Wren's bargain guide, week beginning August 13th:

At Fooducate I find information about radishes (did you know that radishes are crucifers, related to broccoli and cabbage?), percent-daily-value for protein, and an analysis of a snack product labeled “Shrimp Chips”.  Heartbreakingly, these are not “thinly sliced pieces of shrimp, deep fried in oil and lightly salted”.

Do you can?  I've considered it, but am reluctant to put a pot of water on the stove and keep it boiling for hours in an Arizona summer:  Monica Reinagel reviews the new “FreshTECH” home canning system.  Pros:  easy to use, easy to clean, and it doesn't heat up the kitchen nearly as much.  Cons:  it only handles small batches, it's not a pressure canner so not suited for canning meat or poultry, you're sternly instructed to use only their proprietary recipes, and the damn thing costs three hundred dollars.

Marion Nestle tells me that sales of packaged and processed foods are down, and explores why.  Grist foraged for lunch in a city park in Seattle!  (Helpful Hint:  “If it's called a 'corpseberry', it's probably not a good idea to eat it.”)  And Summer Tomato looks into habits, how to make them, and why doing the same thing over and over again doesn't make it a habit.  If it calls for willpower, it's not a habit.

Recipes!  Chow.com has a set of potato salad variations beyond “mayo” and “vinegar-and-bacon”, a raft of watermelon recipes (not all sweet), salmon-and-asparagus kebabs, a “Basic Greek Salad”, and a sun-dried-tomato salt for sweet corn or nearly anything else.  Simply Recipes has homemade basil pesto, a pasta-spinach-avocado dish to put it in, and another dish of pasta with eggplant.  Simple Nourished Living is still juicing the living schnitt out of everything, but also supplies a salad of corn and tomatoes and some 3-PointsPlus-per-serving crispy baked zucchini fries.  And Snack Girl offers DIY strawberry frozen yogurt, a vegan key-lime pudding from the blender, and a bit of advice:  genes are going to play a not insignificant role in the final results of your weight-loss journey.  “Genetics has dictated that my eyes are blue, my hair brown, and my hips as wide as the St. Lawrence. If I wanted to change how I look, I could get contacts and dye my hair but what about my hips?  At some point in your life, take a good hard look at your parents and know that you are going to look like them.”

Today's National Filet Mignon Day, very lean if you don't wrap it in bacon.  Tomorrow is National Creamsicle Day which does not need to be wrapped in bacon either.  And next Tuesday is both National Potato Day and National Hot & Spicy Foods Day, so spice up some potatoes! 

August 13th:  National Filet Mignon Day
August 14th:  National Creamsicle Day
August 15th:  Lemon Meringue Pie Day;  Julia Child born, 1912
August 16th:  National Bratwurst Day, National Rum Day
August 17th:  National Vanilla Custard Day
August 18th:  National Soft Ice-Cream Day
August 19th:  National Potato Day, National Hot & Spicy Foods Day
August 20th:  National Lemonade Day, National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day


Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef London broil, boneless, $3.79/lb
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, $8.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round/sirloin tip roast, boneless, family pack, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.49/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.79/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless OR bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Assorted pork chops or country style ribs, bone in, $2.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Cod or sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.88
    Daisy sour cream, 8 oz tubs, $1
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson turkey, chicken, ham, $7.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson slicing cheeses, $7.99/lb
        Signature Virginia ham, $4.99/lb
        Signature Provolone cheese, $6.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
    Hunt's tomatoes or tomato sauce, 14-15 oz cans, $1
    Chicken of the Sea chunk white tuna, 5 oz cans, $1
    Essential Everyday frozen veg, 14-16 oz bags, $1
    Raspberries, 6 oz boxes, 87¢
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $1.99/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, $1.99/lb
    Blackberries or blueberries, 6-11 oz boxes, $2.99
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Honeydew melon, 49¢/lb
    Cut up watermelon/cantaloupe/pineapple, 24 oz bowls, $3.99 or 3/$10
    Slicing tomatoes, $1/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, $2.99
    Sweet corn, 4 pk, $2.99
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, $1 ea


Bashas':

    Beef top sirloin steaks, value pack, $4.77/lb (regular pack, $1/lb higher)
    Beef crossrib or bottom round roast, $4.99/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, value pack, $3.97/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, bone in, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin country style ribs, bone in, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, 88¢/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Catfish fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Bashas' millk, gallons, 2/$5
    Bashas' cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, $1.89
    Tillamook cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or slices, $4.44
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$5
    Bashas' Homestyle bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, 2/$5
    Whole cantaloupes OR seedless watermelons, 25¢/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb boxes, 97¢
    Blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 97¢
    Green or red seedless grapes, conventional or organic, $1.99/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, red or black plums, $1.99/lb
    Cantaloupes OR mini seedless watermelons, organic, 69¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, conventional or organic, 2 lbs/$3
    Large Hass avocados, 2/$3
    Hatch chiles, 88¢/lb

Fry's:

    Beef chuck or shoulder roast, boneless, family pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, $8.99/lb
    85/15 Angus ground beef, $4.49/lb (2 lb chub, $9.98)
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.77/lb
    Simple Truth “natural” boneless skinless chicken breast, $4.99/lb
    Kroger pasta sauces, 24 oz jars, 4/$5
    Red seedless grapes, 88¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 88¢/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, 99¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes OR pineapples, $1.99
    Sweet corn, 2/99¢
    Broccoli, 99¢/lb
    Hass avocados, 4/$5
    Simple Truth organic box salads, 5-7 oz, 2/$6


Safeway:

    Beef chuck roast, boneless, $3.49/lb (steaks 50¢/lb higher)
    Beef NY strip steak, boneless, $11.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    90/10 ground beef, value pack, $4.69/lb
    Pork loin half, boneless, whole in bag, $2.49/lb
    Pork loin chops, boneless, $3.49/lb
    Pork shoulder blade country style ribs, $2.99/lb
    Safeway Select pork loin back ribs, $3.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $12.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Tilapia OR swai fillets, farm raised, $4.99/lb
    Ahi tuna steaks, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.88
    C&W frozen veggies, 12-16 oz bags, 2/$5
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites”, 5/$10
    Red or black seedless grapes, 99¢/lb
    Whole seedless watermelons, $3.99
    Yellow peaches or nectarines, $1.99/lb
    Dulcinea mini seedless watermelons, $3.99
    Apples:  Envy, Gala, Fuji, $1.99/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$4
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Organic heirloom tomatoes, $3.99/lb
    Sweet corn, 8/$2
    Fresh Express bag salads, 8-12 oz, 10/$10
    Red or green bell peppers, 10/$10

Sprouts:

    All boneless skinless chicken, 40% off
    All frozen foods, 20% off
    Beef chuck roast or steaks, boneless, $5.49/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast or steak, boneless, $5.99/lb
    93/7 ground sirloin, $5.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast, boneless, OR bone-in spare ribs, $2.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$1
    Green or red seedless grapes, 98¢/lb
    “Marsh Ruby” grapefruit, 2/$1
    Persian limes, 10/$1
    Gala apples, 98¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 98¢/lb
    Organic red plums, 98¢/lb
    White or yellow peaches, 2 lbs/$3
    Navel oranges (from Australia) OR Minneola tangelos, 2 lbs/$3
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3
    Cauliflower, 98¢/lb
    Green bell peppers, 2/$1
    Cucumbers, 2/$1