Saturday, February 20, 2010

Alternative Sugars

Another thing we have been trying to do differently is less SUGAR! We have cut the sugar intake of our family drastically! It makes me happy to know that my kids consume MUCH less sugar than they used to! The only things we use sugar in now are coffee, and sweet tea (which we are also drinking LOTS less of these days, less tea, more coffee-which is probably not good)

SO, what are we using? We have been using mostly honey and sucanat. So far we have been pleased. Sucanat is dehydrated sugar cane juice. We have used stevia just a little, in baking. I have been searching for a good sugar substitute in coffee. Agave Nectar is good, but seems rather expensive. This week at Harris Teeter, we were able to get a few things with their Super Double Coupon deal. As you well know I LOVE coupons and thankfully just because we are eating different, doesn't mean I have to give up coupons! I was able to score some really sweet deals!

One thing I got was Sun Crystals. It is supposedly a natural sweetener that uses only stevia and sugar cane juice. Matt and I tried it in our coffee, but we really didn't like it! :( I wanted to share the idea with you though because I thought someone else might like it! If you go to the link above you can find a free sample of them and I think it is for sure worth trying! I do not regret my purchase at all, and I hope to try the sweetener with something else soon!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Laundry Detergent

Well I tried the laundry detergent again and it went really well! We have used all of the first batch and we were very satisfied with it! So when we finished the first 2 gallons, I was really excited to make more! I made a double batch the second time and I am VERY happy to report that I now have 4 gallons of laundry detergent that cost me MAYBE $4-5!! YAY! I highly recommend this to EVERYONE! It is SO easy!

Vitamins

So one of the many changes that we have made recently is that we have chosen to TRY treating our kids with vitamins and herbs before rushing to antibiotics! So far it has gone REALLY well! We are enjoying it! I am really happy about that, since it is SO much better for them than the antibiotics!

The down side is that vitamins and herbs can be VERY costly! I have been shocked by how much they can cost! SO, I was THRILLED when my friend introduced us to VitaCost. We can order most anything we want from there at almost half the price of local retailers!

Now, most of you started following me b/c you knew of my LOVE for coupons! Well, I have FINALLY gotten my coupon-ing back together and I have been dabbling a bit here and there! Thanks to Money Saving Mom I found an AWESOME deal on vitamins this week! Nature's Bounty vitamins are on sale at CVS Buy One, Get One for a penny! (there were a FEW exceptions) there are also, $2 off Manufacture's coupons here. All you need to do is fill out the registration form and print the coupon! I believe you can print two from each computer you have access to! To print two, you just need to hit the back button! You will also need a CVS card, but those can be gotten at the store!

I was REALLY excited about this because, we have been taking a LOT of probiotics. We were actually needing to order more! I was able to get two bottles (200 wafers) for less than $3! HOW?

They were priced at $11.49 each. I bought two, which was (with my CVS card) $11.50. I was then able to use my two manufacturer's coupons, which was -$4. Bringing my total to $7.50. I then used $6 in Extra Care Bucks (that expired today) bringing my total to $1.50 plus tax!! I think my total was $2.39 or something close to that! It was AWESOME! Even if you don't have any ECB's you can still get two bottles for less than $8 and that is STILL a great deal! If you are after any other vitamins, you might find them cheaper and an even better deal!

Just a couple of warnings-this deal will expire Saturday! So hurry :) And also, the first store I tried this at, would NOT accept two coupons, they said that one bottle was only a penny so they couldn't accept it :( Good new is, the store in Wake Forest, didn't hesitate! They had NO problem accepting it and were happy to do so!

If you need the vitamins I hope you enjoy this sale!