Bargain guide, week beginning April 24th:

From Fooducate:  should chocolate milk made with artificial sweeteners have to be labeled as such?  Discuss.  (The dairy industry is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to rule that artificially sweetened chocolate milk can be labeled “chocolate milk”, not “reduced-calorie chocolate milk”.)  Also, everything you need to know about mozzarella cheese and how to make insalata Capresa!

From Grist, a McDonald's hamburger that's fourteen years old and still looks nearly as fresh as the day it was made.  Marion Nestle at Food Politics touches on the artificial-sweeteners-in-chocolate-milk issue as well, along with the National Education Policy Center at University of Colorado, Boulder's new report, Promoting Consumption at School:  Health Threats Associated with Schoolhouse Commercialism, which looks like interesting reading.  Darya Pino, at Summer Tomato, has a great piece on “6 Ways Eating Out Causes Overeating (And How To Stop It)”.  And here is her handy flowchart graphic for “How To Find Real Food At The Supermarket”.

Recipes!  Chow.com has eight ways to make chicken-and-rice, a salad of snap peas, Supertaster's review of the new Kashi “Steam Meals”, and two perfectly timed videos:  one on how to choose and store asparagus (yum), the other on a shrimp-pasta dinner in ten minutes – toss in some white wine and you've got an emergency version of scampi, just in time for National Shrimp Scampi Day next Monday.  Simply Recipes has simple pasta with garlic and Parmesan cheese, and a shrimp-and-snow-peas stirfry.  And Snack Girl has ways to lighten up deviled eggs, chocolate-dipped strawberries at 1 PointsPlus per strawberry, and DIY Doritos! 

The aforementioned Shrimp Scampi Day is not the only food holiday this week:  tomorrow is National Zucchini Bread Day, followed sequentially by National Pretzel Day and National Prime Rib Day.  The 30th is National Raisin Day.  And of course one week from today is May Day, International Workers' Day, ancient fire festival of Beltane, the very balance-point of Spring and Summer: 

May I make my fond excuses for the lateness of the hour,
But I accept your invitation, and I bring you Beltane's flower.
For the May Day is the great day, sung along the Old Straight Track,
And those who ancient lines did lay will heed this Song that calls them back!
– Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)

April 24th:  National Pigs In A Blanket Day
April 25th:  National Zucchini Bread Day
April 26th:  National Pretzel Day
April 27th:  National Prime Rib Day
April 28th:  National Blueberry Pie Day;  1796, Amelia Simmons publishes American Cookery, first cookbook written by an American
April 29th:  National Shrimp Scampi Day
April 30th:  National Raisin Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day;  Mr. Potato Head Day (1952, the Mr. Potato Head toy first marketed;  first toy to be advertised on television;  The original version included hands, feet, ears, four noses, two sets of eyes, two mouths, three hats, eyeglasses, and a pipe.  You supplied your own potato)
May 1st:  May Day;  National Chocolate Parfait Day



Albertson's:

    Beef London broil, boneless, $2.77/lb
    Beef ribeye, NY, or t-bone steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round roasts or family pack steaks, boneless, $3.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.77/lb (3 lbs or more)
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, $1.59/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Pork picnic shoulder roast, bone in, whole in bag, $1.29/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced half ham, bone in, $1.29/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole frying chickens OR jumbo pack leg quarters, 88¢/lb
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $3.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Catfish/tilapia/swai fillets, farm raised, $2.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.79
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, dozens, $1.27
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 8 oz chunk, $1.99
    Deli:      Jennie-O “deli style” turkey, $4.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $4.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride pastrami OR corned beef, $4.99/lb
        Deli Fresh Muenster/Provolone/pepperjack/mild Cheddar cheeses, $4.99/lb
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, $1
    American Beauty pasta, 12-16 oz pkg, $1
    Hunt's diced tomatoes OR tomato sauce, 14-15 oz cans, $1
    Filippo Berio olive oil, half litre bottles, $3.99
    Essential Everyday frozen veggies, 1 lb bags, $1
    PictSweet “Steamables” frozen veg, 8-12 oz pkg, 2/$5
    Smart Ones “Bistro Selections” frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Fuji apples, $1/lb
    Navel oranges, $1/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Sweet corn, 4 pk, $2.99
    Cambray (bulbed) green onions, 69¢/bunch
    Whole seedless watermelons, $2.49 ea
    Bell peppers, red/yellow/orange, $1 ea
    Iceberg, $1 ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, $1/lb


Bashas':

    Beef London broil, value pack, $2.77/lb (regular pack $1/lb higher)
    Beef top round steaks, $3.77/lb
    Ground beef round, fat content not listed, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Pork country style ribs, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Pork shoulder steak, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Catfish fillets, farm raised, $2.99/lb
    Corvina sea bass fillets, wild caught, $7/99/lb
    Walleyed pike fillets, wild caught I assume, $10.99/lb
    Bashas' eggs, AA large, dozens, 88¢
    All Shamrock Farms dairy, 50% off
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/cubelets, 5/$10
    Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna, 88¢
    Flav-R-Pac frozen veg, 1 lb bags, 88¢
    OrganicGirl box salads, buy 1 get 1 free


Fry's:

    Beef flat iron steaks, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.99/lb (2 lb chub)
    Pork loin back ribs OR St Louis-style spareribs, buy 1, get 2 free
    Pork loin center chops, boneless, family pack, $3.79/lb
    Kroger boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.79/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.88
    Kroger cream cheese, 8 oz block, 2/$3
    Bush's Best baked beans, 21-28 oz cans, $1.88
    Kroger sour cream OR cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, 4/$5
    Smart Ones frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Mini seedless watermelons, 4/$5
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Cantaloupes, $1.99 ea
    English cucumbers, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢/lb (I think this should read “99¢ each”)
    Artichokes, 10/$10
    Asparagus, $2.99/lb
    Simple Truth organic box salads, $2.99
    Tiny rose in a pot with a trellis, $11.99, but they have not yet bred a mini rose with a scent, pity


Safeway:

    Beef round tip roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, value pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef chuck steak, thin cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    90/10 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, value pack, $1.99/lb (regular pack, 80¢/lb higher)
    Pork shoulder blade steak, bone in, value pack, $2.49/lb
    Safeway smoked shank half ham, bone in, 99¢/lb (rump half, 20¢/lb higher)
    Chicken breasts/drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Rockfish fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb “weather permitting”
    Swai fillets, farm raised, $3.99/lb
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99/lb
    Bush's Best baked beans, 28 oz cans, 2/$4
    Bush's “Grillin'” beans, 21-22 oz cans, 2/$4 but I cannot figure out how one would grill a bean
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 99¢
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 99¢
    Safeway Kitchens pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 99¢
    Safeway Select pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, 3/$5
    Safeway long-grain brown rice, 5 lb bag, $3.99
    Safeway Kitchens fruit cups, 4 pk, 2/$4
    Green Giant frozen veg, 7-10 oz boxes, 3/$6
    Pantry Essentials frozen veg, 12 oz pkg, 99¢
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 99¢
    Apples, Gala or Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Red or Ataulfo mangos, 10/$10
    Red or black seedless grapes, $2.99/lb
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.99/lb
    Sweet corn, white, 2/$1
    Bell peppers, red/yellow/orange, 4/$5


Sprouts:

    Beef NY steaks, bone in, $5.99/lb
    Beef chuck roast or steaks, boneless, $3.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $4.99/lb
    Pork loin chops or roast, center cut, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Ground chicken or chicken  breast, $2.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Corvina sea bass fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 88¢
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Whole seedless watermelons, 3 lbs/$1
    Cantaloupes OR mini watermelons, 2/$5
    Organic cantaloupes OR honeydew melons, 99¢/lb
    Sweet corn, white, 3/$1
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢/lb
    Red bell peppers, 3/$1
    Yellow or orange bell peppers, 88¢ ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning April 17th:

Occasional explanation and disclaimer:  Every Wednesday I go through the newspaper grocery flyers.  I should explain that I don't include every item listed in the flyers.  My emphasis in both the handout and this blog is on, as Michael Pollan says, “the edges of the supermarket”:  the least processed food items, with a secondary emphasis on the low-calorie and low-PointsPlus.  I add items of at least marginal relevance from various food blogs and other sources, all of which are clickable links at the blog.  Please note:  This is not in any way, shape, form, or fashion to be regarded as an official Weight Watchers publication.  Not remotely.  So very not. 

I see where Wendy's has surpassed itself, at least in Canada, by introducing a meal called the Ultimate Canadian Combo:  a double Baconator (two beef patties, cheese, six strips of bacon) with a side of poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy) and a medium soft drink.  Including the beverage it weighs over 2 ¼ pounds, with 1860 calories and nearly three and a half grams of sodium.

The Chair of the American Medical Association Council on Science and Public Health … moonlights for Coca-Cola.  Naaah, no conflict of interest there.

Fooducate has a set of tips on how to eat a bit healthier if you're going to a chain restaurant (fish, soup, side dishes, and be careful of the salads), a small rant about science research that's funded by industry (the next time you read a news report about how golfumbiriberry juice is good for your ingrown teeth and will cure Twonk's Disease and fallen armpits, look at who paid for the research:  a buck'll get you five it was the golfumbiriberry growers), and the up-and-coming source for vegetable protein:  peas.  Far less likely to be genetically modified than soy protein, and less likely to trigger allergic reactions.

Recipes!  From Chow.com a pile of salmon recipes (the egg-and-smoked-salmon-on-an-English-muffin looks good to me, although the smoked-salmon-crème-fraîche-and-caviar potato skins might be a bit much), a double handful of salad dressings, and twenty-seven portable and healthy DIY hiking snacks.  More travel snacks from Sprouted Kitchen including kale salad in a jar, DIY trailmix, and spicy lentil summer rolls that hold up will and do not require a dipping sauce, and thus are air-travel-friendly:  “I have had sauce taken by airport security (what is my life?)”.  Simply Recipes has Southern-style collard greens and a chicken-coriander-cilantro-chard stew (yes, cilantro is the leaf, coriander is the seed).  And Snack Girl has healthy chocolate smoothies, spaghetti-squash casserole, and a surpassingly delicious topping for pancakes/waffles/French toast that is just mashed warmed banana.

Saturday, the 20th, is National Food Day.  It's also Lima Bean Respect Day, in honor of which I append to this handout the Baked Salmon And Lima Loaf recipe.  A perfect example of why limas get as little respect as they do, but a bit of seasoning might help, and the PointsPlus count is 5 per serving.  Jelly beans, celebrated the 22nd, are inherently respectable.  And the 23rd is National Picnic Day – a great time to celebrate it, before the heat sets in.

April 17th:  National Cheese Ball Day
April 18th:  National Animal Cracker Day
April 19th:  National Garlic Day, National Amaretto Day
April 20th:  Food Day, Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day, Lima Bean Respect Day
April 21st:  National Chocolate Covered Cashew Truffle Day
April 22nd:  Earth Day, National Jelly Bean Day;  1878, first White House Easter Egg Roll (previously they had been held on the Capital grounds)
April 23rd:  National Picnic Day, National Cherry Cheesecake Day;  1985, in one of the bigger errors of judgment in food and beverage history, Coca-Cola changes its formula
April 24th:  National Pigs In A Blanket Day;  1949, chocolate rationing ends in Britain


Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye or New York steaks, bone in (single pack) or boneless (family pack) $5.97/lb
    Beef ribeye or New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $4.97/lb
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, $4.99/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    Beef London broil, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round roast or family pack steaks, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef flat iron steak, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Pork country-style ribs, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.88/lb
    Tilapia fillets, 1 lb IQF bag, $9.99, buy 1 get 2 free
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Rockfish or Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.79
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Smart Balance spread, 13-15 oz tubs, $2.99
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson maple or Virginia ham, $7.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson “classic” or Santa Fe turkey breast, $7.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride regular or Italian roast beef, corned beef, beef pastrami, $6.99/lb
        Jennie-O hickory smoked turkey breast OR turkey pastrami, $3.99/lb
        Eckrich “Super Lean” ham, $3.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson lacy or baby-Swiss cheese, $7.99/lb
    Kellogg's breakfast cereals, 15-18 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Kellogg's Special K bars, 5-8 ct, 2/$5
    Classico pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, $1.99
    Essential Everyday frozen veggies, 16 oz bags, 99¢
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Ataulfo mangos, 69¢ ea
    Star fruit, $1.99 ea
    Whole jumbo cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Cut up fruit bowls, watermelon OR cantaloupe OR pineapple OR strawberries, 20-32 oz, $3.99
    Sweet corn, 6/$1
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 99¢ ea


Bashas':

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $3.87/lb
    Beef crossrib steak or roast, $4.99/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.87/lb
    “Assorted” pork chops, value pack, $1.37/lb
    Center cut pork chops or roast, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raosed, $4.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Shamrock Farms milk, gallons, 2/$5
    Yoplait yogurts, 10/$5
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$5
    Fooc Club cheeses, 2 lb chunk or shreds, $7.77
    Nature's Own “Butter Top” bread, 20 oz long loaves, $1.79
    Barilla pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 99¢
    Del Monte pasta sauces, 26 oz cans, 99¢
    Del Monte veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 99¢
    Chicken of the Sea chunk white tuna, 99¢
    Kellogg's Special K/Fiber Plus/Nutri-Grain bars, 4-10 oz pkg, $1.99
    Weight Watchers ice-cream novelties, 6-12 ct, $4.99
    Kashi frozen entrées, 2/$6
    Whole seedless watermelons, 25¢/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $1.25
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Plants in 4 inch pots,  non edible, AZ grown, $1.99
    Plants in 6 inch pots, non edible, AZ grown, $4.99
    Pothos and ivy in a six inch pot with a trellis, AZ grown, $7.99


Fry's:

    Beef top sirloin, boneless, whole thing in a bag, $3.99/lb, sliced & wrapped free
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $4.99/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Foster Farms chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in, $1.69/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $4.99
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.79
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.88
    Bush's baked beans, 21-28 oz cans, $1.88
    Smart Ones frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Strawberries, 4 lb flat (good Lord, good Lord), $3.49 – make jam
    Apples:  Fuji, Gala, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    “Mini seedless” watermelons, $2.99 ea
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢/lb
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, 99¢/lb
    “Mini peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 99¢
    Bulb plants in six inch pots, some may be edible, $6.99


Safeway:

    Beef London broil, boneless, value pack, $2.79/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Beef top round roast, boneless, $2.79/lb
    Beef chuck steak, thin cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or country style ribs, boneless, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon whole side of the fish, value pack (decidedly), $8.99/lb (cut up, 50¢/lb higher)
    Safeway Kitchens yellowfin sole fillets, 24 oz IQF bag, $8.99
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.79
    Lucerne OR Simple Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Sargento string cheeses, 9-12 oz, 2/$7
    Oroweat “100% whole wheat” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $3.29
    Safeway Kitchens “crushed wheat” or “100% wheat” bread, 22 oz long loaves, $1.99
    Safeway Kitchens pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 5/$5
    Del Monte veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites” frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Safeway Kitches frozen veg, 24-32 oz bags, 2/$5
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, $2.99/lb
    Organic Fuji or Red Delicious apples, $1.49/lb
    Organic mini watermelons, $4.69
    Asparagus, 99¢/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $2.69/lb
    Fresh Express OR Safeway Farms bag salads, buy 1 get 1 free
    Plants in 5 inch pots, $10.99


Sprouts:

    Grass fed organic ground beef, fat content not listed, $4.99/lb … um, yeah.
    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, $5.99/lb
    Beef rump roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, boneless, $1.69/lb
    Ground pork or chicken, $2.99/lb
    Whole or cut-up chickens, $1.59/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$3
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 88¢ ea
    Whole pineapples, 88¢ ea
    Whole seedless watermelons, 3 lbs/$1
    Seedless grapes, green or red, 2 lbs/$5
    Organic Fuji or Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 2 lbs/$3
    Organic vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.99/lb
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb



BAKED LIMA and SALMON LOAF

(From Good Housekeeping, March 1940. Actually printed in an ad for Seaside lima beans.)

3 cups cooked, dried limas
2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 cup flaked canned salmon
1/2 cup canned tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 slightly beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped pimiento
1/4 cup buttered crumbs

Mash limas and combine with all ingredients except buttered crumbs. Place in greased 5 1/2" x 7" loaf pan and sprinkle with buttered crumbs. Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) about 45 minutes. Serves 8.  (My suggestion:  some onion would not go amiss.)

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning April 10th:

Cool stuff at Fooducate this week:  how to work more broccoli into your life (not a problem for me as I have the good fortune to love the stuff) and a “cheat sheet” guide to cuts of beef, where on the steer they come from, and how best to cook them.

Per Grist, you may be forced to change your choice of beverages:  climate change is seriously affecting the worldwide wine industry, with a forecast 85% decline in grape production in Bordeaux, Rhone, and Tuscany.  And someone (or more likely some several) stole eleven thousand pounds of Nutella in Germany:  “The AP reports that the delicious, delicious haul was worth about $20,000, although realistically, you don’t steal 11,000 pounds of Nutella because you’re planning to sell it on the black market. You steal 11,000 pounds of Nutella because there’s 11,000 pounds of Nutella to steal.”

Marion Nestle touches on the use of the word “protein” as a marketing hook, with piles and piles of links as well as her own comment that Americans tend to consume protein “at levels greatly in excess of requirements”.  She's also got a column on the “Mediterranean” diet, exactly what the recent study lauding it involved, and what the diet itself is and is not.  “It does not mean supersize bowls of macaroni smothered in cheese,” she points out;  but also, “I think the best reason for following a Mediterranean diet is that its foods are terrific to eat. Pasta, vegetables, a fish, some good bread, and a glass of wine? Sounds good to me, any time.”  I'll nibble to that.

Recipes!  Chow.com has a swift Lemon Shrimp Pasta, spring-veggie side dishes, and how to make carrot chips.  Darya at Summer Tomato has “How To Make (And Eat) A Perfect Steamed Artichoke”.  She likes them with olive oil, lemon, and parsley:  now there's a way to work your Healthy Oils in!  Sprouted Kitchen has “bean bowls with poached eggs”.  Snack Girl has raw asparagus salad, meat substitutes, and “The Fool Proof {sic} Way To Cook Brown Rice”.  And Smitten Kitchen explores quick solo lunches – “What do you make yourself for lunch, if nobody else is around? I bet you’re hoping I’m going to say something ambitious, like 'a gently poached chicken breast, cooled and sliced across a vegetable salad with a hand-whisked vinaigrette,' because that happens, ever” – and proceeds to detail for us, in the “stuff on bread” category, Spinach And Smashed Egg Toast.  (This is, as she points out, a one-pan lunch because “a pot used only to boil an egg is, pffft, still totally clean, right?”)

The 15th is Glazed Spiral Ham Day.  The day after is both Day of the Mushroom and National Eggs Benedict Day, a commendable combination.  And the day after that being National Cheese Ball Day, I present once again Chow.com's inspiring, or horrifying, four-pound Turducken of Cheese Balls otherwise known as The Cheese Ball As Big As Your Head.

April 10th:  National Cinnamon Crescent Day
April 11th:  National Cheese Fondue Day
April 12th:  National Licorice Day, National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
April 13th:  National Peach Cobbler Day
April 14th:  National Pecan Day
April 15th:  National Glazed Spiral Ham Day
April 16th:  National Eggs Benedict Day, Day of the Mushroom
April 17th:  National Cheese Ball Day


Albertson's:

    Beef New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $4.97/lb (regular pack, $1/lb higher)
    Beef London broil/crossrib/bottom round roasts or family pack steaks, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    85/15 ground beef, $2.97/lb (3 lbs or more)
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Sanderson Farms chicken breast/thighs/drums/leg quarters, bone in, jumbo pack, 99¢/lb
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, $4.99/lb
    Alaska halibut, wild caught, 5 oz skinless portions, $6.99 ea
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.79
    Deli:    Unbranded (store) rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) “double honey” ham, $5.99/lb
        Jennie-O “Honey Smoked” or “Oven Brown” turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Signature ham, $5.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson medium roast beef OR London broil, $9.99/lb
        Joseph Farms pepperjack/Colby/Co-jack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Nature's Own “Honey Wheat” bread, 20 oz long loaves, $1.99
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 88¢
    Essential Everyday pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 88¢
    V-8 vegetable juice or V-Fusion, 46 oz bottles, 2/$5
    Healthy Choice frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Skinny Cow ice-cream novelties, 4-12 ct, 2/$7
    Strawberries, 3 lb flat, $2.97 (make jam)
    Cantaloupes, 2/$4
    Fuji apples, $1/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, $1/lb
    Roma tomatoes, $1/lb
    EuroFresh Farms vine tomatoes, 14 oz pkg, 2/$5
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, $1/lb
    Carnival cauliflower (in colors!  Green!  Yellow!  Purple!  Very festive!), $1/lb
    Green Giant “Sweet Baby Broccoli” (looks like broccolini to me), 1 lb bag, $3.99
    Earthbound Farms organic box salads, $2.99
    Zucchini squash, $1/lb


Bashas':

    Beef London broil, $3.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $4.49/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.39/lb
    Pork chops, center cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, buy 1 get 2 free
    Sanderson Farms whole frying chickens, $1.19/lb
    True cod fillets, $6.99/lb
    Bashas' milk, gallons, $1.79
    Tillamook cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, 5/$10
    Food Club butter, $2.49
    Bashas' cottage cheese incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, 2/$3
    Bashas' “Homestyle” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.79
    Healthy Choice frozen entrées, 2/$5
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 99¢
    Cantaloupe, 39¢/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, regular OR organic, $1.99/lb
    Cherub (10 oz) or grape (12 oz) tomatoes, $1.99
    Artichokes, extra large, 2/$4
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 99¢
    Zucchini, regular OR organic, 88¢/lb



Fry's:

    Beef NY strip steaks, bone in, 50% off
    Beef flat iron steaks, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Beef chuck or crossrib roast, boneless, $4.49/lb
    Pork loin chops, “assorted” bone-in, family pack, $2.39/lb
    Foster Farms boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders, $3.49/lb
    Jennie-O 99/1 ground turkey breast, 20 oz pkg, $6.49
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 6 oz shingle pack, $1.88
    Kroger cottage cheese incl. Light, 24 oz tubs, $1.99
    Bush's baked beans, 21-28 oz cans, $1.88
    S&W OR Del Monte tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Apples:  Fuji, Gala, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, buy 1 get 1 free
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, 99¢/lb


Safeway:

    Mix and match sale:  buy 1 get 1 free
        Beef chuck pot roast, boneless
        Beef crossrib roast, boneless
        90/10 ground beef, regular packs
        Pork loin chops, bone in
        Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast

    Beef ribeye steak, bone in, value pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef bottom round steak, thin cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steak, boneless, value pack, $8.99/lb
    Beef chuck steak OR country style ribs, boneless, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Open Nature whole chickens, $1.99/lb
    Safeway chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, value pack, $1.29/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon whole fillet, farm raised, $8.99/lb (cut up fillets, 50¢/lb higher)
    Lucerne cheeses, 16 oz chunk or shreds, $3.99
    Kraft cheeses, 6-12 oz shreds, shingle or “Singles”, $2.99
    Hunt's tomatoes or sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Healthy Choice “Baked” frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 99¢
    “Mini seedless” watermelons, $3.49 ea
    Apples:  Fuji, Red/Golden Delicious, $1.39/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Whole pineapples, $2.99 ea
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $2.49/lb



Sprouts:

    Beef London broil, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef top round steak or roast, OR extra lean stew meat, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast OR country-style ribs, boneless, $1.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Halibut fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/b
    Seafood-stuffed salmon fillets, 6 oz portion, $3.99 ea
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $1.48
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Braeburn or Golden Delicious apples, 88¢/lb
    Red mangos, 88¢ ea
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, 2 lbs/$5
    Cantaloupes, 2/$4
    Mini watermelons, 2/$5
    Organic Bartlett pears, 2 lbs/$3
    Organic apples:  Fuji, Cameo, Red Delicious, $1.49/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 88¢/lb (organic, $1.99/lb)
    Organic grape tomatoes, dry pint, $1.99
    Asparagus, 88¢/lb
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning April 3rd:

According to Fooducate, 91% of fast-food meals marketed to children do not meet the restaurant industry's own standards for child nutrition.

Marion Nestle, at Food Politics, has an interesting collection of information about menu nutrition labels (“Remember them?”).  Apparently they do work, especially when accompanied by traffic-light labeling (green light for foods under 400 calories, red for those over 800 calories, yellow for things in between).  But the restaurant and food industries are frantically lobbying for any exemption they can get.  And the New York Times has a very good editorial about that city's short-lived ban on soft drinks over 16 ounces:  “After all, people can still get as much soda as they want. This isn’t Prohibition. It’s just that getting it would take slightly more effort. So, why is this such a big deal?”  Good question.

Recipes!  Chow.com has a collection of recipes using spring ingredients, long on early veggies and fruits;  “29 Unexpected Ways to Eat More Whole Grains” including a spinach-feta-and-quinoa chowder that might be tasty;  things to do with that huge slab of leftover Easter ham/lamb/you name it; and how to make something very like soft-serve ice-cream out of a banana.  Simply Recipes has baked asparagus with Parmesan, which I shall try as soon as there is some decent non-sprue asparagus to be had, and salmon with a hoisin glaze.  Smitten Kitchen has a salad of lentils and chickpeas that sounds uninspiring but which the blogger alleges to be “one of the most intense and complexly flavored salad experiences I’ve ever made at home”.  And Snack Girl explores the making of real maple syrup – a truly natural sweetener which ranges from distressingly expensive to shudderingly expensive, but as she points out, this helps you to use it in moderation – a reasonably convincing but healthier take on a cheese danish, and a wonderfully mean-spirited review of Lunchables.  (“The truth is that they have gotten worse than when I checked them out two years ago.... Oreos, weird chicken things, ketchup, and a fruit smoothie.  Does that look like food to you?”)

Welcome to April, National BLT Month which you apparently should make with Florida tomatoes as it's also National Florida Tomato Month although you can get locally grown ones for a good price.  It's also National Garden Month.  This Saturday, April 6th, is the 59th birthday of the TV dinner – first released in 1954, turkey, dressing, and peas-and-sweet-potatoes.  And the 7th, Sunday, is National Beer Day – the 70th anniversary of the first beer sales anticipating repeal of Prohibition.


April 3rd:  National Chocolate Mousse Day (or National Chocolate Moose Day)
April 4th:  Chocolate Milk Powder Day, National Cordon Bleu Day
April 5th:  Dandelion Day (Dandelion greens are good, as is dandelion wine), National Caramel Day
April 6th:  Fresh Tomato Day, TV Dinner Day
April 7th:  National Coffee Cake Day, National Beer Day
April 8th:  National Empanada Day
April 9th:  National Chinese Almond Cookie Day
April 10th:  Cinnamon Crescent Day



Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef ribeye OR New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef crossrib/bottom round/eye round/London broil roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb (any size package)
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb (3 lbs or more)
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Center cut pork loin chops, bone in, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast OR thighs, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, jumbo pack, $1.29/lb
    Tilapia OR swai fillets, farm raised, $2.88/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Rockfish OR Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, 15 oz tubs, $1.99
    Albertson's sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson chicken breast varieties, $5.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride corned beef/Italian roast beef/beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Jennie-O “Honey Smoked” or “Oven Brown” turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Signature baked or double-honey ham, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $5.99/lb
    Ro*tel tomatoes, $1
    Essential Everyday tomatoes, 28 oz cans, $1
    Essential Everyday fruit, 15 oz cans, $1
    Fuji apples, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Mangos, 99¢ ea
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $2.99
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $2.99/lb
    Bananas, 39¢/lb
    Cut up watermelon, 2 lb bowl, $3.99
    Cut up “fruit medley”, 36 oz bowl, $5.99
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Live Gourmet butter lettuce, root on, 2/$4
    Earthbound Farms organic box salads, 5 oz, $2.99


Bashas':

    Beef London broil, $3.99/lb
    Beef ribeye or New York steaks, boneless, $9.88/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, $8.88/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, value pack, $3.88/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, $3.49/lb
    Pork country style ribs, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Sanderson Farms chicken breast, bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Bashas' boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Corvina sea bass fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    King salmon fillets, farm raised, $14.99/lb
    Bashas' cottage cheese, 24 oz tubs, $2.29
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Nature's Own honey wheat bread, 20 oz long loaves, $2.29
    PictSweet frozen veggies, 14-16 oz bags, 2/$3
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Mini seedless watermelons, 2/$5
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Seedless green grapes, 97¢/lb
    Roma or slicing tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Dole bag salads, 2/$5
    Zucchini squash, 99¢/lb
Fry's:

    Beef crossrib roast, 50% off
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $6.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.29/lb (3 lb chub)
    80/20 ground beef patties, 10/$10
    Pork loin back ribs, buy 1 get 2 free
    Pork country style ribs, bone in, family pack, $2.29/lb
    Kroger boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.88/lb
    Foster Farms chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in, $1.69/lb
    Kroger 85/15 ground turkey, $2.66/lb (3 lb pkg)
    Corvina fillets, $5.99/lb
    Fry's milk, half gallons only, 88¢
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 10/$10
    Kroger frozen veg, 9-12 oz bags, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 4/$10
    Apples:  Fuji, Gala, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    California mandarins, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $2.99
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Asparagus, 97¢/lb
    Dole bag salads, 5-12 oz, 10/$10


Safeway:

    Beef round tip roast, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb (steaks 30¢/lb higher)
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $7.99/lb (boneless $1/lb higher)
    Beef London broil, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef chuck crossrib steak, thin cut boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef cube steaks, $3.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $3.29/lb (regular packs, 50¢/lb higher)
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms chicken thighs/drumsticks, bone in, $1.69/lb
    Rockfish OR mahi mahi OR Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.79
    Yoplait yogurts incl. Light, 10/$5
    Safeway Kitchens breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $1.99
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, buy 1 get 1 free
    Prego pasta sauces, 23-24 oz jars, $1.79
    Bumble Bee solid white tuna, 2/$3
    Healthy Choice frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Fuji apples, $1.39.lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $2.99
    Cuties clementines, 5 lb box, $4.99
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Asparagus, $2.99/lb
    O Organics grape tomatoes, 10 oz box, $2.99
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, $1.99/lb
    Organic red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 2/$3


Sprouts:

    Beef sirloin tip roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef New York steak, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, center cut boneless, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken-breast tenders, $1.99/lb
    Ground turkey breast, $3.99/lb
    Steelhead fillets, $6.99/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb boxes, 4/$5
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Texas grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Organic apples:  Braeburn, Fuji, Red Delicious, 4 lbs/$5
    Mini seedless watermelons, $1.88 ea
    Beefsteak tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Asparagus, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb