Meijer's MPerks: My Favorite (Gluten Free) Coupons

I am not the best coupon-er.

We do not get a newspaper regularly - and I find when I buy the newspaper for $1.00, I don't cut many coupons and therefore don't often get my money's worth. (especially since most coupons in the paper are for processed foods that are not gluten free)

I have also tried online coupon-ing - but am not good about going to multiple websites and browsing through pages of items that are often not on my shopping list.

And to top it off, even if I remember to cut out or print coupons, half the time I get to the store and remember that I have left them on my kitchen counter at home.

When we moved to town, I was excited to be near a Meijer. (and Kroger too - my first trip there I spent around $80 where in Cleveland I was spending around $120 for the same trip) I went to graduate school up in Michigan and Meijer was my favorite store of choice back then as a broke grad student. Having shopped there the past five years, I've seen their gluten free selection go from okay to one of the best I have seen in all of our travels, and their prices are often comparable or lower than other stores.

For years, the cashier would ask "do you have MPerks or any coupons?" and I half listened and responded "no." I thought MPerks was somehow tied into their credit card and I wasn't interested. I don't remember what made me look into it (probably my grocery bills!?!), but once I did, I thought - I need to tell people about this! Go me, it has only taken me a few years to think to put this on my blog.

MPerks is a digital coupon website or app for your smart phone - much like Kroger's or Target's Cartwheel or others out there. You can do it from a home computer, though - which is great because I am relatively new to the smartphone world. You can clip all the coupons at home, or on your phone, and then when you are at the store the only thing you need is your phone number. When you are checking out - both at the regular checkouts and the self-checkouts, you push the little "MPerks" icon at the bottom and follow the prompt. That is it. Your phone number and a PIN of your choosing. No paper to remember, no plastic card to put in your wallet or keychain.

The coupons are good - there is a search function so if you only want to know if there are yogurt coupons, you can just type that in. They also have featured coupon bundles each month - and since October is Celiac Awareness Month, this month there is a "Gluten Free" coupon bundle:

  Screenshot of some of the October coupon bundles, including "Gluten Free." 

This post was not even scheduled for today, but when I saw a gluten free coupon category for October, I wanted to share it with everyone as soon as possible!

 

 And here are some of the coupons. I will definitely use the Eggo coupon as those are rarely on sale and my kids love them more than any other waffles, as well as the King Arthur coupon as that is a large coupon and I like to keep a box or two of their cake mix (my favorite) on hand. 

There are also many $1.00 off Glutino products as well.

I clipped all of the coupons in the Gluten Free bundle, though I likely will only use a handful of them. 

An added bonus with coupons - once every few months there will be a coupon for gasoline at their gas stations. It usually takes the price per gallon under any other station in the area! 

The coupons alone are not enough to make me love MPerks, however. There are two components that make it worthwhile to me:

1) Friday and Saturday deals. Every other weekend - or sometimes Fridays and Saturdays - MPerks will send a text or e-mail alerting members to sales --- and all you need is your free MPerks account. They range from $5 off purchases of $50 to 5% off all groceries (hello, Friday has become grocery day) to 10% off clothes and other sorts of "sales." At first I thought it really wasn't much - but over the course of a year, it really adds up if you can shop on those days. (scarily, the app will track your savings and the number really grows! the receipt will show it to you up at the top as well)

2) MPerks "Rewards." Here is an additional big coupon every 30 days or so. Each cycle there are different "rewards" to choose from on the website/app. Usually there is a "total purchase" or "total grocery" one - where if you spend $600 you can earn a $15 coupon or something along those lines. The categories change, but "baby" is often one (I think anyone that buys diapers there should definitely be enrolled in MPerks!), dairy, meat, sporting goods, household goods, pet supplies are other common ones.  The only trick is that the app does not remind you when your 30 days are up - you need to remember to go in the app, and either click on the coupon if you earned it, or just pick new categories if you did not.

 

 Here is a screenshot of my "Total Purchase" Reward - looks like I will not get the $14 coupon as I only spent $100.45 this month. Extremely low month for me as I usually do most of my shopping at Meijer - but this month I have spent more of my time and money at Kroger and Costco!

I am not affiliated with Meijer in any way (though I often think I should get a job there!), but just wanted to pass this along in case there are any other shoppers out there like me, always answering "no, no MPerks" to the cashier at checkout, and not taking advantage of those Friday/Saturday/Sunday sales and Rewards. Anything to keep the cost of gluten free groceries down is a good tool to have!

Celiac Disease: The Cliff Notes Version

There are many great places to gather in depth biologic explanations of the inner workings of Celiac Disease – this would not be one of them.

(If you would like the very technical explanation, check out this Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeliac_disease)

Instead, I would like to present a general overview of what Celiac disease is, and what it is not. Now that the gluten free diet has become much more mainstream, this is a more popular topic, though I don’t think most people even equate “gluten free” as the absolute cure for this particular autoimmune disease. How amazingly cool is that? That’s what I want the world to know! Time to share some knowledge and clear up some common misconceptions.

Celiac Disease…

Is autoimmune disease. It is a reaction by the human body in response to gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, malt and most oats. When a person with Celiac disease eats gluten, it triggers a reaction in which the villi in the small intestine are sheared off. Those villi are essential to providing nutrients to our bodies – and if they are gone, malnourishment will result.

Has over 250 symptoms. Stomach and bathroom issues are the ones that get the most air time, but in our case, our son’s growth stunted. Depression, schizophrenia, and a host of other mental issues. Neuropathy and other neurological symptoms. Miscarriage, anemia, and bone loss. Teeth defects. All a result of that malnourishment caused by damaged villi. (an extensive list from The University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center can be downloaded here: http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CDCFactSheets10_SymptomList.pdf and a smaller list of the more prevalent symptoms from the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness: http://www.celiaccentral.org/disease-symptoms-checklist/) 

Can only be cured by diet. By eating gluten free, the trigger is removed, and the autoimmune disease goes into remission. My son with Celiac disease has his blood tested every year, and his levels that were over 200 are now under 10, which are well within the range of “normal” (that being under 20). So amazing that his bloodwork looks like that of anyone off the street that does not have the disease!

Is diagnosed by bloodwork AND an endoscopy. Currently that is the “gold standard,” but even this week there was new research with hopes that soon a blood test alone will be sufficient.

Can be tricky to diagnose. In order to be diagnosed, a person must be eating gluten until the tests are complete. If a person has Celiac and removes gluten from their diet before being tested, their body will immediately start to heal – and the bloodwork and biopsy will look healthy if they have been on the gluten free diet long enough. (which is great, but will often lead to a false negative diagnosis) There are also cases in which the bloodwork shows Celiac and the biopsy doesn’t, and vice versa.

Is genetic. Someone with Celiac disease must have one of the genes that enables the body to have this disease. No gene, you cannot have Celiac. Also means if you have Celiac, someone in your bloodline carries the gene, even if they do not have the disease.

Can present itself at any age. As it is an autoimmune disease, it may not trigger and present itself until later in life (we know 80 and 90 year olds who have recently been diagnosed, and they showed no symptoms until late in life!).

Is NOT an allergy, though many of us will describe it that way in restaurants or in social settings, as the reaction is similar and people understand allergies more than autoimmune diseases. In an allergy, the body fights the intruding allergen, but with an autoimmune disease like Celiac, the intruder (gluten) kicks off a reaction in which the body fights itself (by destroying the villi). But often it is much easier and faster to say it is an allergy rather than explaining to a waiter that the gluten free food we are ordering keeps my son’s autoimmune disease at bay.

Is NOT something children outgrow. My son and all other Celiac kids will have to stay gluten free for their entire lives (*though there are several vaccines and medicinal cures being developed right now).

Is NOT a minor issue, even when well managed and the person is asymptomatic. It does get easier to shop and cook, but every day, every meal, every social experience, every trip – all must be planned and analyzed to ensure gluten free items are available or on hand.

Is NOT something where “a little bit” won’t hurt. Having a bite of gluten can wreak havoc on a Celiac’s system. If you divide one piece of bread into approximately 100 pieces – that tiny piece of bread is the amount of gluten in one entire day that would start to cause damage to a Celiac’s small intestine. (Two good articles: https://thechameleonstongue.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/how-much-gluten-is-safe-for-coeliacs/ and http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/PreventingCrossContamination/f/How-Much-Gluten-Can-Make-Me-Sick.htm)

Is NOT a case in which you can have a latent case or “mine isn’t as bad as yours” – it is like being pregnant. Either you have Celiac disease or you do not. Cure is the same either way, full compliance. (one of my favorite articles on this topic: http://theceliacmd.com/2013/07/my-doctor-told-me-i-have-mild-celiac-disease-what-does-that-mean/) 

Does NOT look the same in everyone. As mentioned above, if there are over 250 symptoms, as you can imagine, there are just as many reactions. Some, as my son, seemingly have no reaction when exposed to gluten. A friend of ours feels extremely tired within twenty minutes. Others are physically sick for three to ten days, depending on the exposure.

Does NOT automatically mean eating healthier. Gluten free processed foods are often not very healthy - wheat is replaced with rice flour (which has a higher glycemic index), less fiber, and are also usually not fortified the way glutenous goods are (such as bread and cereals). Naturally gluten free foods - such as meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables - should be the foundation of a healthy gluten free diet (or any diet) - with the processed foods kept to a minimum. Easier said than done in reality, though, especially with cracker and cereal loving children!

Gluten free brownies and cookies being made in bulk for a band contest this weekend - 

just because it's gluten free doesn't mean it's good for you!

Hopefully this helps provide a little insight into understanding what someone is talking about if they say they have Celiac Disease, and why being gluten free is such a huge deal to their well-being.