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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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!

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

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.

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!

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!