Clipping coupons for organic foods- it is possible!

With food prices rising, you can pick up some of the slack with coupons. There may not be as many coupons for organics, but they are out there. You just have to do some leg work.

Make sure to look where you shop. At your local co-op and/or Whole Foods stores, you’ll find some coupons right in the stores. Since they focus on organic and natural foods, you can usually find coupons for the products you really use. Whole Foods usually has some store-only coupons in their brochures that advertise the specials of the month.

Don’t forget the free magazines at the registers either. Mambo Sprouts and Delicious Living often have great coupons in them that you can use at any store that accepts coupons. Sometimes you can find the product on sale and many regular grocery chains double coupons for an added bonus. Delicious Living also has a page on their Web site that links to printable coupons, so make sure to check there before you take your trip to the store.

Manufacturer Web sites are another place to find coupons. Some people also have luck emailing customer service with praise and asking for some coupons. Amy’s sent me some awesome coupons this way.

Here are a few links around the web that you should take a look at:

* Sign up for Muir Glen’s Tomato Connoisseurs Club and you can print out a coupon for $1.00 off any Muir Glen product.
* Organic Valley always has coupons to print out on their Web site. They have a great selection of coupons that usually include cheese, butter and milk.
* Organic Valley’s sister site, Organic Prairie, has some coupons to print out for their organic meat. Right now that includes deli meat, hot dogs, steak and more!
* Horizons Dairy has coupons for butter and Milk Plus DHA Omega-3.
* Turtle Mountain’s sign-up will get you some of their non-dairy frozen dessert coupons by mail.
* Stonyfield Farm also has some tons of yogurt coupons online for you to print out.
* And Brown Cow also has coupons on their site, if they are your favorite brand.
* Take Earthbound Farm’s quiz and they’ll send you a $1.00 off coupon for any Earthbound Farm product.

While Seventh Generation doesn’t make food, they do have great green cleaners and coupons. Another site to sign up with is HealthESavers. They change the coupons monthly, and right now they have a .75 off coupon for Tofurky.

Keep track of how much money you save and the amount of time that you put in. I think you’ll find it’s really worth your while.

Originally posted by Kathy Hester at Divine Caroline.

Join the Stroller Pushers Team as we March For Babies Everywhere!

Join Ethan, Kaiden and Robert as we walk to support the March of Dimes.

One day... all babies will be born healthy

today... too many moms and families know the heartbreak of having a baby born fighting to survive

I've joined March for Babies because the March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. The money we raise for March for Babies will help:

- support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects

- educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby

- provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care

- push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children

Please help by donating today!

It's easy, safe and secure - just click the blog title to link to my personal page and make your donation there!

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Got only 30 minutes?

Your child has been asleep for 1 hour and naptime ends in 30 minutes. If only you hadn't "wasted" that one hour doing the laundry! Now you don't have any time to work out!

Don't relax on the sofa just yet because with these 4 tips you can turn those 30 minutes into a butt busting awesome workout!

1. Figure out what your goals are- weight loss, toning, endurance, etc. Target your workout to directly address these goals. If you only have 30 minutes and want to increase your endurance then focus more on sustaining exercises that are cardio in nature- stair sprints for example. If you are looking to burn fat, than use as much muscle as possible.

Keeping your goal in mind, create a program alternating cardio and weights. For weights do 10 - 15 repetitions per set then move into the cardio for 2-4 minutes. Do not rest in between instead go into the next set. Do two or three circuits. If your goal is endurance then strive towards 5 minute cardio bursts instead of the 2-4 range. If your goal is muscle building then use a slightly heavier weight and do 10 reps slowly (as opposed to 15 reps of a lighter weight).

Example- bicep curls (10), stair sprints (3 min), bicep curls, stairs, bicep curls, stairs

2. 2 is better than one! Do exercises that use 2 sets of muscles- one example is squats with bicep curls. You work upper and lower body at the same time!

Example- bicep curls with squats (10), stair sprints (3 min), bicep curls with squats, stairs, bicep curls with squats, stairs

3. Pair synergistic exercises-two moves that work the same muscles. Usually, the first is a compound move to work a lot of muscles, the second a single-joint exercise to focus on one large muscle. Superset your last of 3 sets with the single joint exercise to really feel the burn and see results quickly in muscle tone and growth.

bicep curls with squats (10), stair sprints (3 min), bicep curls with squats, stairs, bicep curls with squats, stairs, shoulder press with reverse lunge(5 reps then switch sides for 5 more reps), jumping jacks (3 minutes), shoulder press with reverse lunge, jumping jacks, shoulder press with reverse lunge, lateral raise (15 reps)

4. Work your whole body including your abs. Use synergistic and multi-muscle group moves to complete a total body workout. Working your whole body allows you to fatigue every muscle group to see results all over! Also, you won't over work or neglect any muscle groups preventing any training imbalances. Finish off your workout with abs- but make sure to cool down first before laying down to bring the heart rate down slowly and safely.

bicep curls with squats (10), stair sprints (3 min), bicep curls with squats, stairs, bicep curls with squats, stairs, shoulder press with reverse lunge(5 reps then switch sides for 5 more reps), jumping jacks (3 minutes), shoulder press with reverse lunge, jumping jacks, shoulder press with reverse lunge, lateral raise (15 reps), 1 minute cool down walk around the house picking up trash, crunches for 30 seconds, reverse crunches for 30 seconds, and then 2 minutes for stretches.

You have just busted out a total body workout in around 30 minutes! Now pat yourself on the back and wake up that baby!

Say no to sugary drinks!

Sugary Beverage Consumption On The Rise

Over the past two decades, the number of adults consuming sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit drinks and punches has increased dramatically, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“More adults are drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and, among those drinkers, consumption has increased,” said Sara N. Bleich, PhD, lead author of the study. “From 1988 to 2004, the percentage of sugar-sweetened beverage drinkers increased five percent. Per capita consumption of energy from sugar-sweetened beverages increased 46 kilocalories (kcal) per day, and daily sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among drinkers increased 6 ounces per day.”

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was highest among young adults (231-289 kcal/day), who consumed roughly 20% of their sugar-sweetened beverage calories at work, and lowest among the elderly (68-83 kcal/day). Among race/ethnicity groups, the percentage of sugar-sweetened beverage drinkers and per capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was highest among blacks followed by Mexican Americans. Overweight/obese adults who were trying to lose weight were less likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages compared to those who were not, but they still consumed a considerable amount from 1999 to 2004 (278 kcal/day).

“Although this analysis does not attempt to estimate the effect of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on obesity incidence, a number of studies have linked sugar-sweetened beverage consumption to obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said coauthor Youfa Wang, MD, PhD. “Based on these nationally representative surveys, our study found higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption also happened to be among populations at greater risk for obesity. There are few signs of improvement over the past decade and the situation seems to become worse among young adults aged 20 to 44.”

So say no to sugary drinks and instead drink water with a spritz of juice. Or if you feel like you need the fizz than add juice to seltzer water. You may crave the soda for a few days but this is only the withdrawal talking. Stay strong and your will see a difference in your energy, well being and waistline!