Wren's bargain guide, week beginning August 21st:

Couple of interesting pieces at Fooducate:  a comparison between fruit and fruit juices (“It takes 3-4 oranges to make a one-cup serving of orange juice. You can drink a cup of orange juice in 25 seconds and instantly ask for another glass”), and an analysis of whether “organic” produce is really that much better than the other kind.  Per Grist, climate change is making apples and other fruits softer and sweeter than they were a few decades ago.  Food Politics approaches the FDA's definition of “whole grain”.  And Summer Tomato looks for “Sugar's Sweet Spot:  How To Eat Less Without Saying No”.  In this one Darya coincidentally touches on one of our recent WW topics, whether a particular food is worth the calories or PointsPlus:  there's a difference, she says, between “eating donuts during your meeting because you ate a chalky energy bar for breakfast” on the one hand, and on the other letting “Grandma’s apple pie whisk you back in time, filling you with a Proustian bliss of nostalgia and joy”.

Recipes!  Summer Tomato also provides us with summer-perfect fish tacos, “nothing like your typical restaurant version overloaded with sour cream and under-filled with a few tiny pieces of fried fish”, topped with a peach-avocado salsa.  At Chow.com, a video on how to pack a salad for lunch that stays reasonably crisp and doesn't leave you getting hungry by 1:30!  Also a sauteed ratatouille, plausible uses for the veggie pulp from your juicer, and God help us bacon jam.  At Smitten Kitchen, rice-stuffed tomatoes which doesn't sound interesting but they look tasty.  Simply Recipes has a number of items this week:  quinoa succotash, grilled shrimp with an Italian tomato salsa, vinaigrette green chiles, and how to roast your own sunflower seeds.  And at Snack Girl a two-ingredent black bean soup that doesn't call for cooking and can double as a dip if you serve it at room temperature, portion-controlled garlic fries, and healthy snacks on a budget.

With Labor Day in the offing, the biggest grocery promotions are for things that can be cooked on a grill.  When I was a girl this meant burgers, steaks, hotdogs, sweet corn, and maybe the occasional piece of chicken.  Today the category has been expanded to include just about anything short of peas or Cream of Wheat, which includes a lot of healthier options and possible wise choices!

Next Tuesday is Banana Lovers' Day.  The 24th is National Waffle Day, not to be confused with International Waffle Day which is in March.  And one week from today is La Tomatina:  in the town of Buñol, in Spain, twenty thousand people throw 120 tons of tomatoes at each other.  (There are rules:  all tomatoes have to be pre-squashed, don't throw anything but tomatoes, get out of the way of trucks, no ripping off of t-shirts.)  Sounds messy but fun.



August 21st:  National Spumoni Day
August 22nd:  National Pecan Torte Day
August 23rd:  National Spongecake Day
August 24th:  National Waffle Day, National Peach Pie Day
August 25th:  National Banana Split Day;  some sources give this as National Waffle Day
August 26th:  National Cherry Popsicle Day
August 27th:  National Banana Lovers' Day, National Pots de Crème Day
August 28th:  National Cherry Turnover Day;  La Tomatina (Spanish tomato-throwing festival);  1837, John Lea and William Perrins of Worcester, England go into the sauce business




Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye, t-bone, New York steaks, bone in, 50% off
    Beef London broil, boneless, $2.97/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round/eye round roast or family pack steaks, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak, $4.99/lb
    Beef tri tip roast, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.88/lb
    Jennie-O ground turkey patties, 3 lb IQF package, $7.99
    Whole salmons, wild caught, $2.99/lb
    Orange roughy fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.89
    Essential Everyday butter, 2/$5
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 8 oz chunk, 2/$5
    Tillamook sliced cheeses, 12 oz square pack, $3.99
    Deli:    Jennie-O “Deli Style” turkey breast, $4.99/lb
        Deli Fresh Provolone/Muenster/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride pastrami or corned beef, $5.99/lb
        Magherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
    Essential Everyday tomatoes or veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 50¢
    Hunt's tomato sauce, 8 oz cans, 25¢
    Essential Everyday pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 75¢
    Barilla pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 4/$5
    Barilla pasta sauces, 24 oz jars, 2/$4 – buy 2 and get 1 Barilla pasta free!
    Morningstar Farms frozen entrées, 2/$7
    Healthy Choice frozen entrées, $2.49
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” veggie blends, 2/$4
    Jumbo cantaloupes, 99¢ ea
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.99/lb
    Peaches OR nectarines, $1.99/lb
    Black plums, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneolas, $1.49/lb
    Bartlett pears, $1/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, 12 oz bag, 2/$5
    Bell peppers, red/yellow/orange, 2/$3


Bashas':

    Beef t-bone/New York/top sirloin steaks, 50% off
    Beef crossrib steak or roast, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, $2.99/lb
    Boneless pork chops, 50% off
    Pork loin country style, bone in, country style WHAT they decline to specify, $2.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, 50% off
    Sanderson Farms  whole chickens, $1.39/lb
    Food Club butter, 2/$5
    Bashas' eggs, AA large, dozens, 98¢
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Kellogg's Nutri-Grain or Fiber Plus bars, $2.49
    Birds Eye “Voila!” meals, 21 oz frozen pkg, $3.99
    Yellow peaches, 77¢/lb
    Mini seedless watermelons, $1.99 ea
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.99/lb
    Red or black plums, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, regular or organic, $1.99/lb
    Large Hass avocados, 2/$3
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Earthbound Farms “baby peeled” carrots, 2/$3
    Cucumbers OR green bell peppers, 77¢ ea
    Red or gold bell peppers, 10/$10


Fry's:

    Beef top sirloin, boneless, $5.99/lb
    Pork roasts:  loin, picnic, butt, boneless sirloin, whole in bag, 50% off, sliced free
    Pork loin center chops, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Pork country style ribs, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Foster Farms boneless skinless chicken breast/thighs/tenders, buy 1 get 2 free (same item)
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Corvina fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Fry's milk, half gallons only, 10/$10
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Nature Valley OR Fiber One bars, 5-12 ct, $2.49
    Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna, 79¢
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Green seedless grapes, 85¢/lb
    Yellow peaches, 99¢/lb
    Cantaloupes, $1.99 ea
    Dole bag salads, 99¢ ea
    Sweet corn, 2/88¢
    Mini rose in a 4 inch pot, with eeny trellis, $5.99 but they have no scent


Safeway:

    Beef chuck steak, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef bottom round roast, $3.99/lb
    90/10 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork sirloin country style ribs, boneless, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, bone in, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Safeway Farms chicken breast/thighs/drums/leg quarters, bone in, 99¢/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, $3.99/lb
    Kraft cheeses, 6-12 oz shreds or shingle pack, buy 1 get 1 free
    Safeway Select pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, $1.99
    Healthy Choice frozen entrées, 5/$10
    Gorton's “Grilled Fillets”, buy 1 get 1 free
    “Red Lion” nectarines, 99¢/lb
    Cantaloupes OR honeydew melons, 2/$4
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.99/lb
    Pluots, $2.99/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $1.49/lb
    Iceberg, 99¢ ea
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Sweet corn, 2/$1


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, $6.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast OR country style ribs, boneless, $1.49/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, $2.99/lb
    Pork sausage, sweet or hot, bulk $1.99/lb, links, $2.99/lb
    Ground pork, chicken, chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Ahi tuna steaks, bone in, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Green or red seedless grapes, 98¢/lb
    Whole seedless watermelons, 3 lbs/$1
    Large cantaloupes, 98¢ ea
    Black or red plums, 98¢/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, 2 lbs/$3
    Organic white or yellow peaches OR yellow nectarines, $1.99/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 98¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$4
    Organic vine tomatoes, 2 lbs/$3
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 98¢ ea
    Sweet corn, 5/$1