Dillon’s: Spent $13.78
There wasn’t much we needed to buy in the way of groceries this week, so I just made a quick trip to Dillon’s and the health food store to get some of the deals.
The Health Food Store: Spent $20.15
Two of my children are currently off milk, so I was thrilled to be able to get these markdown prices on the hemp, almond and rice milk! We’ll use the chocolate milk to make Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies. It’s a delicious treat for a hot afternoon. I want to get some popsicle molds so I can freeze it and make homemade fudgsicles, too.
Also shown in the picture is the raw sugar my friend Angie found clearanced to just $1.25 per pound at another Dillon’s location. She picked up 10 pounds for me. (It’s such a wonderful thing to have fellow frugal friends who are always on the lookout for deals and willing to snatch up extras when they find them!)
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Crystal, How did you find the markdowns when you shopped at Whole Foods? I looked today when I was in the neighborhood, but couldn’t find a single one. I asked the produce guy if they ever marked down produce and he only explained the sales flier to me. We’re switching from conventional produce to organic produce, but would love to be wise with our budget in doing so. Thanks!!
I go to a local health food store that does daily markdowns (not Whole Foods Market — how I miss that place!). I don’t think Whole Foods Market does markdowns, at least I don’t recall ever seeing them when we lived in Kansas City.
Crystal, have you ever looked for an Amish grocery store in your area?
When we lived in DE I would drive an hour to Lancaster several times a year to buy “dry goods” (flour, oatmeal, rice, pasta, spices, sugar, raisins, etc). The prices were OUTSTANDING … 58 cents per pound for raw sugar, 33 cents per pound for oatmeal, etc. !!!!
I’m searching really hard for a similar store near Pittsburgh. =)
Yes, unfortunately, we don’t have one around here. But we do have a bulk foods store in a somewhat nearby town that has pretty good prices on a number of things. That’s usually where I buy my raw sugar from, but if I can get it for the same price and save the drive, I’m all for that!
In regards to the milk issue, I saw many questions for Crysta on why no dairy, and thought of my own situation being able to explain. Both of my boys could not tolerate the protein in milk called casein as babies. It is different than lactose(the sugar in dairy) intolerance. It caused inflammation in the intestine and digestive tract resulting in extreme fussiness and gassiness and in many babies, it causes reflux and spit-up issues often treated with drugs for the symptoms. In any form, the casein was not good and caused my second son to bleed(intestinally)-imagine my horror when he was 5 weeks old and I saw the diaper. It was scary. I did a lot of research on dairy(namely from cows’ milk) since then and found many studies on why dairy and soy(most soy is gmo unless it is organic by the way!) is really not good for us in large quantities all of the time for many reasons other than casein. I stopped eating all dairy and soy for over a year because I was nursing him and he was the happiest baby again. I also felt much more energy and lost weight. It was amazing because my eczema also cleared up completely. It doesn’t hurt to give up dairy as long as you have a calcium and protein source that replaces it. Milk is marketed to us by the dairy industry as a big source for many nutrients, but it does not mean you have to have it. Calcium can be found in many vegetables. For me, it was easy to give up because the result was harm to my baby; there was no wavering for me. It was so hard to go a whole summer and a half without ice cream or pizza! Now I do have it, but it is not as much.
Wow – great deals! 🙂 No good deals here – our local Farmer’s Market here in town just opened back up on Saturday for the season. I am both a volunteer and someone who helped to get the Market started last year. I totally blew our food budget for the week and came home with lots of locally grown and organic produce. Not cheap but it sure is tasty!
This is in regards to making the frozen treats. I recently came across a great idea and a way to re-use something. Save the holders to ring pops and next time you make something sweet your wanting to freeze put it in some ice cube trays and put the ring pop holders in to use as a handle.
🙂
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
My kids were off of dairy for a long time, too. They reacted with the slightest amounts. Recently, I found a treatment for allergies called NAET. I thought I was crazy when I first started trying it with my youngest, but now both of my kids have been through the non-invasive treatments and we have no more food limitations in our house!! It has been amazing! Sometimes I still buy the alternative milks when they are on a good sale, but it’s so nice to not have to always buy them!
I would love to know how you would make the homemade fudgesicles. Can you email that to me.
I’ve used almond, rice, and soy milk in everything that you would use regular milk for and most of the time no one can tell the difference in my house. I will say though, using regular milk works best for fluffy scrambled eggs and when I used the alternatives with eggs my fam can tell! lol its a little sweeter and they are not as fluffy! there’s a great site for recipes called vegweb.com, I found lots of alternative ways to cook healthy on there!
You made the comment about needing to buy popsicle molds. I use ice cube trays to make mine. I put what I want to freeze (Juice, pudding, etc) and put in a popsicle stick. when they are doneI run warm water over the bottom and they pop right out! I put the ones we do not eat in a freezer bag! 🙂 yummy! and cheap!
Was that milk close to exp date? can you freeze those cartons?
Crystal, Have you tried the Vita-Mix recipes for almond milk and rice milk?
Crystal, you mentioned that two of your kids are off milk now. Have you looked into raw milk? Most people who can’t digest pasteurized, homogenized milk have no problem with clean, whole, raw milk.
I grew up with raw milk and recently found a source for it in near where I live. The Weston A. Price Foundation (www.realmilk.com) is a great place to start for information and possible sources. Hope this is helpful to you or anyone else looking for healthy alternatives to manage pasteurized milk intolerance.
(If removing milk from your kids’ diets is for another reason entirely, then forgive my assumption and perhaps it will be helpful to others…)
I was wondering what you meant by your kids are off milk too…
Hi Crystal,
I see you are using raw sugar more and more. Can you tell us why you use these for your family and why raw sugar is preferred over regular granulated sugar??? I don’t know if I can make these healthy switces, although I would really like to, because my children are already used to processed sugar at ages 18, 16 and 14!! = (
Yeah, I’m curious too. Raw sugar and white sugar are basically the same, no? I thought you were big on sucanat?
sugar in the raw is a less processed sugar, so is sucanat. Some nutrients are left in the sugar.
http://openforums.titus2.com/forums/t/2562/
I am pretty sure that sugar in the raw has less nutrients left than sucanat.
I like to use Coconut Palm sugar- as it has a lower glycemic level and processes slower in the body.
Using these types of sugars, for me, is just a move toward eating less sugar and when I do it is slightly healthier (but it’s still sugar).
We do a lot of mixing Stevia and the less processed sugars- I find that mixed you never taste the Stevia taste- but I know not everyone likes Stevia.
jen
It’s less processed and it tastes WAY better in coffee than regular white sugar. I just paid over $3 for some Sugar in the Raw last week, so I’m super jealous of that score! 🙂 Yay for Crystal’s friend!
I so agree that it is so much better in coffee/tea, etc.!
You might check Amazon, I’ve heard they have sales on it. I typically buy it for around $1.25/lb. at the bulk food store.
I love deals on soy/almond/coconut/whatever milk! I recently got a large stash of it too and froze it in ice cube trays. When they’re frozen, pop them into plastic containers and use them in smoothies or coffee drinks. Or thaw them for other uses.
If you are headed to Target anytime soon, the store near me has small popsicle molds in the Dollar Spot. I bought some to freeze raspberry lemonade and so far, at least, they’re holding up quite well.
Do you kids have milk allergies or is it for health reasons?
I am off dairy and soy, and two of my kids are also off dairy. I am finding that I can eat almost no processed foods because they all seem to contain soy. I am trying to move to a healthier, homemade food diet, and I was wondering if you could share more about making the switch to more organic and wholesome foods and how you keep that within the budget? I would also love to know if you and your family feel better physically. Thanks!
Have you made your own almond milk? I’ve heard it’s easy!
Almond milk is easy to make. just soak the raw almonds then blend them in your blender with water. Then I strain it thorugh cheese cloth or a pair of panty hose that I cut off the leg. You can use the left over solids in any baked goods.
I wrote a post on it a while back if you want to check it out
http://www.frugalfreebiesanddeals.com/2010/11/homemade-almond-milk-cheaper-and-yummier-than-you-might-think.html
Thanks for the link! I am going to try this recipe. Almond milk is so expensive; even on sale and with coupons I can only get it for $1.95 to $2.45 a carton.
no problem- and if you use the leftover almond meal it is kind of like getting the milk free (almost 🙂
you can dehydrate or freeze the meal
jenetta
I’d love to know some more recipes to use without milk and how you manage and stay sane cooking and baking without it. It’s hard to switch to a no-milk diet – I found almost all meals I made contained cheese, milk or something related!!
I found that almost everything I previously ate contained dairy, so it has been a struggle. I have a section on my blog for dairy free recipes. Just click my name on this response and it will take you to that section. I also go to food.com and use the advanced search to specify I want to find recipes that are lactose-free. That helps too.
The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book has really helped our family bake dairy-free. Your library probably has a copy.
http://www.amazon.com/Food-Allergy-Mamas-Baking-Book/dp/1572841028
http://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com is a great place for learning about whole foods with great recipes. I believe Laura (Heavenly Homemakers) has even blogged about her family’s journey to healthier eating.
I purchased some Chocolate Hazelnut Milk to use in chocolate smoothies, but haven’t used it yet since I wasn’t sure how it would work. But, I’m glad to see someone else uses alternative milk in smoothies, so I won’t be frightened now 🙂
Wow! What a great deal for your family on the marked down rice and almond milk. It just goes to show that we all should look for those bargains that are right for our own families.
Crystal, you might want to check out Tupperware.com for the popsicle molds. I got some years ago and they held up great!
I keep trying my Health Food Store and there are rarely markdowns 🙁 Is there a good time of day or good day of the week to look for mark downs? I’ve noticed my local Meijer grocery store often has produce mark downs in the morning (7am-9am) sometimes I get lucky there. What other strategies to people have for finding mark downs? Guess it’s all in timing.
I’ve actually become a bit obsessed with markdowns. My local grocery store is good about marking down lunchmeat and dairy items. I’ve started scanning the expiration dates and making a mental note (would be even smarter to write it down) to return a couple days before the items expire. I watched several cartons of Silk coconut milk for a week and when they were three days from expiring, I asked if they’d mark them down and they happily did. Same with Buitoni pesto…it doesn’t sell fast and I just ask to have it marked down a couple days before it expires. And of course, carefully watch for the markdowns–orange and yellow stickers at my store. I especially love lunchmeat markdowns because I often have coupons for those items.
Don’t hesitate to ask for a markdown if it’s close to expiring!
Just ask!! They may not always know, but it never hurts!!
I stalked the guy who deliveres the Sara Lee Bread (for my hubby, since the rest of us are gluten free) to my local 99cent Only Store to find out which days they deliver and what time. It saves me trips and trouble.
jen
I was able to get a liz lange for target shirt this week for only 24 cents using the $3 online coupon. I was also able to get Nexcare band-aids (2 boxes) for only 13 cents a box, at Target also. 🙂
Somewhat related, I’ve been meaning to ask you where you buy your sucanat. I stock up during holiday season sales at our local co-op but I didn’t buy nearly enough this year. Do you go through Amazon?
Meijer was having a buy 5 save 5 at the register 2 day sale I did 4 transactions of 5 oscar mayer deli fresh lunch meatand it came down to 7.45 a transaction after instant savings I used a Meijer Q for 1 off 2 (u could only use one per trans) and 2 $1 off2 man. Coupons bringing it to 4.75 a transaction….then the best part was u got $4 on your next order from the cat. Machine…making it like paying .75 for FIVE packs of lunch meat! Wow!