SwagBucks

What it is: According to their website, Swagbucks is the largest online point-earning program around. With the Swagbucks program, you earn points for things you would already do online -- like shop and search -- as well as for specific tasks. Once you have acquired enough points, you can redeem them for cash or gift cards.

How to Earn: Print and use coupons, vote in daily polls, take surveys, search the Web, shop online, complete special offers, complete tasks, watch videos, trade in books and video games, play games, refer friends, purchase daily deals

Rewards: Cash deposited in PayPal account, products, gift cards to sites and stores, including amazon.com, ecomom, Travelocity, Restaurant.com, Starbucks, Barnes & Noble, Fandango, Sears, Regal Entertainment Group, iTunes, Home Depot, overstock.com, JC Penney, various gaming cards (EA, Xbox Live, Playstation Network), Zappos.com, Lowe’s and tons more

My Experience: I have been a member of Swagbucks for a while and primarily earn points by doing some of my online searching through the Swagbucks toolbar. I rarely remember to click the little "Earn" tab (which lists all of the available point-earning opportunities) or to check my Swagbuck inbox. If I remembered to do those two things, I would probably have at least four times the points I have now. I am, however, a freelance writer and a blogger, so I am always looking something up online, which is why the Swagbucks program appealed to me. I love to earn even a little money while I'm just doing the stuff I would normally do anyways.

Getting Started: Register at the Swagbucks website.

WinCo has an awesome bulk section with lots of vegan products, including almond butter, peanut butter, agave nectar, spices, rices, beans, pastas, nuts, flours, hummus mix and more. Somehow, I have missed this great deal on gluten-free, vegan brown rice pasta on my previous trips, but I'm sure glad that I know about it now!

This is the cheapest price I have ever seen for vegan, gluten-free brown rice pasta (except a couple of times when I have found some on clearance and had coupons).

If you don't have a WinCo in your area, check your local store's bulk section for great vegan deals.

This is one more great example of cheap vegan food items you can find at regular grocery stores.

Those of us who live in the PNW can always count on Bartell Drugs to have some great vegan deals. Here is what you will find on sale at Bartell's this week:

Tim's Potato Chips - 2 for $5.00 (Locally made in Algona)

Erin's Gourmet Popcorn - 2 for $3.00 (Locally made in Algona)

Napoleon Marinated Artichokes - $1.99 each (Northwest company)

Napoleon Pickled Asparagus - $1.99 each (Northwest company)

Napoleon Roasted Peppers - $1.99 each (Northwest company)

Red Rose Tea - $2.49 each (40 to 100 count)

Vita Coco Coconut Water - $1.99 each

SodaStream Genesis Home Soda Maker Kit - $99.99
*Carbonating bottles and soda mixes are also on sale.

Premier Value CFL Light Bulbs - Buy One, Get One Free

Safeway (which also operates under the names Vons and Pavilions in different regions) is having a sale on corn on the cob. With your membership card, you can get three ears of corn for just $1.00. The individual club price is $.34 each.

This is a savings of up to $1.37 per three ears of corn!

Did you get a Sunday paper for those Albertsons Twice the Value coupons? If not, ask around and see if any of your friends or coworkers got the paper and don't need those doublers. If you can get your hands on some, here is an awesome deal you can get by stacking one Albertsons Twice the Value coupon with one printable vegan coupon for $1.00 off Gardein products.


Gardein Meatless Entrees are currently on sale for $3.50 at NW Albertsons stores. There is also a printable vegan coupon for $1.00 off Gardein products on Facebook right now. You can print two of these vegan coupons, so here is how you can get two Gardein Meatless Entrees for just $1.50 each.

Gardein Meatless Entrees Sale Price - $3.50
Use one printable vegan coupon for $1.00 off one Gardein product
Use one Albertsons Twice the Value Coupon
Final Price: $1.50

(Do this twice to get two for $1.50 each.)

This is the best price I've seen on Gardein products in a long time, so take advantage of it if you can!

Even if you didn't get Twice the Value coupons this weekend, be sure to print those $1.00 off vegan coupons before they are gone!

Whether you have been following a vegan diet for decades, considering making the transition from vegetarian to vegan or are researching how to go vegan, this one-hour vegan nutrition talk is a great resource that everyone should make time to watch. Jack Norris is a registered dietician and is the co-founder of Vegan Outreach. He also co-authored Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet.

This vegan health video is of a presentation Jack Norris did at the San Francisco 2012 Meatout put on by the San Francisco Vegetarian Society. Now that this talk is available to view for free online, all of us folks who were not able to make it to his presentation can benefit from his knowledge and experience -- and learn all sorts of facts and figures from empirical research.

One of the great things about this talk is that he covers expected topics like the importance of B12 supplementation for vegans, but goes quite a bit farther than most of the info you can find online to uncover myths about plant-based diets, as well as tackling some beliefs commonly held by vegans when it comes to what we need and the best places to get it.

Norris refers to empirical and anecdotal evidence throughout the presentation. This inclusion of research and real-world findings to back up everything he does and does not recommend is one of things I really like about this vegan nutrition video.

Make time to check this out!

Jack Norris Vegan Nutrition Video

Jack Norris Website

Just in time for Mother's Day, Sjaak's Organic Chocolates has released a coupon code for 20% off your entire order!

Visit the Sjaak's website at www.sjaaks.com to find the perfect organic, fair trade, vegan chocolates for your mom, and then use the coupon code to save 20%.

20% Off Coupon Code: MOM20

If you are a mom, will soon be a parent or know anyone who has kids, you really need to check out the daily sales events at zulily. I'm not a parent and zulily is not an online store that sells only vegan baby goods or organic clothing, so it took me a little longer than most to initially get excited about this daily deals site. However, every time I drove by their corporate headquarters while in the area of my guy's work, I made a mental note to check them out more. I ended up signing up for their e-newsletter about a year ago so that I could keep an eye on the types of deals they have. This is why I can now safely say that there are plenty of organic, all-natural and vegan finds on zulily, making it well worth signing up as a member.

Membership is required to get zulily's awesome deals, but signing up is easy, and membership is free. Once you are a member, you can take advantage of the sales events, which last 72 hours, and you will find new deals to be had on zulily every day.

Now, don't go thinking this is a moms-only daily deals site: There's plenty of awesomeness for every member of the family. While lots of the deals are for clothing for moms, moms-to-be, kids and babies, there's a ton of other stuff on there as well. You will find lots of baby products, such as strollers, diaper bags, toys and more, as well as kitchen stuff, pregnancy pillows and bedding. I almost always see deals for women's shoes and clothes that have nothing to do with being pregnant or breastfeeding, so it is safe to say that anyone who wears clothing or shoes typically thought of women's wear can find some great deals on this site -- not just moms!

Remember -- Not everything is organic, all-natural or vegan, but enough of the deals fall into one of those categories to make a free zulily membership totally worth it.

I plan to post some of the better zulily deals that I see for vegan, all-natural or organic products, but you might also want to sign up for their e-newsletter to make sure you are among the first to know about new deals!

There are plenty of places to find online vegan coupons, printable organic coupons and gluten-free coupons, but CommonKindness is particularly appealing, since you can actually support charities and causes just by printing and using money-saving coupons.

When you sign up for CommonKindness, you can choose a charity that you wish to support -- such as Agape Animal Rescue (that is the one I chose) -- and then you just browse through the coupons to find the ones you want. Select, print and head to the store to save some money -- and every time you do this simple process, CommonKindness will provide funds to support the cause you have chosen. This is at no cost to you, so it's a great way to save money and support non-profits.

Here are some of the currently available printable online coupons for vegan, natural, organic or gluten-free items:

$1.00 off Sabra Hummus
$1.00 off Hugo Naturals Product
$1.00 off The Natural Dentist Toothpaste
$2.00 off The Natural Dentist Healthy Gums Rinse
$.75 off any Uncle Matt's Organic 59-oz Juice
$1.00 off any Mediterranean Organic Product
$1.50 off any Traditional Medicinals Tea
$1.00 off Alter Eco Rice
$1.00 off Alter Eco Quinoa

This is just a small sampling of the printable coupons available on CommonKindness. Head over there to sign up, choose a charity to support and start printing money-saving coupons!

Here is a link to get a printable vegan coupon for $1.00 off Alexia frozen products. Remember - not all Alexia products are vegan, so check their website if you aren't sure (or leave a comment here to ask about a product, and I will let you know).

Here's the link: $1.00 off Alexia Frozen Products (coupon no longer available)