You’re Not Going To Find Coupons For Kale

My idea of heaven

I spent a good portion of last week researching and conducting interviews for an article I’m writing about—to put it vaguely—using coupons for groceries. Some time around Tuesday or Wednesday I started feeling a sense of guilt. Not only have I never clipped a coupon in my life or checked a store’s circular before, I buy about 95 percent of my groceries at Whole Foods. Was I being irresponsible with my money? Was I willingly getting ripped off on a weekly basis? Are you nodding your head?

Slave to research that I am, I carved out a chunk of time on Thursday to put some skills I had learned into action. First, I made a list of items I needed. Then, I set out to find a coupon for as many items on my list as possible. First stop: Coupons.com. Next, I checked the grocery store's website to see if they had any coupons. Finally, for any remaining items, I did a Google search. “Fage yogurt coupon” scored me a $0.50 coupon and I got another for the bread I love (Earth Grains Wheat Berry bread) just by “liking” their Facebook page. From this experience alone, I’ll say this: It doesn’t take an enormous amount of time to track down coupons for items you need. According to one expert, a smart coupon shopper can do so in about 10 to 15 minutes per week and save as much as $200 per month.

Did the coupons help me save? Well, no. (Clearly I’m not one of those smart shoppers yet.) I made several rookie errors. While on Coupons.com, I got really excited about coupons for items I thought I might want, but don't usually buy such as canned soup. I can’t remember the last time I ate soup out of a can. Plus, I have serious concerns about the chemical, bisphenol-A (BPA), in the linings of cans that studies have found is associated with breast cancer, heart disease, and a slew of other health issues. I’m not being an alarmist—two weeks ago, Canada declared the chemical toxic. There are four cans of Progresso soup sitting in my pantry right now. Because I had a coupon for them.

But I digress.

Let me get to the whole point of this post: While I believe that, when used wisely, coupons are a very smart way to save cash, you’re more likely to find them for packaged, processed goods than for whole foods, no matter where you buy those whole foods. Shopping with a different mindset and in a different location also meant that I was checking out lots of new foods. Which brings me to my second point: If you’re not careful, it’s easy to swipe up things you think are healthy, but are really questionable.

I printed a coupon for Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers. “Green,” “fresh,” and “steam” screamed good-for-you to me, no? A package of frozen veggies (which often contain as many nutrients as their fresh counterparts) that I could toss in the microwave sounded like a convenient way to get my fill when I don’t have time to restock fresh ones. I nearly took home a few bags of a sugar snap pea, potato, and red pepper veggie medley (hey, I had a coupon), but caught a glimpse of the ingredients as they tumbled into my cart. And by ingredients, I mean dozens of them. What are dozens of ingredients doing in an item that contains three vegetables? On closer examination I saw words like “modified corn starch,” “gelatin,” “maltodextrin,” “xanthan gum,” “autolyzed yeast extract,” “natural and artificial flavor,” “sodium lactylate,” and others. Whaaaaaaaaat? Frankly, I don’t really know what sort of impact these chemicals have on our health. But shouldn’t vegetables just contain, well, vegetables? Some olive oil and herbs might kick things up a notch when you’re cooking them, but I’ve never tasted a green bean and thought it needed a dash of xanthan gum before. Ew. Back in the freezer they went. Next to the broccoli with cheese sauce. Double ew.

For better or for worse, when I walk into a grocery store, my number one priority is buying the very best foods for me. Taste and quality aren’t far behind. Whether this is the smartest financial decision I will ever make, I’m not so sure. But when it comes to health, I don’t think I can put a price tag on it. And you know that thrill some people get when they hear the ding of savings stacking up on their bill? I get that very same rush when my cart is overflowing with plants, born from the earth, that have met neither pesticide nor autolyzed yeast extract before. To me, that's worth every penny.