Feingold Finds

If you are not familiar with the Feingold diet, check out this link.

Or, the short version is that Feingold makes my life so much better. And it can help you avoid unnecessary chemicals and additives in your diet. The major things being eliminated on the Feingold diet are artificial colors, flavors & preservatives, all things that have been proven to cause behavioral or learning difficulties in children. And in my experience, even an adult can react to foods with these ingredients. Also, in the first stage of the diet all natural Salicylates are removed and then slowly reintroduced.

In my family we have not yet been able to reintroduce those foods. It seemed like a challenge at first but compared to the challenges we face when Maya eats those things, it's small fries.

So, these items may not seem like health food, and many of them are not that at all. But you can be assured that they are free of synthetic colors, flavors, BHA, BHT, TBHQ, and synthetic sweeteners. Sometimes these items are not listed in the ingredients of a product, so having my Feingold Foodlist has been priceless.
I can't specifically list which items are feingold approved so you will need to refer back to your food list.

Current Deals at Publix:

Kashi Crackers 2/$5
Kashi TLC Honey Sesame Crackers
There are a ton of Kashi coups going around, peelies on many items in the store. Publix has a Kashi coupon booklet with $1/1 Kashi Crackers, and many of the cereal boxes have a $3 coupon booklet peelie which has a $1/1 coup in it for crackers.

Kashi Cereal $2/5
Go Lean Crunch, Go Lean original, Honey Puffed Kashi, Puffed Kashi

Tostitos Tortilla Chips
Check your foodlist for approved types.
Buy one Get one Free
There have been a variety of coupons available for these lately including peelies on the bags themselves-- be on the lookout!

Mazola Corn Oil 2/$5
Remember than many oils are preserved! Always use an approved oil.

Kelloggs Crispix 2/$5

Let me know if you see anything else! I'll keep adding/updating after my shopping trip today if I see anything else!
I'm off to shop!

Definition of Healthy

So I'm fairly certain I'm going to get into some debates over whether or not the items I post on this blog are healthy.
I'm ok with that. I guess i want to start out by clarifying my intentions. Some of the items I post here will be because the are Feingold approved. It can be expensive to stay on the Feingold Diet because you can't just buy whatever is on sale. So, if I find a Feingold approved item for a good price I will let people know. Sometimes this might be "natural" cheetos. Not a healthy food by my standards, still cool as an occasional snack for a kid on a special diet.
Sometimes I will find deals on organic items, but for the most part my goal is to find the best in each category, to find grocery items with fewer ingredients, more whole foods, and ways to save on produce and basic pantry needs like grains, beans, flour, etc.
So feel free to chime in with your definition of healthy, but know that I am just doing my best to provide my family with better choices.

Welcome!

Hi!
Welcome to Purely Saving.
My intention is to create a blog for those of us who want to eat healthy foods and still live on a budget.

I'm meli. I'm thirty years old and have a 4 year old daughter who is on the Feingold Diet. You can read up on that here or just watch this video.

My husband and I were vegan for the past six years, until a recent health scare made me adapt back to a vegetarian diet. We definitely have plans to stay mostly if not entirely vegan in the near future. For the time being, we are selective vegetarians trying to eat right on a very small budget.

Even if you are not following a special diet, who doesn't want to save money? We've cut back in every area of our lives but food was one thing I did not want to compromise on. My hubby always says "You pay now or you pay later". It's true-- we will either eat well now or suffer the consequences later. But sometimes we just couldn't afford to eat well. That's where couponing came in. I have cut my grocery bill by at least 70% and still managed to eat healthy food.

So, what can you expect to see here?
Deals from national stores like Whole Foods, Target, Walgreens, and CVS. Local deals from Publix, for those of us in the southeast. Ways to use competitor coupons to get the best deal. How to find coupons for organic and natural products. Recipes for ways to use all those yummy healthy things you have stockpiled. A special section on sales/deals for Feingold acceptable items. Deals on environmentally friendly household products. And hopefully a lot more.

So, let me know if you are out there and what it is you need to start living a healthier life.
-meli