Wren's bargain guide, week beginning June 11th:

Explainder for our newer members:  I'm Wren.  Every week I go through the newspaper grocery flyers and type up the healthier-looking, less-processed, and more PointsPlus-friendly bargains, add health and nutrition news and my own commentary, and post it here.  A paper printout is available at the Wednesday night meeting at Santa Fe Square, and let me make clear that this is not in any way, shape, form, or fashion an Official Weight Watchers Thing.  Just me.

Good piece at Fooducate today about protein, how much you need, and how to go about consuming it.  Most Americans get much more protein than they need:  unless you're an endurance athlete or a bodybuilder, you need about 0.8 grams per kilo of body weight, or a bit over a gram for every three pounds.  The key, since protein helps us to feel satiated, is to distribute your protein throughout the day – have a yogurt (10-12 grams, 14-18 if it's Greek) with breakfast rather than just coffee-and-a-smoothie, a cheese stick (6 grams) for snack, an egg (6 grams) or two ounces of chicken breast (12 grams) with your lunch salad – rather than consuming it all at supper.

Huffington Post has a couple of articles worth reading, one list of vegan habits to adopt even if you're not vegan (I particularly like the suggestion of using mashed avocado in place of mayo), and another of ways to make your eating more mindful (chew more;  turn off the TV;  don't let yourself get ravenously hungry;  sit down to eat for heaven's sake).  And from Summer Tomato, since summer is travel season a set of “Away Court Habits” – tips for eating healthy on the road, or in the airport.

Recipes!  Chow.com has a “Basic Greek Salad”, another of jicama and oranges, a basic roasted chicken, fish tacos, and sixteen things to do with sweet corn.  Simply Recipes has grilled chicken marinated in lime juice, with a black bean sauce.  Martha at Simple Nourished Living is still on her slow-cooker binge (honestly I don't want to turn the stove on either, do you?), with slow-cooker Bananas Foster, a six-PointsPlus teriyaki chicken, and a classic Italian sausage-and-peppers.  And Snack Girl has strawberry yogurt cookies and her own 6-PointsPlus take on Taco Bell's waffle taco!

Friday's my own offical holiday:  National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day.  (Weight Watchers has brought me at last beyond my former status, where every time I stepped foot in the kitchen my friends hurried to make sure they had Poison Control, the fire marshals,  and the Environmental Protection Agency on speed-dial.)  Next Tuesday, the 17th, is Eat All Your Veggies Day.  And one week from today is National Picnic Day – do it in the evening.  Or in the living room.  Or in the pool. 

June 11th:  National German Chocolate Cake Day
June 12th:  National Jerky Day, National Peanut Butter Cookie Day
June 13th:  National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day
June 14th:  National Strawberry Shortcake Day
June 15th:  National Lobster Day, World Gin Day
June 16th:  National Fudge Day
June 17th:  Eat All Your Veggies Day, National Apple Strudel Day
June 18th:  National Cherry Tart Day, National Picnic Day, International Strudel Day


Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $10.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round/sirloin tip, boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, $5.99/lb
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, $2.49/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut bone-in, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free (boneless $1/lb higher)
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast/thighs/tenders, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.77/lb
    Rockfish OR Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Keta salmon fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets or bone-in steaks, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $10.99/lb
    Shamrock Farms dairy products, 40% off
    Albertson's sour cream, 16 oz tubs, 10/$10
    Deli:    Signature rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Muenster or Provolone cheeses, $5.99/lb
    Fiber One OR Nature Valley granola bars, 5-6 ct, $1.88
    Essential Everyday tomatoes, veggies, variety beans, 14 oz cans, 69¢
    Bertolli pasta sauce, 15-24 oz jars, 2/$5
    Da Vinci pasta, 16 oz pkg, 10/$10
    Bertolli olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $8.99
    Raspberries, AZ grown, 6 oz boxes, 87¢
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $1.99/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, $2.99/lb
    Red delicious, 99¢/lb
    Vidalia onions, $1.49/lb
    Green bell peppers, 79¢/lb
    Fresh guacamole, 12 oz tubs, $4.99


Bashas':

    Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $5.77/lb
    Beef tri tips, $6.99/lb (Bashas' meat labeling has grown remarkably inspecific)
    Beef bottom round roast or steak, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef round, fat content not listed, $2.77/lb
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.98/lb
    Pork chops, center cut boneless, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Bashas' eggs, AA large, dozens, $1.29
    Food Club butter, $2.99
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 69¢
    Food Club veggies OR tomatoes, 15 oz cans, 69¢
    Whole seedless watermelons, 19¢/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 97¢
    Whole cantaloupes, 19¢/lb
    Apricots, $1.99/lb
    Red or black plums, $1.99/lb
    Sweet onions, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 2 lbs/$3





Fry's:

    Ribeye steaks, bone in, family pack, $5.88/lb
    Beef bottom sirloin tri tip roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $4.99/lb (2 lb chub)
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Heritage Farms boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.77/lb
    Tilapia or corvina fillets, $5.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $12.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 16 oz chunk or shreds, $3.79
    American Beauty pasta, 12-16 oz bags, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine “Culinary Collection” frozen entrees, $1.99
    Yellow peaches OR nectarines, 99¢/lb
    Blueberries, dry pint, 97¢
    Whole pineapples, 97¢ ea
    Whole seedless watermelons, $4.99 ea
    Mangos, 99¢ ea
    Sweet corn, 2/99¢
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 99¢ ea
    Mini sweet peppers, 1 lb bag, $1.99
    Broccoli 99¢/lb


Safeway:

    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, $5.99/lb (boneless, $2/lb higher)
    Beef or chicken kebabs, $5.99/lb
    Beef bottom round roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $4.49/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Safeway Farms chicken drumsticks, value pack, $1.49/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $14.99/lb
    Yellowfin ahi tuna steaks, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Kraft cheeses, 6-8 oz shreds or shingle pack, $2.99
    Open Nature variety breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.49
    Del Monte tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 99¢
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites”, $1.99
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Dulcinea mini seedless watermelons or Tuscan cantaloupes (??), AZ grown, $2.99/lb
    Mangos, 10/$10
    Apricots, $2.99/lb
    Sweet corn, 6/$2
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, $1.79/lb
    Cucumbers, 69¢ ea


Sprouts:

    Beef NY steak, bone in, $9.99/lb
    Beef chuck roast or steak, boneless, $5.49/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, $5.49/lb
    Pork loin chops or roast, center cut boneless, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Ahi tuna or swordfish steaks, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Newman's Own Organics olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $9.99
    Silver Palate pasta sauces, 25 oz jars, $2.99
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 98¢
    Blueberries, 4 oz box, 98¢
    Apricots, 98¢/lb
    Black plums, 98¢/lb
    Honey mangos, 2/$1
    Whole seedless watermelons, $3.98
    Navel oranges, 98¢/lb
    Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples, 98¢/lb
    Asparagus, $1.98/lb
    Cucumbers, 2/$1
    Roma or beefsteak tomatoes, 98¢/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$5
    Broccoli crowns, 98¢
    Leaf lettuce, green or red, OR bunch spinach, 98¢
    Italian squash, 98¢/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.98/lb