What Do You REALLY Gain From Coupon Shopping?

I caught a few minutes of that food coupon show on one of the cable channels today.

I've taken a stab at it a few times during those years when my kids were small. But I'm not so sure you gain much with all that bargain quantity.  I have to question the nutritional value of  a stockpile of all those boxes and cans ~ unless it's stored for a major disaster when grocery shelves are empty.

But barring that, my belief is you can still save a ton of money by just eating more simply and wasting less.

I made a meal for myself this evening with less food than many people throw out. I diced a quarter of a yellow squash, half a red bell pepper, a few slices of yellow onion and some fresh spinach and sauteed it in a bit of olive oil, along with some salt, pepper and basil for seasoning. Then I tossed that with some cooked linguini. It was quick, cheap, delicious and nutritious!

The remainder of those veggies can be tossed into the crockpot, along with some broccoli, carrots, celery, mushrooms and vegetable broth for a tasty soup for my granddaughters tomorrow. Not only that, with more fiber, they'll crave less later on in the afternoon. When they're hungry, they'll get some apple slices dipped in peanut butter.

I buy some canned stuff, but generally it's an array of beans when I don't have time to pressure cook them for soups and salads, diced tomatoes when they're not in season, and canned broths. I also stock my pantry with pasta, oatmeal, olive oil, peanut butter, raisins, salsas and several kinds of vinegars.

So with some fresh produce from the fridge, I can prepare a lot of different meals. If I want to incorporate some fish, or other meat for guests, I generally buy it that day, and the serving sizes are small. Why? Because we don't need that much protein to be healthy.

In fact, we don't need that much food to be healthy.

Want to save money? Instead of clipping coupons, spend your time planning meals with plenty of fiber, and drink plenty of water.

It's money in the bank because it's an investment in your health!