My Best Produce Secret, Bountiful Baskets

image from: http://peekatmypaper.blogspot.com/

I just got back from my weekly trip to the park to pick up my fruits and veggies for the week. Confused? Maybe I should explain... my dear friend Lani and I go half and half every week on our co-op picks from Bountiful Baskets. 

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ 

I discovered Bountiful Baskets about a year and a half ago and was amazed at how much produce you can get for only $15.00! The best part is that this is restaurant quality produce, so you know it's going to taste great. 

Here's what was in our basket today:

8 bananas 

6 apples

6 pears

1 bag of green grapes

1 package of red grapes

1 package mushrooms

1 head romain lettuce

3 heads broccoli

2 green acorn squash

1 honeydew melon

2 cucumbers 

2 tomatoes 

Now you can see why we need to split it in half! For those of you with bigger families though, you may find that this fits your needs perfectly. They offer every weekend, and you have to sign up a week ahead (see the schedule for your area), but you're not obligated to buy every time which is a great perk if you only want to do it every couple of weeks, if you have a family vacation planned, etc.

Here's a list of the states that they offer in:

Arizona

Utah

Colorado

Wyoming

Texas 

Idaho

Nevada

Washington

The price is $15 for the traditional basket, or $25 for the organic one.

Enjoy and happy Saturday!

Good Buy, Enchilada Sauce

I know, I know, really late notice, but I just got done with my grocery shopping for the week ahead and found a GREAT buy! At Food City they have single day sales, and today they have their 28 oz. cans of Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce on sale for $1.00 each! That's right, you'd pay $1.78 at the least for these babies on any normal day. The limit is 4, so you know I stocked up. That means we have plenty for our delicious shredded chicken enchiladas for awhile. Yum! 

Speaking of grocery shopping, I only spent $24 this week! Mind you I'm going to pick up some basil and pancetta early next week for my favorite dinner of all - Vodka Cream Pasta. Still, that will only put us at about $30 for the week! This is phenomenal in comparison with the amount of money I used to spend in the past... seriously, the amount would make you ill, don't ask! 

Use Coupons, Save Money!

*Standing up* Hello, my name is Jessica, and I'm a couponer. 

Yes, at first it can feel a little weird to get into using coupons, I mean come on, that's not what us young people do. That's what the mother of your childhood best friend did who had six kids and only let you use two sheets of t.p. Well ladies, I'm excited to announce that I am now a frugalista and have saved oodles of cash in the past month through using coupons and by shopping smart! It takes time, and practice, and I know I personally have a long way to go, but it works and I'm so excited to share my tips and tricks! Let's face it, would you rather throw your money down the drain, or save it for something that means more to you; like for me, a vacation!  

What is the trick you ask? Well since there are a ton of them, this will be an ongoing discussion on my blog, but first let's talk about the concept of using coupons. Think the Sunday paper is the only route to go? No way my friends, there are mailers delivered throughout the week, online coupon sites, CVS/Walgreens bucks and store specific coupons that you can load onto your frequent shoppers card that will automatically process when you checkout! There are probably even more resources out there, and trust me, once I find them I'll be sharing! 

For now, my first tip is going to be about the Sunday paper. Every Sunday morning I make my weekly trip over to the Family Dollar down the road where I can get the paper for only a buck! There's your first savings right there! I personally am only buying one a week right now, but I hear that when you get mad skills at clipping coupons, you end up buying multiple copies. Speaking of the paper, did you know that you can see what coupons are going to be coming out every weekend before hand? It's true, just go to www.sundaycouponpreview.com/ and then you can decide if you want to buy more than one copy of the paper that week depending on what deals are being offered. Need an example, lets say you've got a baby and see that there's going to be a great coupon insert for Johnson's baby products. Well in that case you could pick up a couple of papers (or more depending on your need) and stock up on the coupon so that you can get those great savings on more than one item. 

I'm so excited to share much more with you all. My next coupon post is going to be about my great coupon binder that is my best resource. You'll quickly find that I love things to be organized, it's more efficient and helps me keep my sanity! Until then, happy clipping!