Where to buy organic.

When people think about purchasing organic foods and products they tend to think of Trader Joe's and Whole Foods first. And it's true, you can find organics there, but it's not necessarily the best place to spend your dollar.

Most grocery stores have organic sections now.
And you will even find organic in the most unexpected places.

I typically shop at 4 different stores.

Safeway
Nob Hill / Raley's
Costco
The Grocery Outlet

I do go to Trader Joe's for organic apples, soy-free sandwich bread, and organic salad mixes. The apples and salad prices can't be beat. And it's the only place I can find a soy-free bread that my kids will eat. Truth be told-- I need to learn to make my own bread. But that's for another day.

I will also shop at Whole Foods if they are having a sale on something I need to stock up on. I probably go to Whole Foods 3-4 times a year. The last time I got 30 lbs of ground beef for my extra freezer. Organic and grass fed for $5.99 a lb. Whole Foods is by far the most expensive place to shop if you are converting to organic-- I don't recommend them for weekly shopping. They do have some magnificent sales though and organic products you can not find anywhere else.

Safeway carries organic lines and also has several lines of their own. Eating Right, Open Nature and O Organics. ) Organics is the only one certified organic, but sometimes you can find nice alternatives in the other 2. They have promotions often which offset the prices.With a little bit of homework looking for the sales and coupons, I can get my total price to be nearly identical to the non-organic food items.

Raley's / Nob Hill used to have 2 beautiful aisles of organics and naturals. They just recently removed them from my store. Did the same thing happen to you? They decided to incorporate the organics in with the rest of the food. So now organic cereal is in the cereal aisle. Organic flour is in the baking aisle. I get it- but I don't like it. Now I have to go through the entire store to get what I need. I hope they don't think they are going to trick me into putting extra stuff in my cart. They also have a pretty nice organic fresh produce section. I like it better than Safeway's. They have reasonable prices and they food looks crisp.

Costco. Every time I go to Costco I see them expanding their organic product lines. This makes me happy because Costco carries what people buy. They give the people what they want. I love that people want organic. I get my 10 lb bag or organic carrots for only $4.49. One my last trip I got organic chicken burgers with cheese and bacon mixed in them. Nitrite Nitrate FREE! Score! I haven't eaten them yet though--- so the jury is still out. My Costco carried Organic Valley milk, heavy cream, half & half. Organic Valley is a family owned California company so I am not sure if they carry that one all over.  I can get a gallon of organic milk for $5-- which is the cheapest I've seen without a sale or coupon. Their inventory is always growing and the prices tend to be far below Whole Foods. I hit Costco once a month.

The Grocery Outlet is a little gem in our community. It's an overstock store so the inventory is always changing. If you see something amazing, grab as much as you can afford (paying special attention to expiration dates). It may never show up there again! I have found some amazing deals there. Imacculate cresent rolls, normally $4.79 for just $1.49. Organic sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar. Random organic snacks to try out on the kids like chips, crackers, fruit snacks. Organic shampoo/conditioner, body wash, and cosmetics, all for 50-75% off retail. When I got shopping, I go here first. Since I never know what they will carry I spend about 15 minutes going through the aisles, finding the treasures. Then I go do the rest of my shopping at Safeway or Nob Hill to get the missing items from my list.

The rest of my shopping is done online. I save a little bit of my grocery money each week so I can snatch up that unbelievable daily deal. I have purchased coconut oil, spices, organic teeth whitening, all sorts of odds and ends.

I live in one of the most expensive places to live. The Bay Area of California. I have a family of 5. My grocery budget is $600 a month. I typically spend $100 at Costco. $100 for online purchases. And $100 a week for groceries. I buy about 80% organic. It is possible for all of us!

3 New Skippy Natural Peanut Butter Coupons

These are not organic, but they are better than ordinary peanut butter.
So sometimes I will supplement with these products so that I can make the budget stretch further.

There are 3 coupons available:

0.35 off 1
0.75 off 2
1.00 off 3

Print them HERE
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Safeway curently has a deal where when you buy 4 Skippy Peanut Butters, you save an extra $2.
Print your coupons and go check out the prices at your Safeway!

Open Nature Coupon for Safeway $1.00 off Sausage

Head on over to Facebook. Like the Coupon. And print $1.00 off Open Nature Sausage.

Print the coupon HERE


If you eat sausage, this is the better way to do it! That's for sure!

Open Nature Hot Dogs

Log in to your Just 4 U account with Safeway and you should find a coupon for Open Nature Hot Dogs for $2.99, limit of 2 packages.



This is the lowest price I've seen on these and I am definitely going to scoop them up and stick them in my freezer for last minute summer BBQ's.

Open Nature is a Safeway brand line that makes me SOOOO happy. They are not organic, but they have extremely high standards and by not going after the organic label they can keep the prices to a reasonable level.

Here is a list of all the ingredients banned from Open Nature Products. It's a thing of beauty.
Open Nature Prohibited Ingredients List

In regards to the hot dogs, they are MSG free, so nitrites/nitrates, no artificial colors or flavors, no benzoates, no antibiotics, and completely uncured.

It's basically the best hot dog I have found in this price range.
If you want to pay double that, you can get a tasty uncured dog from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.
Other than that, you'd need to make the hot dog yourself. And while I am dabbling in making my own cleaners, hot dogs are just a little bit above my skill level at the moment.

Kristi and I discovered something else too. We both live in Livermore, but she shops at the Safeway by her house and I shop at the one by mine. My Safeway carries the uncured hot dogs, her's does not.  If you can't find them at your store make sure you tell them! If they realize people are interested, they will start carrying them.

From their website:

The OPEN NATURE™ promise:

We believe ingredients should come from nature.

We believe food should be made only with ingredients we are proud to share.

We believe food should be simply prepared, the way you'd make it at home.

We believe food should be made with a commitment to quality.

For My Meatless Friends: Morning Star Deal at Safeway

Safeway is having a Morning Star promotion. When you buy 1 Morning Star Product you receive a $2.00 coupon to spend at Safeway on your next shopping trip. You can print a $1.00 off coupon:
Rumor has it that Morning Star products are on sale for $3.49 this week at Safeway. Use the $1 off coupon. Get $2 back. It's like getting it for only $0.49!

Comments on my Safeway Shopping Trip

I went shopping today at Safeway.
When the total came up to $123.21 I panicked a little, since I only had 5 coupons with me.
Usually I have between 10-20 coupons for a big grocery trip.
But then I scanned my Safeway Club Card and ran my coupons and the total came down to only $54.22

That is a savings of 56%!

I saved $49.68 by shopping the Sales Ad and buying items on sale.
I saved $13.03 with my paper coupons.
I saved $6.28 by logging into my Safeway Just 4 U program and adding ecoupons to my club card.

It all adds up to money in my pocket!

I was able to reach these savings and still buy healthy food. I bought pure. I bought natural. I bought organic.
It takes a little more work-- but it doesn't have to take more money.

Sign Up for Safeway's Just 4 U Program and get a dozen eggs FREE

Safeway deals ending April 17th

Here are the Safeway deals that caught my eye this week:

B1G1 FREE deals:

Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs or combo pack

Ocean Mist Jumbo artichokes

Nature Sweet Cherub or Sunburst tomatoes

Eating Right Hummus

O Organics frozen vegetables

Laughing Cow cheese

Open Nature Pizzas

Organic fresh produce deals:

 

Cucumbers, 10/$10

Granny Smith apples, $1.69/lb.

Red Delicious apples, $1.69/lb.

Lady Alice apples, $1.99/lb.

Bartlett pears, $1.69/lb.

Mangos, $1.99 each

Red Grapefruit, 10/$10

Good deals:

Coles Raw Wild Mountain Honey, $14.99/5 lbs.

Lucerne Cage Free eggs, $3.49/dozen

Sunchips, $2.49

Don't forget to sign into your Just 4 You account to score even more deals. 

SAFEWAY: Whole Grain Barilla Pasta Just $.25

Print $1/1 Barilla Whole Grain Pasta and you can get a pound of pasta at Safeway for just a quarter!!

Safeway
Barilla Whole Grain Pasta on sale for $1.25
Coupon $1/1
Final Price: Just $0.25

SAFEWAY: Chobani 4 pack just $1.50

Safeway has the 4 pack of Chobani Champions on sale for $2.50
Use this $1/1 4 pack Chobani Champions to score it for just $1.50
That is just $0.37 each!!!

This is probably my favorite greek yogurt. If you've never tried it this is a great price to go ahead and experiment with a new brand.


Thanks The Frugal Find.

Safeway Deals 2/15 - 2/21

Organics and Health Items on Sale at Safeway this week:

Organic Avocados $1.25 each
Organic Broccoli $1.50 each
Organic Sweet Navel Oranges $0.99 a lb
Organic Heirloom Tomatoes $3.99 a lb
Dave's Killer Bread $3.99
O Organics Salad Blends $2.50
O Organics Soups or Pacific Soups $2.50
O Organics Spices Buy 2 Get 1 FREE
O Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil B1G1 Free
Open Nature Granola $3.00
Open Nature Wide Pans, Buns, Rolls, B1G1 Free
Open Nature Mix and Match Items B2G1 FRee

If you see a deal I missed, please leave it in the comments below!
Thanks!

              

Produce Coupon for Safeway!

Log in to your Safeway Just 4 U account and make sure you click on your $3 off a $10 produce purchase. If you stick to the $10 mark, that is 30% off. This will make your organic purchases the same prices as regular produce items. I bought apples, zuchini, squash, and kale. I admit it-- this is the first time in my entire life I have ever purchased kale. Anybody know what I am supposed to do with it????

safeway.com

Organic Apples and Bananas on Sale at Safeway

Safeway has 3 types of Organic Apples on sale this week.
Gala
Red
and Golden

All for $1.49 a lb. This will be cheaper than most of the regular types of apples- so you are getting organic cheaper than non-organic. Score!

If you keep apples cool and eat the ripest ones first -- apples can easily last 3 weeks in your fridge.
So try buying enough for 3 weeks. Then you won't get caught buying them next week for $3.99 a lb.

Safeway also has Organic Bananas on sale for $0.79 a lb. Isn't it crazy how expensive bananas have become? 18 months ago I was appalled at paying $0.39 a lb. The cheapest I have seen any banana lately is $0.69 a lb and that was for a regular banana. For only $.10 more a lb you get organic! Since you don't eat the peel of the banana this is one of those foods where you might choose to forgo and instead buy more apples! The choose is yours.

Other deals of note:

Organic Broccoli $1.99 a bunch
Organic Fingerling Potatoes $2.99 for 1.5 lbs
Open Nature 100% Natural English Muffins 2/$4
Van's Organic Waffles $2.49
"Like" them on Facebook to print off a $1 0ff 1 Van's product and get these for $1.49



photo from freedigitalphotos.net

Melinda tries a Larabar

One of the gems of the Safeway Just 4 U program is the FREE products they sneak into your Personalized Price lists. They don't announce it with fanfaire and neon lights, they just sneak it into the middle of your list and see if you catch it.

Last week I saw I had both a Coke Zero and a Larabar for free. And since they are food items-- you don't even have to pay taxes. Wahoo! I love when they do this because it allows me to try something I would never have spent money on. And who knows, maybe I'll find my new favorite.

I found the Larabars near the Vitamins. I thought they would be in the health food section, but it was near the protein bars and atkins diet bars.

The label read Larabar The Original Fruit and Nut Food Bar
Fruit and Nuts? What? There has got to be some chocolate somewhere.
Aw yes. Cookie Dough. That will work.

The next day I found myself itching for a snack between meals and thought it would be a perfect time to try my new product. I ripped open the wrapping. I admit, I was a little surprised by it's appearance. It looked alot like fruit and nuts.

I took a bite.

Chocolate. Check. Cookie Dough. Check.

Fruit and Nuts? Also Check.

My mouth was so full of competing flavors I didn't even know what to think. Who puts fruit in a chocolate chip cookie? Despite the fact that I really had no idea if I was intrigued or repulsed I took another bite. The texture was good. Not grainy or powdery like some of the other health bars. It was smooth and chewy with the nuts and chips providing a nice contrast. However- I have to say the mash up of a fruit and nut bar with a chocolate cookie dough bar is strange and a little alarming. It's like Sandra Bullock and Jesse James.  A small part of you is surprised and delighted and hopes for the best. But deep down, you know it's plain wrong.

Arrowhead Mills Coupon

Arrowhead Mills has a coupon for $1 off one of their breakfast products.
Wait for your favorite to go on sale or go to Safeway and buy Arrowhead Mills Puffed Wheat cereal for $1.79.
Only $0.79 after coupon!
The boxes aren't as big as the sugar cereals, but it's a great price for a natural cereal product.

Thanks to www.thefrugalfind.com for this deal!

Go to www.coupons.com to snag your Arrowhead Mills coupon.

Safeway Just 4 U and FREE Larabar

I got my weekly email from Safeway this morning and my Just 4 U has a free Larabar coupon inside. Sweet.  I love when they do this because it gives me a chance to try a product I normally would not buy. Who knows-- maybe it's my new favorite.
If you haven't already, sign up for the Just 4 U program at Safeway.com. You'll get a FREE dozen eggs just for signing up. Then each week you can go through their coupon list and load the coupons directly onto your Safeway Rewards card. They have 2 sections for coupons-- the first is manufacturer's coupons. These can not be combined with paper coupons. The second section is personalized deals just for you. I have found some true gems in there and when combined with paper coupons, I've been able to get All Natural Peanut Butter for .37 and Barbara's cereal for under $1.50, for example. The 3rd section is a list of all the items on sale at your local Safeway. It's always good to check these prices, you might have a coupon to match up with something that turns into quite a bargain.

Many people feel Safeway is very expensive. And it's true-- if -- you don't shop the sales and use your coupons. If you shop the opportunities, you will find you spend more and more time at Safeway. Unless you live near a Winco and then I am just jealous. I purchase about 70% of my groceries at Safeway. I go to Raleys / Nob Hill about 20% of the time when they have items I really want on sale or have enticing coupons (they issue new online coupons every Wednesday). The last 10% of my grocery shopping is spread out between The Grocery Outlet, Target, and Lucky.  I only go to those stores when they have an advertised special I simply can't pass up.

So first step:
Sign up for Just 4 U
at
www.safeway.com