Bargain guide, week beginning September 12th:

Fooducate takes on whether brown sugar is “better” for you than white sugar (it’s not:  commercial brown sugar is white sugar with some molasses added to it) and whether taking drugstore B-vitamin supplements will provide you with endless boundless energy (no, but getting enough sleep and eating a balanced diet might).

Chow.com gives us an easy oatmeal-apple crisp, a tall stack of chicken recipes (good timing as chicken is cheap this week), a video advocating hot-air popcorn poppers (“It only costs around twenty bucks, and if you eat around three bags of microwave popcorn per week, it will have paid for itself in about two months”), and things to do with cherry tomatoes.  Serious Eats has Rosh Hashanah sweets, DIY Greek yogurt, and, may God help us all, a bacon praline.  And from Simply Recipes, a cod-and-tomatoes recipe that looks appetizing.  (When I added it to the handout, I did not realize it called for a quarter-cup of olive oil:  it might be possible to reduce that, and if you cut it in half that's still one Healthy Oil per serving.)

Darya Pino, at Summer Tomato, reposts on how to burn more calories without breaking a sweat, and how to learn to like foods you don’t.

AJ's Fine Foods currently has both lychees and rambutan.

Tomorrow (the 13th) is Snack A Pickle Time, and pickles are PointsPlus-free.  The day after is National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day, and they are decidedly not, so I think I’ll have another pickle instead.  Or since it’s also Eat a Hoagie Day, one of those – piled high with tasty veggies. 

September 12th:  National Chocolate Milkshake Day
September 13th:  National Peanut Day, Snack A Pickle Time (I did not make that name up), International Chocolate Day, Fortune Cookie Day
September 14th:  Eat a Hoagie Day, National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day;  1955, Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" (aw rootie!)
September 15th:  National Linguine Day;  1981, the USDA announces that ketchup can be counted as a vegetable in the national school lunch program.  This had repercussions.
September 16th:  National Guacamole Day
September 17th:  National Apple Dumpling Day, Halfway To St. Patrick's Day Day
September 18th:  National Cheeseburger Day
September 19th:  National Butterscotch Pudding Day



Albertson’s:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef ribeye or New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $6.99/lb
    Beef London broil OR bottom round roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $1.99/lb (3 lbs or more)
    85/15 ground beef, $2.49/lb (3 lbs or more)
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.77/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole chickens, OR drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, 99¢/lb
    Jennie-O ground turkey, turkey links, turkey patties, 14-19 oz pkg, $3.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $4.99/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Tilapia/swai/catfish fillets, family pack, $2.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.67
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.88
    Deli:    Charlie's Pride Italian beef/corned beef/beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Jennie-O "Honey Smoked" or "Oven Brown" turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        USA Gold honey or baked ham, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $5.99/lb
    Ro*tel tomatoes, $1
    Hunt's pasta sauce, 24 oz cans, $1
    Hunt's diced tomatoes, 14 oz cans, $1
    Wacky Mac veggie pasta, 12 oz bag, $1
    Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars, 8 ct, $2.49
    PictSweet "Steamables" frozen veg, 10 oz pkg, $1
    Smart Ones "Classic Favorite" frozen entrees, 2/$4
    Skinny Cow ice-cream novelties, 4-12 ct, $3.99
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 88¢
    Pears, Bartlett/red/Bosc, $1/lb
    Roma tomatoes, $1/lb
    Eggplant, $1 ea
    Red bell peppers, $1 ea
    Earthbound Farms organic mini carrots, 1 lb bag, $1
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, $1/lb
    English cucumbers, $1 ea


Bashas’:

    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round steak or roast, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef ribeye steak, boneless, $9.99/lb
    Ground beef round, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, value pack, $1.27/lb
    Pork roast, center cut, $2.49/lb
    Pork chops, center cut, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Chicken breasts or leg quarters, bone in, 95¢/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99
    Weight Watchers chicken, 30 oz pkg, $6.99
    Albacore tuna steaks, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Basa fillets, $3.99/lb
    Haddock fillets, $4.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Food Club butter, $1.99
    Bashas' sour cream OR cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, 4/$5
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds, 2/$5
    Bashas' Homestyle bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.49
    Peaches, 77¢/lb (first 5 lbs)
    Bananas, 38¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 19¢/lb (first 3 melons)
    Green or red seedless grapes, $1.98/lb
    Large or Roma tomatoes, 98¢/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb (first 5 lbs)
    Red bell peppers, 88¢ ea
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, 98¢ ea


Fry’s:

    Beef steaks, ribeye/NY strip/t-bone, bone in, 50% off
    Beef sirloin steak, boneless, 50% off
    Beef crossrib roast OR Texas broil, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.29/lb (3 lb chub)
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.88/lb, sliced & wrapped free
    Pork loin chops, boneless, family pack, $3.39/lb
    Foster Farms whole chickens, 77¢/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, $8.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Simple Truth organic veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Morningstar Farms frozen entrees, $2.99
    Peaches, 78¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 88¢/lb
    Red or black plums, 88¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.99/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine/Boston, 88¢ ea
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, 88¢/lb


Safeway:

    Beef crossrib roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, value pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef chuck or bottom round steak, boneless thin cut, $3.99/lb
    90/10 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork country style ribs, boneless, value pack, $1.49/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.49/lb
    Pork shoulder blade roast, bone in, whole in bag, $1.87/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Safeway ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, buy 1 get 1 free
    Coho salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Swai/catfish/tilapia fillets, farm raised, $4.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.77
    Lucerne cheeses, 2 lb chunk, $5.99
    Lucerne or Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz shreds, $6.99
    Laughing Cow cheese wedges, 12 oz (double) pack, buy 1 get 1 free
    Safeway pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, $1
    Bush's Best variety (not baked) beans, 5/$5
    Del Monte stewed or diced tomatoes, 14 oz cans, $1.29
    Gala or Granny Smith apples, 88¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.49/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$4
    Slicing tomatoes, 69¢/lb
    Sweet corn, white or yellow, 3/$1
    Iceberg, 99¢/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef New York steaks, bone in, $5.99/lb
    Beef crossrib or chuck roast, boneless, OR stew meat, $4.49/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Chicken thighs or drumsticks, value pack, $1.49/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Muir Glen organic fire roasted tomatoes, 14 oz cans, buy 1 get 1 free
    Sunflower pasta sauce, 24 oz cans, buy 1 get 1 free
    Cascadian Farms frozen veg, 10 oz bags, buy 1 get 1 free
    Quorn frozen "chik'n" entrees, buy 1 get 1 free
    Whole seedless watermelons, 19¢/lb
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, 2 lbs/$3
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$3
    Navel oranges, 4 lbs/$5
    Yellow peaches, red or black plums, 2 lbs/$3
    Earthbound Farms organic salads, buy 1 get 1 free
    Green or red bell peppers, 3/$1
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb