goal is to help you realize that you CAN coupon for healthy foods. Even if you only implement a fraction of what we’re doing by eating Paleo, we hope that’s the takeaway. We eat meats, eggs, fish, veggies, fruits and nuts; nothing processed and we still manage to save money at the grocery store. We’ll share all the hows and whys, and perhaps help educate you a bit in the process (keep in mind we said a bit, as imparting wisdom is not our forte!). Also, if you have any questions for us about what we eat, what we’re cooking or about our overall sanity, we’d love to answer them.

So we’ll see you back here soon for our 2nd Jamberee where we’ll discuss our reasons for breaking up with dairy/carbs/sugar. Stay tuned….

Hugs,

-Jamber

 

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