Wren's bargain guide, week beginning September 3rd:

So Labor Day has passed, which means Summer is Officially Over HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  As I type these words it is 104°F out.

Lots at Fooducate this week.  Is breakfast really “the most important meal of the day”?  (If breakfast doesn't work for you, at least keep a healthy snack at hand so you won't be raiding vending machines at 10:00 a.m. – or ravenous enough to devour an entire Quik Trip by lunchtime.)  Important information about trans fats.  And a couple of guest articles on the newest iteration of Low-Fat Vs. Low-Carb:  Yoni Freedhoff points out that the study didn't last long enough, and the diets used weren't really low-fat or low-carbohydrate;  and David Katz points out, with brutal honesty, that “You cannot get a good answer to a lousy question”:  “{I}t is long known and well established that dietary fats run the gamut from good to bad to ugly.  No good diet should willfully exclude the monounsaturated fats and omega-3s in nuts and seeds and avocados;  I’m pretty sure everybody not stuck under a boulder knows that.  [ ... ]  The concept of low-carb is also terribly outdated, and was silly when it was first spawned.  Everything from lentils to lollipops is carbohydrate;  why on earth would anyone want to treat such a vast expanse of the food supply as if it were just one thing?”

Nutrition Diva looks into nutrition absorption from foods (that banana has 422 milligrams of potassium – allegedly – but are you getting all 422?), and what can affect it.  And Marion Nestle informs, or inflicts, about the latest in State Fair Food :  the Twink.  A Twix bar stuffed into a Twinkie, wrapped in bacon, batter-dipped, deep-fried, and sprinkled with sugar.  Because, as she points out, “deep-fried Oreos and deep-fried butter are so last year.”

Recipes!  Sheknows.com has a list of healthy packable-lunch ideas – they're called “school lunches”, but a lot of them would be great for workplace lunches as well.  Chow.com has potato salad without mayo, coleslaw ditto but with kale and apples, slow-cooker chicken mole, and soft-boiled eggs.  At Simply Recipes the eggs are poached this week, triggering a lengthy (very lengthy:  the thread is five years old) discussion of the best way.  Also grilled shrimp tacos.  TheKitchn.com has fruit-preparation shortcuts, and how to cook a boneless skinless chicken breast so it's moist and tender every time:  a terrific thing for us in Weight Watchers, who groan at the mere thought of having to eat one more damn boneless skinless chicken breast.  Simple Nourished Living wraps up JuiceFest, and Snack Girl has a stack of apple snacks including a 1 PointsPlus-per-serving “Naked Apple Pie”.

Apples:  September is National Apple Month.  This will be heard again.  Also National Potato Month, National Chicken Month, National Mushroom Month – these three might combine into a tasty celebration – and National Honey Month.  And tomorrow is Eat An Extra Dessert Day – hey, they're your PointsPlus to spend


September 3rd:  National Welsh Rarebit Day
September 4th:  National Macadamia Nut Day, Eat an Extra Dessert Day
September 5th:  National Cheese Pizza Day
September 6th:  National Coffee Ice-Cream Day
September 7th:  National Napoleon Day, National Acorn Squash Day
September 8th:  National Date-Nut Bread Day
September 9th:  Weinerschnitzel Day, National Steak au Poivre Day
September 10th:  TV Dinner Day



Albertson's:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $3.97/lb
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/NY strip steaks, bone in, family pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef tri tip OR London broil roast, boneless, untrimmed, $4.99/lb
    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round/sirloin tip roast or steaks, family pack, $5.49/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.49/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless or bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $2.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole frying chickens, $1.19/lb
    Whole entire damn pink salmon, wild caught, $1.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Rockfish or Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.97
    Deli:    Jennie-O smoked or oven roasted turkey breast, $3.99/lb
        Signature rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Healthy Ones oven roasted or honey turkey, chicken breast, honey ham, $6.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
    Prego pasta sauces, 14-24 oz jars, 2/$3
    Bertolli pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, 2/$5
    Herdez salsa, 16 oz jars, $1.99
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 79¢
    Crystal Light powder, 5 qt, OR Crystal Light “Enhancer”, eeny little drop bottle, $1.99
    Swanson chunk white chicken, 9 oz cans, $2.99
    Green Giant “Steamers” veggies, 12 oz frozen bag, 2/$4
    Green seedless grapes, 75¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Yellow peaches OR nectarines, $1.99/lb
    Bartlett pears, $1.99/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Cucumbers OR green bell peppers, 69¢ ea


Bashas':

    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, value pack, $4.77/lb (regular pack, $1/lb higher)
    Beef ribeye OR New York steak, $7.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $4.99/lb
    Beef or chicken kebabs, $4.99/lb
    Farmland pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb (half, $1/lb higher)
    Farmland center cut pork chops, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Atlantic salmon, 5 oz portions, $3
    King salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Catfish fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Bashas' cottage cheese incl. Light, 24 oz tubs, $2.49
    Kellogg's cereals, 12 ct Pop-Tarts, Nutri-Grain or Fiber Plus bars, 2/$5
        Buy any 4, get a gallon of Bashas' milk free
    Libby's veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 4/$3
    Chicken of the Sea solid white tuna, 5 oz cans, $1.39
    Bumble Bee chunk light tuna, 79¢
    S&W beans, 15 oz cans, 89¢
    Kashi cereals, 6-14 oz boxes, $2.99
    Weight Watchers ice-cream novelties, 33% off
    Morningstar Farms frozen entrees, 2/$7
    Gala or Red Delicious apples, 88¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 88¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Green or red seedless grapes, 88¢/lb
    Yellow peaches or nectarines OR red or black plums, $1.88/lb
    Whole seedless watermelons, 39¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Dole bag salads, 2/$3


Fry's:

    Beef chuck roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef flat iron steaks, boneless, $6.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.29/lb (2 lb chub)
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Kroger 93/7 ground turkey, $3.49/lb
    Sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.97
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $3.79
    Kroger veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 3/$2
    Black seedless grapes, 75¢/lb
    Red or black plums OR pluots, $1.99/lb
    SweeTango apples, $1.99/lb
    Whole cantaloupes OR pineapples, $1.99 ea
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, $1.49/lb
    Bartlett pears, $1.49/lb
    Organic seedless grapes, green or red, $1.99/lb
    Organic bananas, 79¢/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg OR spinach, 99¢/bunch
    Organic kale, 99¢/bunch
    Simple Truth organic spring mix OR baby spinach, 1 lb box, $4.99


Safeway:

    Beef chuck crossrib roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck steak or country style ribs, boneless, $4.49/lb
    Beef top round London broil, boneless, $6.49/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $10.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $3.69/lb
    Pork shoulder blade country style ribs, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork tenderloin, boneless, whole in bag, $5.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, value pack, $2.49/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan pollock fillets, wild caught, $3.99/lb
    Ahi tuna steaks, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.97
    Primo Taglio medium cheddar, 8 oz chunk, $6.49
    O Organics cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk, $3.99
    Del Monte veggies or tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 99¢
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, 99¢
    Dave's “Killer” “Good Seed” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $3.99
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites” entrees, 5/$10
    Gala apples, 59¢/lb
    Green seedless grapes, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, $1.79
    Dulcinea mini seedless watermelons, $3.99
    Yellow peaches or nectarines OR pluots, $1.99/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Bartlett pears, $1.49/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Organic heirloom tomatoes, $2.99/lb
    Organic leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, $1.99


Sprouts:

    Buffalo Stampede, “all varieties on sale” but they give no specifics
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, $7.99/lb
    Beef stew meat OR carne asada OR boneless short ribs, $4.99/lb
    Beef rump roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Pork sirloin chops or roast OR ground pork, $5.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised,$8.99/lb
    Muir Glen tomatoes or pasta sauce, 25-28 oz jars (sauce) or cans (tomatoes), buy 1 get 1 free
    Yellow peaches or nectarines OR Dapple pluots, 77¢/lb
    Gala or Fuji apples, 88¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, 2 lbs/$3
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$3
    Organic Gala apples or Bartlett pears, 2 lbs/$3
    Organic Minneola tangelos, 2 lbs/$3
    Vine tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Earthbound Farms organic box salads, buy 1 get 1 free
    Organic Roma tomatoes, 98¢/lb
    Red or yellow bell peppers, 88¢ ea
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3