Monday, January 6, 2014

Health & Wellness Inspiration with the Copps health key™ system {#MyCopps #Shop #CBias}

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

Copps logo #shop
I'm a bit of a broken record when it comes to my healthy living goals, but now that 2014 has arrived, I am ready to take control of my life once again.

I'm far from being the only person to have weight loss and get healthy as New Year's resolutions, but I happen to be a part of the smaller number of fortunate folks who have help within walking distance of their house: Copps and their health key™ system.

Copps Middleton #shop

I love Copps.

If you're not a part of the Wisconsin grocery system, you may not be familiar with the name, but just take my word for it, you'd love Copps, too.

Everything from the friendly employees to the quality foods to the prompt service... it just all adds up to a convenient, satisfying trip each time I go, whether I'm doing a full shopping trip or simply grabbing a few necessities. Not to mention that customers can also go online to find Copps recipes, prescription refills, current ads, coupons — have I said that I love Copps?

But the most recent addition to the awesome offerings at Copps is their innovative health key™ system and the way that it clearly and easily can enhance healthy living goals for all shoppers.

Copps health key system #shop

We all know that what we eat is extremely important for the wellness of our bodies and the simple fact that better food choices lead to a healthier life.

But... that's a hard motto to follow when we step into the grocery store and find an overabundance of temptations everywhere we look. So, while I can't hire a personal shopper to bring home (and cook) healthy items for me, I can at least count on health key™ to simplify my shopping experience and help make it easier to fill my cart with good-for-you foods to keep me on track.

The system really couldn't be much more easy as, thanks to Copps, all I have to do is look for the colored tags throughout the store.

Adding more organic foods to your life this year? One glance at the array of items on the shelf for the Organic Tag makes it a no-brainer.

organic honey #shop

Trying to lessen your salt intake? This guacamole not only displays the Vegan Tag, but the Low Sodium Tag (highlighted in blue) as well.

guacamole #shop

The Vegan Tag is actually a personal favorite of mine, due to the amount of time it saves me scrutinizing ingredient lists.

As a lifelong vegetarian, I'm forever checking foods to see if they include any amount of meat products, so this tag lets me know that I can reach for that bottle of salsa or that jar of teriyaki sauce without having to stand there and go over every detail of the ingredient list.

vegan foods #shop

With so many different tags as a part of the health key™ system, Copps has extended that convenience to help maintain the lifestyle of just about every household. Whether you need to stick to foods that are free of lactose, low in saturated fat, have no added sugars or many more, they are all easily identified.

I know a large number of people that have discovered a gluten intolerance in one or more members of their family, so I appreciate that Copps has made it so easy for them to see the Gluten Free Tag throughout the store!

gluten free beans #shop

It all just adds up to a fantastic program that makes it so much easier for me to stay on track with my goals of clean, healthy living!

copps health key system WI #shop

In an effort to stay on par with eating healthy and also find a way to stay warm during this frigid winter cold spell, my family recently visited Copps and used the health key™ system to bring home a cart full of ingredients for a filling, delicious soup.

Vegetarian Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 cups chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces, or frozen, thawed
8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
4 cups chopped fresh spinach or one 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Shredded Cheddar or freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

soup ingredients #shop

Directions

Heat oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, celery,  and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 13 to 15 minutes. Add cabbage, carrots and green beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 10 minutes more.

Add broth, water, tomato sauce, tomatoes and beans; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in spinach and simmer for 10 minutes more.

Stir in basil. Top each portion with cheese.

veggie soup recipe #shop

Thanks to Copps' fresh, organic vegetables and low sodium, heart healthy canned items, this soup ended up so very tasty and absolutely perfect for warming our bodies from the inside out!

Plus, I love that it can be changed and adapted each time depending on what vegetables we have on hand or what other ingredients (e.g. noodles, rice, etc) we would like to include!

minestrone soup recipe #shop

If you are fortunate to have a Copps location near you, be sure to head over and take advantage of their health key™ system to make healthy living even easier for your family as well!

12 comments:

Liz Mays said...

I've never heard of the store before, but I really love how clearly they mark them with the identifying labels. Those are BAM right in your face -- love it!

That soup looks sooooo yummy too!

slehan said...

I want my stores to make shopping for organic & vegan as easy as Copps does.

slehan at juno dot com

Alicia said...

I love how bright and easy to read those health tags are! It makes selecting healthy foods so much easier:) #client

Summer @ Banana Hammocks & Tutus said...

I am not fortunate enough to have a Copps near me, but I love how you point out that there are smaller "tags" on the price labels, I hadn't noticed that before. We are a gluten-free family and would love to have tags like that at our local grocery store. You're so lucky! #client

Lisa Ehrman said...

I've never heard of Copps before, but I also live very far from Wisconsin. This looks like a great place to shop, and the vegetables look very fresh. Your recipe looks delicious!

Yona Williams said...

OK...I think it is incredibly cool and helpful to have labeling on food shelves that makes it easier to stick with dietary restrictions. I would love something like that at my store.

Lisa R said...

No store near me but I like the recipe you posted

sibabe64 at ptd dot net

Unknown said...

This is really smart for Copp's to offer this. Anything that makes shopping easy, even enjoyable, is good in my book. Wonderful recipe, too!

Unknown said...

I love vegetable stews! And this recipe looks great too!

Unknown said...

I am not a part of the Wisconsin grocery system, but Copps sounds like a great health key system. The minestrone soup looks delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe.

Shannon said...

I am in Chester, VA and we do not have this cool store. This soup looks amazing. I am loving the vegetarian recipes!

GoGreen said...

Sounds like a great program to promote healthy living.



Bonnie