Bargain guide, week beginning October 12th

Happy Birthday to Jean Nidetch, founder of Weight Watchers!

News: From Fooducate, a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (forty thousand women, tracked over a quarter-century) has found that “multivitamins consumed by older women do not increase lifespan”. I’ll probably keep taking mine anyway, though.

Chow.com has a recipe for a Halloween-party punch that actually glows under a blacklight. Yes, without poisoning you. It’s a grownup punch, not for kids, involving Cointreau, pisco, pineapple juice, and (the critical ingredient) quinine water. And if you fill rubber gloves with tonic water and freeze them, you get frozen glowing ice hands to float in your punchbowl, how cool is that?

Per Consumerist.com, the heat and drought of this past summer have wrought a lot of damage on peanut crops: the price of peanuts has gone from $450/ton to $1150/ton (the print version said "$1250" -- that was a typo), and peanut butter is certain to reflect that rise. Jif is preparing for a wholesale price rise of 30% in November.

Darya, at Summer Tomato, has an entertaining post about what we’re eating and how much of it comes directly from the Matrix: “Twinkies and McNuggets are engineered. They do not come from the earth and are not food.”

The 14th, the day after tomorrow, is Chocolate Covered Insects Day NO THANKS YOU CAN HAVE MINE NO HONESTLY. The day after is both National Chicken Cacciatore Day and National Roast Pheasant Day, and of course the 16th is World Food Day – I hope you brought your Lose For Good donations! The 18th is National Chocolate Cupcake Day, and the 42nd anniversary of the banning of cyclamate in the US. (For good or ill it’s still available without restriction in the UK and most European countries.)

October 12th: National Gumbo Day
October 13th: National Yorkshire Pudding Day
October 14th: National Chocolate Covered Insects Day
October 15th: National Chicken Cacciatore Day, National Roast Pheasant Day
October 16th: World Food Day, National Liqueur Day, National Oatmeal Day
October 17th: National Pasta Day, National Four Prunes Day
October 18th: National Chocolate Cupcake Day
October 19th: National Seafood Bisque Day



Albertson’s:

Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round roasts, boneless, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
Beef for stew, boneless, $4.99/lb
85/15 ground bef, $2.49/lb
Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, $4.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
Unbranded boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.49
Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, $4.77/lb
Tilapia/swai/cod/pollock fillets, $4.99/lb
Deli: Dietz & Watson Black Forest ham, $6.99/lb
Dietz & Watson honey turkey breast, $6.99/lb
Dietz & Watson chicken parmesan, $6.99/lb
USA Gold Virginia ham, $4.99/lb
Jennie-O “Blue Ribbon” turkey breast, $4.99/lb
Deli Fresh cheeses, $5.99/lb
Albertson’s milk, gallons, $1.57
Ragu pasta sauce, 16-24 oz jars, 2/$3 – buy 2, get 1 Barilla pasta free
Libby’s veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 99¢
Hunt’s tomato sauce, 15 oz cans, 79¢
Bear Creek soup mixes, 9-12 oz packets, $3.49
Red seedless grapes, 88¢/lb
Peaches, $1.99/lb
Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 99¢ ea
Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
Brussels sprouts, 99¢/lb



Bashas’:

Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $4.77/lb
Beef porterhouse steaks, $6.27/lb
Farmland assorted pork chops, $1.77/lb
Farmland center cut pork chops, bone in, value pack, $2.99/lb
Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
Sanderson Farms chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, 88¢/lb
True cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb “weather permitting”
Steelhead fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
Basa fillets, farm raised, $299/lb
Bashas’ eggs, AA large, dozens, 99¢/lb
Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunks/shreds/cubes, 5/$10
Honeycrisp apples, 99¢/lb (first 4 lbs)
Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
Gala/Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
Red seedless grapes, $1.97/lb
Whole cantaloupes, $1.97
Sweet corn, 4/$1
Hass avocados, 2/$1
Vine tomatoes, $1.97/lb



Food City:

Beef crossrib steak or roast, boneless, value pack, $2.48/lb
Beef short ribs, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
Sirloin cut pork chops, bone in, value pack, $1.99/lb
Chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone in, value pack, 68¢/lb
Pollock fillets, $1.99/lb
Bartlett pears, 2 lbs/98¢
Large tomatoes, 3 lbs/99¢
Mexican grey squash, 2 lbs/98¢
Cucumbers, 3/99¢
Tomatillos, 2 lbs/98¢



Fry’s:

Beef t-bone steaks, family pack, 50% off
Beef top round London broil, boneless, $3.99/lb
Boneless pork loin whole in bag, $1.97/lb
Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, $3.88/lb
True cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
Fry’s eggs, AA large, dozens, buy 1 get 1 free
Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.79
Kroger tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$1
Dole pineapple, 20 oz cans, 10/$10
Idahoan flavored mashed potatoes, 4 oz packets, 10/$10
Nabisco snack crackers (Triscuits or Wheat Thins), 5-10 oz boxes, $2.29
Red seedless grapes, 75¢/lb
Honeycrisp apples, $1.88/lb
Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
Gala apples, 5 lb bag, $3.99
Pie pumpkins, 99¢ ea
Carving pumpkins, $4.99 ea
Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
Winter squashes (acorn/butternut/spaghetti), 99¢/lb
Broccoli OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb
Red or yellow bell peppers, 99¢ ea



Safeway:

Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, “restaurant cut”, value pack, $4.99/lb
Beef 7-bone chuck pot roast, $1.99/lb
Beef chuck pot roast, boneless, $4.49/lb
Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, value pack, $5.47/lb
80/20 ground beef, value pack, $1.99/lb
90/10 ground beef, value pack, $2.79/lb
93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
Pork sirloin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.49/lb
Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.49/lb
Sanderson Farms whole chickens, $1.29/lb
Jennie-O Turkey Store lean turkey breast, 20 oz pkg, buy 1 get 1 free
Swai fillets, farm raised, $3.99/lb
Lucerne cheeses, 1 lb chunk or shreds, $3.99/lb
Lucerne spreadable butter, 15 oz tub, $3.49
Lucerne Greek yogurt, 6 oz, 89¢
Fruit Newtons incl. fat free, 2/$5
Bertolli pasta sauce, 15-24 oz jars, 2/$6
Safeway Select pasta sauce, 15-24 oz jars, 2/$4
Safeway pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 99¢
Nabisco 100 calorie packs, 2/$5
SnackWell cookies, 2/$5
Quaker Oats, 42 oz round box, 2/$5
Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 4/$10
O Organics frozen vegetables, 16 oz bags, 3/$6
Honeycrisp apples, $1.99/lb
Navel oranges, $1.49/lb
Green seedless grapes, $1.49/lb
Red or black seedless grapes, 88¢/lb
Roma tomatoes, $1.29/lb
Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 99¢ ea
O Organics box salads, 5-7 oz, buy 1 get 1 free
O Organics romaine hearts, 3 ct, 2/$6



Smart & Final (“Grand Re-Opening!”):

Beef tri-tip roast, boneless, whole in bag, $2.97/lb
Beef chuck steaks or roasts, boneless, $2.99/lb
Foster Farms bone-in chicken breast, family pack, 99¢/lb
First Street eggs, AA large, dozens, 80¢
Kellogg’s Fiber Plus bars, 20 ct, $9.99
Fiber One bars, 20 ct, $9.99
First Street frozen veg, 2-2.5 lb bags, $1.99
Strawberries, 1 lb box, $199/lb
White onions, 5 lb bag, $1
Chiquita bananas, 3 lbs/99¢



Sprouts:

Beef chuck roast or steak, boneless, $3.99/lb
Pork loin chops or roasts, boneless center cut, $2.99/lb
Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
Fresh “free range” turkeys, $1.99/lb
Cod fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
Fuji/Gala/Granny Smith/Jonagold/Jonathan/Delicious apples, 69¢/lb
Bartlett pears, 77¢/lb
Whole seedless watermelons, 3 lbs/$1
Organic Honeycrisp apples, $2.49/lb
Green or red seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$3 (organic, $2.49/lb
Valencia oranges, 77¢/lb
Organic Bartlett pears, $1.49/lb
Organic Gala apples, $1.49/lb
Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 77¢ ea
Summer squashes (Italian, yellow, Mexican), 77¢/lb
Roma tomatoes, 77¢/lb
Red bell peppers, 3/$1
Radishes/cilantro/green onions, 49¢/bunch
Cucumbers, 49¢ ea
Cauliflower, 77¢/lb
Celery, 77¢ ea
Organic butternut squash, 77¢/lb
Organic broccoli, $1.49/lb
Organic red yams, $1.49/lb
Organic grape tomatoes, dry pint, $2.99 ea