Wren's bargain guide, week beginning December 25th:

Sorry for being so very far overdue in getting this week's edition online:  for Christmas, I threw my back out lifting a ham.  Not even a very big ham.

Fooducate this week explores the top 5 “Over-Hyped New Foods” of 2013.  TIME looks into what foods will be more expensive next year:  beef and bread are on the list, and all hearts crack in unison as chocolate prices are projected to rise.  Oh well, think of it as incentive to practice portion control.  Happily fruits and veggies are not on the rising-prices list, because Andrew Weil promotes a study which strongly indicates that eating more fruits and vegetables can lengthen your life.

The Atlantic has a detailed, analytical, skeptical, and this after all being Atlantic extraordinarily long look at the whole paleo-diet-Grain-Brain-gluten-is-bad-for-you … thing.  Worth reading if only for the cautionary lines, “I hope people don’t give up on nutrition science, because there is a sense that no one agrees on anything. An outlier comes shouting along every year with a new diet bent on changing our entire perspective, and it’s all the talk.... When a person advocates radical change on the order of eliminating one of the three macronutrient groups from our diets, the burden of proof should be enormous. Everything you know is not wrong.”

Recipes!  Chow.com has an absolute plethora of New Year's Eve appetizers, some hot, some vegetarian, some “elegant” (srsly? potato skins with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and caviar? mini ham-and-cheese sandwiches topped with fried quail eggs?), some just stuff-on-toast.  Also a plan for a New Year's Eve party with a speakeasy motif, creamy cocktails, sherry cocktails, tequila cocktails, hot booze, and what's described as a “sneaky breakfast remedy for hangovers”.

Sprouted Kitchen's kale omelette may be a good counter for hangovers, being proteiny.  And Simply Recipes has mini-muffin frittatas that keep well, reheat well, and come in handy at this time of year:  “I don’t know about you but my survival strategy includes making relatively light, healthy meals for the days between the feasts. These mini frittatas are perfect for the in-between days.”

This week following Christmas, the calendar has us tidying up all the culinary loose ends and leftovers, with days for candy canes, fruit cake and chocolate in quick succession.  The 31st is, somewhat predictably, National Champagne Day;  but somewhat in anticipation of necessity, National Bicarbonate of Soda Day is the 30th.

December 25th:  National Pumpkin Pie Day
December 26th:  National Candy Cane Day, National Coffee Percolator Day
December 27th:  National Fruit Cake Day
December 28th:  National Chocolate Candy Day
December 29th:  Pepper Pot Day – I have not been able to ascertain whether this is in celebration of the seasoning shaker or the tripe stew called Philadelphia Pepper Pot.
December 30th:  National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
December 31st:  National Champagne Day
January 1st:  National Bloody Mary Day, National Apple Gifting Day


Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye, t-bone, New York steaks, boneless or bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef roasts or family pack steaks: chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round, sirloin tip, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Tilapia/swai/catfish fillets, $2.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Albertson's cottage cheese incl. low-fat, 16 oz tubs, 2/$3
    Deli:    Charlie's Pride Italian beef, corned beef, beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Signature rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Jennie-O “Honey Smoked” or “Oven Brown” turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) Provolone/Muenster/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Essential Everyday pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 10/$10
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 10/$10
    Carapelli olive oil, 17 oz bottles, $4.99
    Healthy Choice frozen entrees, $1.99 ea
    Bananas, 39¢/lb
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Organic Fuji apples, $1.99/lb
    Kale, 99¢/bunch (3 varieties available)
    Organic grape tomatoes, 10 oz box, $2.99


Bashas':

    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, value pack, $3.77/lb
    Beef bottom round or sirloin tip roasts, bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef crossrib roast, boneless, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin, boneless, $4.77/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.99
    Pork loin, bone in, whole in bag, 99¢/lb “cut & wrapped free”
    Assorted pork chops, value pack, $1.79/lb
    Split chicken breast, bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Swordfish or albacore tuna steaks OR mahi mahi portion, 5 oz, $3 ea
    Shamrock Farms dairy, 40% off
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, 2/$5
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 99¢
    StarKist chunk white tuna, 99¢
    Chicken of the sea solid white tuna, 4/$5
    Pompeian olive oil, 16 oz bottles, $3.99
    Braeburn or Fuji apples, 77¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb
    Bartlett/Anjou/Bosc pears, 99¢/lb
    Russet baking potatoes, 5 lb bags, 88¢
    NatureSweet cherub tomatoes, 10 oz box, 2/$4
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Organic broccoli, 2 lbs/$3


Fry's:

    Beef t-bone steaks, $4.99/lb
    Kroger corned-beef brisket, boneless flat cut, $3.49/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.19/lb
    Pork loin back ribs OR St Louis-style ribs, $1.99/lb
    Pork “shoulder butt or picnic roast”, bone in, whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Tyson boneless ksinless chicken breast, 3 lb IQF bag, $5.97 ($1.99/lb)
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Kroger blackeyed peas, 15 oz cans, 79¢
    Del Monte veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 3/$2
    Kroger sauerkraut, 14 oz cans, 79¢
    “Mini seedless” watermelons, 2/$3
    Minneola tangelos, AZ grown, 88¢/lb
    Organic Fuji or Gala apples, $1.89/lb
    Mangoes, 88¢ ea
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Hass avocados, 88¢ ea
    Fresh Selections “mini peeled” carrots, 4/$5


Safeway:

    Beef top round London broil, boneless, $2.59/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $4.99/lb (boneless, $2/lb higher)
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone steak, value pack, $2.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork spareribs, $2.49/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, value pack, $6.99/lb
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Challenge cream cheese, 8 oz brick or tub, 2/$3
    Classico pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, $2.49
    Healthy Choice “Cafe Steamers”, 4/$10
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Fuji apples, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Red cherries, $6.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Clementines, 5 lb box, $6.99/lb
    Brussels sprouts, $2.99/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast, boneless, “tied rotisserie style”, $2.99/lb
    Beef NY steak, boneless, $7.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork spare ribs, $1.69/lb
    Pork baby back ribs, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $2.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 88¢
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, $1.98/lb
    Organic Valencia oranges, 4 lb bags, 2/$5
    Comice pears, 98¢/lb
    Jazz or Braeburn apples, 98¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.98/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea
    Bell peppers, red/yellow/orange, 88¢ ea
    Green bell peppers, 48¢ ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning December 18th:

So sorry about the hiatus – thanks for your patience.

Fooducate has a very pleasant collection of good news from the past year about food:  access to farmers' markets is UP, childhood obesity is DOWN, and no more sodas in Happy Meals.  And a very good article by a man who lost 155 pounds and has kept it off for twenty years.  Yoni Freedhoff touches on the fraught question of whether 3500 calories “really” equate to one pound of weight;  he points out that “people are not walking math formulas”;  that different foods will have different effects, that some people's “caloric efficiency” – their apparent ability to extract calories from food – is higher than others (that's nice to know, I'm just more efficient than other people on this if nothing else), and finally lands on the point that – emphasis mine – “If weight's your concern, more important than anything else is finding a life that you enjoy that contains fewer calories than before.”

While you're finding a life you enjoy, enjoy your bananas while you've got them:  per Nature by way of Grist, a fungus is spreading in banana-growing regions that may destroy the Cavendish, the banana cultivar you see in supermarkets.  (This has happened before:  the Cavendish is widely grown because it replaced the similar-looking but some say better-tasting Gros Michel which itself was nearly eradicated by a fungus.)  MSN News offers some possible alternatives.  And Marion Nestle at Food Politics informs us that the American Meat Institute has sent out an “advisory” to news media on good and bad (read:  flattering and unflattering) words.  Good words:  “lean finely textured beef”, “finely textured beef”, “beef”, “product”.  Bad words:  “filler”, “binder”, “extender”, “additive”, “pink slime”.  And Summer Tomato offers a set of tips on reasonably healthy eating while traveling.

Recipes!  Chow.com has twenty Christmas-cookie recipes, twenty-seven Christmas roast recipes, panettone (a holiday bread which autocorrect wants to render as “Benneton”), and a set of make-ahead breakfast casseroles that may be handy if you're dealing with house guests this week or next.  At Simply Recipes there's a curried chicken salad in endive boats, a lovely salad of Romanesco which is itself inherently lovely, and good basic hamburger-macaroni hotdish for after an exhausting day.  And Snack Girl has healthier holiday snacks (including her famous strawberry Santa hats) and what she describes as a “slightly lighter” eggnog.

It looks as though we Wednesday Warriors will be missing at last one meeting, perhaps two, but if the grocery flyers are available I'll be posting to the blog.  Merry Christmas, and I'll see you all in the New Year!


Albertson's:

    Beef rib roast, bone in, whole in bag, $4.97/lb (limit 1)
    Beef New York roast, bone in, whole but “trimmed & tied”, $3.99/lb
    Beef rib roast, bone in, whole but “trimmed & tied”, $5.97/lb (“custom cut”, $1/lb higher)
    Beef rib roast, boneless, “trimmed & tied”, $7.97/lb
    Beef New York “holiday roast”, bone in, “custom cut”, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral cut ham, $1.37/lb (limit 1)
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, unsliced, $2.99/lb
    Cook's ham, bone in, shank portion, $1.37/lb (butt portion, 20¢/lb higher)
    Kentucky Farms spiral cut ham, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, whole in bag, $2.49/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkeys, 12-20 lb, $1.69/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 12-20 lb, $1.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.57/lb
    Crystal Farms cheeses, 8 oz chunk/shred/shingle pack, 2/$5
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, $3.99
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 2/$1
    Pam cooking spray, 5-6 oz cans, 2/$5
    Pictsweet veggies, 14-16 oz frozen bags, 88¢/lb
    Fuji or Granny Smith apples, 99¢/lb
    Organic Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Organic bananas, 79¢/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, $1.49/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb
    Yams OR sweet potatoes, 99¢/lb
    Organic cucumbers, 89¢ ea
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 4/$5


Bashas':

    Beef New York roast, boneless, $3.59/lb
    Beef tenderloin, whole in bag, $6.99/lb, “cut & wrapped free”
    Beef standing rib roast, bone in, whole, “trimmed, tied, ready for oven,” $4.99/lb
    “EZ-Carve” beef New York roast, boneless, $4.67/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, bone in, large end, $5.99/lb (small end, $1/lb higher)
    Beef bottom round/eye round/crossrib/sirloin tip roasts, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, $2.69/lb
    John Morrell spiral sliced ham, $1.37/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced ham, $2.49/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 whole or half ham, unsliced, $3.99/lb
    Cook's ham, shank portion, $1.29/lb
    Pork picnic or shoulder roast, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Leg of lamb, $7.99/lb
    Jennie-O or Butterball fresh turkeys, $1.79/lb
    Bashas' boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Food Club butter, $2.39
    Philadelphia OR Challenge cream cheese, 8 oz bricks, $1.29
    Tillamook cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Bashas' “Homestyle” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.49
    Flav-R-Pac veggies, 16 oz bags or 12 oz “Steam of the Crop”, 77¢
    Apples, Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Clementines, 3 lb bag, $2.77
    Whole pineapples, 99¢ ea
    Fresh green beans, 77¢/lb (first 4 lbs)
    Red or orange yams, 77¢/lb
    Butternut OR green acorn squashes, 88¢/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef NY strip roast, bone in, $3.77/lb (family pack steaks, $1.20/lb higher)
    Beef round/sirloin tip/chuck/shoulder roasts, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef rib roast, whole in bag, $5.99/lb (“trimmed & tied”, $1/lb higher)
    Hormel Cure 81 OR Private Selection spiral sliced ham, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Cook's unsliced smoked ham, bone in, shank half, 89¢/lb (butt half, 30¢/lb higher)
    Cook's spiral cut smoked ham, bone in, $1.47/lb
    Private Selection boneless ham, $3.99/lb
    Pork “shoulder butt or picnic roast” (please, Fry's, learn to punctuate), whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Unbranded (store) frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.69/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkey breast, bone in, $2.69/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Kroger butter, $1.88
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle pack, $1.79
    Fry's eggs, AA large, dozens, 3/$5
    Kroger veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Kroger beef or chicken broth, 14 oz cans, 2/$1
    Dole pineapple, 20 oz cans, 10/$10
    Kroger veggies, 10-12 oz frozen bags, 10/$10
    Apples, Gala/Fuji/Granny Smith/Cameo, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Mandarins, 3 lb bag, $3.99 (5 lb box, $5.99)
    Mangos, 99¢ ea
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.29/lb


Safeway:

    Safeway whole or shank-half ham, $1.59/lb with $25 purchase (rump half 10¢/lb higher)
    Safeway whole or shank-half ham, 89¢/lb with $50 purchase (rump half 10¢/lb higher)
    Safeway shank-half or rump-half ham, FREE with $125 purchase
    Beef ribeye, bone in, whole in bag, $4.99/lb (value pack roast or steaks, $1/lb higher)
    Beef NY strip steak or roast, boneless, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $2.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Safeway half ham, bone in, spiral sliced, $1.79/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, $3.99/lb (whole ham 50¢/lb lower)
    Safeway Select whole boneless ham, $3.29/lb (half ham, 50¢/lb higher)
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Safeway Select fresh turkeys, 8-22 lb, $1.69/lb
    Open Nature fresh turkeys, 9-16 lb, $1.79/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds, 2/$4
    Lucerne cream cheese, 8 oz brick, 4/$5
    Sargento cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$6
    Lucerne butter, $3.49
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or “C&W” frozen veg, 10-16 oz bags, buy 2 get 2 free
    Cuties clementines, 5 lb box, $4.99
    Whole pineapples, buy 1 get 1 free
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Honeycrisp or Envy apples, $2.99/lb
    Red cherries, $6.99/lb (God only knows where they're from)
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    GreenLine fresh green beans, 12 oz bags, buy 1 get 1 free
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb
    Brussels sprouts, $1.99/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef standing rib roast, “Presidential Cut”, $7.99/lb
    Spiral sliced ham, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Pork crown roast, Frenched, $3.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast, boneless, $2.49/lb
    Fresh turkeys, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Apples, Cameo/Granny Smith/Jonagold, 98¢/lb
    Organic apples, Pink Lady or Braeburn, $1.29/lb
    Bartlett pears, 98¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Red or black seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$4
    “Cuties” mandarins, 5 lb box, $3.98
    Whole pineapples, 2/$3
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.68/lb
    Winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR spinach, 88¢/bunch
    Jewel or Garnet yams, 88¢/lb
    Organic eggplant, 99¢ ea

Hiatus

Due to circumstances beyond my control (my home was broken into when I was out of town), this blog and the bargain-guide handout will be on hiatus for a week.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning December 4th:

Sorry about not showing for tonight's meeting – I'm posting this from a motel in Kingman, on my way to Idaho.

Fooducate has a great set of “5 Tips for Holiday Health”.  The whole article is worth reading, and clickable at the blog, but I'll give you the short version:  1: Don't prepare for a special occasion by not eating all day;  that's preparing yourself to overeat.  2: Do start with water.  3: When you're facing a buffet-style meal, do give the table a good look and choose carefully.  4: The “holiday season” may be six weeks long, but do remember that that's not forty-two days of holidays, so you don't have to indulge on every one of them.  5, very important for us in WW:  Do keep up your healthy routines! 

Slate has an entertainingly skeptical article on “juice cleanses”.  At Summer Tomato, I find “5 Steps to Stop Emotional Eating” and a great piece, “Don't Be Afraid of Thanksgiving”, that can be well applied to many of the holiday meals we're about to face.

Recipes!  Chow.com has a set of DIY holiday gifts, many of them of the drinkable variety (homemade coffee liqueur, homemade amaretto, homemade aquavit … ), a baked halibut puttanesca, a brandy Alexander (possibly the least PointsPlus-friendly drink recipe ever conceived, but oh is it tasty), and a mulled-wine recipe which may come in handy as tonight and tomorrow will be cold enough to freeze the brass off a bald monkey.  And a list of two dozen dishes suitable for the office holiday potluck, including spanakopita, deviled ham, and – inevitably, inescapably – Chow.com's notorious Turducken Of Cheese Balls, otherwise known as The Cheese Ball As Big As Your Head.  (Twelve layers.  Five pounds.)

December.  Would it surprise you to learn that this is National Fruitcake Month and National Eggnog Month?  This first week is also National Cookie Cutter Week, and today, the 4th, was National Cookie Day.  And Saturday is, absolutely bafflingly, National Cotton Candy Day.  Why isn't that in summer? 


December 4th:  National Cookie Day
December 5th:  National Sachertorte Day, National Repeal (of Prohibition) Day
December 6th:  National Gazpacho Day
December 7th:  National Cotton Candy Day
December 8th:  National Brownie Day
December 9th:  National Pastry Day, Apple Pie Day
December 10th:  National Lager Day
December 11th:  National Noodle Kugel Day


Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef t-bone or New York steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    Beef London broil, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef 7-bone chuck roast, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Beef crossrib, eye/bottom round, brisket, sirloin tip roasts, boneless, $2.99/
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Pork loin back ribs, bone in, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Hormel pork tenderloin tips, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 3 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Great American tilapia fillets, 1 lb IQF bag, $9.99/lb, buy 1 get 3 free
    Cod, 5 oz portions, $1.99
    Swordfish OR mahi mahi, 5 oz portions, $2.99
    Ahi tuna, 5 oz portions, $3.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Tillamook cheeses, 2 lb “baby loaf” block, $7.99
    Yoplait yogurts, 20/$10
    Deli:    Jennie-O oven roasted turkey breast, $4.99/lb
            Signature Virginia smoked ham, $4.99/lb
            Dietz & Watson ham or turkey, $6.99/lb
            Dietz & Watson medium or hot-pepper Cheddar OR baby Swiss, $6.99/lb
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 10/$10
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 10/$10
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 10/$10
    Bertolli olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $6.99
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, $1.99
    Gala apples, $1.49/lb
    “Cuties” clementines, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, 10 oz box, $2.49
    Roma tomatoes, $1/lb
    Earthbound Farms organic mini carrots, 1 lb bag, $1.99
    Fresh Express “Iceberg Garden” bag salad, 12 oz, 99¢
    Iceberg, $1 ea
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, $1/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb



Bashas':

    Beef crossrib roast or value pack steaks, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef sirloin tip roast or value pack steaks, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef bottom round roast or value pack steaks, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Beef London broil, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef chuck/round/sirloin, value pack, $3.88/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.87/lb
    Pork picnic, bone in it looks like, $1.69/lb
    Center cut pork roast, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, 5/$10
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 99¢
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 99¢
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 69¢
    Food Club tomatoes or veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Progresso soups incl. Light (with the WW logo), 4/$5
    Flav-R-Pac frozen veggies, 12-16 oz bags, 3/$5
    Cuties clementines, 3 lb bags, $2.77
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Fuji or Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.99/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Whole pineapples, 2/$5


Fry's:

    Beef chuck or crossrib roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    New York strip steak, bone in, family pack, $6.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Pork shoulder butt or picnic roast, bone in, whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Tyson chicken, buy 1 get 1 free
    Kroger 99/1 ground turkey breast, 1 lb pkg, $4.99
    Alaskan cod fillets, $5.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Kroger butter, $1.99
    Fry's eggs, AA large, dozens, 2/$3
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Healthy Choice frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Whole pineapples, 99¢
    Halos mandarins, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Honeycrisp apples, $2.49/lb
    Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious apples, 99v
    D'Anjou pears, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢ ea


Safeway:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck pot roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone steak, bone in, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef New York strip steaks, boneless, value pack, $5.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.29/lb
    Safeway Farms ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $3.99
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk, $6.99/lb
    Lucerne cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, $2.99
    Land O Lakes butter, $2.99
    Ragu pasta sauces, 16-24 oz jars, 3/$4
    Safeway Kitchens canned pineapple, 20 oz cans, 4/$5
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 5/$5
    Libby's veg, 14-15 oz cans, 4/$5
    Oroweat variety breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Smart Ones frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Safeway Kitchens frozen veggies, 24-32 oz baags, 2/$5
    Gorton's “Grilled Fillets”, $3.49, still only 2 PointsPlus per serving!
    Organic Fuji apples, $1.99/lb
    Pears, red/Bosc/Comice, $1.49/lb
    Honeycrisp apples, $2.99/lb
    Envy apples, $2.49/lb
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Vine/hothouse/slicing tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Red/orange/yellow bell peppers, 2/$3
    Cucumbers, 99¢ ea


Sprouts:

    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $4.99/lb
    Pork tenderloin, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, boneless, OR ground pork, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Ahi tuna steaks, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Navel oranges, 48¢/lb
    D'Anjou pears, 98¢/lb
    Apples, Braeburn or Red/Golden Delicious, 98¢/lb
    Eggplant, 98¢ ea
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 98¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR spinach, 88¢/bunch

Called away

I'm sorry -- I've been called away on an emergency and won't be able to make tonight's meeting.  I will do my best to get the information posted, if not tonight then tomorrow.

I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.  Stay well, all.

Laura's pie!

Sorry, no bargains this week as there are no grocery flyers on Thanksgiving eve!  But to tide us all over until next week, I offer the gem of a recipe Laura presented at tonight's meeting:

Crustless, Sugarfree Pumpkin Pie!

1 1/3 cups Splenda
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 extra large egg whites
1 15 oz can pure pumpkin
1 1/4 cups 1% milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220º C).

Combine Splenda, cornstarch, spices, and salt in a small bowl.  Beat egg whites lightly in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in pumpkin and Splenda mixture.  Gradually stir in milk.

Pour into a 9" pie plate sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Place in center of preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF (175ºC) and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.  Cool and serve immediately or refrigerate.

The whole pie equals 4 Points.

I repeat that.

The whole pie equals 4 points.

Enjoy.  Thank you, Laura.

And happy Thanksgiving, all!

Wren's bargain guide, fortnight beginning November 20th:

Fooducate's got a list of ways to reduce your reliance on salt and sugar.  An interesting tip is to eat regularly:  don't let yourself get so ravenous you make a desperate leap for those dangerous salt/sugar/fat combinations!  Also tips for making your grocery shopping both healthy and affordable, and a super-easy butternut squash recipe.  At The New Yorker, a video about how they turn cheese into powder.  Summer Tomato has a bit on cooking for one.  And from Lifehacker, a beginning-cook's guide to the basic language of cooking!  (What's the difference between broiling and baking?  How can you tell a chop from a dice from a mince?  A pinch from a dash from a smidgen?)

Recipes!  Chow.com has Hanukkah recipes, “Thanksgivukkah” recipes, Thanksgiving for beginners or non-cooks, a video of easy fixes for Thanksgiving-dinner emergencies (sweet potato marshmallow casserole ON FIRE!), and nineteen recipes for a “Vegetarian Thanksgiving menu” that will also serve to fill out an ordinary table:  they've got DIY tofurkey, but also a marshmallowless sweet potato dish and acorn squash with wild-rice stuffing that looks absolutely devastating.

More recipes!  From Simply Recipes, a Brussels-sprout gratinée and how to cut and de-seed a pomegranate.  Smitten Kitchen is piling on the autumnal recipes:  cauliflower with brown-butter crumbs, apple-herb stuffing (“I think if you're limiting your stuffing consumption to a single day in November, you are missing out”), green-bean casserole, and a mini-review of Sam Sifton's cookbook, Thanksgiving:  How To Cook It Well.  (“You can go your whole life and then wake up one morning and look in the refrigerator at this animal carcass the size of a toddler and think: I have to cook that today.”)  And Snack Girl offers a vegan stuffing loaded with mushrooms, an assortment of “lighter dishes that don't taste light” for the holiday table, turkey roasting bags, a review of Egg Beaters, and the recommendation, “First rule of Thanksgiving:  relax.  How many days off a year do you get?”

Tomorrow is National Stuffing Day.  (Noun, not verb!)  Friday is National Sardines Day:  good for you, loaded with calcium, and they don't accumulate mercury or other heavy metals the way big fish do.  We're heading into December, National Fruitcake Month and National Eggnog Month;  the first week of December is National Cookie Cutter Week.  And the day after tomorrow is Alice's Restaurant Massacree Day.




November 20th:  National Peanut Butter Fudge Day
November 21st:  National Stuffing Day
November 22nd:  National Cranberry Relish Day
November 23rd:  National Cashew Day, National Eat A Cranberry Day
November 24th:  National Espresso Day, National Sardine Day
November 25th:  National Parfait Day
November 26th:  National Cake Day
November 27th:  National Bavarian Cream Pie Day
November 28th:  Thanksgiving Day, first day of Hanukkah, National French Toast Day
November 29th:  National Chocolates Day (not to be confused with National Chocolate Day)
November 30th:  National Mousse Day
December 1st:  National Pie Day, National Eat A Red Apple Day
December 2nd:  National Fritters Day
December 3rd:  National Ice-Cream Box Day
December 4th:  National Cookie Day


Editing to add Connie's Meringue Madness.  Thank you so much, Connie!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Lessons learned that you should know before you start!

1. Eggs crack and separate better cold but egg whites need to be at room temp to whip
2. Carton egg whites are perfect
3. Make doubly sure that beaters and large mixing bowl and measuring cup are glass or stainless and TOTALLY IMMACULATE!
4. DO NOT USE PLASTIC it harbors traces of fat and fat is a mortal enemy of Meringues
5. Bake on Parchment Lined pans and when cool the cookies come right off and you can flip the paper and bake more!
6. Bake in a very slow oven 250 to 275 for 20 to 30 minutes then shut off the oven and turn on the light they can stay there for a long time even 24 hours!
7. Experiment with your favorite flavors! The ones I shared with you last week had 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract and the zest from 1 lemon mixed in once the whipping was about done. Another good one is a rounded tsp of cocoa and 1/2 tsp of instant coffee powder. Peppermint Extract or finely crushed Candy Cane is tasty as is Orange Extract and Cocoa. Even chopped nuts and Mini-Chocolate Chips. YOUR CHOICE!
8. You can lightly brown them or keep them pure white or add a single drop or two of Food Color to match the flavorings.
9. It takes a long time to whip them and a blender or food processor DOES NOT WORK!
10. Cream of Tartar keeps them stable, fluffy and light.
11. A tiny bit of salt improves the recipes think a very small pinch.
12. Splenda can be substituted for sugar in any Meringue Recipe!
13. Make them whatever size you want by using 2 teaspoons, a pastry bag or my favorite plastic bag with tiny corner cut off.
14. They are actually easy to make if you understand the info above!

1st Recipe is with Splenda
 
Nutrition Information
NUTRITION FACTS
Servings Per Recipe: 36
Serving Size: 1 cookie

Amount Per Serving
    
Calories:
    35
Calories from Fat:
    15
Total Fat:
    2g
Saturated Fat:
    0.5g
Cholesterol:
    0mg
Sodium:
    5mg
Total Carbs:
    4g
Dietary Fiber:
    0g
Sugars:
    4g
Protein:
    1g

DIRECTIONS

    Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
    Bake walnuts in a shallow pan, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until toasted. Set aside.
    Beat egg whites and vanilla at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy then add cream of tartar.
    Add SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form; stir in walnuts and chocolate morsels.
    Spoon rounded teaspoons of mixture on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
    Bake 15 minutes. Drop oven temperature to 200 degrees F. Bake for one hour and 45 minutes. Cool slightly on cookie sheet. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.

INGREDIENTS

    1/2 cup chopped walnuts
    2 egg whites
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1/2 cup SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
    1/2 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
    1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2nd Recipe Pick YOUR Flavor


Ingredients:
Meringue Cookies Recipe:
3 large egg whites (3 ounces or 90 grams)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup (150 grams) superfine or caster sugar (if you don't have superfine sugar simply take granulated white sugar and process it for about 30-60 seconds in a food processor)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Garnish:
1/4 cup shaved Almonds

Instructions:
Meringue Cookies: Preheat oven to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. You can form the cookies with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) plain tip, or I often just use two spoons to make the cookies.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low-medium speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the sugar, a little at a time, and continue to beat, on medium-high speed, until the meringue holds very stiff peaks. Beat in the vanilla extract.
Note: The meringue is done when it holds stiff peaks and when you rub a little between your thumb and index finger it does not feel gritty. If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers.
Before placing the cookies on the cookie sheet, place a little of the meringue on the underside of each corner of the parchment paper. This will prevent the paper from sliding. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) tip. Pipe 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) rounds of meringue in rows on the prepared baking sheet. Alternatively, spoon mounds of meringue, using two spoons, onto the prepared sheets. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with a few shaved almonds, if desired.
Bake the meringues for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, rotating the baking sheet from front to back (about half way through) to ensure even baking. The meringues are done when they are pale in color and fairly crisp. (The meringues will release easily from the parchment paper.) Turn off the oven, open the door a crack, and leave the meringues in the oven to finish drying several hours or overnight. The meringues can be covered and stored at room temperature for several days.
Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) meringues

People love them so plan to share!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Albertson's:

    “We will match the price on our Premium (Frozen Grade A) Honeysuckle White Turkey to the lowest advertised Frozen Turkey Price offered by Fry's, Safeway, Bashas'.”
    Beef NY Strip holiday roast, bone in, “whole” $3.99/lb, “any size” $4.99/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, whole, $6.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round roast or family pack steaks, boneless, $3.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb
    Hormel “Cure 81” spiral cut ham, bone in, $1.79/lb
    Hormel “Cure 81” unsliced half hams, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Cook's hams, bone in, shank portion, $1.47/lb (butt portion 20¢/lb higher)
    Kentucky Farms spiral cut hams, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkeys, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, $1.57/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkeys, 12-22 lb, $1.69/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 12-22 lb, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole roasting chickens, $1.49/lb
    Oysters, 8 oz jars, $4.99/lb
    Sea scallops, 10-20 ct, $9.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon OR catfish fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.88
    Challenge butter, $1.88
    Shedd's Country Crock spread, 45 oz tubs, $2.99 ea when you buy 2
    Dietz & Watson presliced cheeses, 7-8 oz pkg, $4.99
    Black Creek aged cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk, $3.99/lb
    Deli:    Signature turkey breast, roast beef, “double honey” ham”, $6.99/lb
        All Dietz & Watson ham, turkey, chicken breast, cheeses, $7.99/lb
    Green Giant Le Seuer peas, 15 oz cans, 4/$5
    Mezzetta pasta sauces, 24-25 oz jars, $4.99
    Pam cooking spray, 5-6 oz cans, 2/$4
    Libby's canned pumpkin, 15 oz cans, $1.99
    Princella or Bruce's yams, 29 oz cans, 3/$5
    Green Giant “Steamables” frozen veg, 10 oz bags, 88¢
    Green Giant “Valley Fresh Steamers”, 12 oz, OR boil-in-bag veggies, 9-10 oz, 3/$5
    PictSweet frozen veg, 14-16 oz cans, 88¢
    Rome or Granny Smith apples, 99¢/lb
    “Cuties” clementines, 3 lb bag, $3.99
    Navel oranges, $1.29/lb
    Bartlett or Anjou pears, $1.29/lb
    POM Wonderful pomegranates, 2/$5
    Russet potatoes, 10 lb bag, 97¢
    Red bell peppers, 2/$3
    Celery, 99¢ ea
    Winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 99¢/lb
    Yams or sweet potatoes, 99¢/lb


Bashas':

    Beef sirloin tip roast, $2.57/lb
    Beef crossrib or top/bottom/eye round roasts, $3.99/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, large end, $6.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.57/lb
    Cook's hams, shank portion, apparently bone in, 99¢/lb (butt portion, 40¢/lb higher)
    John Morrell spiral sliced ham, $1.99/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 hams, half/whole/quarter, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Hormel spiral sliced ham, $1.99/lb
    Norbest turkeys, tom or hen, 10-22 lb, 79¢/lb
    Jennie-O tom turkeys, 20-22 lb, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase
    Jennie-O fresh turkeys, tom or hen, $1.79/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Thresher shark fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Oysters, 8 oz jar, $3.99
    Bashas' milk, gallons, $1.87
    Challenge butter, $1.99
    Philadelphia OR Challenge cream cheese, 8 oz block, 4/$5
    Kraft “Cracker Barrel” cheeses, 8 oz blocks, $2.99
    Nature's Own “100% Whole Wheat” bread, 20 oz long loaves, $2.49
    Libby's pumpkin, 29 oz cans, $2.99
    Libby's veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Flav-R-Pac frozen veggies, 12-16 oz bags, 77¢
    C&W or Birds Eye veggies, 10-16 oz pkg, 5/$10
    Russet potatoes, 10 lb bag, 87¢/lb
    Red or black seedless grapes, $1.99/lb
    Apples, Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Red or orange yams, 77¢/lb
    Green beans, 77¢/lb
    Organic winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 99¢/lb
    “Baby peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 99¢


Fry's:

    Beef “holiday roast” or NY strip steaks, bone in, family pack, $4.77/lb
    Beef rib roast, bone in, $5.99/lb
    Cook's unsliced ham, bone in, shank half, $1.47 (butt half 20¢/lb higher)
    Cook's spiral sliced ham, bone in, $1.67/lb
    Kroger boneless whole or half hams, $2.79
    Private Selection OR Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced hams, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 unsliced boneless hams, $2.99/lb
    Kroger frozen turkeys, 10 lbs and up, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase (limit 1)
    Foster Farms fresh turkeys, 10 lbs and up, $1.69/lb
    Honeysuckle frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.49/lb
    Private Selection frozen turkeys, 99¢/lb
    Butterball frozen turkeys, 10 lbs and up, $1.49/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 10 lbs and up, $1.99/lb
    Simple Truth fresh turkeys, “select sizes”, $1.99/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkey breast, $2.60/lb
    Tyson boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Kroger butter, $1.99
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.79
    Kroger veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Bruce's yams, 29 oz cans, 2/$4
    Kroger frozen veg, 10-12 oz bags, 67¢
    C&W OR Birds Eye OR Green Giant frozen veg, 10-16 oz bags, $1.99
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb
    “Halos” clementines, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Whole pineapples, 2/$5
    POM Wonderful pomegranates, 2/$5
    Apples, Gala/Granny Smith/Cameo/Fuji, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Russet potatoes, 5 lb bag, 69¢
    Red or gold yams OR sweet potatoes, 79¢/lb
    Red or yellow bell peppers, 99¢ ea
    “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 99¢
    Organic winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 99¢/lb


Safeway:

    Beef ribeye, bone in, whole in bag, $4.99/lb (roast or steaks, value pack, $1/lb higher)
    Beef round tip roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck pot roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steak or roast, boneless, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Safeway smoked ham, bone in, shank half, $1.69/lb (butt half 20¢/lb higher)
    Safeway spiral sliced half ham, $2.29/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Safeway frozen turkeys, 8-24 lb, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase
    Butterball frozen turkeys, 10-24 lb, 99¢/lb with $50 purchase
    Safeway frozen turkeys, 8-16 lb, free with $100 purchase
    Safeway frozen turkeys, 8-24 lb, free with $150 purchase
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 10-24 lb, $1.79/lb
    Open Nature fresh free-range turkeys, 9-20 lb, $1.79/lb
    Jennie-O ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $5
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5/lb
    Lucerne cream cheese, 8 oz brick, 4/$5
    Daisy sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1.99
    Healthy Choice “Baked” frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 5/$5
    Safeway Kitchens tomatoes or tomato sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 79¢
    Mezzetta pasta sauces, 24-25 oz jars, buy 1 get 1 free
    Bertolli olive oil, 25 oz bottles, buy 1 get 1 free
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or C&W frozen veggies, 10-16 oz, buy 2 get 2 free
    O Organics frozen veg, 1 lb bags, $2.49
    “Cuties” clementines, 5 lb box, $4.99
    Red seedless grapes, $1.99/lb
    Fuji or Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.49/lb
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Red or orange yams, 79¢/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef standing rib roast, “Presidential cut”, bone in, $9.99/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast or steak, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Sprouts fresh “all natural” turkeys, 10-24 lb, $1.49/lb
    Fresh turkey breast, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Whole or cut up chickens, $1.59/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.77/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Napa Valley olive oil, 750 ml (~25 oz) bottles, $9.99
    Muir Glen tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$3
    Better than Bouillon soup base, 8 oz jars, $3.99
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.98/lb
    Organic “mini seedless” watermelons, $1.98 ea
    Navel oranges, 3 lbs/$1
    Granny Smith or Jonagold apples, 88¢/lb
    Comice or D'Anjou pears, 88¢/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning November 13th:

Fooducate has a set of tips on portion control:  most of them we've run across before, but a reminder is always handy.  They also provide a guide to USDA beef grading:  what's the difference between “choice” and “select”?  With Thanksgiving coming up, Darya Rose puts forward the notion that food's greatest health benefit is social connection, and that “a shared meal with real conversations” is a self-reinforcing habit.  And per Grist, “Salt & Straw”, an ice-cream shop in Portland, Oregon, has introduced five limited-edition Thanksgiving flavors:  salted caramel Thanksgiving turkey (“turkey fat caramel ice-cream with fried turkey skin brittle”), mincemeat (“a heady punch of brandy-soaked fruits with an aggressively spiced ice cream base”), apple cranberry stuffing, sweet potato and candied pecan, and pumpkin custard and spiced chevre.  They mail order!

Recipes!  Chow.com has a stack of recipes for latkes (including celery-root and sweet-potato variants) and sufganiyot (traditional, marshmallow stuffed, apple cider, and orange-pumpkin buttercream).  Also an “Essential Guide to Thanksgiving”, a green bean casserole that's actually worth eating (“Thanksgiving is the one time of year I eat green bean casserole, so if I’m going to spend hours preparing the rest of the meal, this dish has to measure up to the other sides on the table, not come out of cans”), seven cranberry sauce recipes, and a butternut-squash polenta lasagna that should nicely fill out the Thanksgiving table for your vegetarian family members.  Smitten Kitchen has “perfect, uncluttered chicken stock”;  from Simply Recipes we have an intriguing combination, broccoli apple soup.  And Snack Girl has a very basic roasted turkey breast, DIY peppermint mocha, and a banana bread made with buttermilk instead of butter!

Tomorrow is National Pickle Day (PointsPlus-free) and National Guacamole Day (not);  the day after is Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.  The 17th is National Homemade Bread Day, I may give it a try.


November 13th:  National Indian Pudding Day
November 14th:  National Pickle Day, National Guacamole Day;  1863, birth of Leo Hendrik Baekeland, inventor of Bakelite (telephones used to be made out of it;  so did jewelry, in the 1930s;  the handles on Revere Ware pans still are)
November 15th:  Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, National Raisin Bran Day
November 16th:  National Fast Food Day
November 17th:  Homemade Bread Day, National Baklava Day
November 18th:  National Vichyssoise Day
November 19th:  Carbonated Beverages With Caffeine Day
November 20th:  National Peanut Butter Fudge Day, Beaujolais Nouveau Day


Albertson's:

    Beef t-bone or New York steaks, bone in, $5.97/lb
    Beef roasts or family pack steaks: chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round, sirloin tip, buy 1 get 1
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb
    Assorted pork chops OR country style ribs, bone in, $1.79/lb
    Pork shoulder roast, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.97/lb
    Hormel “Cure 81” spiral cut hams, bone in, $1.99/lb
    American Chef hickory or brown sugar hams, bone in, 4 lbs, $19.99, buy 1 get 1 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White turkey breast, bone in, $1.79/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Land O Lakes butter, 2/$5
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.88
    Tillamook cheeses, 8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, 2/$6
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson ham, turkey, chicken breast, $7.99/lb
        Deli Fresh hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Deli Fresh Provolone/Muenster/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson cheeses, $7.99/lb
    Libby's veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$1
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” veg, 10-12 oz bags, 88¢
    Morningstar Farms meatless entrées, 2/$7
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Honeycrisp apples, $2.99/lb
    Red grapefruit, $1.49/lb
    “Cuties” clementines, 3 lb bag, $2.99
    Pomegranates, 2/$4
    Slicing tomatoes, $1.69/lb
    Hass avocados, large, 4/$
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, $1.49/lb
    Beets, $1.49/bunch
    Rappini, 2 bunches/$3
    Red bell peppers, 2/$3


Bashas':

    Beef crossrib roast, boneless, $2.49/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.49/lb
    Pork chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.59/lb
    Steelhead fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Swai fillets, $2.99/lb
    Food Club butter, $1.99
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.99
    Food Club cream cheese, 8 oz block, 4/$5
    Bush's variety (non-baked) beans, 15-16 oz cans, 99¢
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 99¢
    Veg-all canned mixed veg, 14-15 oz cans, 59¢
    Del Monte fruit, 14-15 oz cans, $1.39
    Apples:  Gala, Fuji, Red/Golden Delicious, 77¢/lb
    Pears:  Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, 77¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef t-bone or NY strip steak, bone in, $6.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.99/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Cook's ham, bone in, shank half, $1.47/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Kroger frozen turkeys, 10-20 lb, 79¢/lb
    Swai fillets, $2.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised $6.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Fry's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.67
    Apples:  Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb (organic, 50¢/lb higher)
    “Halos” clementines, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Honeycrisp apples, $1.99/lb
    Blackberries, 6 oz box, 99¢
    Organic seedless grapes, green or red, $2.99/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢ ea


Safeway:

    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone pot roast, bone in, $2.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Safeway smoked half hams, bone in, shank half, $1.69/lb (rump half 20¢/lb higher)
    Safeway spiral sliced half ham, bone in, $2.29/lb
    Hormel “Cure 81” half ham, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Chicken breast/drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Jennie-O ground turkey breast, 20 oz pkg, $6.49
    Safeway frozen turkeys, 8-22 lb, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase
    Butterball frozen turkeys, 10-22 lb, 99¢/lb with $50 purchase
    Honeysuckle White turkey breast, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Tyson Cornish game hens, twin pack, $1.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Sargento cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$6
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz shreds, $6.99
    Mezzeta pasta sauces, 24-25 oz jars, buy 1 get 1 free
    Safeway Select olive oil, 25 oz bottles, buy 1 get 1 free
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or C&W veggies, 10-16 oz bags, buy 2 get 2 free
    Honeycrisp apples, $1.99/lb
    Envy apples, $1.49/lb
    Fuji or Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.49/lb
    Mangos, 10/$10
    Vine or hothouse tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 2/$4
    Organic winter squashes, “selected varieties”, 99¢/lb



Sprouts:

    Beef NY steaks, boneless, $9.99/lb
    Beef chuck roast or steak, boneless, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $4.99/lb
    Pork loin chops or roast, center cut boneless, $1.99/lb
    Alaskan Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Cherrystone clams, $1.99/lb
    Black mussels OR littleneck clams, $3.99/lb
    4 oz lobster tails, wild caught, $6.99
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $1.48/lb
    Gala apples, 88¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 88¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Texas grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Whole seedless watermelon, 4 lbs/$1
    Organic Bartlett/d'Anjou/Bosc pears, $1.49/lb
    Organic Gala/Granny Smith/Red Delicious apples, 3 lb bag, $2.99
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Asparagus, $1.88/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, OR spinach, 88¢/bunch
    Cucumbers, 2/$1
    Eggplant, 88¢ ea
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning November 6th:

Fooducate has an article analyzing smoothies – not just particular smoothies, but the entire concept.  Are they really good for you?  The upside:  lots of fresh fruit and veggies.  The downside:  that's a lot of calories to be taking onboard in a very short time.  How long would it take, and how much more satified would you feel, if you ate those fruits and veg rather than drinking them?

Kraft's specialty macaroni-and-cheese dinners – not all, only those in novelty shapes marketed to kids – will as of next year carry more whole grain and be artificial-dye-free, colored with paprika and turmeric rather than Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.  Grist has a brief rundown on exactly what “natural flavor” means on an ingredients list, and a new ice-cream that glows in the dark when you lick it.  No mention of the taste.  As I like to say, they're your PointsPlus to spend.  Your £140 (US$225)/scoop, as well.

Recipes!  Chow.com has twenty-two different ways with Thanksgiving turkey and gravy, from bourbon to butterflying, roasting the breast while making confit of the legs, and God help us a turkey cake.  Honest.  Two layers of basically turkey meatloaf, baked in cake pans, one of stuffing.  Frost the layers and sides with mashed potato, top with sweet potatoes and marshmallows.  “This dish is not recommended for people who require an inch of space between food groups.”  Also ginger sweet potatoes, a salad of mustard greens with an anchovy dressing, and a pile of stew recipes to tide you over until Thanksgiving.

More recipes!  Summer Tomato has an egg-and-avocado scramble for breakfast and roasted delicata squash for supper.  Simply Recipes has a sopa seca de fideo with tomatillos, and Smitten Kitchen some truly delicious-looking spinach egg minipizzas.  And Snack Girl has Asian chicken-noodle soup, vegan snacks, and God help us a broccoli bouquet.

The annual inundation of This Is The Best Place To Buy Your Turkey promotions has begun.

The 9th is National Scrapple Day.  Also National Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day,.  Next Tuesday is National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day.  And Sunday, the 10th, is the first day of National Split-Pea Soup Week. 

November 6th:  National Nachos Day, American Heart Association National Healthy Eating Day
November 7th:  Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day, National Men Make Dinner Day
November 8th:  National Harvey Wallbanger Day
November 9th:  National Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day, National Scrapple Day (I do not recommend leaving the scrapple out on the counter until it is bold and pungent, but some people consider food poisoning an adventure)
November 10th:  National Vanilla Cupcake Day
November 11th:  National Sundae Day
November 12th:  National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day
November 13th:  National Indian Pudding Day;  feast of St. Diego Alcala, patron of cooks


Albertson's:

    Honeysuckle White frozen turkeys:  match price at Fry's, Safeway, Bashas'
    Spend $100 in a trip, get a free Honeysuckle White turkey (under 16 lbs)
    Spend $150 in a trip, get a free Honeysuckle White turkey (up to 24 lbs)
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round roast or steaks, boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef t-bone or New York steaks, bone in, $8.99/lb
    Pork loin back ribs, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 3 free
    Assorted pork chops OR country-style ribs, $3.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral cut hams, bone in, $1.99/lb
    American chef boneless hams, 4 lb, $19.99, buy 1 get 1 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole roasting chickens, $1.49/lb
    Butterball frozen turkeys, $1.49/lb
    Honeysuckle frozen turkey breast, $1.79/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Rockfish OR Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds, 2/$5
    Deli:    Jennie-O oven roasted turkey breast, $3.99/lb
        Signature Virginia smoked ham, $3.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson turkey, ham, chicken breast, $7.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride Italian beef/corned beef/beef pastrami, $6.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $6.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson cheeses, $7.99/lb
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, $1
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, $1
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, $1
    Del Monte veggies, 11-15 oz cans, $1
    Del Monte fruit, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$3
    Essential Everyday tomatoes or variety (non-baked) beans, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Essential Everyday olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $4.99
    Wild Harvest olive oil, 17 oz bottles, $4.99
    Dole pineapple, 20 oz cans, $1
    Apples, Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious, 77¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 3 lb bag, $3.99
    Slicing tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Kale, 99¢/bunch
    Red bell peppers, 2/$3
    White or yellow onions, 3 lb bag, $1.98


Bashas':

    Norbest frozen turkeys:  matching prices at Fry's, Albertson's, Safeway (w/ $25 purchase)
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast OR London broil, $3.47/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast, $2.87/lb (steaks, $4.49/lb)
    Beef sirloin steaks, boneless, $4.77/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, $2.87/lb
    Pork loin country style, bone in, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, $3.49/lb
    Pork chops, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, $1.19/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $4.99/lb
    Thresher shark, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, $5.99/lb
    Rainbow trout, dressed, $3.99/lb
    Sea scallops, wild caught, $10.99/lb
    Bashas' milk, gallons, $1.87
    Bashas' cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, $1.59
    Bashas' sour cream, 16 oz tubs, $1.29
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, 99¢/lb
    Food Club fruit, 15 oz cans, 99¢/lb
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 79¢
    Pictsweet frozen veg, 10-12 oz bags, 2/$3
    Gala or Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Pears, Bartlett/Anjou/Bosc, 99¢/lb
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, 99¢ ea


Fry's:

    Kroger frozen turkeys:  match price at Safeway, Bashas', Albertson's
    Beef ribeye or NY strip steak, bone in, 50% off
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb (3 lb chub)
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin center chops, boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in, 99¢/lb
    Kroger frozen turkeys, 16-20 lb, 79¢/lb
    Tyson boneless skinless chicken breast, 2 lb IQF bag, $7.47
    Kroger 85/15 ground turkey, 1 lb pkg, $3.29
    Atlantic salmon fillets, $7.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Kroger frozen veg, 12-16 oz bags, 10/$10
    Weight Watchers frozen chicken breast or patties, 30-32 oz boxes, $7.99
    Honeycrisp apples, $1.27/lb
    Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Pomegranates, 2/$4
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, 99¢/lb
    “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 99¢
    Organic kale, 2 bunches/$4


Safeway:

    Safeway turkeys:  “Any competitor's advertised price”
    Beef chuck crossrib steak, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, boneless, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone steak, bone in, value pack, $2.79/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $1.59/lb
    Safeway smoked hams, bone in, shank half, $1.69/lb (rump half, 20¢/lb higher)
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Chicken leg quarters, bone in, value pack, $1.29/lb
    Safeway frozen turkeys, 8-22 lb, 79¢/lb with $25 purchase
    Butterball frozen turkeys, 16-22 lb, 99¢/lb with $50 purchase
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Oroweat variety breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or C&W frozen veg, 10-16 oz bags, buy 2 get 2 free
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites”, 5/$10
    HoneyCrisp apples, $2.99/lb
    Envy apples, $1.49/lb
    Fuji or Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Bosc or red pears, $1.49/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.49/lb
    Safeway Farms grape tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, $2.99
    Peeled “baby-cut” carrots, 2 lb bag, 2/$5
    Pomegranates, 2/$5


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast, boneless, “custom-cut to your specifications”, $2.99/lb
    Beef New York steak, bone in, $6.99/lb
    Beef short ribs or stew meat, boneless, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $4.49/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast OR spare ribs, $2.99/lb
    Farmland ham steaks, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Stuffed salmon, 6 oz portions, $2.99
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $12.99/lb
    Sprouts canned pumpkin, 15 oz cans, 5/$5
    Sprouts frozen veg, 1 lb bags, 2/$3
    Sprouts olive oil, 1 litre (33 oz) bottles, $6.99
    “Apple-anche”!  Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Red/Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Braeburn, Cameo,
        Ambrosia, Jazz, Cripps Pink, Rome, McIntosh, Granny Smith, ALL 88¢/lb!
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    “Texas Pink” grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Black seedless grapes, 98¢/lb
    Organic pears:  Bartlett, D'Anjou, Bosc, $1.49/lb
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Bananas, 48¢/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$4
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, 88¢ ea
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning October 30th:

Kellogg's have a new line of multi-grain bars:  “Special K Nourish Multi-grain with Quinoa”.  The Fooducators approve:  the new bars contain no hydrogenated oils and no artificial colorings or flavors.  They're also 170 calories per bar, nearly twice the 90 calories of Special K's other bars – but as the column points out, “those 90-calorie bars were a scam.  You would eat them and be hungry again 30 minutes later.”

Marion Nestle has a link to a very hard-hitting report, Clowning Around with Charity:  How McDonald's Exploits Philanthropy and Targets Children (pdf file).  Do members of your family think anything “healthy” must be boring or flavorless?  It's often sadly true of “diet” foods and industrially farmed vegetables, but Darya at Summer Tomato has a set of “Jedi Mind Tricks” (“You don't need to see my recipe book!  These aren't the healthy foods you're looking for!”) to persuade people to eat healthy and enjoy it.  And from The Kitchn, just in time for soup season, 10 lessons about cooking learned from soup!  (The pressure cooker is magic.  The freezer is your friend.  Turkey stock is why turkeys exist.)

Recipes!  From Chow.com a set of Halloween cocktail-party recipes, some boozy, some autumnal, some just odd (elk meatballs?) a few stupendously pricey (elk meatballs?).  Also spinach pesto fusilli, lentil salad with crostini, and steel-cut oatmeal in the slow cooker!  Smitten Kitchen has a frittata, “heavy on the vegetables but with enough golden potatoes and cheese that it doesn't feel overly abstemious”.  Simply Recipes has two soups:  one of white beans and ham with pumpkin and chard, one Italian egg-drop that looks absolutely gorgeous.  And Snack Girl has a 4-PointsPlus fruit cocktail crisp, butternut squash soup in pumpkin bowls, tips for a healthy Halloween, and an analysis of KFC's new Go Cup:  chicken fingers and fries in a cup that fits in your car's cup holder.  “I managed to drop my chicken tender on the floor of my car – which we all know is a very sanitary place.”  Also it has 28 grams of fat, 1440 milligrams of sodium, and you get fried-chicken gunk all over the steering wheel.



Relevant to Connie's mention tonight of the hazards of bariatric surgery:  this series of postings from Junkfood Science has some chilling information. 

The Mayo Clinic reported in 2000 that 20% to 25% of gastric bypass patients develop life-threatening complications, but the recent Lap-Band U.S. clinical trials done to earn FDA approval reported 89% of patients had at least one adverse event, one-third of them severe. Complications from lap bands are more likely to require surgery to correct and the bands result in so much more vomiting, they are known as “surgical-induced” bulimia among medical professionals.

Tomorrow, of course, is National Candy Apple Day and National Trick Or Treat For UNICEF Day.  Monday, the 4th, is National Candy Day as if one could stand the thought of the stuff so soon.  On a healthier note, November is Good Nutrition Month.  Also National Apple Month, the third of three consecutive such, which may be a tribute either to the apple itself or to the apple growers' lobby.  And November 2nd is National Learn To Homebrew Day!


October 30th:  National Candy Corn Day
October 31st:  National Caramel Apple Day, National Trick Or Treat For UNICEF Day
November 1st:  National Fried Clams Day
November 2nd:  National Deviled Egg Day
November 3rd:  National Sandwich Day;  birthday (1718) of John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, after whom Captain Cook named the Sandwich Islands.  The Earl is said to have invented the sandwich as a quick fueling-up method that would not interrupt his card games
November 4th:  National Candy Day
November 5th:  National Doughnut Day;  Remember, remember, the Fifth of November
November 6th:  National Nachos Day


Albertson's:

    Spend $100 in a trip, get a free Honeysuckle White turkey, under 16 lbs
    Spend $150 in a trip, get a free Honeysuckle White turkey, up to 24 lbs
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, $8.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Assorted pork chops, $1.79/lb
    Hormel pork tenderloin tips, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast/thighs/tenders, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Wild Harvest Omega-3 eggs, AA large, dozens, 2/$5
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 6 oz chunk, buy 1 get 1 free
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 8 oz shreds, buy 1 get 1 free
    Deli:    Signature Virginia ham, $4.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson lunchmeats, “select varieties”, $7.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson cheeses, $4.99/lb
        Signature Muenster or Provolone, $4.99/lb
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Red seedless grapes, 89¢/lb
    Sonya apples, $1.99/lb
    Gala or Red Delicious apples, 3 lb bag, $2.99
    Organic Fuji apples, $2.49/lb
    Organic bananas, 79¢/lb
    Pomegranates, 2/$4
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Cucumbers, 79¢ ea


Bashas':

    Beef t-bone or boneless top sirloin steaks, value pack, $4.77/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, $4.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $3.99/lb
    Chicken breasts or leg quarters, bone in, 97¢/lb
    Pork roast, boneless, $3.49/lb
    “Pork loin country style”, value pack, $2.49/lb
    Pork chops, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    North Pacific salmon steaks, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Red trout fillets, $5.99/lb
    Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb “weather permitting”
    Catfish fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Food Club butter, 2/$5
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/cubelets, $1.79
    Nature's Own bread, 20 oz long loaves, $2.29
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 88¢
    Food Club pasta, 13-16 oz pkg, 88¢
    Food Club tomatoes or veg, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Chicken of the Sea chunk white tuna, 5 oz cans, 99¢
    Flav-R-Pac frozen veg, 12-16 oz pkg, 10/$10
    Red seedless grapes, 87¢/lb (green or black, $1.99/lb)
    Apples:  Gala, Fuji, Red/Golden Delicious, 77¢/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.49/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 2 lbs/$3
    Bell peppers, green/red/gold, 77¢ ea
    OrganicGirl box salads, 5-8 oz, $2.99




Fry's:

    Beef roasts:  sirloin tip, eye/top round, chuck, shoulder, 50% off
    Beef top sirloin, boneless, $5.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.99/lb (2 lb chub)
    Pork loin back ribs OR St Louis-style ribs, $2.49/lb
    Pork loin center chops, boneless, family pack, $2.99/lb
    Kroger boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.49/lb
    Honeysuckle frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.49/lb
    Kroger frozen turkeys, 10-20 lb, 79¢/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, $1.79
    Raspberries or blackberries, 6 oz boxes, 4/$5
    Honeycrisp apples, $1.99/lb (organic, $2.99/lb
    Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    “Mini seedless” watermelons, 2/$6
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Red or yellow bell peppers, 4/$5
    “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 99¢
    Simple Truth box spring mix or baby spinach, 1 lb, $4.49


Safeway:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, boneless, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Beef chuck crossrib steak, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef London broil, boneless, $3.99/lb
    90/10 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.79/lb
    Safeway Farms chicken leg quarters, bone in, value pack, $1.29/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Jennie O ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $3.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, value pack,$5.99/lb
    Swordfish steaks, bone in, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5./lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.87
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Open Nature breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Del Monte fruit, 14-15 oz cans, $1.69
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb bags, buy 1 get 1 free
    Safeway Kitchens long-grain rice, 20 lb bag, $10.79
    Healthy Choice “Bakes” frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Apples:  Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, $1.99/lb
    Scarlotta red seedless grapes, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.69/lb
    “Texas Ruby Red” grapefruit, 99¢ ea
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Pomegranates, 2/$5
    Valencia oranges, 99¢/lb
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, $1.99/lb


Sprouts:

    All ground beef/chicken/pork/lamb/turkey, 40% off
    Beef sirloin tip steaks or roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    Beef NY steak, boneless, $9.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Ahi tuna steaks, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 88¢
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 88¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, 2 lbs/$4
    Gala apples, 88¢/lb (organic, $1.49/lb
    Organic Bartlett or Bosc pears, $1.49/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$4
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Garnet or Jewel yams, 88¢/lb