KC Moms: 1 Day left for Hy-Vee Deals!

I apologize for not getting this posted yesterday. Hy-Vee is running some awesome specials through today, Sunday Jan. 17th. You can get some amazing deals if you have time to stop in. Please not, we don't shop the center aisles much, so there are probably some great finds down them as well.

Also, I can't say enough good things about the store at 40 Hwy and Noland Rd. It's really worth the trip for us to go there from Blue Springs. I'll even tell you why. According to my Uncle, who worked for a while as a butcher after he retired from the force, meat department managers are allowed to set their own sales. They have a specific quota to meet (hee hee) and it's up to them how they do it. Well, the meat manager at this location is one smart cookie! He runs 2-3 amazing specials every day (in the past, he's had fresh ground buffalo 2.50/lb and smart chicken for $1/lb for instance). It's always changing and since it is location specific, it's not advertised. he also runs the dairy department, so there are great deals there. Anyway, I save bravo to him! I'm sure he's meeting those quotas just fine from the swarms of people shopping the store.

Sorry no picture for this trip! We did have 8-10 bags of groceries for less than $50 though.
Dairy
Kraft Natural Shredded Cheese 5 for $6 + get a $5 coupon good toward your next transaction - that's like getting 5 bags of cheese for $1! You can only do this deal once per transaction. When Josh and I got there, we each went through the line, bought 5 bags of cheese, got our $5 coupon, and went back to finish grocery shopping!
eggs - large dozen 99¢ w/ coupon in store flyer available at door or online
Horizon Naturals Yogurt Little Blends 4 pack for 39¢ - set to expire on the 19th, but you can freeze them! (this deal may be limited to the location at 40 hwy and noland)
Smart Balance 16 oz sour cream - 78¢ (may be limited to 40 hwy and noland location)
Horizon Organic Eggnog - 99¢ (may be limited to 40 hwy and noland location)
Hy-Vee Orange Juice - 99¢

Frozen
Blue Bell Pints 4/$5 - bit of a splurge for us, but Josh loves them and it is a really great price.

Produce
Bananas - 28¢/lb! (Varying levels of ripeness too)
Jonagold Apples - 69¢/lb
Red and Golden Delicious Organic Apples - 1.18/lb (advertised, but not avail. at 40/noland)

Meat
Smart Chicken Ground - $1/lb (in a tube frozen near dairy at 40/noland)
We are picky on our meats, but I'm sure the 40/noland store is running lots of great specials!

Health Market
Boca burgers - $2.67/package (probably a coupon out there for these)
Kashi single serving Roll bars - $1.20 ea -$1 peelie = 20¢
Hansen soda (select varieties) $3/6pack

So here's a run-down of everything we got and our total cost (please note I was shopping with Josh, so there were some splurges in there that brought our bill up about $10 )

1st and 2nd trip through line
Kraft shredded cheese 5 for $6, received $5 coupon (did this twice)
OOP=$12

Barbasol Shaving Cream - $1
Diapers (James has outgrown his cloth) - $5.99
Eggs - $1.60
Egg nog - 99¢
Orange Juice - 99¢
Horizon yogurt 4 packs - 39¢ x 5
Smart Balance sour cream - 78¢
Boca burgers - $2.67
Kashi bar - $1.25
Hansens 6 pack - $3
Sahale Nuts (fancy pants snack nuts for Josh) - $4.69 x2
Blue Bell Ice Cream Pints - $1.25 ea x 6
Bananas - 4 1/2 lbs - $1.31
Apples - 2 1/2 lbs - $1.82
Celery - 98¢
Smart Chicken - 4lbs - $4

Total $48 - $10 from cheese deal - $1/kashi coupon - 61¢/eggs coupon
OOP= $35.76 (even with my having my husband there)

Organic and Natural Grocery Deals for the week of 1/10

Whole Foods (Overland Park, MO location - check your local ad for the same sales here

Stonyfield fat-free yogurt (listed as o'soy in ad, but it's the fat-free in store!) 2/$1 + coupon in Whole Deal flyer B4G1 = 5 for $2
There are also Stonyfield coupons available at their website for 50¢ off 3.
Ground tukey breast 2.99/lb ($3 off)
Kashi Go Lean Cereal 2.99 (look for $1 peelies)
Mangoes $1
Cara Cara Oranges $1/lb (so sweet, look for a sample!)
Kettle Chips 2 for $4

Target
Kashi Cereal 2.75 ($1/1 and $3/2 peelies on cereal boxes!) Buy 2 boxes for $1.25 ea w/ $3/2 peelie
In case your store doesn't have peelies, you can also print 75¢ coupons at target.com
Earth's Best Organic Waffles $2.39 (Use $1/2 Sesame Street products here)
Target.com also has a number of Kashi coupons for printing, I believe they are MFG and can't be combined with other Kashi coupons but if I am wrong please let me know.

Target Organic and Natural Deals

DH and I have decided that we have to be more selective about what brands we buy and our goal is to move toward 100% organic, natural or locally produced foods. So I went to Target tonight to pick up a few things, most of which were not part of this resolution, and wound up buying a ton of stuff! This was definitely an unexpected stock-up trip. DH and DS should be set on cereal, crackers, and granola bars for a while (I'm currently restricted from eating a lot of what I bought - cry).

Here's a little pic of what I got for $64:


Now let me break it down for you:
1 Cascadian Farm Organic cereal (2.50-$1/1 MQ)=$1.50
4 boxes Kashi Cereal
4 boxes Kashi Crackers
7 boxes Kashi granola bars
1 Box Kashi cookies (b/t 2.50-2.75/each X 16 - $3/2 X8) = $15.74
2 Kashi frozen pizzas (4.55X2-$3/2 peelie)= $6.10
5 boxes of Annie's Homegrown Mac-n-Cheese ($1X5) = $5
Package of 3 organic Romaine Hearts ($1.59)
1 bunch organic bananas (89¢/lb)
1 dozen organic brown eggs ($2.29)
1 box Morningstar Veggie burgers
1 box Morningstar Chikn nuggets (2.99x2 - $1/1x2 MQ - $2/2 TQ) = 99¢X2
Jumbo pack of Huggies Pure and Natural diapers(18.49-$3 MQ) = $15.49
2 64 oz bottles Mots 4 Tots juice (1.79X2 - $1/1X2 MQ) = 79¢ X2
1 bag of Purina Cat Chow (3.99 - $1 MQ) = $2.99
2 10 lb bags of Tidy Cats (1.77X2 - $1/1X2 MQ)= 77¢ X2

Total OOP= $64.51
Total savings with price cuts and coupons=$86.41

The great Kashi $3/2 coupons were peelies on their cereal boxes. If you don't find peelies on the Kashi cereal at your store, make sure to check their granola bars and crackers as I've found them there before too!

KC Moms Frugal Find: Necessities Consignment

There are a lot of great consignment shops in the K.C. area, but sadly many of them cater to the pint size crowd or the size zero audience, since most of us moms fall into neither category, it seems like we miss out on a lot. So the other day when I decided I wanted to upcycle a sweater using this tutorial, I wondered if I would be forced to visit Goodwill for old sweaters, and then I remembered Necessities. The unassuming little shop sits on the corner of Walnut and 7 Hwy in Blue Springs with a sign that declares it open only on Tuesdays -Saturday. As lucky would have it, it was a Tuesday!

I found that Necessities was a nice little mix of consignment, garage sale, and antiques housed in a series of tiny rooms in an old home. There was a certain warmth to the atmosphere and the prices were excellent.

In all I walked away with a J.Crew wool sweater for my scarf project, a wool cape/cloak thing, and an American Eagle sweater for $19 - all of which are being transformed into hipper, upcycled clothes. So if you'd like a quiet, eclectic shopping experience I'd recommend checking it out.

Kansas City Coupon/Ad Deals - Thanksgiving Dinner

Price Chopper - Mrs. Smith pies $1.97 - $1 coupon from KC Star = $.97
Best Choice Turkey $.40/lb w/$25 purchase= lowest price in all Sunday's ads if you're doing a lot of PC shopping
Swanson Broth $.47 -$.25/4 = $1.63

Target (will price match w/ads!)
10 lb russet potato $1.99
Market Pantry Turkey $.68/lb = lowest price runner up
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce $.95
Del Monte canned veggies $.45/each - 1.00/8 = $2.60
French's Onions $2.75 - $1.00/1 = $1.75
Reddi Whip $1.89- .50/1 = $1.39

in progress still!

Full moon drumming

I took James to participate in a drumming circle tonight. It was such a beautiful way to introduce him to group music. We arrived at twilight and enjoyed watching a family of deer graze at the edge of the field, undisturbed by the growing group of people appearing with drums around a bonfire. It is such a peaceful location, I suppose even the animals feel safe. We took his little coffee can drum, but he soon decided he wanted a real drum. He took off his shoes, ran and danced in the grass, picked clovers and made friends with the rest of the group. If you have a Unity church near you, you might be able to attend a drum circle. They are open to folks of all denominations, sexual orientation, ethnicities, etc. And if you are in the K.C. area, I'll be sure to post before the next one.

What $41 in Groceries Looks Like and an Awesome Way to Remember your Veggies!

I'm pretty proud of myself this evening. I took to the grocery store sans the kid, which always makes it a little easier, and came home with this:



Unlike a lot of other mom bloggers I know, I can't stock up too much. I know a lot of the best money-saving moms out there stock up on meat one week, dry goods the next, focusing on what is on sale. That's a great idea, but there are two things standing in our way. First, we need a second fridge. Second, the hubby and I are foodies. Meaning that it's hard enough to try and plan a week in advance. Thankfully, I am a frugal foodie, but my husband is not, so I try to meet him in the middle. It also means we don't have a lot of processed or premade meals in the house. We keep cereal, chicken nuggets, and some mac n cheese and that is about it. So I've been trying to get the most bang for my buck, bringing home produce, meat, and other sale items each week.

Here's what I got from Hy-Vee in Blue Springs:

red bell pepper
organic red grapes
bananas
red onion
chives
sweet potatoes
baby carrots

flour tortillas
spaghetti
elbow macaroni
penne rigata
large bag of popcorn kernals

3 cans of pork and beans for upcoming bbq!
2 cans pineapple
medium size honey
2 cans of pringles (a special treat for hubby, since Walgreens had them for $1 and I had a buy 2 get $1 off coupon)

3.25 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
2 pounds ground beef
1 package turkey sausage

1 roll of Bounty paper towels
1 package of brown paper lunch sacks to use for making popcorn
1 package freezer storage bags
1 package sandwich storage bags

and a gallon of milk, of course

not too shabby.....

Now I promised an awesome way to remember your veggies, and I don't just mean eating them! If you are like me, you come home with some asparagus and throw it in the crisper and promptly forget about it until it has gone bad. There are two ways to combat this. First, only buy veggies and fruit for the week never longer. Second, make a fruit/veggie basket.*



Take your veggies for the week and put them where you can see them in your fridge. I'm not sold that the crisper does much to help crispness anyway. You'll be more likely to use them if you can see them.

* Don't forget that putting apples and tomatoes together will encourage ripeness. This is great if you have a green tomato but not so great if it is already ripe, so you may want to keep them separate.

Savings Sunday - great coupons and deals (KC friendly)

I had a lot of fun clipping today's coupons from the paper, but I was disappointed that there was no RedPlum insert this week! I'm highlighting some great finds for you from Price-Chopper, Hy-vee, and CVS!

Price Chopper
Take advantage of the Buy 3 boxes of Kellogg's for $12, get 3 boxes free at KC area Price Choppers. Last Sunday's paper also had coupons for $1 and $1.50 off boxes. If you have relatives who get the paper, you might try to snag a few. You can use up to 6, making each box $.50 or less!

Hy-Vee
Betty Crocker brownies are on sale for $.88/box. Use a coupon from bettycrocker.com for $.75 off two boxes and get two bozes for $1.01

CVS
Schick Quattro razors are on sale for $7.99 with $3.00 back in extra care bucks with your CVS card. Use the $4.00 off a Schick Quattro razor in Sunday's paper and spend only $.99

My grocery trip to Price Chopper

1.75 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breast
2 lb rump roast
1 lb butter
2 lbs seedless grapes
2 lbs sweet potatoes
1 lb on the vine tomatoes
1 vidalia onion
4 packages of shredded cheese
2 packages of Kraft American Singles
6 boxes of Kelloggs cereal
1 box of Cheez-Its

Total Spent $41 and change
Total saved over $40