Staying Hydrated During Cold & Flu Season #FloridaOJ

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #FloridaOJ The following article and opinions are my own. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This article is provided for entertainment purposes only. Questions? Click here to read my disclosure policy.

After the holiday season, we are greeted by another season that is much less pleasant: Cold, cough & flu season. I hate getting sick – well, who likes it? – and do whatever I can to avoid it. Ironically, being stuck inside the house a lot in recent months due to my two injured patella has resulted in me getting sick a lot less. I suppose this is the silver lining? 😉 But, like death and taxes, getting a cold at some point is inevitable, so I always try to think ahead and stock my cabinet with medicines when there’s a great sale or coupon available. If you read my coupon blog, you probably remember some of my major hauls that stocked my medicine cupboard for a very long time! That supply is finally starting to dwindle, so I’ve been keeping an eye peeled for the next good deal.

Safeway is my grocery store of choice and has been featured in my “Haul of Fame” many times. I love when they publish new in-store coupon booklets and always look out for them. When I heard they had a new pamphlet available called “Be Well. Save Well.”, I was excited to check it out. Unfortunately, my store didn’t have any of the booklets – wah! – but the leaflet contains coupons for Kleenex products, Clorox wipes, ProNutrients supplements, and Centrum. Here’s a picture of the leaflet so you’ll know what to look for at your store:

It should be available at the pharmacy area of your Safeway store.

Still, a good coupon-clipper knows that shopping trips often don’t go according to your plan, so you have to be able to improvise on the fly. Since my store didn’t have the coupon booklet when I went shopping, I relied on “Plan B”, using other coupons that I had printed alongside the store circular to get the best deals. I scouted out a variety of vitamins and other supplies so that I could create a cold & flu kit – here’s what I picked out:

Anatomy of a Cold & Flu Kit:

• The Clorox wipes are to help keep your house clean and sanitary – I love these things, they are so convenient!
• The Caltrate chews are a calcium supplement to take every day for general well-being.
• The AirChews are to take whenever you’re exposed to germs.
• The OJ is to help you stay hydrated with vitamin C if you do get the dreaded cold or flu.
• Kleenex is to help you deal with the sniffles.
• The picture of Adam Levine is to cheer you up. 😉

All told, I spent $29.43 on the above mentioned items and used two coupons. For more details on my shopping trip, click here to check out my Google+ photo album.

I’m looking forward to having some OJ in the house – we enjoy drinking juice but don’t buy it often, because I infrequently find rock-bottom deals on it. When I do get sick, Jai will often buy me juice as a treat because I like it and it helps me to rehydrate. Plus, you can’t go wrong with vitamin C, right? In the coming days, I’m going to be creating a smoothie using OJ to help us stay refreshed and nourished during cold & flu season, so stay tuned for that!

To keep up with the latest sales and coupons, Safeway shoppers should be sure to check out Safeway.com and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. (I’ve gotten some great coupons via Safeway’s Facebook page in the past, including free ice cream and money off produce!) You can also learn more about OJ through the Florida Orange Juice Council official website and Facebook fan page.