Wren's bargain guide, week beginning October 22nd:

Fooducate hit the 2014 Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo.  They learned, and pass on to us, information about how your intestinal microbiome affects weight loss:  it's rather technical, all about firmicutes and bacteroidetes, but it comes down to (surprise!) eating probiotics, prebiotics, and fiber.  Also V8 has a new protein bar which merits a critical look.

The Washington Post looks at the new influx of vegetarian restaurants, questioning whether vegetables might be “the new bacon”.  James Clear explores keeping focused on your goals:  focus, boredom, determination, and what he calls “the myth of passion”.  Achieving a long-term goal, he says – such as weight loss – isn't necessarily about being “passionate”;  it's about keeping on watching your diet, exercising, tracking your Points, when the last thing you feel about it is “passion”.  TheKitchn.com has tips for how not to screw up using the slow cooker.  And just for fun, I found a list of the twenty-five weirdest cocktails.  One involves arugula.  GROWING.  In a POT.

Recipes!  Chow.com has its own collection of weird cocktails, these Halloween-focused.  (A bowl of punch.  That glows.  With glowing ice severed hands floating in it.)  More rationally, and appetizingly, chicken stuffed with spinach and feta and a stack of slow-cooker soups.  Smitten Kitchen presents homemade harissa, a Northwest African condiment of chiles, sundried tomatoes, and spices.  Simply Recipes has Basic Baked Acorn Squash and a dish of farro with chard and radicchio.  Martha at Simple Nourished Living has “Skinny S'mores Cookies”, a pumpkin-cauliflower-garlic mash, and a 3-PointsPlus-per-serving chicken and veggie soup (from the slow cooker, of course).  Snack Girl gives us a savory dinner waffle with cornmeal, a raft of pumpkin recipes, and the healthiest snacks to give out on Halloween.  And from TheKitchn again, a very useful chart to help you determine which wines go best with which Halloween candies!  (Pinot Noir with Mounds.  Chardonnay or a sparkling rosé with candy corn.  Sauvignon Blanc with Skittles.)

The 25th, this Saturday, is National Greasy Foods Day which let us celebrate in the breach rather than the observance.  The 27th is American Beer Day, not to be confused with National Beer Day in April, Drink Beer Day on September 28th, National Lager Day on December 10th, or International Beer Day on August 1st.  And the 28th is National Chocolate Day! 

October 22nd:  National Nut Day
October 23rd:  National Boston Cream Pie Day, National Canning Day
October 24th:  National Bologna Day, Good & Plenty Day
October 25th:  National Greasy Foods Day
October 26th:  National Mince Pie Day, National Pumpkin Day, National Pretzel Day
October 27th:  National Potato Day, American Beer Day
October 28th:  National Chocolate Day, Wild Foods Day
October 29th:  National Oatmeal Day, National Pancake Day


Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, family pack, $6.97/lb
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $10.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef t-bone or New York strip steaks, bone in, family pack, $6.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round steaks, family pack, $5.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.79/lb
    Pork loin back ribs, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Center cut pork chops, bone in or boneless, buy 1 get 1 free
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, family pack, $2.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    “Jumbo” chicken leg quarters, $2.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.97
    Tillamook cheeses, 8 oz shreds or shingle pack, $2.48
    Deli:    Signature Virginia ham, $5.99/lb
        Signature honey or pepper turkey OR rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Stella mozzarella/Muenster/Provolone cheeses, $5.99/lb
    Del Monte veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 75¢
    Libby's Steam & Go frozen veggies, 12 oz pkg, 10/$10
    HoneyCrisp apples, $2.99/lb
    Green seedless grapes, 75¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Gala/Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious apples, “Just Right Size”, 2/$1
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Large slicing tomatoes, $1.49/lb
    Earthbound Farms organic box salads, 5 oz, $3


Bashas':

    Beef crossrib or sirloin tip roast or steaks, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin steaks, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Pork loin country style ribs, value pack, $1.77/lb
    Pork picnic roast, buy 1 get 1 free
    Pork loin end chops, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole chickens OR Bashas' chicken leg quarters, 88¢/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Catfish fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Steelhead fillets, farm raised. $8.99/lb
    Swordfish OR mahi mahi, 5 oz portions, $5.99/lb
    Bashas' milk, gallons, 2/$5
    Kraft cheeses, 7 oz shreds, 2/$5
    Bashas' cottage cheese incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1.97
    Bashas' sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1.39
    Food Club tomatoes or veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna, 5 oz cans, 99¢
    Green or red seedless grapes, $1.99/lb   
    Fuji/Gala/Red Delicious apples, large, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Asparagus, $1.77/lb
    Green Giant Klondike potatoes, red or gold, 3 lb bag, 99¢
    Yellow onions, 39¢/lb
    OrganicGirl box salads, 5-8 oz, $2.99


Fry's:

    Beef chuck roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $5.99/lb
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, family pack, $1.88/lb
    Pork center cut chops, bone in, family pack, $2.99/lb
    Chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in, $1.49/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Orange roughy fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, 3/$5
    Kroger cheeses, 2 lb chunk or shreds, $7.99
    Kroger tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 59¢
    Hunt's tomatoes or sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Kroger fruit, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    StarKist chunk light tuna, 5 oz cans OR 2-3 oz pouches, 10/$10
    Kroger chicken breast, 5 oz cans, 10/$10
    Pompeian olive oil, 16 oz bottles, $4.99
    Kroger veggies, 10-12 oz frozen bags, 10/$10
    Smart Ones frozen entrees, 2/$4
    Lean Cuisine “Culinary Collection”, 5/$10
    Apples:  Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Pomegranates, 2/$5
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢
    Broccoli, 99¢
    Asparagus, $2.99/lb
    Hass avocados, 99¢
    Sweet yellow onions, 99¢/lb


Safeway:

    Beef chuck or crossrib roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $8.99/lb
    Beef chuck steaks, boneless, $4.49/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.49/lb
    Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Swai or tilapia fillets, farm faised, $4.99/lb
    Safeway Kitchens tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Apples:  Gala, Red/Golden Delicious, 77¢/lb
    Organic Bartlett or D'Anjou pears, $1.49/lb
    Red or black seedless grapes, $1.99/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.99/lb
    Kiwifruit, 2/$1
    Vine tomatoes, $2.99/lb
    Large Hass avocados, 10/$10


Sprouts:

    Grass-fed beef roasts, “selected varieties”, $6.99/lb
    Beef NY steaks, boneless, $11.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $3.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast OR country style ribs, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Swordfish steaks, bone in, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Whole Lane snapper, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $10.99/lb
    Muir Glen tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$3
    Navel oranges, 49¢/lb
    Black seedless grapes, 69¢/lb
    Pomegranates, 2/$4
    Apples:  Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Campari tomatoes, 1 lb pkg, 99¢
    Winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti/kambocha, 88¢/lb