As I’ve mentioned here before, I’ve been really getting more serious about finding deals using coupons, and several people have asked me to try to “demystify” the whole couponing process. There are many, many amazing coupon tutorials out there, and so I wanted to give my personal twist on finding the best deals for Real Food.

As I’ve said many times before, if you want to find the best deals on food, you probably need to forget about one-stop-shopping.  I’m fortunate to live within a 2 mile radius of just about every type of grocery store there is, and I’ve got it figured out exactly what I buy at each store, depending upon the current deals and coupons. 

Rule # 1 With couponing is to NEVER clip a coupon on something you know you won’t use.  That’s not saving money at all.

Rule #2 Invest in a Sunday paper and clip out all of the coupons for products you use anyway; dish soap, diapers, personal care products, and any real food items (they’re rare, but occasionally you’ll find a good coupon for nuts, frozen veggies, nitrate-free cold cuts, or even organic eggs).  The Sunday paper is best for the toothpaste/shampoo/razors coupons, I’ve found.

Rule #2: Get a printer and an ink cartridge and get ready to search the net for coupons! The internet is really the best place to go for the coupons of the products you will really use.  Again, I still probably only use about 20% (or 1 for every 5) coupons I find on the net, but they are out there.  You can start by looking here:

Coupons.Com

See? Sometimes there are actually useful coupons there! Feel free to browse around. You generally only get two prints, however, so keep track of them!

Other Sources:

SmartSource.com
RedPlum.com Red Plum has a great coupon running right now: $5 off a $25 purchase at Rite Aid!  Great for stocking up on sale items you need anyway!  Don’t forget to scour the Rite Aid Weekly!Eat Better America has some addtional frozen veggie (non-organic) coupons that are printable. Great for doubling!

For more organic, earth-friendly coupons:

Mambo Sprouts is a free coupon book dedicated to organic, quality products.  Sign up if you haven’t already! They have coupons for great companies like Organic Valley, Maranatha Nut Butters, Knudesen’s Juices, Celestial Seasonings Teas, Cliff Bars, Earthbound Organics, and much more!

Natural Food Connection has a free newsletter you can sign up for that will send you coupons for organic, natural food products. I haven’t yet received my newsletter, but will let you know if it’s any good when I do!

Vegetarian Times often has several good quality organic coupons availabe through its website.  Simply click on the “Special Offers” tab on the home page, and click on “Coupons”. 

Living Without Magazine occasionally has some printable coupons on their website as well, and there is currently a $0.55 off Almond Thins printable!

Naturally Preferred magazine (found at Fred Meyer, Kroger, and QFC) has great coupons for organic products. They issue a new one each month, found in the Natural Living Section.

Whole Foods’ The Whole Deal magazine has in-store coupons available. I hear they also have a calendar available for purchase which contains several coupons as well.

Company-Direct Websites:

Earthbound Organics  take quiz on their website and you will have a chance to enter your e-mail address and you will be sent a $1 off coupon.

Organic Prairie a good source for nitrate-free bacon, hot dogs, sausages, etc. has 2 high value $1 off printables. This would be great in a store that honors doubles as well (Albertsons, Safeway, Thriftway).

Organic Valley is a cooperative of small, family-owned farms throughout the country that provide organic milk, cream, half and half, butter, pasture butter, raw cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese.  You can access a variety of high value coupons from their website as well, totally $8 in savings. They refresh in March, so even if you have recently printed a few of these, you can likely print two more now since the refresh!

Muir Glen organic tomatoes are an excellent choice, since conventionally grown tomatoes are so likely to be laden with pesticides.  You can get a free printable coupon on their website, and currently they have “peelies” on many of their products in stores.

Cascadian Farm will send you a $1 off coupon when you sign up for their newsletter. These are great to match with in-store coupons at Target, as they often go on sale there. I prefer to use this coupon on frozen veggies rather than cereal, of course!

Organic Grocery Deals is a great forum for getting information on the latest deals and coupon match-ups local organic stores, such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  If you become a member, tell them “OrganicThrifty” sent you!  There is also an online coupon exchange, lots of discussion forums, and helpful info.  There are also printable coupons available.

Health E Savers is a website with printable organic foods and supplement coupons. On their website you have an opportunity to sign up for a weekly e-mail to receive even more printable organic coupons. If their sponsors are any indication, you might expect to see coupons for Country Life, Bob’s Red Mill, and Carlson’s!

Knudsen’s Juices has 3 valuable coupons for their products on their website. Again, pair these with a sale or a deal and this is a great price.  Do I need to explain why you should NEVER, EVER drink non-organic juice?  It rhymes with “nesticides”.

Santa Cruz organics offers $0.75 off their peanut butters (you know what’s wrong with nonorganic peanut better, right?) and their sparkly “Celebration Drinks”.  This will also work great with doubles at Albertson’s or Safeway!

Seventh Generation allows you to become a member of their site and offers lots of great coupons. These go on sale regularly as well, so you can get “stock up” deals on dish soap, cleaner, and diapers!

Hormel (I know, I know, probably not the greatest) but they do offer a gluten-free, all-natural, MSG/Nitrate-Free lunch meat that is servicable, and on their website you can find a $0.55 off coupon. This also is great for when they go on sale at Safeway, and you can use your weekly Safeway Double to get $1.05 off!

Al Fresco offers nitrate-free, preservative-free, chicken sausages in gourmet flavors. Sign up for their newsletter and get $1.00 off!

Applegate Farms will send you a $1.00 off coupon when you sign up for their mailing list. This company makes delicious nitrate-free bacon.

Join the Bakery on Main Healthy Living Club and receive a $1.50 off coupon, along with many special offers. Bakery on Main offers gluten-free, refined-sugar free, additive-free granolas.

Brown Cow organic yogurt now has printable e-coupons!

Coleman Natural Meats offers antibiotic, hormone, and preservative-free meats such as the “Rocky” and “Rosie” chickens, as well as sausages and hot dogs. If you take their survey, you will be sent 5 $1 coupons!

Enjoy Life Gluten-Free Foods has a $0.55 off printable you can download from the website.

Food Should Taste Good (offering delicious, gluten-free tortilla chips with unique flavors)has  $1 off printable coupon on their website as well as an opportunity to e-mail a coupon to a friend (your husband?)!.

Okay, it’s late, and this is just scratching the surface.  Stay tuned, keep checking back for weekly coupon deals I’ll post about! 

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday.

New Seasons Market is celebrating their 10-year anniversary this week with “Roll Back Prices” reflective of the year 2000 when they opened!  I was pretty impressed with all of the deals going on there this week. If you have a Chinook Book or a Mambo Sprouts Coupon Catalogue, you can score some great match-up deals!

Here are some of the notable deals I found:

2 lbs Tillamook Cheddar $4.99

Kettle Chips 10 for $10

Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes 10 for $10
Join the Muir Glen Connoissuer’s Club and Get $1/1 Coupon
Free after coupon!

GT Dave’s Kombucha $1.99

Westbrae Organic Beans (Canned) $10 for 10

Maranatha Organic Peanut Butter $2.99
Use $1/1 Mambo Sprouts Winter Catalogue
$1.99 After Coupon

Cascadia Farms Organic Granola $2.50
Join the Cascadia Farms Online Community for $1/1
$1.50 After Coupon

Pacific Natural Foods Organic Soups $1.50 ea.
$1/1 from Chinook Book
$0.50 each After Coupon

Knudson Organic Juice $2.50
$1/1 from Healthy Clippings Coupon Book (at Customer Service Counter)
$1.50 each After Coupon

Stiebrs Cage Free Eggs $1.50
BOGO Coupon in Chinook Book
$0.75 each when you buy 2!

Yogi Tea $2.99 each
$1/1 from the 2/7 Smart Source (I believe)
$1.99 After Coupon

7th Generation Diapers $8.99
$2/1 7th Generation Diapers or Baby Wipes MF Coupon I found at Naturpath Office
$6.99 After Coupon!

Organic Valley Organic Milk $2.99 (Half Gallon)
Printable $1/1 Organic Valley Coupons Here
$1.99 After Coupon!

Note: This is a STEAL if you want to make homemade organicyogurt! You couldn’t buy a quart of organic yogurt for a $1.00, could you? Matsoni is super easy! See my resources page for starters!

Organic Valley Cottage Cheese $3.50
Printable $1/1 Organic Valley Coupons Here
$2.50 After Coupons

Organic Valley Organic Organge Juice $3.99
$1/1 Mambo Sprouts Winter Catalogue
$2.99 After Coupon

Coconut Bliss Ice Cream $3.50
$1/1 Chinook Book Coupon
$2.50 After Coupon

Organic Broccoli and Cauliflower $0.99/lb

Spectrum Organic Ground Flax Meal $5.00
$2/1 any Spectrum Essentials Supplement from Chinook Book
$3.00 After Coupon!

These deals are seriously hot, and there are more I haven’t mentioned, so check them out at New Seasons Market’s website. This week will be full of freebies, samples, prizes, and “surprise unadvertised” specials, so if you follow them on twitter you can get the scoop!

This post has been contributed to Pennywise Platter Thursday, and is dedicated to all my fellow frugal Portlanders who don’t frequent New Seasons much due to the higher prices. This week is your chance! Let’s show this wonderful store that we appreciate their lower prices, and perhaps send them a message to do this more often!