Saving on organics

I'm all about saving money, but how do we do that AND eat healthy? In my never-ending quest for the lowest price, I have come across a few hopeful sources for saving a little on foods and household products. While there aren't nearly as many coupons as for processed foods and chemical-laden cleaners, it's a pretty good start. Start with Mambo Sprouts, where you'll find prntable coupons, recipes, product reviews, and more. Several natural/organic producers offer coupons on their websites. These include, but are not limited to:

• Cascadian Farm
• Seventh Generation
• Whole Foods Market
• Stoneyfield Farms
• Coleman Natural
• Horizon - caveat: some products are natural, not organic; know the difference!
• R.W. Knudsen
• Earthbound Farms
• Organic Valley
• MOM's Organic Market
• Organic Prairie
• Newman's Own

Look around the couponing blogs and you're sure to find even more. 8-]

Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

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Weighty Wednesday

Trying to lose weight? Or just eat healthier? When you're eating out, the salad bar is your best bet, right? Maybe not. If you're not careful, you could end up with over 1,000 calories on that 'healthy' plate.

Try these helpful strategies to avoid a weighty disaster:

*Use a smaller plate; limit the number of trips you make.
*Start with the nutrient-rich dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, romaine, and endive.
*Fill up your plate with vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli and tomatoes.
*Pile on the protein with legumes, beans, lean meat, turkey, and crabmeat.
*Take just a small taste of the high-fat food items such as pasta salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw.
*Go easy on extras like croutons, chow mein noodles, crackers, nuts, seeds, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheeses.
*Dress your salad with 2 tablespoons of a low-calorie or light salad dressing, OR only 1 tablespoon of regular salad dressing. Or try a splash of flavored vinegar.
*If the salad bar contains soups, choose a broth-based version over a cream-style selection.
*Allow yourself just a small taste of the whipped topping-jello-fruit combinations.
*For dessert, return to the salad bar for a small plate of fruit topped with a little yogurt or cottage cheese.

SALAD BAR GUIDE

FOOD	AMOUNT	CALORIES	FAT GRAMS
VEGETABLES
Artichoke Hearts	1/4 Cup	20	Trace
Avocado	1/4 Cup	75	8
Bean Sprouts	1/4 Cup	8	Trace
Beets	1/4 Cup	15	0
Bell Pepper	2 Tbsp	3	Trace
Broccoli	1/4 Cup	6	Trace
Carrot, shredded	1/4 Cup	15	Trace
Cauliflower	1/4 Cup	6	Trace
Cucumber	1/4 Cup	4	Trace
Green Peas	2 Tbsp	30	Trace
Letttuce	1 Cup	10	Trace
Mushrooms	1/4 Cup	5	Trace
Olives, ripe	2 Tbsp	30	4
Radishes	2 Tbsp	2	Trace
Spinach	1 Cup	10	Trace
Tomato	1/4 Cup	15	Trace
---
FRUITS
Fruit cocktail, canned in juice	1/4 Cup	35	0
Mandarin Oranges, in juice	1/4 Cup	25	0
Melon, fresh	1/4 Cup	15	0
Peaches, canned in juice	1/4 Cup	25	0
Pineapple, canned in juice	1/4 Cup	35	0
Raisins	2 Tbsp	60	0
Strawberries, fresh	1/4 Cup	10	0
---
BEANS, NUTS, SEEDS
Chickpeas	1/4 Cup	40	<1
Kidney Beans	1/4 Cup	55	Trace
Sunflower Seeds	1 Tbsp	80	7
---
MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, EGGS
Eggs, chopped	2 Tbsp	25	2
Ham, chopped	1 oz	35	1
Shrimp	1 oz	30	<1
Turkey	1 oz	35	<1
Tuna, canned in water	1 oz	35	<1
---
CHEESE, DAIRY
Cottage Cheese, creamed	1/4 Cup	60	3
Cottage Cheese, 1% low fat	1/4 Cup	40	<1
Cheddar Cheese	2 Tbsp	55	5
Mozzarella Cheese	2 Tbsp	40	4
Parmesan Cheese	2 Tbsp	45	3
---
OTHERS
Chow Mein Noodles	1 Tbsp	15	<1
Croutons	1/4 Cup	27	4
Bacon Bits	1 Tbsp	25	2
---
MIXED SALADS
Cole Slaw	1/4 Cup	45	4
Macaroni Salad	1/4 Cup	100	10
Potato Salad	1/4 Cup	100	10
Tuna Salad	1/4 Cup	190	10
Three Bean Salad	1/4 Cup	60	0
---
DRESSINGS
Blue Cheese	2 Tbsp	155	15
Italian	2 Tbsp	160	15
French	2 Tbsp	135	15
Italian, low calorie	2 Tbsp	15	0
Lemon Juice	2 Tbsp	8	0
Oil and Vinegar	2 Tbsp	100	8
1000 Island	2 Tbsp	120	10
Vinegar	2 Tbsp	4	0

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