Tag Archives: deals

Education, Food, Health and Wellness

Before You Shop

April 28, 2016 Health Alliance 4 Comments

Before you shop for groceries, there are a few things you should do to get ready.

Choose the Week’s Meals

Before you make a grocery list, map out your meals for the week.

Check what you have. Look through your fridge and cabinets to see what you have on hand to get meal ideas and to make sure you don’t buy anything you already have.
Think about your week. Choose meals that are easy to make for your busiest days. Save recipes that take longer for weekends or days off. Choose big recipes that will give you lots of leftovers for lunches or busy days.
Keep recipe lists for ideas. Keep a list of your family’s favorites for quick planning or bookmark your favorite cookbook. Keep another list of recipes you’d like to try. (Find healthy recipes in our food category or our Pinterest.)
Write it out. Planning and sticking to your plan is easy with these meal planning worksheets from ChooseMyPlate.gov.

Make Your Grocery List

Make a grocery list to stay organized and make sure you never run out of important ingredients or household items.

Organize your list for easy shopping. Add items in order or use a list broken into sections, like this one from ChooseMyPlate.gov.
Use an app. You can use a list app, like Wunderlist, that you can use on your phone or computer or try one of these other grocery list apps.
Add things as you run out. Keeping a running list makes it easier to keep track of what you need to restock.
Look at your weekly meals. Use that plan to make the list of ingredients you need to buy. Don’t forget important basics, like bread, milk, fruits, and veggies, that may not be in recipes but that are perfect for quick meals and snacks.

Plan to Save

Being prepared can help you save money once you’re at the store.

Join a loyalty program. If you always go to the same store, join its loyalty program. Loyalty programs are usually free and give you discounts and special offers just for signing up.
Read the sales fliers for deals. They usually come out midweek in the newspaper, or you can find them at the front of the store or on the store’s website.
Use coupons. Coupons can help you save on the items you know you’ll use. (Don’t buy too much of something you don’t need just to use a coupon, though!) These apps can help you find coupons and other ways to save.
Eat before you shop. Going grocery shopping while you’re hungry is a big mistake. It makes you more likely to buy things you don’t need, especially unhealthy foods.

Now you’re ready to head to the store!

Up Next:

Make the most of your next shopping trip with our ultimate guide to grocery shopping.

Fresh Fiddlehead Ferns at Your Farmers Market

Community, Education, Food, Health and Wellness

Making the Most of a Farmers Market

April 27, 2015 Health Alliance 1 Comment

There are lots of reasons to get out to your local farmers market, but going to a farmers market for the first time is very different than going to the supermarket. We can help make sure it goes smoothly with these tips from a farmers market veteran:

1. Prepare.

Illinois has a Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program that gives you a free booklet of checks that you can use at local markets. Check it out on the Illinois Department on Aging’s site for details and participating counties and markets .
Many vendors only take cash (and some take SNAP and WIC benefits). Some booths only take small bills, 20s and smaller.
Many vendors don’t offer bags, so it’s a good idea to bring a few cloth ones you can use.
Most markets don’t allow dogs, so leave them at home.
Have an idea of what is in stock at that time of year, so you know what to expect. Use this map to find out what’s in season where you live.

2. Check the info booth first. If your market has an info booth, check there before you start shopping. The people working can let you know if there are any special things going on that day, like cooking demos.

Certain markets, like the new Champaign Farmers’ Market downtown, have special deals for SNAP users, so it’s always good to check with the info booth. At their market, they will double up to $20 of benefits per person while funds last when you bring your Link card to the market booth!

3. Go early or go late. If you go early, you will have first pick of the freshest and largest selection. If you go late, some farmers will offer discounts to clear out their stock before heading home.

4. Take a lap. Unless you know your market really well, don’t just buy the first things you see. By walking a lap through the market first, you can get the lay of the land, compare prices and selection, and taste samples.

5. Talk to the farmers. The farmers can answer questions about how the food was grown and harvested, talk about why their produce is or is not organic, offer recipes, give info about something you’ve never tasted, or recommend their favorites.

6. Be mindful. It’s considered rude to squeeze stone fruits, like peaches, plums, or tomatoes, because it can bruise them. And it’s considered rude to open husks of corn before buying them, which can actually make them less sweet. Also, look for whole produce, meaning veggies like carrots and beets with their green tops still whole. These will stay fresh longer, and you can make things like pesto sauces with the greens.

7. Take a risk. Sometimes you find things that are new, different, or even strange at the farmer’s market. This is the perfect opportunity to try something new because the farmers can usually give you advice on how best to use it.

8. Bring a friend or the family. Grocery shopping, unlike the farmers market, can feel like a chore. Take people with you to talk and walk with outside, and the farmer’s market instantly becomes a more fun activity. And you can always save money and split certain produce.

9. Keep it simple. When you’re cooking your food at home, go for simple recipes. Because you bought such fresh produce, you should let it shine. Put fresh wild strawberries over a salad or in a breakfast parfait instead of baking them into a cake. If you’re worried you won’t be able to use all of something you bought you can always freeze it and use the rest later. Use this guide from the FDA to make sure you’re storing and washing produce correctly.

10. Find the right market. Many areas have more than one farmers market within driving distance. If you can, test them all. Large farmer’s markets have a lot of energy, selection, and sometimes even dining options, but smaller markets often have good deals. Find the one that works best for you.

Find farmer’s markets near you. Learn more about which ones take SNAP and WIC, or check out this list of all the farmer’s markets that take Illinois Link Benefits.

Up Next:

Do you really understand what you’re getting when you buy organic? We break it down in Organic 101.

And make sure you’re cleaning your fresh fruits and veggies the right way to keep your family safe.

Engagement, Profile

Getting the Best Deal

December 20, 2013 Health Alliance Leave a comment

“I’m always looking at ads to see who’s got the best deal,” Melissa Whitman says.

Who doesn’t love saving money? But how are great deals and health insurance connected? They may be more similar than you think, at least when you see doctors in the Health Alliance network.

“Many of our members are surprised how much they save by staying in-network,” says Melissa, a Health Alliance claims manager. “Going out-of-network can cost members twice as much, and the even more unfortunate part is they often don’t realize that until after their visit or procedure.”

With thousands of doctors and hospitals in-network (and the list growing daily), you don’t need an eye for a good deal. We have people like Melissa for that. Melissa can help with just about anything related to getting your covered care paid for.

Stepping into her cubical proves instantly there’s a lot more to Melissa than claims processing. Her family. Pictures of smiling faces decorate every open space.

“We’re always together. Cooking out,” she said. “In the summer they’re at my pool, and we just got done mushroom hunting.”

Melissa has quite the eye for those hard-to-find morels. For as long as she can remember, mushroom hunting has been an annual adventure.

“The whole family goes. Even my 89-year-old grandma gets her mushroom stick and gets in the woods,” says Melissa with a laugh.

She sums herself up simply. “I’m a city girl. I love my work, my family, and a taste of the country,” she says.