Wren's bargain guide, week beginning January 29th:

I see where Monsanto's introducing a lot of improved veggies, genetically modified only in the way farmers have been doing it for centuries, by crossbreeding for the traits they want:  eeny bell peppers, broccoli with three times the antioxidants.  Is there such a thing as a healthy frozen dinner?  Fooducate looked into this, and it turns out Lean Cuisine's new “Honestly Good” line shows up surprisingly well.  There's a longish ingredients list, but most of them are actually food.  And according to a new study from Drexel University (h/t to Weighty Matters), the average full-service restaurant meal contains a full day's worth of calories.  “A standard adult meal consisting of a shared appetizer and an entree with a side dish averaged 1,495 calories and rose to 2,020 calories after including a beverage and a shared dessert.”  This may serve as an incentive to ask for that take-home box as you order.

There's some kind of sporting event coming up this weekend, or so I hear.  In fact, it's the Biggest Calorie-Consumption Day Of The Year, and so there's a certain focus on how to snack healthily while watching grown men move a ball about while periodically hurling one another to the ground.  Healthily, or not …  Chow.com is heavy on the potato skins this week, including “easy” skins, a nacho version, tuna melt, and their classic (for selected values of “classic”) version involving smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and caviar, which I can't help but perceive as really more effort and attention than a potato skin merits.  YMMV.  Their subfocuses – subfoci? – are Chinese New Year (steamed dumplings, five spice chicken) and healthy winter foods (a stack of soups, Mollie Katzen's veggie lasagna).

More recipes!  Roasted crunchy Brussels sprouts with Parmesan.  Pass a bowl of these around while you're waiting for the grown men on the television to pick the ball, or themselves, up again.  thekitchn.com has tips for making veggies appealing to non-veggie-eaters – ways other than “the nuclear option, which is to drench your tricky veg in butter, cream, or cheese. Or all three … ”  And as a substitute or supplement for those dangerous 3-PointsPlus-each chicken wings, Snack Girl has – in addition to the stack of healthy party snacks featured in last week's handout – a ONE-PointsPlus Buffalo chicken meatball!

I have no idea how Berry Fresh Month came to be scheduled for February, a time when in most of the Northern Hemisphere you couldn't find a fresh berry for love nor money unless it was shipped from Chile, but there it is.  This is also National Fiber Focus Month, National Grapefruit Month, and the first week of February is Shape Up With Pickles Time.  As a relief from this rather relentless emphasis on the rather relentlessly healthy, February is also Celebration of Chocolate Month and Great American Pies Month.  And the 4th, next Tuesday, is Homemade Soup Day!

January 29th:  National Corn Chip Day
January 30th:  National Croissant Day
January 31st:  National Brandy Alexander Day
February 1st:  National Baked Alaska Day
February 2nd:  Heavenly Hash Day
February 3rd:  National Carrot Cake Day
February 4th:  Homemade Soup Day, National Stuffed Mushroom Day
February 5th:  National Chocolate Fondue Day


Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steak, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin OR tri tip roast, boneless, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Pork loin chops, center cut bone in, $2.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Thin cut boneless skinless chicken breast, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Atlantic salmon OR catfish fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Cod, 5 oz portions, wild caught, $1.99 ea
    Sockeye salmon, 5 oz portions, wild caught, $3.99 ea
    Mahalo swai fillets, 1 lb IQF bag, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Sargento cheeses, 6-8 oz shreds or shingle, 2/$6
    Kraft cheeses, 6-8 oz  chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Cracker Barrel cheeses, 8 oz chunk, 2/$5
    Philadelphia cream cheese, 8 oz brick, 2/$5
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson turkey/chicken/ham, $7.99/lb
        Signature rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Deli Fresh hard/Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Charlie's Pride Italian roast beef/corned beef/beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Deli Fresh pepperjack/Muenster/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster, $5.99/lb
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, 10/$10
    Bush's baked or “Grillin'” beans, 21-28 oz cans, $1.99
    Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars, 7-10 oz boxes, $2.99
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $1.99/lb
    Gala apples, $1.49/lb
    Cut up watermelon/cantaloupe/pineapple bowls, 24 oz, $4.99
    Fruit trays, 60 oz, $14.99
    Veggie trays, 46 oz, $9.99
    Grape tomatoes, 12oz boxes, 2/$4
    Mini carrots, 1 lb bag, 2/$3
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb


Bashas':

    Beef tenderloin, $6.99/lb, “cut & wrapped free”
    Beef t-bone or top sirloin steaks, value pack, $4.88/lb
    Beef porterhouse steak, value pack, $5.38/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.69/lb
    Ground beef round, fat content not listed, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Pork loin country style, value pack, 98¢/lb
    Pork loin end chops, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin back ribs, buy 1 get 1 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, buy 1 get 2 free
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Ahi tuna loins, that's all it says, $9.99 ea
    Halibut fillets, $13.99/lb
    Challenge butter, 2/$5
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz, 2/$5
    Daisy sour cream incl. Light, 16 oz tubs, $1.99
    Kraft Cracker Barrel cheeses, 8 oz bars, $2.99
    Bush's baked or “Grillin'” beans, 21-28 oz cans, $1.79
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, 99¢
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 99¢
    Chicken of the Sea chunk white tuna, 99¢
    Birds Eye OR C&W frozen veggies, 10-16 oz pkg, 5/$10
    Braeburn or Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett/Anjou/Bosc pears, 99¢/lb
    Roma ro slicing tomatoes, 77¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, 12 oz boxes, 2/$4
    Earthbound Farms “baby peeled” carrots, 1 lb pkg, 2/$3
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 88¢
    Asparagus, $1.37/lb


Fry's:

    Beef NY strip steaks, bone in, family pack, $4.97/lb
    80/20 ground beef, $3.39/lb (3 lb chub)
    Pork back/St Louis/country style ribs, $1.99/lb
    Kroger OR Hormel OR Private Selection boneless hams, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $7.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz shreds, $1.88
    Healthy Choice “Top Chef” frozen entrees, $1.88
    Apples:  Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    D'Anjou pears, 99¢/lb
    Mandarins, 3 lb bag, $2.88
    “Mini peeled” carrots, AZ grown, 1 lb bag, 88¢
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Asparagus, $2.99/lb
    Organic kale, 99¢/bunch


Safeway:

    Buy $20 worth of Weight Watchers products, save $5 instantly!
    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, $4.99/lb
    Beef round tip steak, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steak, bone in, $5.99/lb
    Beef chuck or bottom round roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    “All natural” pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork spareribs, $2.49/lb
    “All natural” pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Swordfish steaks, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds or shingle slices, 2/$5
    Challenge butter, $2.99
    Yoplait yogurts, 10/$5
    Bumble Bee solid white tuna, 5 oz cans, 3/$4
    Progresso Light soups (with the WW logo), 2/$4
    Safeway Kitchens tomatoes or sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 79¢
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 4/$3
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb pkg, 5/$5
    Classico pasta sauce, 15-24 oz jars, $2.49
    Safeway Select olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $5.99
    Weight Watchers frozen chicken, 30-32 oz boxes, buy 1 get 1 free
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or C&W frozen veggies, 10-16 oz pkg, buy 2 get 2 free
    Green Giant frozen veggies (with the WW logo), 7-10 oz boxes, 3/$5
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites”, 5/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $1.88
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Envy apples, $2.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $2.99/lb
    “Texas Ruby Red” grapefruit, 99¢ ea
    Organic Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Organic heirloom tomatoes, $2.99/lb
    NatureSweet “Cherub” tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, 2/$6
    Asparagus, $2.99/lb


Sprouts

    Beef ribeye steak, boneless, $8.99/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast or steak OR carne asada, boneless, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $4.99/lb
    Pork loin baby back ribs, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Zacky 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $4.49
    Ahi tuna steaks, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Trout fillets, $7.99/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Gala or Braeburn apples, 98¢/lb
    Organic Fuji or Granny Smith apples, $1.88/lb
    D'Anjou or Bosc pears, 98¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$5
    Whole pineapples, 2/$5
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    “Texas Red” grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Roma or beefsteak tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Grape or cherry tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3
    Asparagus, $1.28/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 98¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 98¢ ea
    Green or red bell peppers, 2/$1

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning January 22nd:

At Fooducate, guest blogger Yoni Freedhoff on “The Top 10 Whys and Hows of Keeping a Food Diary” – or tracking.  Also yet another rant on the alleged connection between diet sodas and overweight (correlation is not causation), the skyrocketing rate of eating away from home (in 1977, 3.1% of calories consumed in the US were eaten at fast-food restaurants;  today that fraction is 13.1%), and a close look at the nutrition labels on ramen noodles and imitation bacon bits.  Marion Nestle tells me that Wal-Mart has agreed to pay its tomato pickers in Florida 1¢/lb more – meaning that a 32-lb basket of tomatoes that previously earned its picker 50¢ will now pay 82¢, which can mean a single worker's wage of $50/day will jump to $90/day.  Power to the people! 

Via Grist, a podcast interview with Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, Cooked) about the paleo diet and the realities of what our ancestors ate.  And courtesy of Andrew Weil, a new study from Spain revealing that eating chocolate – in reasonable quantities – “is associated with lower body fat and less abdominal fat”.  To which I can only say !!!!!!!!!!

Recipes!  Chow.com's abandoned it's-the-New-Year-and-here's-how-to-lose-weight for it's-the-dead-of-winter-and-here's-how-to-stay-warm.  A pile of vegetarian recipes that serve to point up the hazards of mentally equating “vegetarian” with “healthy” (there may be a way to make chile rellenos PointsPlus-friendly, but the recipe here is not it), another of nice stew recipes that could be modified, and a set of utterly bizarre things to do with ramen.  Ramen waffles.  Chocolate ramen bark.

More recipes!  From Simply Recipes, a coleslaw made from broccoli stems, peeled and shredded;  from Smitten Kitchen, a warm salad of potatoes and lentils.  At Fooducate, a casserole of spinach, lentils, and wild rice which the contributor admits is “not very photogenic”.  (Well, lentils aren't too, really.  And I speak as someone who likes lentils.)  And Snack Girl has DIY fruit-and-nut bars, her top 10 healthy game-day party snacks (including a “three-layer seven-layer dip”), and a weight-loss Q&A.  (Asked the best way to start losing weight, she can only come up with a list of worst ways, including wearing a diving suit and “intestinal parasites”.)

Fourth week of January, National Meat Week and National Irish Coffee Week.  Tomorrow, the 23rd, is National Pie Day, not to be confused with Pi Day which is in March.  The 25 is Burns Night and also National Soup Swap Day.  Haggis soup not mandatory.

January 22nd:  National Blonde Brownie Day
January 23rd:  National Pie Day
January 24th:  National Peanut Butter Day
January 25th:  Burns Night, National Soup Swap Day
January 26th:  National Pistachio Day, National Peanut Brittle Day
January 27th:  Chocolate Cake Day
January 28th:  National Blueberry Pancake Day
January 29th:  National Corn Chip Day


Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye or NY strip steak, bone in, $5.97/lb
    Beef roasts, chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round, boneless, $4.29/lb
    Beef steaks, top/bottom/eye round, chuck, crossrib, sirloin tip, thin cut boneless, $8.49/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef petite sirloin steaks, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Tilapia or swai fillets, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb (bone in steaks, $1/lb higher)
    Albertson's milk, gallons, 2/$5
    Albertson's eggs, large, 18 ct, $1.88
    Albertson's sour cream, 16 oz tub, $1
    Essential Everyday butter, half pounds, $1 (full pounds, $2.79)
    Essential Everyday cream cheese incl. Light, 8 oz blocks $1
    Crystal Farms cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Deli:    Signature Virginia smoked ham, $3.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson ham, turkey, chicken breast, $7.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson “lacy Swiss” cheese, $7.99/lb
        Stella Swiss, Provolone, Muenster, $5.99/lb
    Oroweat bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    La Moderna pasta, 7 oz bags, 25¢
    Hunt's tomato sauce, 8 oz cans, 25¢
    Wild Harvest organic olive oil, 17 oz bottles, $4.99
    Essential Everyday tomatoes, veg, variety (non-baked) beans, 14-15 oz cans, 50¢
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” veggies, 10-12 oz boxes, $1
    Essential Everyday frozen veggies, 14-16 oz bags, $1
    Morningstar Farms entrees, 2/$7
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$3
    Navel oranges, $1/lb
    Pomelos (here spelled “pummelos”), $1.99 ea
    Minneola tangelos, $1.49/lb
    Cara Cara oranges, $1.69/lb
    Fuji apples, $1.49/lb
    Roma tomatoes, $1.29/lb
    Organic broccoli, $1.99/lb
    Baby eggplant, 10/$10
    Iceberg, $1


Bashas':

    Beef London broil, $3.49/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef crossrib steak, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $7.99/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, $2.49/lb
    Pork loin country style, bone in, value pack, $1.79/lb
    Boneless pork roast, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.77/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    True cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb “weather permitting”
    Bashas' eggs, AA large, dozens, 99¢
    Land O Lakes butter, 2/$5
    Food Club cheeses, 8 oz chunk/shreds/cubelets, 5/$10
    Bush's variety (non-baked) beans, 15-16 oz cans, 88¢
    Flav-R-Pac veggies, 12-16 oz frozen bags, 88¢
    Applies, Fuji/Braeburn/Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, $1.99/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Whole pineapples, 2/$5
    Vine tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Grape tomatoes, 12 oz box, 2/$4
    Organic “baby peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 2/$3
    Dole bag salads, 12 oz, 77¢ ea


Fry's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, family pack, $2.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $4.69/lb (2 lb chub)
    Pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin center chop, family pack, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $1.59/lb
    Atlantic salmon, 5 oz portions, $4.99 ea
    Swai fillets, farm raised, $2.99/lb
    Fry's milk, gallons, 2/$5
    Fry's eggs, AA large, dozens, 4/$5
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $3.29
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Blackberries or blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$3
    Apples, Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    D'Anjou pears, 99¢/lb
    Minnola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Pomegranates, 2/$5
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/romaine, OR iceberg OR spinach, AZ grown, 99¢
    Red or yellow bell peppers, 4/$5
    Organic broccoli or cauliflower, $1.89/lb
    Organic kale, 99¢/bunch


Safeway:

    Beef chuck or bottom round steak, boneless, value pack, $3.49/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $5.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef chuck crossrib steak, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.79/lb
    Half pork loin, boneless, in bag, $1.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, $4.99/lb
    Kraft cheeses, 6-8 oz shreds or shingle, buy 1 get 1 free
    Lucerne butter, $3.49
    Oroweat breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Hunt's tomatoes or tomato sauce, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Del Monte veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Near East rice or couscous, 4-10 oz boxes, 2/$4
    Smart Ones frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Pantry Essentials frozen veg, 2 lb bags, $1.99
    Green Giant frozen veg, 7-10 oz boxes, $1.99
    SeaPak seafood selections, 8-18 oz, $5.99
    SeaPak family size seafood selections, 18-30 oz, $9.99
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, 2/$5
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Fuji apples, $1.99/lb
    Bartlett or Bosc pears, $1.49/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    “Texas Ruby Red” grapefruit, 99¢ ea
    Kiwifruit, 3/$1
    Vine tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    O Organics, box salads, 1 lb, $5
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, AZ grown, $1.49/lb
    “Baby-cut” carrots, AZ grown, 1 lb bag, 2/$3
    Zucchini OR yellow squash, $1.49/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef New York steak, boneless, $7.99/lb
    Beef chuck roast or steak, boneless, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $4.49/lb
    Center cut pork loin chops or roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Lamb shoulder chops, $2.99/lb (They're marketed as “fresh”, but also as “springtime lamb”.  In the Northern Hemisphere it is the dead of winter.  In the sheep country of Australia and New Zealand, it is high summer.  Nowhere on the planet is it currently “springtime”.)
    Chicken breast tenders, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Flounder fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Swordfish steaks, boneless, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Apples:  you bloody name it.  Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith, Cameo, Jonagold, Piñata, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Red/Golden Delicious, all 88¢/lb
    Organic Braeburn or Red Delicious apples, 98¢/lb
    Red cherries, $3.88/lb
    “Texas Rio Star” grapefruit, 48¢ ea
    Navel oranges OR Minnola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$5
    Roma tomatoes, 48¢/lb
    Italian or yellow squash, 98¢/lb
    Green bell peppers, 48¢ ea
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 98¢ ea
    Celery, 88¢
    Cauliflower, 98¢/lb
    “Baby peeled” carrots, 1 lb bag, 88¢
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning January 15th:

For our newer members:  welcome aboard!  I'm Wren, and each week I go through the grocery supermarket flyers, pick out and type up what look like good deals on healthy and low processed items, and put them in my weekly handout and this blog along with possibly interesting information and my own sometimes snarky commentary.  Disclaimer:  not an official Weight Watchers publication.  Not remotely.  Extremely not.

A number of interesting pieces at Fooducate this week, including the questionable naturality of Crystal Light, possible thyroid issues from consuming too much kale (can such things be?  yes, if you consume your kale in liquid form), and “Olives:  Tasty Condiment, or Salt Delivery Platform?”  To which the answer is “yes”.

Darya Rose on Home Court Habits for weight control:  hers include shopping the farmer's market, keeping hydrated, limiting “sugary or bready meals”, and those crucial 10,000 steps a day.  A new study reveals (surprise!) that people tend to overestimate how much they exercise.  Marion Nestle compares what people actually eat with what they're recommended to eat.  And for the first time since such things have been measured, Americans are eating more chicken per capita than beef!

Recipes!  Chow.com has slow-cooker recipes, whole-grain salads, orecchiete with broccoli rabe, and the evolution of hummus.  Also things to do with the veggie pulp from your juicer.  At thekitchn.com, tasty healthy workplace lunches that don't have to be heated!  Summer Tomato has a red-lentil soup with kale and farro, Simply Recipes has cabbage soup, Smitten Kitchen has chicken pho.  And Snack Girl brings us portion-controlled french-fry bites and her analysis of WW's “Simply Filling”, both pro (“I think this list is very helpful if you are looking for foods that are low in calories and packed with fiber....  These foods will fill your stomach and stop it from sending those powerful 'I'm Hungry NOW' signals to your brain”) and con (“There is no way I am eating fat-free cheese”).

Tomorrow is International Hot & Spicy Foods Day, so if you're into hot-and-spicy (I am not) enjoy something flavorful.  The day after is National Hot Buttered Rum Day.  I assure you that in this context you WILL believe I Can't Believe It's Not Butter is not butter.  And the printout was wrong:  Soup Swap Day is the 25th!


January 15th:  National Strawberry Ice-Cream Day, National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day
January 16th:  National Fig Newton Day, International Hot and Spicy Foods Day
January 17th:  National Hot Buttered Rum Day
January 18th:  National Peking Duck day
January 19th:  National Popcorn Day
January 20th:  National Buttercrunch Day, National Cheese Lovers' Day, National Coffee Break Day
January 21st:  National Granola Bar Day, New England Clam chowder Day
January 22nd:  National Blonde Brownie Day


Albertson's:

    Beef roasts or family pack steaks, chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef ribeye/t-bone/New York steaks, bone in, $7.99/lb
    Beef tri-tip or top sirloin steaks, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.49/lb
    Pork loin chops, boneless, buy 1 get 2 free
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, $1.88/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, jumbo pack, $1.29/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $2.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Sockeye salmon, wild caught, 5 oz portions, $3.99
    Cod, wild caught, 5 oz portions, $1.99
    Whole Dungeness crabs, $5.99/lb “weather permitting”
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Essential Everyday butter, 2/$5
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 2 lb shreds, $6.99
    Kraft cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Deli:    Charlie's Pride Italian beef/corned beef/beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Margherita hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Signature slow roasted turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $5.99/lb
    Kellott's Nutri-grain bars, 7-10 oz boxes, $1.99
    Nature's Own “100% Whole Grain” bread, 20 oz loaves, $2.29
    Essential Everyday veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 59¢
    Essential Everyday tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 2/$1
    Essential Everyday variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 4/$3
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 10/$10
    Hunt's tomato sauce, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Essential Everyday pasta, 12-16 oz pkg, 10/$10
    Del Monte veggies or tomatoes, 11-15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Prego pasta sauces, 14-15 oz jars, $1.99
    Carapelli olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $5.99
    Bertolli olive oil, 17 oz bottles, $5.99
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 10 oz cans, $1.19
    Del Monte fruit cups incl. No-sugar-added, 4 pk, 2/$4
    No Yolks noodles, 8 oz bag, 10/$10
    Green Giant boil-in-bag veggies, 9-10 oz boxes, 10/$10
    PictSweet “Steamables” veggies, 10 oz bags, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Navel oranges, $1/lb
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $2.99
    Organic Gala apples, $2.29/lb
    Organic Anjou pears, $2.29/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, $1.49/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, 10 oz box, $2.99
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, $1/lb
    Eggplant, $1 ea
    Mini carrots, 1 lb bag, $1 ea
    Organic beets, $1.99/bunch
    Red bell peppers, 10/$10
    Fresh Express bag “Garden Salad”, $1 ea


Bashas':

    Beef London broil, value pack, $2.77/lb
    Beef top round roast, $2.99/lb (value pack steaks, 28¢/lb higher)
    Beef crossrib roast, $3.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, $3.49/lb
    Center cut pork chops, boneless, value pack, $3.49/lb
    “Pork loin country style”, bone in, value pack, $1.79/lb
    Bone in chicken breast or leg quarters, 97¢/lb
    Swordfish (bone in) OR Atlantic salmon, 5 oz portions, $3
    Petrale sole fillets, $7.99/lb
    Mahi mahi, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Food Club cheeses, 10-16 oz chunk/shreds/string, $3.99
    Bashas' “Homestyle” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.49
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 99¢
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 99¢
    Star olive oil, 25 oz bottles, $6.99
    Chicken of the Sea solid white tuna, 4/$5
    Bumble Bee chunk white tuna, 4/$5
    Green Giant frozen veggies, 7-10 oz boxes, 10/$10
    Flav-R-Pack frozen veggies, 11-16 oz bags, 3/$5
    Weight Watchers ice-cream novelties, 40% off
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $1.88
    Whole pineapples, 99¢ ea
    Fuji OR Red Delicious apples, 99¢/lb
    Bartlett/Anjou/Bosc pears, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 99¢/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Dole bag salads or spinach, buy 1 get 1 free
    OrganicGirl box salads, $4.99


Fry's:

    Beef chuck or crossrib roasts, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, 50% off
    85/15 ground beef, $3.19/lb
    Pork country style ribs, bone in, family pack, $1.99
    Spiral sliced hams, bone in, $1.27/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $4.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Swordfish OR mahi mahi steaks, bone in, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $3.29
    Del Monte OR Kroger fruit, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Bush's baked or variety beans, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    Green Giant frozen veg, 7-10 oz pkg, 10/$10
    Lean Cuisine “Simple Favorites”, 6/$10
    Strawberries, 1 lb box, $1.69
    Seedless mandarins, 3 lb bag, $4.99
    Organic navel oranges, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Organic Gala or Fuji apples, $1.89/lb
    Pears, D'Anjou/red/Bosc, 99¢/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, AZ grown, 89¢/lb
    Nature Sweet cherry or grape tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Organic kale, AZ grown, 99¢/bunch
    Zucchini or yellow squash, 99¢/lb
Safeway:

    Beef London broil, boneless, $2.59/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, bone in, value pack, $5.99/lb (boneless $2/lb higher)
    Beef chuck “cross rib or pot roast”, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Open Nature “grass fed” beef chuck roast, boneless, $5.99/lb “in select stores”
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Safeway smoked whole or shank half ham, 69¢/lb (butt half, 10¢/lb higher)
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb (thighs 50¢/lb lower)
    Open Nature ground turkey, 1 lb pkg, $5
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.99
    Open Nature cheeses, 24 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Nature's Own breads, 20 oz loaves, 2/$5
    Oroweat variety bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Prego pasta sauces, 14-24 oz jars, 3/$5
    Safeway Kitchens veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 79¢/lb
    Progresso “Light” (with the WW logo) or “Heart Healthy” soups, 3/$4
    Healthy Choice frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Blueberries, 6 oz box, 2/$3
    Honeycrisp OR Envy apples, $2.99
    Bananas, 59¢/lb
    Organic navel oranges, AZ grown, $1.99
    Mangos, 10/$10
    Organic red grapefruit, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Kale, AZ grown, $1.49/bunch
    “Baby cut” carrots, AZ grown, 1 lb bag, 2/$3


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast OR marinated carne asada, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, boneless, $9.99/lb
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Leg of lamb OR lamburger, $5.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 98¢
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Fuji/Granny Smith/Braeburn apples, 98¢/lb
    Pears:  Bartlett, D'Anjou, Bosc, red, Comice, Forelle, Seckel, 88¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, 98¢/lb
    Grape or cherry tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3
    Winter squashes:  butternut, acorn, spaghetti, 48¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning January 8th:

And, as probably through the balance of January, the ongoing spate of Start The New Year By Losing Weight And Here's How tips on all sides.  Fooducate has a set of “Five Ways to Eat Slowly”, since slow eating is strongly linked with losing weight.  One tip is that the more highly processed a food is, the easier it is to gulp down:  white bread chews faster than wholemeal, most fast food is designed to be consumed as quickly and easily as possible.

Summer Tomato has a minor philosophical treatise on eating half a doughnut.  She touches on a number of issues, including willpower, experience stretching (once you've tried the really good doughnuts, are you going to waste the calories or PointsPlus on rubbish doughnuts from the supermarket?), cauliflower that tastes like French fries, and the crucial awareness that this is not the last doughnut you will ever have the opportunity to eat in your entire life.  Mark's Daily Apple has “17 Reasons to Walk More This Year”:  as he points out, it requires no investment in equipment.  “See those bizarre appendages underneath you?  That's what you walk with.  See that horizontal surface stretching into the horizon?  That's what you walk on.”  And Andrew Weil writes of a study from the University of Missouri which strongly suggests that protein-rich snacks keep you from getting hungry longer than other kinds.  It's a very small study group but still might be worth a try.

Recipes!  Chow.com follows up last week's stack of soups with one of “quick and easy” soups, this being National Soup Month and (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) intrinsically a lovely time of year for soup.  Also kale chips, recipes for winter root veggies, and winter salads – there may be some overlap in these last two categories.  At Simply Recipes I find Dijon chicken and an intensely green smoothie of bananas, pineapple, spinach, and Greek yogurt.  De gustibus &c.  And Snack Girl has an ice-cream dessert consisting entirely of peanut butter and “those bananas that no one wants to eat because they look disgusting”, and an analysis of Weight Watchers:  she mentions accountability, support (“having a group of people who are in the same boat rowing with you”), and the advantage of having to pay for membership.  “I don't know about you,” she says, “but if I am paying for something I pay attention.”

The 11th, this Saturday, is both National Milk Day and National Hot Toddy Day.  This second week of January is National Pizza Week, exercise caution! 

January 8th:  National English Toffee Day
January 9th:  National Apricot Day
January 10th:  National Bittersweet Chocolate Day
January 11th:  National Hot Toddy Day, National Milk Day
January 12th:  National Marzipan Day, National Curried Chicken Day
January 13th:  National Peach Melba Day
January 14th:  National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
January 15th:  National Strawberry Ice-Cream Day, National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day


Albertson's:

    Beef t-bone/ribeye/New York steaks, bone in, family pack, $7.99/lb
    Beef tri tip OR top sirloin steaks, boneless, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.29/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole frying chickens, 98¢/lb
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, $1.88//lb
    Center cut pork loin chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork St Louis-style ribs, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Rockfish or Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $6.99/lb
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 1 lb chunk, $2.99
    Laughing Cow cheese wedges, buy 1 get 1 free
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson ham, chicken, turkey, $7.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) Muenster/Provolone/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Oroweat breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.99
    Francesco Rinaldi pasta sauces, 23-24 oz jars, 99¢
    S&W variety (non-baked) beans, 15 oz cans, 88¢
    Carbonelli olive oil, 25 oz square tins, $5.99/lb
    Essential Everyday olive oil, 24 oz bottles, $5.99/lb
    Bertolli pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, 2/$5
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$3
    Jazz apples, $2.49/lb
    Cara Cara oranges OR Minneola tangelos, $1.49/lb
    Seedless grapes, green or red, $2.99/lb
    Grape tomatoes, 12 oz boxes, 2/$3
    Fresh Express bag salads, “Premium Romaine” or “Green & Crisp”, OR spinach, 2/$3
    Organic cauliflower, $1.99 ea
    Organic iceberg, $1.49/lb
    Organic romaine hearts, 1 lb pkg, $2.99


Bashas':

    Beef New York steak, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb (first 2)
    Beef crossrib, eye/bottom round, sirloin tip roasts, boneless, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef crossrib, bottom round, sirloin tip steaks, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef t-bone steaks, $8.99/lb
    “Assorted” pork chops, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Center cut pork chops, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, 99¢/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $4.77/lb
    Dover sole fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb “weather permitting”
    Cod fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Challenge butter, $2.99
    Daisy sour cream OR cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, 2/$4
    Food Club cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/cubelets, $1.88
    Food Club drinking water, half litre bottles, 24 pk, $2.27
    Food Club veggies or tomatoes, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Valley Fresh white chicken, 10 oz cans, 2/$5
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 99¢
    Food Club pasta, 13-16 oz boxes, 99¢
    Smart Ones frozen entrees, 5/$10, buy 5 get 1 free
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    “Texas Red” grapefruit, 2/$1
    Apples:  Fuji, Braeburn, Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Mangos, 10/$10
    Slicing tomatoes, 77¢/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, 77¢/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 77¢/lb (organic, 2 lbs/$3
    Dole bag salads, buy 1 get 1 free
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, 99¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef ribeye steaks, boneless or bone in, 50% off
    Beef chuck OR crossrib roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.49/lb (2 lb chub, $6.98)
    Entire selection of fresh pork, 50% off
    Cook's spiral hams, bone in, $1.27/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Kroger chicken thighs/drumsticks, bone in, 99¢/lb
    Tilapia or corvina fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Fry's milk, half gallons only, 10/$10
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk or shreds, $1.99
    Simple Truth organic pasta sauces, 25 oz jars, $2.99
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Weight Watchers OR Skinny Cow ice-cream novelties, 4-12 ct, $3.99
    Apples:  Gala, Granny Smith, Red/Golden Delicious, 99¢/lb
    D'Anjou pears, 99¢/lb
    Minneola tangelos, AZ grown, 88¢/lb
    Red cherries, $3.99/lb
    Blackberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Strawberries, 1 lb boxes, $2.99
    Organic navel oranges, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Nature Sweet eeny ickle tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Dole OR Fresh Selections bag salads, 2/$5
    Simple Truth organic “Spring Mix” OR baby spinach, 16 oz boxes, $4.49


Safeway:

    Beef crossrib steak, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, boneless, value pack, $5.99/lb (bone in, 50¢/lb lower)
    Beef London broil, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone steak, value pack, $2.79/lb
    Assorted pork loin chops, bone in, $1.79/lb
    “All natural” pork loin chops, bone in, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms whole chickens, 88¢/lb
    Safeway Farms chicken drums/thighs/leg quarters, bone in, value pack, 99¢/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Yellowfin ahi tuna steaks, bone in, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Bush's variety (non-baked) beans, 15-16 oz cans, 5/$5
    Progresso Light soups (with the WW logo), $1.79
    Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars, 7-10 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Quaker Chewy Granola bars, 8 ct box, 2/$5
    Hunt's tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 10/$10
    Hunt's tomato sauce, 15 oz cans, 10/$10
    American Beauty pasta, 1 lb bags, 5/$5
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or “C&W” frozen veggies, 10-16 oz bags, buy 2 get 2 free
    Fuji apples, 99¢/lb
    Gala apples, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    “Texas Ruby Red” grapefruit, 99¢ ea
    Peaches OR nectarines, $3.99/lb
    Honeycrisp or Envy apples, $2.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Red cherries, $3.99/lb
    Vine tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Peeled “baby-cut” carrots, 1 lb bag, 2/$3
    NatureSweet cherry or “Glory” tomatoes, 10 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, $1.29
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb
    Fresh Express OR Safeway Farms bag salads, 2/$6


Sprouts:

    “Buffalo stampede” – prices start at $6.99/lb for buffaloburger and go up, asymptotically
    Beef sirloin tip roast or steak, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, $6.99/lb
    “Grass-fed organic” ground beef, fat content not listed, $6.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Halibut portions, 6 oz each, wild caught, $7.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $8.99/lb
    Albacore, cod, wahoo (??), mahi mahi, 6 oz portions, $3.99 ea
    Blackberries or blueberries, 5-6 oz  boxes, 2/$3
    Honeycrisp apples, $1.48/lb
    Red seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$5
    Red cherries, $3.98/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Organic Valencia oranges, 4 lb bags, 2/$5
    Organic grapefruit, 4 lb bags, $3.99
    Organic Pink Lady apples, $1.49/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 48¢/lb
    Grape tomatoes, dry pint, 2/$3
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea
    Italian or yellow squash, 88¢/lb
    Eggplant, 88¢ ea
    Green beans, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning January 1st:

Happy New Year, all!  Brace yourselves, it's January and we're about to bombarded with innumerable promotions and articles for weight-loss plans, programs, and promises.  Fooducate starts us off with “5 Simple Weight Loss Hacks You Can Start Today”, “5 Extreme Diets to Avoid in 2014”, and “The ONE Change You Need to Make to Your New Year’s Resolution in Order to Actually Succeed”.  Mark's Daily Apple has “11 Questions to Ask Yourself at the Start of a New Year” – actually very useful, such as “What concrete step or steps will you take to fulfil a more abstract resolution?” and “How will you hold yourself accountable?”  And only a few of his answers are related to Mark's personal Thing, the “paleo” diet.

New studies out from Consumer Reports.  One says that of the 316 chicken breasts they bought at retail across the country, 97% were contaminated with harmful bacteria (half with multiple-drug resistant strains).  I'm really not very hungry any more.

Recipes!  With the holidays safely past, Chow.com is very big on fish and salads this week:  healthier grilled-fish tacos, a stack of winter-veggie salads, baked halibut puttanesca, and a flavorful and refreshing cucumber-orange water.  Also hot soups, whole grains, and steel-cut oatmeal in your crockpot.  And if you're still up to your clavicle in candy canes, they've got a plethora of uses for them:  candy cane syrup, crushed onto cupcakes, or candy-cane-infused vodka.  Simply Recipes has quesadillas, a black-eyed-pea salsa to go with, gremolata, and a salad of beets, oranges, kale, and pistachios.  Not a combination I would have thought of but it's rather pretty. 

This is January, National Soup Month and National Wheat Bread Month, a pleasingly warming and potentially healthy combination.  Also National Egg Month, National Hot Tea Month, and National Oatmeal Month.  Soup Swap Day isn't until the 21st, but this will give you time to cook up your soup (lots of soup recipes up there!) and freeze it and organize your Soup Swap parties.

January 1st:  National Apple Gifting Day, National Bloody Mary Day
January 2nd:  National Cream Puff Day
January 3rd:  National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
January 4th:  National Spaghetti Day
January 5th:  National Whipped Cream Day
January 6th:  National Shortbread Day, Bean Day – some of my sources think this is a day to make a pot of baked beans, but the wider consensus is that since this is the Feast of the Epiphany, it's called Bean Day after the bean in the King Cake
January 7th:  National Tempura Day, Fruitcake Toss Day
January 8th:  English Toffee Day

Happy New Year to you all, and I'll see you in 2014!


Albertson's:

    Beef petite sirloin steaks, boneless, $8.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Beef chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round roast, boneless, $7.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef t-bone/ribeye/New York steak or roast, bone in, $7.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, $4.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin chops, center cut boneless, $6.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Assorted pork chops, bone in, $3.99/lb, buy 1 get 1 free
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Cook's ham steaks, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Jennie-O 93/7 ground turkey, 20 oz pkg, $3.99
    Great American cod or tilapia fillets, 1 lb IQF bag, $9.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Albertson's eggs, AA large, 18 ct, $1.99
    Essential Everyday cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Tillamook cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shingle pack, $3.99
    Deli:    Dietz & Watson hams & turkeys, $6.99/lb
        Dietz & Watson medium Cheddar or baby Swiss cheeses, $6.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) Provolone/Muenster/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Essential Everyday chunk light tuna, 10/$10
    Progresso “Heart Healthy” or “Light” soups, 2/$3
    Essential Everyday tomatoes/beans/vegetables, 14-15 oz cans, 69¢
    Nature's Own “100% Whole Wheat” bread, 20 oz loaves, $2.29
    Bertolli (17 oz) or Carapelli (25 oz) olive oil, $6.99
    Whole cantaloupes, $1 ea
    Braeburn apples, 99¢/lb
    Organic Fuji or Gala apples, $2.49/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Blood oranges, $1.99/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $2.99/lb
    Summer squashes, zucchini/yellow/grey, 99¢/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb
    Earthbound Farms organic box salads, 5 oz, $2.99
    Bok choy OR nappa cabbage, 69¢/lb


Bashas':

    Beef t-bone steaks, value pack, $4.77/lb
    Beef London broil, $3.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $3.99/lb
    Beef sirloin tip roast OR ground beef sirloin, $2.77/lb
    Center cut pork roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Thin cut pork chops, value pack, 3.99/lb
    Pork shoulder or picnic roast, $1.79/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.67/lb
    Atlantic salmon OR true cod fillets, farm raised, $5.77/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $4.77/lb
    Yoplait yogurts, 49¢ ea
    Bashas' cottage cheese, 16 oz tubs, $1.59
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, $1.88
    “Texas Red” grapefruit, 2/$1
    Roma tomatoes, 99¢/lb
    Organic grape tomatoes, 10 oz pkg, 2/$4
    Zucchini, 99¢ ea
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb
    Kale OR spinach, 88¢/bunch
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, AZ grown, 99¢/bunch


Fry's:

    Beef chuck OR crossrib roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $3.49
    Marinated pork, various brands, $6.99/lb
    Tyson boneless skinless chicken breast, buy 1 get 2 free
    Kroger 85/15 ground turkey, 1 lb pkg, $2.99
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Fry's milk, half gallons only, $1
    Fry's eggs, AA large, dozens, $1.29
    Kroger tomatoes, 14 oz cans, 5/$3
    Classico pasta sauces, 8-24 oz jars, 2/$4
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Blackberries, 6 oz boxes, 99¢
    Whole cantaloupes OR mini seedless watermelons, 2/$5
    Minneola tangelos, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Mangos, 99¢ ea
    Organic D'Anjou or Bosc pears, $1.49/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, 99¢
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Organic kale, AZ grown, 99¢/bunch
    Simple Truth organic box salads, 5-7 oz, 2/$6


Safeway:

    Beef top sirloin steaks, boneless, value pack, $3.99/lb
    Beef round tip steak, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Beef chuck pot roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Chicken leg quarters, bone in, value pack, $1.29/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, value pack, $6.99/lb
    Pantry Essentials milk, gallons, $1.99
    Open Nature variety breads, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, 42.49
    Safeway Kitchens veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 79¢
    Bertolli olive oil, 25 oz bottles, buy 1 get 1 free
    Chicken of the Sea chunk light tuna, 5/$5
    Green Giant frozen veggies, 7-10 oz boxes, $1.99
    Lean Cuisine frozen entrees, 5/$10
    Red/Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples, 99¢/lb
    Honeycrisp or Envy apples, $2.99/lb
    Organic Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Red cherries, $5.99/lb
    “Texas Ruby Red” grapefruit, 99¢ ea
    Vine tomatoes, $2.49/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef chuck roast or steak, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Beef ribeye steaks, boneless, $9.99/lb
    Beef brisket/tri tip/skirt/flank steak, boneless, $5.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef sirloin, $3.99/lb
    Pork loin chops or roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Whole/split/cut-up chickens, $1.49/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast/thighs/tenders, $2.99/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $7.99/lb
    Tilapia fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Swordfish steaks, bone in, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, black or red, 98¢/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 98¢ ea
    Braeburn/Cameo/Jonagold apples, 98¢/lb
    Navel oranges OR Minneola tangelos, 88¢/lb
    Texas grapefruit, 88¢ ea
    Bartlett/D'Anjou/Bosc pears, 98¢/lb
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Eggplant, 88¢ ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢ ea

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning December 25th:

Sorry for being so very far overdue in getting this week's edition online:  for Christmas, I threw my back out lifting a ham.  Not even a very big ham.

Fooducate this week explores the top 5 “Over-Hyped New Foods” of 2013.  TIME looks into what foods will be more expensive next year:  beef and bread are on the list, and all hearts crack in unison as chocolate prices are projected to rise.  Oh well, think of it as incentive to practice portion control.  Happily fruits and veggies are not on the rising-prices list, because Andrew Weil promotes a study which strongly indicates that eating more fruits and vegetables can lengthen your life.

The Atlantic has a detailed, analytical, skeptical, and this after all being Atlantic extraordinarily long look at the whole paleo-diet-Grain-Brain-gluten-is-bad-for-you … thing.  Worth reading if only for the cautionary lines, “I hope people don’t give up on nutrition science, because there is a sense that no one agrees on anything. An outlier comes shouting along every year with a new diet bent on changing our entire perspective, and it’s all the talk.... When a person advocates radical change on the order of eliminating one of the three macronutrient groups from our diets, the burden of proof should be enormous. Everything you know is not wrong.”

Recipes!  Chow.com has an absolute plethora of New Year's Eve appetizers, some hot, some vegetarian, some “elegant” (srsly? potato skins with smoked salmon, crème fraîche, and caviar? mini ham-and-cheese sandwiches topped with fried quail eggs?), some just stuff-on-toast.  Also a plan for a New Year's Eve party with a speakeasy motif, creamy cocktails, sherry cocktails, tequila cocktails, hot booze, and what's described as a “sneaky breakfast remedy for hangovers”.

Sprouted Kitchen's kale omelette may be a good counter for hangovers, being proteiny.  And Simply Recipes has mini-muffin frittatas that keep well, reheat well, and come in handy at this time of year:  “I don’t know about you but my survival strategy includes making relatively light, healthy meals for the days between the feasts. These mini frittatas are perfect for the in-between days.”

This week following Christmas, the calendar has us tidying up all the culinary loose ends and leftovers, with days for candy canes, fruit cake and chocolate in quick succession.  The 31st is, somewhat predictably, National Champagne Day;  but somewhat in anticipation of necessity, National Bicarbonate of Soda Day is the 30th.

December 25th:  National Pumpkin Pie Day
December 26th:  National Candy Cane Day, National Coffee Percolator Day
December 27th:  National Fruit Cake Day
December 28th:  National Chocolate Candy Day
December 29th:  Pepper Pot Day – I have not been able to ascertain whether this is in celebration of the seasoning shaker or the tripe stew called Philadelphia Pepper Pot.
December 30th:  National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
December 31st:  National Champagne Day
January 1st:  National Bloody Mary Day, National Apple Gifting Day


Albertson's:

    Beef ribeye, t-bone, New York steaks, boneless or bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef roasts or family pack steaks: chuck, crossrib, eye/bottom round, sirloin tip, $3.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $2.79/lb
    Pork sirloin chops, boneless, $1.99/lb
    Sanderson Farms boneless skinless chicken breast, $5.99/lb, buy 1 get 2 free
    Unbranded (store) boneless skinless chicken breast, $1.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Tilapia/swai/catfish fillets, $2.99/lb
    Albertson's milk, gallons, $1.87
    Albertson's cottage cheese incl. low-fat, 16 oz tubs, 2/$3
    Deli:    Charlie's Pride Italian beef, corned beef, beef pastrami, $5.99/lb
        Signature rotisserie turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Jennie-O “Honey Smoked” or “Oven Brown” turkey breast, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) hard or Genoa salami OR pepperoni, $5.99/lb
        Stella Swiss/Provolone/Muenster cheeses, $5.99/lb
        Unbranded (store) Provolone/Muenster/pepperjack/mild Cheddar, $5.99/lb
    Essential Everyday pasta, 12-16 oz boxes, 10/$10
    Hunt's pasta sauces, 24 oz cans, 10/$10
    Carapelli olive oil, 17 oz bottles, $4.99
    Healthy Choice frozen entrees, $1.99 ea
    Bananas, 39¢/lb
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Organic Fuji apples, $1.99/lb
    Kale, 99¢/bunch (3 varieties available)
    Organic grape tomatoes, 10 oz box, $2.99


Bashas':

    Beef top sirloin steak, boneless, value pack, $3.77/lb
    Beef bottom round or sirloin tip roasts, bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef crossrib roast, boneless, buy 1 get 1 free
    Beef top sirloin, boneless, $4.77/lb
    Ground beef chuck, fat content not listed, value pack, $2.99
    Pork loin, bone in, whole in bag, 99¢/lb “cut & wrapped free”
    Assorted pork chops, value pack, $1.79/lb
    Split chicken breast, bone in, buy 1 get 1 free
    Swordfish or albacore tuna steaks OR mahi mahi portion, 5 oz, $3 ea
    Shamrock Farms dairy, 40% off
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle, 2/$5
    Ro*tel tomatoes, 99¢
    StarKist chunk white tuna, 99¢
    Chicken of the sea solid white tuna, 4/$5
    Pompeian olive oil, 16 oz bottles, $3.99
    Braeburn or Fuji apples, 77¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 77¢/lb
    Bartlett/Anjou/Bosc pears, 99¢/lb
    Russet baking potatoes, 5 lb bags, 88¢
    NatureSweet cherub tomatoes, 10 oz box, 2/$4
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.99/lb
    Organic broccoli, 2 lbs/$3


Fry's:

    Beef t-bone steaks, $4.99/lb
    Kroger corned-beef brisket, boneless flat cut, $3.49/lb
    85/15 ground beef, $3.19/lb
    Pork loin back ribs OR St Louis-style ribs, $1.99/lb
    Pork “shoulder butt or picnic roast”, bone in, whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Tyson boneless ksinless chicken breast, 3 lb IQF bag, $5.97 ($1.99/lb)
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Kroger cheeses, 12-16 oz chunk or shreds, $2.99
    Kroger blackeyed peas, 15 oz cans, 79¢
    Del Monte veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 3/$2
    Kroger sauerkraut, 14 oz cans, 79¢
    “Mini seedless” watermelons, 2/$3
    Minneola tangelos, AZ grown, 88¢/lb
    Organic Fuji or Gala apples, $1.89/lb
    Mangoes, 88¢ ea
    Blackberries OR blueberries, 6 oz boxes, 2/$5
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, AZ grown, 99¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR iceberg, AZ grown, 99¢ ea
    Hass avocados, 88¢ ea
    Fresh Selections “mini peeled” carrots, 4/$5


Safeway:

    Beef top round London broil, boneless, $2.59/lb
    Beef NY strip steak, bone in, value pack, $4.99/lb (boneless, $2/lb higher)
    Beef top sirloin steak OR tri tip roast, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef chuck 7-bone steak, value pack, $2.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork loin assorted chops, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Pork spareribs, $2.49/lb
    Eating Right boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, value pack, $6.99/lb
    Lucerne OR Open Nature cheeses, 24-32 oz chunk or shreds, $6.99
    Challenge cream cheese, 8 oz brick or tub, 2/$3
    Classico pasta sauces, 15-24 oz jars, $2.49
    Healthy Choice “Cafe Steamers”, 4/$10
    Gala apples, 99¢/lb
    Fuji apples, $1.49/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Red cherries, $6.99/lb
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Clementines, 5 lb box, $6.99/lb
    Brussels sprouts, $2.99/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef rump roast, boneless, “tied rotisserie style”, $2.99/lb
    Beef NY steak, boneless, $7.99/lb
    85/15 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Pork spare ribs, $1.69/lb
    Pork baby back ribs, $2.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, $2.99/lb
    Coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Mahi mahi fillets, wild caught, $5.99/lb
    Blackberries, 5 oz boxes, 88¢
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Red seedless grapes, $1.98/lb
    Organic Valencia oranges, 4 lb bags, 2/$5
    Comice pears, 98¢/lb
    Jazz or Braeburn apples, 98¢/lb
    Vine tomatoes, AZ grown, $1.98/lb
    Roma tomatoes, 88¢/lb
    Summer squashes, Italian/yellow/grey, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, 88¢ ea
    Bell peppers, red/yellow/orange, 88¢ ea
    Green bell peppers, 48¢ ea
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 88¢/lb

Wren's bargain guide, week beginning December 18th:

So sorry about the hiatus – thanks for your patience.

Fooducate has a very pleasant collection of good news from the past year about food:  access to farmers' markets is UP, childhood obesity is DOWN, and no more sodas in Happy Meals.  And a very good article by a man who lost 155 pounds and has kept it off for twenty years.  Yoni Freedhoff touches on the fraught question of whether 3500 calories “really” equate to one pound of weight;  he points out that “people are not walking math formulas”;  that different foods will have different effects, that some people's “caloric efficiency” – their apparent ability to extract calories from food – is higher than others (that's nice to know, I'm just more efficient than other people on this if nothing else), and finally lands on the point that – emphasis mine – “If weight's your concern, more important than anything else is finding a life that you enjoy that contains fewer calories than before.”

While you're finding a life you enjoy, enjoy your bananas while you've got them:  per Nature by way of Grist, a fungus is spreading in banana-growing regions that may destroy the Cavendish, the banana cultivar you see in supermarkets.  (This has happened before:  the Cavendish is widely grown because it replaced the similar-looking but some say better-tasting Gros Michel which itself was nearly eradicated by a fungus.)  MSN News offers some possible alternatives.  And Marion Nestle at Food Politics informs us that the American Meat Institute has sent out an “advisory” to news media on good and bad (read:  flattering and unflattering) words.  Good words:  “lean finely textured beef”, “finely textured beef”, “beef”, “product”.  Bad words:  “filler”, “binder”, “extender”, “additive”, “pink slime”.  And Summer Tomato offers a set of tips on reasonably healthy eating while traveling.

Recipes!  Chow.com has twenty Christmas-cookie recipes, twenty-seven Christmas roast recipes, panettone (a holiday bread which autocorrect wants to render as “Benneton”), and a set of make-ahead breakfast casseroles that may be handy if you're dealing with house guests this week or next.  At Simply Recipes there's a curried chicken salad in endive boats, a lovely salad of Romanesco which is itself inherently lovely, and good basic hamburger-macaroni hotdish for after an exhausting day.  And Snack Girl has healthier holiday snacks (including her famous strawberry Santa hats) and what she describes as a “slightly lighter” eggnog.

It looks as though we Wednesday Warriors will be missing at last one meeting, perhaps two, but if the grocery flyers are available I'll be posting to the blog.  Merry Christmas, and I'll see you all in the New Year!


Albertson's:

    Beef rib roast, bone in, whole in bag, $4.97/lb (limit 1)
    Beef New York roast, bone in, whole but “trimmed & tied”, $3.99/lb
    Beef rib roast, bone in, whole but “trimmed & tied”, $5.97/lb (“custom cut”, $1/lb higher)
    Beef rib roast, boneless, “trimmed & tied”, $7.97/lb
    Beef New York “holiday roast”, bone in, “custom cut”, $4.99/lb
    93/7 ground beef, $2.97/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral cut ham, $1.37/lb (limit 1)
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, unsliced, $2.99/lb
    Cook's ham, bone in, shank portion, $1.37/lb (butt portion, 20¢/lb higher)
    Kentucky Farms spiral cut ham, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, whole in bag, $2.49/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkeys, 12-20 lb, $1.69/lb
    Butterball fresh turkeys, 12-20 lb, $1.99/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.57/lb
    Crystal Farms cheeses, 8 oz chunk/shred/shingle pack, 2/$5
    Kraft cheeses, 7-8 oz chunk or shreds, $3.99
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 2/$1
    Pam cooking spray, 5-6 oz cans, 2/$5
    Pictsweet veggies, 14-16 oz frozen bags, 88¢/lb
    Fuji or Granny Smith apples, 99¢/lb
    Organic Gala apples, $1.99/lb
    Organic bananas, 79¢/lb
    Slicing tomatoes, $1.49/lb
    Organic vine tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    Broccoli crowns OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb
    Yams OR sweet potatoes, 99¢/lb
    Organic cucumbers, 89¢ ea
    Red/yellow/orange bell peppers, 4/$5


Bashas':

    Beef New York roast, boneless, $3.59/lb
    Beef tenderloin, whole in bag, $6.99/lb, “cut & wrapped free”
    Beef standing rib roast, bone in, whole, “trimmed, tied, ready for oven,” $4.99/lb
    “EZ-Carve” beef New York roast, boneless, $4.67/lb
    Beef standing rib roast, bone in, large end, $5.99/lb (small end, $1/lb higher)
    Beef bottom round/eye round/crossrib/sirloin tip roasts, $3.99/lb
    Ground beef sirloin, fat content not listed, $2.69/lb
    John Morrell spiral sliced ham, $1.37/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 spiral sliced ham, $2.49/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 whole or half ham, unsliced, $3.99/lb
    Cook's ham, shank portion, $1.29/lb
    Pork picnic or shoulder roast, $1.99/lb
    Pork loin roast, boneless, $2.99/lb
    Leg of lamb, $7.99/lb
    Jennie-O or Butterball fresh turkeys, $1.79/lb
    Bashas' boneless skinless chicken breast, $2.99/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $5.99/lb
    Food Club butter, $2.39
    Philadelphia OR Challenge cream cheese, 8 oz bricks, $1.29
    Tillamook cheeses, 8 oz chunk or shreds, 2/$5
    Libby's veggies, 11-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Bashas' “Homestyle” bread, 24 oz wide-pan loaves, $2.49
    Flav-R-Pac veggies, 16 oz bags or 12 oz “Steam of the Crop”, 77¢
    Apples, Fuji/Granny Smith/Red Delicious, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Clementines, 3 lb bag, $2.77
    Whole pineapples, 99¢ ea
    Fresh green beans, 77¢/lb (first 4 lbs)
    Red or orange yams, 77¢/lb
    Butternut OR green acorn squashes, 88¢/lb
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, 99¢/lb


Fry's:

    Beef NY strip roast, bone in, $3.77/lb (family pack steaks, $1.20/lb higher)
    Beef round/sirloin tip/chuck/shoulder roasts, boneless, $3.99/lb
    Beef rib roast, whole in bag, $5.99/lb (“trimmed & tied”, $1/lb higher)
    Hormel Cure 81 OR Private Selection spiral sliced ham, bone in, $2.99/lb
    Cook's unsliced smoked ham, bone in, shank half, 89¢/lb (butt half, 30¢/lb higher)
    Cook's spiral cut smoked ham, bone in, $1.47/lb
    Private Selection boneless ham, $3.99/lb
    Pork “shoulder butt or picnic roast” (please, Fry's, learn to punctuate), whole in bag, $1.49/lb
    Unbranded (store) frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.69/lb
    Jennie-O fresh turkey breast, bone in, $2.69/lb
    Atlantic salmon fillets, farm raised, $6.99/lb
    Kroger butter, $1.88
    Kroger cheeses, 6-8 oz chunk/shreds/shingle pack, $1.79
    Fry's eggs, AA large, dozens, 3/$5
    Kroger veggies, 14-15 oz cans, 5/$3
    Kroger beef or chicken broth, 14 oz cans, 2/$1
    Dole pineapple, 20 oz cans, 10/$10
    Kroger veggies, 10-12 oz frozen bags, 10/$10
    Apples, Gala/Fuji/Granny Smith/Cameo, 99¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Mandarins, 3 lb bag, $3.99 (5 lb box, $5.99)
    Mangos, 99¢ ea
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.29/lb


Safeway:

    Safeway whole or shank-half ham, $1.59/lb with $25 purchase (rump half 10¢/lb higher)
    Safeway whole or shank-half ham, 89¢/lb with $50 purchase (rump half 10¢/lb higher)
    Safeway shank-half or rump-half ham, FREE with $125 purchase
    Beef ribeye, bone in, whole in bag, $4.99/lb (value pack roast or steaks, $1/lb higher)
    Beef NY strip steak or roast, boneless, value pack, $4.99/lb
    Beef crossrib roast, $2.99/lb
    80/20 ground beef, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Safeway half ham, bone in, spiral sliced, $1.79/lb
    Hormel Cure 81 half ham, boneless, $3.99/lb (whole ham 50¢/lb lower)
    Safeway Select whole boneless ham, $3.29/lb (half ham, 50¢/lb higher)
    Half pork loin, boneless, whole in bag, $1.99/lb
    Whole pork shoulder, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Pork top loin chops, boneless, value pack, $2.99/lb
    Safeway Select fresh turkeys, 8-22 lb, $1.69/lb
    Open Nature fresh turkeys, 9-16 lb, $1.79/lb
    Honeysuckle White frozen turkey breast, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Sargento cheeses, 5-8 oz shreds, 2/$4
    Lucerne cream cheese, 8 oz brick, 4/$5
    Sargento cheeses, 6-8 oz shingle pack, 2/$6
    Lucerne butter, $3.49
    Birds Eye “Steamfresh” or “C&W” frozen veg, 10-16 oz bags, buy 2 get 2 free
    Cuties clementines, 5 lb box, $4.99
    Whole pineapples, buy 1 get 1 free
    Seedless grapes, green/red/black, $2.99/lb
    Navel oranges, 99¢/lb
    Honeycrisp or Envy apples, $2.99/lb
    Red cherries, $6.99/lb (God only knows where they're from)
    Vine or slicing tomatoes, $2.49/lb
    GreenLine fresh green beans, 12 oz bags, buy 1 get 1 free
    Broccoli OR cauliflower, $1.49/lb
    Brussels sprouts, $1.99/lb


Sprouts:

    Beef standing rib roast, “Presidential Cut”, $7.99/lb
    Spiral sliced ham, bone in, $1.99/lb
    Pork crown roast, Frenched, $3.99/lb
    Pork shoulder roast, boneless, $2.49/lb
    Fresh turkeys, $1.99/lb
    Boneless skinless chicken breast, value pack, $1.99/lb
    Alaskan cod fillets, wild caught, $4.99/lb
    Alaskan coho salmon fillets, wild caught, $9.99/lb
    Apples, Cameo/Granny Smith/Jonagold, 98¢/lb
    Organic apples, Pink Lady or Braeburn, $1.29/lb
    Bartlett pears, 98¢/lb
    Navel oranges, 88¢/lb
    Red or black seedless grapes, 2 lbs/$4
    “Cuties” mandarins, 5 lb box, $3.98
    Whole pineapples, 2/$3
    Organic vine tomatoes, $1.68/lb
    Winter squashes, acorn/butternut/spaghetti, 88¢/lb
    Leaf lettuce, green/red/Romaine, OR spinach, 88¢/bunch
    Jewel or Garnet yams, 88¢/lb
    Organic eggplant, 99¢ ea