Wren's bargain guide, week beginning September 17th:

Interesting piece at The Atlantic, just as this year's harvest of HoneyCrisp apples hits the market, about apples and specifically about the history, popularity, and relentless reign of the Red Delicious, “the most produced and arguably least popular apple in the United States.”

Coconut oil:  good for you or bad?  Fooducate looks into this (also into why white cauliflower is white and yellow cauliflower is normal).  Monica Reinagel analyzes the currently (faddishly?) popular “80/10/10” diet:  get 80% of your caloric intake from raw plant-based carbs, 10% from raw plant-based fats, 10% from raw plant-based protein.  (She's highly skeptical.)  And there's an app that calculates your “nutritional grade-point average”!  And Mark's Daily Apple looks at “Rajio Taiso”, the notion – popular in many Asian countries – of starting every day with a gentle morning workout, no more than ten minutes long.  It's making Mark feel better, and he's in shape!

Recipes!  Chow.com has butternut squash recipes, an apple-and-pear crisp with oatmeal streusel, and party mix out of the slow cooker.  (Looks good if you can be around to give it a stir every half hour.)  Smitten Kitchen has a tomato-and-roasted-garlic tart – there's got to be some way of making it more PointsPlus-friendly than by baking it in puff pastry! – and a cauliflower slaw.  Simple Nourished Living has steak fajitas, slow-cooker ratatouille, cherry date nut balls, and baked s'mores at 80 calories and 2 PointsPlus each – as compared to ordinary s'mores at 270 calories and 7 PointsPlus.  Simply Recipes has ultra-simple baked chicken as well as fresh green beans in an orange-soy-sriracha sauce.  And Snack Girl presents a combination that I can genuinely attest would never have occurred to me:  cream of spinach and broccoli soup, made with coconut milk.  Today is National Apple Dumpling Day, and Saturday is National Rum Punch Day.  And did I ever publicly thank Connie for the ream of paper?  Thank you, Connie?

September 17th:  National Apple Dumpling Day
September 18th:  National Cheeseburger Day
September 19th:  National Butterscotch Pudding Day
September 20th:  National Rum Punch Day
September 21st:  National Pecan Cookie Day
September 22nd:  National White Chocolate Day
September 23rd:  National Chocolate Day
September 24th:  National Cherries Jubilee Day



Albertson's:

    Beef chuck/crossrib/bottom round/sirloin tip/London broil, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York strip steaks, bone in, $8.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak OR trimmed tri tip, boneless, $5.99/lb
    Beef cube steaks or stew meat, boneless, family pack, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.49/lb
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, family pack, $2.49lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, family pack, $2.79/lb
    Cook's ham steak, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.79/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $3.99
    Sanderson Farms boneless skilness chicken breast/thighs/tenders, buy 1 get 1 free
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Rockfish OR Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Cod, wild caught, 5 oz portions, 2/$3
    Ahi tuna, wild caught, 5 oz portions, $2.99
    Swordfish OR mahi mahi, wild caught, 5 oz portions, $3.99
    Sockeye salmon, wild caught, 5 oz portions, $4.99
    Atlantic salmon, farm raised, 5 oz portions, $3.99
    Sea scallops (31-40 ct), farm raised, $9.99/lb
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.99
    Sargento cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$6
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 10/$10
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 88¢
    Essential Everyday chunk light tuna, 5 oz cans, 89¢
    Whole cantaloupes, 87¢/lb
    Apples:  Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, $1.49/lb
    Gattie yellow peaches, $1.99/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    English cucumbers, 99¢ ea


Bashas':

    Beef top round roast or steak, $4.99/lb
    Beef London broil, $5.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Ground beef round, fat content not listed, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, value pack, $1.77/lb
    Center cut pork chops, bone in, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Chicken split breasts or leg quarters, bone in, 97¢/lb
    King salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Catfish fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Swai fillets, wild caught, $2.99/lb
    Bashas' milk, gallons, 2/$5
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.99
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$5
    Bashas' Homestyle bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, 2/$5
    Bumble Bee chunk light tuna, 5 oz cans, 88¢
    Prego pasta sauces, 14-24 oz jars, 2/$4
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 2/$3
    Flav-R-Pac veggies, 11-16 oz frozen pkg, 3/$5
    Green or red seedless grapes, 87¢/lb
    Gala apples, 77¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 77¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 39¢/lb
    Yellow peaches, $1.77/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Green bell peppers, 2/$1
    Onions:  red, white, sweet yellow, 88¢/lb





Fry's:

    Beef bottom round roast OR London broil, boneless, $4.99/lb
    Beef strip steak, bone in, $8.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $2.99/lb (3 lb chub)
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, family pack, $3.99/lb
    Heritage Farm boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, family pack, $1.77/lb
    King salmon fillets, wild caught, $8.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.97
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz shreds or shingle, $1.97/lb
    Bush's variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, 10/$10
    Del Monte veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Hunt's tomatoes or sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Kroger frozen veggies, 10-12 oz bags, 10/$10
    HoneyCrisp apples, $1.47/lb (organic, $2.99/lb)
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.49/lb
    Apples:  Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Hass avocados, 99¢ ea
    Sweet yellow onions, 99¢/lb


Safeway:

    Beef round tip roast, boneless, $5.49/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone roast, $4.49/lb
    Beef chuck roast, boneless, $5.49/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, $8.99/lb
    Beef loin NY strip steak, bone in, $10.99/lb
    Open Nature beef chuck roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $3.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $5
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan pollock fillets, wild caught, $3.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.97
    Safeway Kitchens variety bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $1.99
    Bush's baked beans, 28 oz cans, $1.88
    Safeway Kitchens variety beans, 15 oz cans, 99¢
    Del Monte fruit, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$3
    StarKist chunk light tuna, 5 oz cans, 79¢
    Healthy Choice frozen entrees, 4/$10
    Eating Right “Healthy Living” or “Calorie Counting” entrees, $1.77
    Green seedless grapes, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 68¢/lb
    Whole cantaloupes, 2/$5
    Yellow peaches, $1.99/lb
    Dulcinea mini seedless watermelons, $3.99 ea
    Bartlett or Anjou pears, 99¢/lb
    HoneyCrisp apples, $2.99/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $2.99/lb
    Heirloom tomatoes, $3.99/lb
    Green or red bell peppers, 10/$10
    Sweet corn, 6/$2
    Hass avocados, 4/$5
    Organic winter squashes, butternut/acorn/spaghetti, 99¢/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef sirloin tip roast or steak, boneless, $5.79/lb
    Chicken drumsticks or leg quarters, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Halibut, wild caught, 6 oz portions, $8.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $9.99/lb   
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Black seedless grapes, 69¢/lb
    Gala or Granny Smith apples, 99¢/lb
    HoneyCrisp apples, 2/$5
    Bartlett pears, 99¢/lb
    Valencia oranges, 49¢/lb
    Yellow or white nectarines OR black plums, 2 lbs/$3
    Italian Empress prune plums, 77¢/lb
    Beefsteak tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$5
    Eggplant, 99¢ ea
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR fresh spinach, 99¢/bunch
    Italian squash, 99¢/lb
    Organic rainbow carrots, 2 lb bag, 2/$5
    Herbs in 4” pots, 4/$12