Tuesday, April 30, 2013

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, May 1st (happy May Day!), our local Whole Foods stores will have avocados for $1 each.  Since organic isn't specified, I'd assume conventional.  The price at Sprouts is usually a little lower, but the avocados there are also usually smaller.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Tomorrow Only! Wednesday, May 1st!


Avocados
10 for $10
(save up to $0.67/ea)

Monday, April 29, 2013

Cinco De Mayo Ideas

If we're nearly at the end of April, Cinco de Mayo isn't far away.  If you're looking for inspiration, check out Cinco de Mayo Celebrations from Epicurious, or the ever-enlightening recipes on the site of chef Rick Bayless.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Weekday Dinner Ideas

It's too gorgeous a Boulder morning to be sitting in front of a computer writing posts, so this will be quick, and the ideas will be easy.  So easy, in fact, tomorrow will be the only dinner requiring a recipe.  We haven't had any pasta yet this week, and with really big shrimp from the USA $6.99 a pound and bulk organic spinach $3.99 a pound at Sprouts through Wednesday, that spells shrimp Florentine pasta from Cooking Light.  It's getting five stars out of five in the reviews.

Tuesday will be the last day of the current Whole Foods sale, and since I have yet to grab that large take and bake pepperoni pizza for $9.99, Tuesday will be the day.

Which means our reheat of something big done on the weekend will be Wednesday, and it will be tonight's grilled chicken, with fennel and leek casserole reheated on the side.  The beautiful "grill packs" of Rosie's organic chicken that Sprouts has for $2.79 a pound through Wednesday are big enough to make two dinners in this household.

We'll also grab the boneless center-cut pork loin chops that Sprouts has for $2.99 a pound by Wednesday in order to do a simple pork chop saute on Thursday.  Sprouts also has five pound bags of organic russet potatoes for $2.99 each for microwaved "baked" potatoes on the side, and organic broccoli $1.99 a pound to add some green, all through Wednesday.

Which quickly and easily gets us through the week.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

Just a reminder to get out and see the Boulder Farmers' Market, starting at 8 this morning.  It's a glorious day, so what better way to start it (after your 6 am run, of course), than by strolling the lovely produce.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Weekend Dinner Ideas

Looking at a beautiful Boulder weekend, here's a quick rundown for what's on deck.  I'm impressed that Sprouts has domestic wild shrimp at $6.99 a pound this week for the really big 16/20 count size, and given my recent penchant for low country cooking, that spells shrimp and grits for tonight.  Recipes for that abound, and it really doesn't require one anyway, but one of my faves has been smoky shrimp and grits from Food and Wine magazine.  I love the addition of spinach to the grits, and Sprouts also has a great price on bulk organic spinach, $3.99 a pound.  For the grits, I turn to the bulk aisle at Whole Foods.

After so many snowstorms, we're finally looking at a lovely weekend of temperatures hitting the 70s, so I'm plotting to send the family griller outside to do the majority of the weekend cooking.  Tomorrow will be the bone-in New York steaks Sprouts has for $5.99 a pound, complemented by the conventional California white corn that's three for $1 (I usually don't like conventional, but being so corn-deprived at this date, I break the rules).  Sprouts also has five pound bags of organic russet potatoes at $2.99 each, so I can dice some of those into aluminum foil packages for the griller to do the whole shebang.

We'll send that family griller back outside for Sunday, since Sprouts has Rosie's organic chicken grill packs (consisting of drumsticks and split breasts) at $2.79 a pound this week.  I'm getting increasingly picky about my chicken, reserving the big cheapo deals for something diced and well spiced, and spending a little more for these kind of dishes where the chicken is the focus.  While the griller is outside, I'll actually do some work inside, making fennel and leek gratin from my venerable Great Good Food cookbook.  A version of it doesn't seem to have made it to the web, which is too bad, since that cookbook focuses on "luscious lower-fat cooking."

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Electronics Recycling Tomorrow

Tomorrow from 3 to 7 pm, the Pearl Street Whole Foods will hold an electronics recycling, something most of us need to do.  Also, look a few posts below for details about electronics recycling at the Superior store, part of their Earth Week celebration stretching across the entire week.  Here are the details from Pearl:

Electronics Recycling

Friday, April 26th
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Our friends from Techno Rescue will be back in action on the west patio of our store collecting your unwanted electronics and disposing of them properly. Please note- we will only accept donations during the event time window.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts (Longmont, too), while the current sales continue at Whole Foods (through April 30th), and Vitamin Cottage (through June 1st), click for prior reports.

For its part, Sprouts has lots of appealing (at least to me) news in its sale that runs through May 1st.  First, the Vitamin & Body Care Extravaganza returns, with 25% off all supplements and body care, a great chance to stock up on those favorites you know never otherwise go on sale.  In fish, I'm happy to see really big 16/20 count wild raw shrimp from the USA at $6.99 a pound.  They're previously frozen, but only those lucky folks in Georgia and its environs are probably eating fresh ones right now.  In meat, chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, bone-in New York steaks are $5.99 a pound (and with temps hitting 70 this weekend, that grill will get fired up), boneless center-cut pork loin chops are $2.99 a pound, Rosie's organic chicken grill packs (split breasts and drumsticks) are $2.79 a pound (maybe back out to the grill, and I'll hardly have to cook!), organic sirloin tip roasts or steak are $5.99 a pound, and fresh ground chicken or chicken breast are both $2.99 a pound.

In organic produce, Sprouts has Arizona on-the-vine tomatoes for $2.49 a pound, one pound bags of baby carrots back down to $1.50, green or red leaf lettuce are both $1.29 a head, broccoli not the lowest we've seen at $1.99 a pound, russet potatoes remaining great at $2.99 for a five pound bag, bulk spring mix or spinach still wonderfully low at $3.99 a pound, cantaloupe and honeydew melons both 99 cents a pound, and three pound bags of Fuji or Cameo apples just $2.99 each.  I don't usually eat much conventional produce, but I'm such a corn freak that the new crop of California white corn might tempt me at three for $1, while we wait several months for our lovely local corn season.

Elsewhere in the store, Sprouts has Chobani Greek yogurts at $1 each, Clif bars also $1 (although they've been known to go lower), select Earth Balance buttery spreads (no cholesterol!) very good at $2.99 each, and Cedar's hommus just $2.50 each.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

For tomorrow only, the 24th, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us two very tempting specials.  Mmmm, I do love Crave Bros mozzarella, and Whole Foods' shrimp is welcome any day of the week.  Here are the details:

One Day Sale
Tomorrow Only! Wednesday, April 24th!
Cooked Shrimp
2 lbs for $15
(save $5.49/lb)

Crave Brothers - 8oz.
Mozzarella Balls
2 for $6
(save $2.99/ea)

Fish Monger And Butcher Battle

This Thursday, the Pearl Street meat and seafood dudes and dudettes will be at it again to see who is the best in their respective categories.  This is usually the first step towards a national competition, in which the Pearl store does pretty well, if I remember correctly.  Here are the details from them:

Best Butcher/Fish Monger Competition

Thursday, April 25th
1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

It's back! The competition where we crown our best of the best in our seafood and meat departments. Come cheer on your favorite as our butchers and fish mongers compete for glory in the first round of this annual event!

Concert And Good Works Tomorrow At Pearl WFM

Good morning, Boulder.  I hope you got where you needed to go safely this morning, with icy roads about the worst I've ever seen in many years in Boulder.  Anyway, on to some food news.  The Whole Foods store on Pearl Street will be busy tomorrow, with a concert at 5 pm, plus they'll be donating 5% of tomorrow's sales to the Thorne Nature Experience.  Here are the concert details:

Jeff and Paige Concert

Wednesday, April 24th
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Jeff Kagan has been entertaining and educating children and parents with his original, environmental music for over a decade. He and Paige are excited to be rocking the stage at Whole Foods Market Pearl Street for the very first time. The kiddos will love this- don't miss out!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Meatless Monday Dinner Ideas

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will help you create a meatless Monday dinner for Earth Day with ideas at their demo station for most of the day.  Here's what they say:

Meatless Monday Dinner Ideas with Dana and Steph

Monday, April 22nd


11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Celebrate Earth Day with a Meatless Monday! Join Steph and Dana at the demo station from 11am-7pm for meal ideas, that will please any meat eater.

Free Bag At Vitamin Cottage

Happy Earth Day!  In celebration, Vitamin Cottage will be giving out a free Natural Grocers reusable shopping bag with your purchase today.  The flyer says the coupon on its back page is required, but my past experience is that it isn't.  Why would they want to sacrifice trees on Earth Day to rip up all those flyers just for that coupon?  Go do your shopping today, and I bet you'll get a bag without having to shred a paper flyer.  And the Natural Grocers bags are among the best:  capacious, strong, and attractive.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Current Sale At Vitamin Cottage

The current sale at Vitamin Cottage runs through June 1, with some good stuff to be had.  Free range, air chilled whole Boulder Natural Meats chickens are $2.39 a pound, and bacon lovers should enjoy Beeler's 12 ounce uncured hickory smoked bacon at $3.99 each.  Organic on the vine tomatoes are $2.49 a pound (although they're $1.99 this week at Sprouts), four types of Rudi's Organic Bakery sandwich breads are $2.99 a loaf, almonds are $4.49 for a one pound bag or $8.98 for a two pounder, 16 ounce jars of yummy Maranatha peanut butter are $4.39 for the natural and $4.99 for the organic, and six ounce packages of Applegate Organics sliced turkey are $4.49 each.  Also, the 15-ish ounce size can of Muir Glen Organic tomatoes is fantastic at $1.29 each (stock up!), Annie's Naturals salad dressings (not the organics) are $2.29 each, Cascadian Farm organic cereals or granola bars are just $2.49 a box, my fave Nut-Thins are $1.99 a box, eight ounce Noosa yoghurts are very low at $1.49 each (sample them at the Boulder Farmers' Market - they're good), and the really big 100 ounce size of Seventh Generation 2X laundry detergent is as low as it goes at $11.99 a jug.  I haven't tried them, but Spinelli's Sauce Company 26 ounce pasta sauce jars look like a good deal at $3.99 each, given their everyday price of $6.15.  And being Vitamin Cottage, there are plenty of deals on supplements.

Picnic For Earth Today

You can enjoy a picnic at the Pearl Street Whole Foods and support the Nature Conservancy at the same time today.  Here's what they say, although picnic prices aren't detailed:

Picnic for Earth with the Nature Conservancy

Sunday, April 21st


11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Whole Foods Market Pearl Street

For the second year in a row, we'll be celebrating Mother Earth with our friends from The Nature Conservancy. Join us on the west patio for live music, kid's activities, and a yummy lunch. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Nature Conservancy.

Earth Week In Superior

Whoowee.  Tomorrow may be Earth Day, but the Whole Foods store in Superior is turning it into a weeklong celebration, with a slew of activities, starting today.  Here's what they say, and do read over the whole list, as there's a lot in it:

Earth Events
7:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Superior Whole Foods Market, Free

Calling all Earthlings- Join us a the Superior Whole Foods Market for Earth Week Festivities. Mark your calendars!

•Sunday, April 21 1:00pm-3:00pm- Save the Oceans! Bring in your gently worn or your favorite T-Shirt and have Girl ScoutTroop # 1943 make your favorite shirt into a reusable bag!

•Monday, April 22- Cleaning Supply Swap! First 50 Customers to bring in partial used containers of non-Eco friendly cleaning products can swap them out at our Customer Service Desk for one of 3 choices of Eco- friendly product.

•Tuesday, April 23- Re-usable Bag Swap Out- First 50 Customers can bring in their worn reusable bag and trade it in for a new bag. [limit one per customer]

•Wednesday, April 24- 5% Day- We are hosting a 5% Day for Center for Resource Conservation. 5% of our stores sales for Wednesday will go to the Resource Center. Eco- Cycle will also be tabling in store to call out re-cycled products.

•Thursday, April 25- Compost Bin Construction Demonstration- Join us in our Cafe from 11:30am-1:00pm and learn how to build your own compost bin.

•Friday, April 26- Compostable Cups and Seeds- First 50 Customers will receive a compostable cup with a packet of seeds to start growing in your own garden.

•Saturday, April 27- Earth Wheel 11:00am-4:00pm. Customers Spin the earth Wheel and win an Earth Friendly product

•Sunday, April 28th- Electronics Collection 10:00- 2:00pm. Customer electronic recycle drop off on the side of our store. Pick up a flyer at the Customer Serice Desk to seee what you can recycle for Free and what has a small charge. The recycle van will be at the Superior Store every fourth Sunday of each month.

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Another super quick rundown, with no time available.

I'm looking to do something with the grass-fed organic ground beef that Sprouts has for $4.99 a pound through Wednesday, and not being big beef eaters, burger recipes aren't my forte.  It will probably be a recipe I haven't made in forever, curried beef and peas from a venerable Craig Claiborne cookbook, and therefore doesn't have a link.  But whatever, that price is great for grass-fed organic ground beef, so grab some and just make burgers.

Tuesday will be our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the cod chowder with saffron and fingerling potatoes from Bon Appetit.  I previously mentioned that this recipe does just fine without the saffron, but forgot to also say that any good organic potato can be used in place of the fingerlings, and Sprouts has five pound bags of russets for just $2.99 each.

We'll also need to capitalize on Sprouts' sale on organic on-the-vine tomatoes for $1.99 a pound through Wednesday, and needing a veggie- and rice-based dish, that spells tomato and mozzarella risotto from Cooking Light, using fresh toms instead of canned, although of course you could go that way too.

Thursday?  Again, that's up in the air.  In the spirit of simplicity, one of the large take and bake pepperoni pizzas Whole Foods has for $9.99 each through the 30th is sounding pretty good.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

Just a reminder that our fabulous, and recently reopened for the season, Boulder Farmers' Market will be open today from 8 to 2.  It should be a fine day to stroll around, peruse, sample, and buy the wares, and listen to some music (just remember not to bring Fido).  While our recent winter-like weather has brought much needed moisture to the crops, it sounds like it's also going to cause a bit of a delay in the awaited spring veggie arrivals, so be patient, go check it out, and enjoy what you find from a local farmer!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Weekend Dinner Ideas

In the spirit of making everything easier and quicker, this will be brief and the dinner ideas will be easy.  Tonight we'll capitalize on the $2.99 a pound chicken sausage at Sprouts to do a simple sauteed sausage and polenta, inspired by all the dishes with grits that we recently had a chance to enjoy, since only a purist might find a difference between polenta and grits.  I also have huge artichokes from Whole Foods' Wednesday sale to do on the side.

Tomorrow and Sunday can be flipped according to the weather.  For tomorrow, I'm planning to start the first grilling of the season, with the shrimp skewers that Whole Foods has half off at just $1 each.  Some organic zucchini will also go on the grill, since its "Italian squash" equivalent is just 99 cents a pound at Sprouts through Wednesday.  Some of my favorite Lundberg Farm rice blends will round things out.

There's a bit of a possibility of showers for tomorrow afternoon, so if that happens, I can always flip tomorrow's plan with Sunday's, which is currently cod chowder with saffron and fingerling potatoes from Bon Appetit.  Whole Foods is doing a one-day sale today on their fantastic cod, just about half price at $5.99 a pound, and you can usually get some still frozen for longer storage by just asking the fish people.  This recipe is also fine without the saffron, one of those expensive things that you use a pinch of, then throw out the rest when you discover it outdated a year later.

Which quickly gets us through the weekend.

Weekend Sale On Allegro Coffee

Starting today, Whole Foods will hold a weekend sale on Whole Trade Allegro Organic Breakfast Blend coffee for just $6.99 a pound in bulk, which is about half off.  It's also $6.99 for a 12 ounce package, but why would you want to do that when you can get so much more for that price in bulk?  Here's what they say about this coffee:

• It’s delicious! This coffee is a lively blend bursting with citrus, apricot, milk chocolate and caramel notes.


• It’s fairly traded! This light roast is not only organic and Rainforest Alliance certified, it’s backed by our Whole Trade® Guarantee, which ensures safe and healthy working conditions for farm workers, environmentally-friendly growing practices, fair prices to producers and a donation to Whole Planet Foundation® for poverty relief.

• This coffee is made with a combo of high quality beans from Selva Negra Estates, an environmentally friendly farm in Nicaragua, and Ethiopian coffee called Moredecofe, one of the few Rainforest Alliance coffees in Ethiopia.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Big Birthday/Earth Day Celebration At Alfalfa's

Having opened (in its second incarnation) on Earth Day, our Boulder Alfalfa's will host a weekend-long celebration of its second anniversary with a B'Earthday.  Here are the details from them:

Alfalfa’s B’Earthday


April 20th-22nd, 2013

We’re so excited to be celebrating our 2nd birthday! We couldn’t have done it without the support of our lovely customers, so we want to celebrate with you! Stop by on April 20th -22nd for some amazing giveaways and activities! We’ll have electric bike demos, raffles, face painting, gardening, free food, and MORE!

April 20th: Local Tasting Fair, Electric Bike Demos, Face Painting, & Live Music

April 21st: $100 Grocery Bag Giveaway, Community Day with Alfalfa’s Employees, Urban Farm Co of Colorado, Mural Painting

April 22nd: Raffle Drawings, Free B’Earthday Cake, Sustainable Demos

Fantastic One-Day Sale On Cod

For tomorrow only, the 19th, Whole Foods will be doing a sale on their exceptional previously frozen, MSC-certified cod (and you can usually find some still frozen to stock up) for just $5.99 a pound, basically half off.  Here's what to know about that cod:

• This cod comes from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified Alaskan fisheries. MSC certification is the gold standard for seafood sustainability.


• This cod is frozen at sea to lock in straight-from-the-water freshness. Whole Foods Market’s dedicated port buyers purchase only the highest quality cod.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

An Abbreviated New Deals Report

With the Boston events still weighing heavily on my mind (thank heavens all our runner friends who were there are safe!) and much shoveling to do already, plus another four to eight inches expected today, and no full sales flyer yet posted by Whole Foods, this report on new Boulder grocery deals will of necessity be brief.

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods, and a new one already underway that I need to check out at Vitamin Cottage.  Here's a very quick look at what appeals to me.

At Sprouts' sale through April 24th, the super cheap meat emphasis is on meats that aren't faves in this household:  pork sirloin and chicken thighs.  But I am liking grass-fed organic ground beef at $4.99 a pound, all types of chicken sausage $2.99 a pound, whole or cut up chickens $1.59 a pound, fresh ground chicken, pork or chicken breast all $2.99 a pound, and beef stew meat $3.99 a pound.  In fish, fresh (farmed) Atlantic salmon is $8.99 a pound, previously frozen totally huge wild sea scallops are $12.99 a pound, and ez-peel 41/50 count raw shrimp are $4.99 a pound (but I've recently had the opportunity to eat tons of fresh wild Florida and Georgia shrimp, so I'm not going back to farmed stuff from southeast Asia anytime soon).  Fresh six ounce halibut portions are $6.99 a pound, which works out to $18.64 a pound, so I hope you had a chance to catch Whole Foods' recent one-day sale on it instead.

Quick report on Sprouts' organic veggies, since this is already getting too long.  On-the-vine tomatoes are fantastic at $1.50 a pound (there's also an "AZ-grown" option at $1.99 a pound), grape tomatoes are $1.50 a pint, red or green leaf lettuce or romaine are all $1.29 a head, Italian squash (think zucchini) is just 99 cents a pound, bulk spring mix or spinach remain great at $3.99 a pound, five pound bags of russet potatoes are $2.99 each, one pound clamshells of strawberries are $2.99 each, and red, green or black seedless grapes are $2.50 a pound, among other good fruit specials.  In conventional produce, whole pineapples are just 98 cents each.

Whole Foods hasn't yet put up their pdf of their full sales flyer (their link in yesterday's email led to the flyer that ended yesterday instead of a new one), but they do have a few highlights posted of a new sale starting today that runs through April 30th.  Among those few, I'm liking shrimp skewers at $1 each (half off, and Whole Foods is capable of weaning me off my recent fresh shrimp experience), large take and bake pepperoni pizzas for $9.99 each (although the sale price used to be lower), and their very fine American Homestead boneless pork loin chops (or roasts) for $5.49 a pound.  Beware the sale on organic cluster tomatoes for $3.99 a pound, as you can get organic on-the-vine tomatoes at Sprouts this week for just $1.50 a pound.

Time to grab the shovel and start some much-delayed work on the driveway.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Coupon Night Tomorrow In Superior

The Whole Foods store in Superior will hold another coupon swapping night tomorrow.  Here are the details from them:


Coupon Night

Wednesday, April 17th

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Superior Whole Foods Market Cafe, Free

Join us at the Superior Whole Foods Market in our Café for Coupon Night! Bring your coupons and be ready to swap with others. Join us for the fun! Bring a new friend and you each will receive a $5.00 Gift Card to start your shop! Please sign up at our Customer Service Counter or email Events@wholefoods.com to reserve your spot today!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Whole Foods' Compost Giveaway

Mark your calendar for Saturday.  Whole Foods has a super popular tradition of giving away compost around Earth Day, and this year is no exception.  Note that it's happening at Hawthorne Gardens at the address below.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Annual Compost Giveaway

Saturday, April 20th

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Hawthorne Gardens, FREE

Join Whole Foods Market Pearl Street and Ideal Market at Hawthorne Gardens for our annual Earth Month compost giveaway! We'll have 30 yards of compost up for the taking. Get there early, cause when it's gone, it's gone!

Hawthorne/Growing Gardens
1630 Hawthorn Avenue ~ Boulder, Colorado 80304

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Weekday, yes, but I might as well start with today, since I never managed to find time to post the weekend ones, and tonight's will also appear later in the week.  Since boneless pork shoulder roast is a stunningly low $1.49 a pound at Sprouts through Wednesday, that's prompted me to pull out my Crock Pot for an old favorite, slow cooked Tuscan pork with white beans from Cooking Light.  This cut of pork, while inexpensive, also received high marks from a Cooks Illustrated grading of various pork cuts (more on that later, time permitting).

I'll grab some of the really big shrimp for $6.77 a pound at Sprouts' 72 hour sale that ends today to do some variety of shrimp and grits tomorrow, probably the smoky shrimp and grits from Food and Wine magazine.  Some of the asparagus Sprouts has for $1.28 a pound will go on the side.

Tuesday will be our usual reheat of something big made over the weekend, which as just reported is our slow cooked Tuscan pork with white beans.  Side veggie added and that's it.

We'll need to catch more of that $1.28 a pound asparagus at Sprouts by the sale's end on Wednesday, and there's been no pasta on deck yet this week, so we'll go for a spring-like pasta with sugar snap peas, asparagus and Parmesan from Bon Appetit, which gives us a vegetarian dinner as well for Wednesday.  I also love a main course that has only five ingredients (although I have a penchant for adding a touch of crushed red pepper or cayenne to this, making it six).

Thursday?  I'm afraid I just haven't decided yet.  Some flexibility has to be in order, both in blogging and in our own cooking plans!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Lobster Tail Flash Sale!

The Whole Foods store in Superior will do a flash sale from 2 to 4 pm today on the beautiful lobster tails they have.  At $5 each, that's a knockout price, better than half off.  Use the search box on my blog for a great recipe for pappardelle with lobster for a fantastic use of these.  (And I wonder if other local Whole Foods might be participating - not mentioned on the Pearl Street calendar, but you never know...)

Flash Sale Saturday, April 13th
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Superior Seafood Department, 2/ $10.00

Shop in our Seafood dept on Saturday, April 13 from 2:00pm-4:00pm and take advantage of our FLASH SALE! Lobster Tails 2 for 10.00! Regularly $10.99 each. Thats a savings of $5.99! Get them while they last!

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

Just a reminder that today's your second chance of the year to enjoy our Boulder Farmers' Market, starting at 8 this morning, following its opening for the season last weekend.  Get creative with some beautiful spring greens!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Today's Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!

Always a fave indulgence, especially with ingredients like gruyere and prosciutto, the grilled cheese sandwich is worth a celebration, and it turns out it has its own day!  If you'd like to sample some ideas, the Superior store has you covered.  Here are the details from them:

National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

Friday, April 12th


11:00 AM - 2:30 PM

Superior Specialty Dept., Free Friday,

April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day- Stop by our Specialty Dept. from 11:00-2:30 and celebrate by trying some creative creations with cheese!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Just For The Halibut Sale

Halibut has to be just about my favorite fish in the world, and it's usually pretty pricey for the good stuff, so it's excellent news that Whole Foods will be doing a one-day sale on fresh halibut steaks tomorrow for an amazing $12.88 a pound, about 40% off their usual price.  This is Marine Stewardship Council-certified wild fish, as I said, the good stuff.  I might not post my usual weekend dinner plans tomorrow, since that drumbeat of posting has been getting me down, but I can assure you that fresh halibut will be on the menu.  Maybe I'll just wing the rest from the Farmers' Market!

"Crazy, Sexy Supper Club" Coming Up

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will host a supper club next Thursday, the 18th at 6:30 pm for $30, featuring Chad Sarno of "Crazy, Sexy Kitchen" fame. Here are the details, and note tickets are required.

Crazy, Sexy, Supper Club with Chef Chad Sarno

Thursday, April 18th
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, $30 Per Person

Join Whole Foods Market Pearl Street and Chef Chad Sarno for a plant-empowered evening of fun and food. Guests will enjoy a family-style meal that's as accessible as it is delicious. Participants will receive copies of the recipes anda chance to pick the culinary brain of Chef Chad Sarno.

Chad Srno is a culinary educator, chef, consultant, and presenter, and co-author of NY Times best selling cookbook, "Crazy, Sexy Kitchen." He has been bringing his approach to healthy cuisine to some of the world’s premier health focused restaurants, resorts, film sets, and healing spas globally. Projects range from launching a boutique chain of international restaurants stemming from Istanbul to London, to the ongoing development of culinary curriculum and innovative food concepts for Whole Foods Market’s healthy eating program.

For more info and tickets, visit: http://crazysexysupperclub.eventbrite.com/.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Closing Of A Lovely Cooking Store

I'm sad to report that What's Cooking, the kitchen goods store at 2770 Arapahoe in Lafayette (and no relationship to this blog, despite the similarity of name) is closing after something like two decades in business.  No more reasonably priced, expertly done monthly knife sharpenings for me.  The good news out of this bad news is that their entire inventory is now 20% off in preparation for the closing.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder and Longmont Sprouts, while the current sale continues through the 16th at Whole Foods (click for prior report).  There also probably is a new sale at Vitamin Cottage, since the last one ended Saturday, so I need to get there to check that out.  Here's what's looking good to me now.

Sprouts will hold another 72 hour sale this Friday through Sunday, and I'm noticing baby back pork ribs at $2.77 a pound, 24 pack cases of Arrowhead spring water for $2.50, and really big16/20 count raw shrimp for $6.77 a pound.  Too bad  I only eat strawberries if they're organic, since one pound clamshells of conventional ones are just $1 each.  In their regular sale through April 17th, boneless pork shoulder roast or country-style ribs are stunningly low at $1.49 a pound (ribs on the grill this upcoming lovely weekend?), value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound, London broil is $2.99 a pound, and grass-fed organic chuck roast is $5.99 a pound.  In fish, previously frozen mahi mahi is a good price at $5.99 a pound, but I'd want to take a look at it first.

Sprouts big produce news to me this week is on the conventional side, with asparagus $1.28 a pound.  Most of my produce is organic, but somehow I generally make an exception for asparagus, since conventional is usually what you find.  Avocados are another exception, and avocado fans will be dismayed to see they've risen to 98 cents each (just a penny more for the organics).  In organic produce, one pound bags of baby carrots remain very good at $1.50 each, red and green leaf or romaine lettuce are all $1.50 a head, on-the-vine tomatoes are great at $1.99 a pound, grape tomatoes are $1.99 a pint, sweet potatoes and red garnet yams are both $1.50 a pound, Bartlett pears are also $1.50 a pound, and three types of apples are $1.49 each.  Elsewhere in the store, I'm noticing select Pamela's cookies $2.99 a box (the gluten-free ones are particularly good), Noosa yoghurt at $1.79 for eight ounces, Annie Chun's pot stickers or mini wontons $2.50 a package, and Food For Life Ezekiel 4:9 bread just $3.99 a loaf.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

Our local Whole Foods stores will have a special sale on pineapple for tomorrow only, the 10th.  You can find them elsewhere sometimes at less than this sale price, but those other ones won't come with the Whole Trade guarantee of fair pricing for the growers.  Here are the details:

One Day Sale

Tomorrow Only!
Wednesday, April 10th!

Pineapple
2 for $5
(save $1.49/ea)

Monday, April 8, 2013

Spring Produce Lunch And Learn

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will host a Lunch and Learn this Thursday, the 11th, on one of my favorite topics, spring produce.  Here are the details from them:

Lunch and Learn with Steph: Spring Produce

Thursday, April 11th

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM

Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Join our Healthy Eating Specialist Steph for a fun and informative Lunch and Learn in our bulk department. Space is limited, so please email boulderevents@wholefoods.com to RSVP.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Weekday Dinner Ideas

With little to no time, here's a quick rundown.  The good prices on ground turkey breast ($3.99 a pound) and chicken breast ($2.99) at Sprouts this week have me thinking about the Lao/Thai dish variously known as something like laap, larb, or larp.  I've collected several recipes from recent magazines that don't make that association, so it's a hard thing to search, but they've all been delicious.  The March issue of Cooking Light has yet another variation, spicy pork lettuce cups, and my experience has been that these recipes work well with all sorts of ground meats.

For Tuesday, we'll do a reprise of the roast chicken from Whole Foods ($1.99 a pound) that we're doing tonight, that I never had time to mention.  With its ample roasted veggies on the side, there's nothing else to add.

For Wednesday, I'm thinking about the stew beef that Sprouts has for $3.99 a pound through that day (their recent sales on that have been annoyingly higher) for my variation on baked potatoes with spiced beef chili from Bon Appetit.

We'll catch some of the boneless center-cut pork loin chops that are $2.99 a pound at Sprouts through Wednesday in order to have them Thursday.  It will be a simple saute, so there's not much else to say about that.

Which quickly (although not as quickly as I'd like) gets us through to Friday's planning.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Book Signing At Pearl WFM

The Pearl Street Whole Foods store will host a book signing next Wednesday, the 10th, with Aran Goyoaga signing her Small Plates and Sweet Treats cookbook.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Small Plates and Sweet Treats Book Signing with Aran Goyoaga

Wednesday, April 10th
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, Cost of book

Join Whole Foods Market Pearl Street as we welcome James Beard Award Nominated Food Blogger, Aran Goyoaga for a signing of her beautiful cookbook, Small Plates and Sweet Treats. For more information about the cookbook and signing, visit Aran's blog: http://www.cannellevanille.com/.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Dine Out For A Good Cause

The Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center does incredible work helping to save injured or abandoned wild animals in Boulder County.  (Don't think that the Boulder Humane Society can treat these - I discovered this when a baby raccoon with distemper walked up to our door looking for help several years ago, and Greenwood was fantastic.)  Greenwood relies heavily on volunteers and donations, and this year is launching a Dine Out for Wildlife this Monday, the 8th, when the Center will get a bit of the proceeds from your purchase.  While I usually advocate cooking at home and dining in, I applaud the limited selections within Boulder listed below that are supporting this wonderful cause, so get out there!  Here are the details from them:

Please join us for our first annual Dine Out for Wildlife, Monday, April 8. A portion of your dining dollars will benefit orphaned and injured wildlife. Please patronize these eateries for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Casa Alvarez - Boulder

Harold's and The Bayonet Room - Longmont

Juju's Bakery & Cafe - Superior

Menchie's Frozen Yogurt - Longmont

Papa Murphy's - North Boulder, South Boulder & Erie

Parma Trattoria & Mozzarella Bar - Louisville

Rueben's Burger Bar - Boulder

Under the Sun Eatery & Taphouse - Boulder

YUM!!!!

And Eileen back here.  Apologies, I usually posted weekend dinner plans on Friday, but this week it's looking like it's too busy to do that.  Lucky if I get those plans together for myself, much less finding the time to share, and that really is time-consuming!

Vitamin Cottage Sale Through Tomorrow

Just a reminder that you only have through tomorrow to catch some of the good deals in the current Vitamin Cottage sale, although who knows what the next sale will bring.  You can check out my summary of the sale here.  I was particularly enthused about the opportunity to restock my supply of Imagine organic broths and cooking stocks, which I've already done, since my past experience has been that they pretty much run out of it by the end of the sale.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Boulder Farmers' Market Starts This Weekend!

If it's the first Saturday in April this week, that means something wonderful:  the start of our Farmers' Markets in both Boulder and Longmont.  The one in Boulder runs from 8 to 2, while Longmont is 8 to 1.  Yahoo, yahoo!  Oh, happy spring.

Healthy Eating On A Budget Tour

The Pearl Street Whole Foods will feature another Healthy Eating on a Budget tour this Saturday, the 6th.  Here are the details from them:

Healthy Eating on a Budget Store Tours

Saturday, April 6th
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Join our Healthy Eating Specialist, Steph for a trip around the store at 12pm and 5pm where she'll show you how to get healthy without emptying your wallet. Space is limited, so please email boulderevents@wholefoods.com to reserve your spot.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods, while the current sale continues at Vitamin Cottage through April 6th, which is only three days away.  Here's what's looking good to me in the new sales.

At Sprouts through April 10th it looks like a good week for meat, since chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, boneless center-cut pork loin chops are $2.99 a pound, ground turkey breast or turkey tenders are $3.99 a pound, ground chicken breast is $2.99 a pound, stew beef is $3.99 a pound, Rosie's organic whole chickens are $2.99 a pound, and grass-fed organic sirloin tip steaks are $6.99 a pound.  In fish, fresh (farmed) steelhead fillets are $6.99 a pound and 26-30 count raw shrimp are $7.99 a pound.  In organic produce, baby carrots remain good at $1.50 for a one pound bag, red or green chard is $1.50 a bunch, on-the-vine tomatoes are great at $1.99 a pound again, red, green, or romaine lettuce are all $1.50 each, bulk spring mix or spinach remain wonderful at $3.99 a pound (nearly twice that elsewhere), one pound clamshells of strawberries are $3.99 each, and there are a bunch more fruit specials.  In conventional produce, asparagus is back down to $1.99 a pound.  Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking Chobani Greek yogurts at $1 each, and there's a very good promotion on Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and Food Should Taste Good products.  Each brand has some good sale prices (see the flyer - it's a bit too extensive to write it all out), and when you buy any five products from those lines, you get an additional $3 off with an in-store coupon, further reducing each sale price.

At Whole Foods through April 16th, I'm enthused about salmon steaks from Scotland or Iceland at $9.99 a pound, Country Natural top sirloin steak at $8.99 a pound, Icelandic smoked salmon $5.99 a four ounce package, and their fine air-chilled chickens at $1.99 a pound (the ad says whole, but I've always seen the meat guys willing to cut them up too while on sale).  One of my favorite WFM breads, ancient grain, is $2.99 a loaf, and organic chia seeds are $7.99 for a 12 ounce package (sorry, I'm reading their flyer online, and the brand is too tiny to make out).

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

One-day sale on chicken tenders, here's what they say:

One Day Sale


Tomorrow Only! Wednesday, April 3rd!

Bell & Evans - 12oz.
Chicken Tenders
Regular or Gluten Free
2 for $8
(save $2.99/ea)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Kid's Club Tomorrow At Pearl WFM

Happy April Fool's Day!  I don't usually cover kids' events, but without much else to say for today, I'll mention that tomorrow, the Pearl Street Whole Foods store will host their monthly kid's activity club.  Here are the details from them:

Kid's Club with The Makerie

Tuesday, April 2nd
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Whole Foods Market Pearl Street, FREE

Stop by for fun with our friends from the Makerie for our monthly kid's club activity!