Town Talk

Now I'm what you might call 'particular' about food. I can be weird about texture, or if I have the memory associated with a particular food it affect me tremendously. I remember 12 years ago a guy told me about the FDA guidelines concerning insect parts in cereal. I didn't eat the drop of cereal for almost 8 years after that. And thanks to Food, Inc I haven't set foot inside a McDonald's for over a year and a half.

I am also weird about sell by dates and brand names I've never heard of. So when I first learned about Town Talk I was extremely skeptical that it would be a place for me.

A while back my mother-in-law asked me if I would meet her there so she could take some of my kiddos for the day. It's a good halfway point between my house and hers. So I wandered inside and meandered through the aisles. It definitely has a warehouse kind of feel with it's cement floors and industrial shelves. It's not the bright inviting Central Market experience. But I was a little surprised at some of the things I found inside. Yes, there were the obscure brands I'd never heard of and the strange items that appeared to be a failed 'new product' attempt, but there were also some items and brands I recognized. And not only were they things I recognized but some of them were actually really good items, some even the pricey stuff I'd previously purchased at Whole Foods or Central Market. Now granted, some of the frozen foods were past date, some WAY past and some of the dairy items were very close to their date, but I was intrigued. I purchased an item or two and decided I wasn't ready to completely discount this establishment yet.

I'd been back a time or two to meet her again and each time I've found an item or let the kids pick out a snack but that's been about it. While having a playdate at my friend Stephanie's a few weeks back she had some Hummus from Town Talk that was really good. So last week I decided to go there first before hitting up the regular supermarket to see what I might find. Boy, am I glad I did. I took my time and looked through EVERYTHING. My objective going in was to find some inexpensive munchies for the kids. They have been going through snacks like crazy lately and I found a lot of good deals. The end result was 2 bags FULL of good, quality, in date stuff for only $20. What did I find? Some of items I know off hand have the regular retail price in ( ).

• a bag of Frontera (Rick Bayless) tortilla Chips   79¢ ($3.50)
• a bag of Boulder Canyon potato chips   59¢  ($1 is a good sale price)
• a box of Uncle Sam cereal   $1.59  (around $3)
• a qt of Oregon Chai Vegan Tea Latte mix   59¢ ($4 a box)
• 2 boxes of Cheez-its (I know, not healthy)   $1.50 each ($2.50 @ Walmart)
• 2 bags of elderberry & zinc lozenges   99¢ each
• Pure vanilla extract   $2.50
• A bag of Stacy's pita chips 59¢
• 2 boxes of Annie's white cheddar Mac-n-cheese $1 each ($2 something @ WF)
• 4 boxes of Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous 79¢ each ($1.50 @ Walmart)
• a box of Back to Nature fudge rounds $1.59
• a bottle of Bragg's (the ACV people) organic Hawaiian Marinade & Dressing $1.59 

I know I'm missing a few items and I wrote down a list that has mysteriously disappeared but you get the idea. As I was checking out they were starting to shelve some Muir Glen organic canned diced tomatoes for 79¢. That's a good price! Everything I purchased was half-price or better. Who could argue with that. And then of course I turned around and spent $40 bucks on two bags not nearly as full at the regular grocery store.

Town Talk's inventory changes daily so you never know what you're going to find but I'm definitely adding this stop to my regular grocery rotation. If you haven't already then you should check it out. 

Town Talk Foods

121 North Beach Street  

Fort Worth, TX 76111-7054

Favorites for the Week

During Black Friday I was able to get some great deals on household items and it reminded me that I wanted to share some of the deals I like best. Couponing doesn't have to be super hard and when I look at how much money I've saved it encourages me to keep it up. I feel like I'm being a better steward of what God's given me. I can't buy hardly anything now without using a coupon. In fact there will be times when Graham comes home from the store with items and I say "I have a coupon for that." We could have saved a buck here and there and those bucks add up!


Here are some of my favorite deals for this week:

Wholly Guacamole

We have been eating a lot of guac lately because it's a great alternative to cheese and sour cream on our mexican dishes and it's a quick and easy snack when you've got some tortilla chips handy. And the company is right here is Saginaw!

This is from their Facebook page -
"Soooo, we need to decorate our wholly guacamole office with some christmas/hanukkah/kwanzaa spirits. so since this is a season of giving, if you send us your holiday card with a self-addressed envelope WITH postage, we will send you back 2 bogo coupons ($12 value). cards must hit our office by december 15th.

The coupons are good until dec 31st, so you have to use them quickly (remember, we freeze well). can not wait to see what the mailman brings us!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!"

Here is the address: marketing, wholly guacamole, 300 burlington road, saginaw, tx 76179

It is a little strange but if it's something you know you're going to buy anyway then why not? And if it's too weird for you they also have a $1 off coupon you can print. Just click 'Coupons' on the right hand side of the facebook page.

Muir Glen

This is something else we've been buying a lot of lately. There are actually 2 different printable coupons floating around out there. One is for 75¢ off and the other is for 85¢ off. I'm not sure where the 75¢ off one came from but these are better anyway. You can print 2 total.

$0.85/1 – Muir Glen, any flavor/variety – (eatbetteramerica.com)$0.85/1 – Muir Glen, any flavor/variety – (pillsbury.com)


These are two deals you can use this coupon on:
 
At Walmart:
Muir Glen Organic Tomato Paste, 6 oz $0.92, Regular Price
Use $0.85/1 coupon

This makes the final price $.07!

Or at Whole Foods:
Muir Glen Organic Tomato Sauce, 8 oz $1.19
Use $0.85/1 coupon
This makes the final price: $.34!


I like to buy the pasta sauce. It's pretty tasty. These coupons won't make them super cheap like it does the sauce and paste but it's still a good value coupon. A few weeks ago they have a $1 off coupon out and I got some diced tomatoes and fire-roaster tomatoes which should make for some pretty yummy homemade salsa!

Conair Ceramic Hot Rollers

 These rollers are on Roll Back right now at Walmart for only $22..77, plus there is a $5 coupon HERE that you can print. PLUS you can send in for a $5 MIR HERE. 



Conair Extreme Heat $22.77
Use $5 coupon HERE
Total: $17.77
Then submit for a $5 MIR HERE
Total: $12.77

I've been looking for a good deal on hot rollers for a while so for me this is awesome!

American Greetings Cards  

On the CVS website there is a printable coupon for $2.00 off 3 American Greetings cards (excluding boxed sets). They have lots of $.99 cards. Buy 3 and pay only $.32 each!! You can print this coupon twice meaning 6 cards for the price of less than 2. I snagged a couple Thank You cards and Birthday cards to have on hand. This is a GREAT DEAL! (there is also a good Glade coupon on the website too for $2 off of 2 and if you act quickly they have their room sprays on sale for 99¢ through Saturday 12/3)

And lastly...

Proctor & Gamble Products

Would you like to have over $35 worth of coupons good for things like Cascade, Dawn, Swiffer and more?  If you said yes, then click here to register or log in to get your coupon booklet!  The FREE Procter & Gamble Gather Together coupon booklet (previously Organize in Style) is available now.  Just allow four to six weeks for delivery.


You can request one of these every 60 days and you don't need to re-sign up every time. I've been getting them consistantly for almost a year now. It makes for a nice little surprise when it comes in the mail :) 

Thanks to The Krazy Coupon Lady, My Dallas Mommy, and I Heart the Mart for the deal details!

E2 - 28 Day Challenge - Day 2

On The Menu:

Breakfast: Banana & Toast
Lunch: E2 Basics Wrap w/ leftover Gnocchi
Dinner: Black Beans & Rice

What We Actually Ate:

Breakfast: Rip's Big Bowl (I had shredded wheat, grape nuts, & uncle sam's flakes topped with bananas, strawberries, & original almond milk)

Lunch: Whole Wheat Penne with 365* organic Italian Herb pasta sauce

Dinner: Black Bean & Brown Rice - Rip's recipe and can be found on the Whole Foods website. (I used dried beans instead of canned, water not broth, & left out the water chestnuts because Graham doesn't like them)

My Thoughts: Today went pretty well. I usually don't eat breakfast, just have a cup (or 2) of coffee, but I've really enjoyed it the past two days. The fruit adds some sweetness without me adding sugar. YUM! Lunch was good too. Chelsea claims she doesn't like WW pasta but she gobbled up TWO bowls of this stuff. The sauce tasted great and with a coupon at the store it made it cheaper than the Bertolli and Newman's Own organic sauces I've been getting at Walmart. We skipped the wraps because I felt like there was plenty of food with just the pasta & I could stretch the veggies that I have for another meal. Thankfully, because I have the week's menu posted on the fridge, I was able to see at a glance that I needed to get the beans soaking for dinner & didn't find myself looking for a plan B come supper time. This meal was pretty yummy with all of the fixin's. Normally I would have liked a little more 'spice' to it but because I'm nursing I opted to go with a little S & P instead. Chelsea just ate the rice but the rest of the kiddos liked it o.k.

In the Challenge Rip includes a 'dessert' each day. Sometimes it's as simple as a bowl of melon but I'm trying to teach my kids that dessert is not a mandatory course for each meal. So I picked a few of the suggested dishes and included them on the days where I felt like it might be a struggle to get the children to eat their dinner. (Read: Bribery) Last night was one of those nights. So before they scuttled off to brush their teeth we all enjoyed a big scoop of strawberry sorbet. It was so yummy. Just a simple snag from the freezer section. The Diet suggests lemon sorbet with raspberries, which sounded wonderful, but my store didn't have either so strawberry sub'd nicely.

I was a tiny bit hungrier today than yesterday and I'm not sure why. Everything I ate seems like it should have been more filling - tons of fiber - but I found myself grabbing a Mojo bar in the afternoon and then snacking on some pita chips & hummus while watching some evening tv with Graham... We'll see how day 3 goes.

* 365 is Whole Foods store brand. It's a good value, lots of it is organic, and it's a good quality. At the Arlington location they are nice enough to clip the store ad coupons and display them in front of the items so saving even more is not hard. You know how much I love coupons so this just totally made my day. They also have coupons on the website. There doesn't seem to be a print limit and the store coupons will stack with manufacturers coupons for even greater savings! :)