Sunday, January 31, 2016

Recipes For A Snow Day, Part Deux

Happy slightly snowy Sunday morning, Boulder. The overnight dusting of snow is supposed to be the precursor of a potentially big storm later today through even Tuesday. So here's a reprise of the post I did last weekend for my east coast relatives and friends regarding what to cook for a snow day.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Super Bowl Menu Ideas

The Broncos in Super Bowl 50 is nearly a week away, so it's clearly time to start thinking about food. (I have a vague recollection of hearing that Super Bowl is second only to Thanksgiving for gluttony.)
I'm hoping to hear about a chicken wing bucket special from Whole Foods that usually crops up this time of year, but for more ideas, here are a few guides to help you out:

The Super Bowl 50 from Epicurious,
31 Ways to Celebrate Game Day from Cooking Light,
Super Bowl Food from Food and Wine magazine,
and don't overlook
41 Vegetarian Super Bowl Recipes That'll Make You Forget Wings from Bon Appetit.

Friday, January 29, 2016

The Two Lucky's Compared

I've mentioned many times here how I'm a great fan of Lucky's Market, but its north Boulder location is rarely in my travel plans. This week, I just happen to have sale flyers from both the Boulder and Longmont stores, and it's fun to see how they adjust to those different markets.

In the meat department, Lucky's in Boulder maintains "never, ever" strict standards, while the one in Longmont caters to its market with some looser "all natural" designations. For instance, this week (through February 3rd), if you are looking for top round roast, you'll find Pasture One with "never, ever" standards for $7.99 a pound at the Boulder store, while the Longmont one is offering Iowa Premium for the considerably lower $4.99 a pound. Made-in-house Italian chicken sausage is $4.99 a pound on sale in Boulder, $2.99 a pound at the Longmont store (where it was $2.49 a pound last week). Both stores feature Pasture One grass fed brisket for $7.99 a pound, and Longmont has an Iowa Premium stunner of bone-in rib steaks for $6.99 a pound.

Fish specials at the two Lucky's look to be identical, with their very good house-made crab cakes $2.99 each, previously frozen wild domestic cod fillets great at $5.99 a pound, previously frozen cooked tail-on farmed shrimp (31/40 count peeled and deveined) $8.99 a pound, and previously frozen farmed whole cooked crawfish $2.99 a pound, nearly time for Mardi Gras.

I've also previously mentioned the Boulder store offers far more advertised specials on organic produce than the Longmont one, this week being four for Longmont, eight for Boulder. Both stores have organic broccoli, and garnet or jewel yams all $1.98 in common, while the Boulder store is also doing well on organic romas for $1.98 a pound, plus several others. Other departments in the stores look to be identical on sales, with the exceptions of bakery, bulk, and "The Kitchen" deli departments.

Alfalfa's Community Health Panel

The Alfalfa's store in Boulder will host a Community Health Panel tomorrow starting at 4 p.m. Here's what they say:

BoulderSaturday, January 30, 4pm - Community Health Panel
Bring your health and nutrition questions for our distinguished panel! Show up early to check out some terrific healthy vendors around the store! 

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Weekend Sale At Whole Foods

Just one sale being listed online by Whole Foods for tomorrow through Sunday, but it's a good one, with all hair care and color 25% off for the weekend.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods stores, and this week it looks like a truly new sale at Whole Foods (they've been confounding me recently by issuing new flyers every week, but sometimes listing repeats). Vitamin Cottage reportedly is on a Hotline hiatus until February 1st, not far away. Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through February 3rd, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are just $1.69 a pound, boneless beef sirloin tip roasts or steaks are $2.99 a pound (I'd just cut that up for a stir fry - much cheaper than buying stew beef), boneless country style pork ribs or shoulder roast are great at $1.99 a pound, whole or split chickens are $1.69 a pound, and their very good stuffed chicken breasts are $2.99 a pound. In fish, I don't know about these two specials, but previously frozen wild snapper fillets are $7.99 a pound, and Orca Bay frozen seafood is all BOGO, and I'm not a fan of the other fish specials.

In organic produce at Sprouts, vine ripe tomatoes are great at $1.88 a pound, 5.6 ounce blackberries are $2.98 a box, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are just $2.98 each. I sometimes stray into conventional for winter squash, where acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash are all just 48 cents a pound this week (same also for broccoli crowns or cauliflower). Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking some organic Wolfgang Puck soups at $1.50 a can, and the big 100-ish ounce Seventh Generation laundry detergents very low at $9.99 each. Plus, there are a couple of  25% off sales, on omega vitamins and supplements, and also on bulk trail mix.

In Whole Food's new sale, flyer listing through February 2nd (although some will likely repeat past that), my avocado-loving friends (so glad you're still reading, Ms. A.!) might like to look at the Hass avocados at $1 each, as they tend to be larger than those found elsewhere, although $1 isn't a great price. My favorite WFM seeduction hearth bread is $4.49 a loaf, five ounce Wellshire Farms sliced pepperoni is $3.99 a package, some Goodbelly juices are $2.50 for a whole quart, some Evol burritos are great at $2 each, and Chocolove is also $2 for the big 3.2 ounce chocolate bar. For those of us taking calcium, I'm intrigued by Adora chocolate calcium disks, but at $7.99 for a 30-count bag, that's a tad pricey, but then you're getting your chocolate fix simultaneously.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Reminder Re Bike To Work Day

In the midst of this first-ever Bike to Work Week in winter for Boulder, here's a reminder that tomorrow is the Day itself, with all those stations for free breakfast for bikers. Not quite as many as for the Bike to Work Day in June, but impressive nonetheless. You can see the complete list here.

Monday, January 25, 2016

An App To Find Ingredients

First, congrats to the Broncos. Looks like I need to seriously start looking at Super Bowl foods (always that once a year excuse to eat chicken wings).

For my smart phone-toting friends who want to avoid certain things like gluten or aspartame, I just read in Cooking Light about an interesting app called ipiit. You let it know what ingredients you are on the watch for, then scan bar codes while shopping to see if the product contains them. Pretty cool.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Bike To Work Week

Boulder has done a Bike to Work Day in winter for several years now, but this year they're expanding it to a full week, starting tomorrow. Unfortunately, the bit of snow expected tonight might dampen that kickoff, but I do still see plenty of intrepid bikers out in snow. Full details are available here, and the food connection to note is the list of free breakfast stations for the biking day on Wednesday.

Perhaps we can start thinking about Super Bowl food with today's Broncos vs Patriots playoff. As a New England ex-pat I'm conflicted, but chicken wings are warranted whichever way it goes.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Recipes For A Snow Day

For all my east coast relatives and friends getting snowed in by the Jason blizzard, Bon Appetit has suggestions for foods to cook on a snowy day.

Happy National Pie Day

Today's National Pie Day, so keep your eyes open for pie specials everywhere. This the first of two shots this year, since on March 14th, National Pi Day, folks with a mathematical inclination and sense of humor will also be offering pie specials.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Weekend Alfalfa's Events

Plus a little bonus for Monday. Here's what the Alfalfa's stores in Boulder and Louisville have in store (didn't actually intend that as a pun, but I guess it is) for the near future:

BoulderSaturday, January 23, 12pm - Paleo Entertaining
Join Kelly Elle, Paleo Nutritional Therapist, for a paleo entertaining cooking demo follwed by The ABCs of the Paleo Glow talk at 2:15pm

BoulderSunday, January 24,3pm - Hidden Food Allergies
Catherine Ebeling, RN, BSN, will walk you through linking food allergies to health issues, how we become addicted to foods we're allergic to and much more. 

LouisvilleMonday, January 25, 7:30pm - Store Tour
Join us for a store tour! Learn the ins and outs of what makes Alfalfa's speacial while enjoying samples and 20% off your purchase after the tour!

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

Our local Whole Foods stores are offering us a slew of special sales this weekend. First off, the "cheese happy hour" special for tomorrow from 4 to 7 p.m. only is Fromager D'Affinois at 40% off. Then for the entire weekend, tomorrow through Sunday, there will be an octet of special sales. Organic Kent mangos will be $1.99 each, some 12 ounce coffee, tea and espresso drinks in the cafe will be 99 cents, organic bananas will be 20% off, some flower bunches and bouquets will be $5 each, some 12 ounce Allegro coffees (ground or whole bean) will be $8.99 each, some 3.5 ounce dark chocolate bars will be $2.50 each, and some 20 count teas will be $1 off, and all of the above are Whole Trade. Plus, some Creminelli salamis will be $6.99 each, a really good deal if you are planning a nice platter of charcuterie.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods

For today only, the 20th, organic cheeses at Whole Foods are 20% off. Enjoy.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, and it looks like a few changes to last week's sale at Whole Foods. As previously mentioned, Vitamin Cottage's big Hotline sale is reportedly on hiatus until February 1st. Here's what's looking good to me now.

In Sprouts' new sale through January 27th, the big news, especially for my gluten-free friends, is a sale of some gluten-free products at a whopping 40% off. This isn't across the board like they used to do, but does look to include many things. I particularly have my eye on Pamela's cookies listed as 40% off, and my favorite Blue Diamond Nut Thins as low as they ever go at $1.50 a box.

Otherwise at Sprouts, I'm liking chicken breast tenders (thighs also) at just $1.69 a pound, links or bulk chicken sausage $3.99 a pound, chopped up pork for stew (also as sirloin roast or chops) $2.99 a pound, stew beef $3.99 a pound (Sprouts has been known to call it a sale at $1 more than that), boneless New York steaks $8.99 a pound, and if you want to experiment with the new "in" cuts that used to be ignored, sirloin flap steak is $5.99 a pound (would probably do better if they renamed that one). In fish, previously frozen sockeye salmon fillets are $7.99 a pound, previously frozen 21/25 count raw shrimp sound good because they are both wild and from the USA for $6.99 a pound, and fresh farmed tilapia is also $6.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, Braeburn apples are just 98 cents a pound, vine ripe tomatoes are good at $1.98 a pound, four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are $2.98 each, and avocados are 98 cents each, but I usually buy those in conventional anyway. Speaking of conventional produce, asparagus looks refreshing at this time of year at $1.98 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, I'll be grabbing Chobani Greek yogurt at 79 cents each ($1 is more the norm for a good sale price) and checking out that gluten-free sale.

As mentioned a bit ago, Whole Foods has moved to publishing new sale flyers weekly, but repeating many of the items for a week or two, in line with its prior pattern of doing two or three week sales. That makes it awkward for me, since I don't have time to repeat everything, but then that leaves no assurance of what's going on. Their new sale flyer through the 26th has items like the basil pesto that look familiar from last week (look several posts below for that one). One thing I don't recall from last week is their own 365 organic chicken broth (regular or low sodium) at just $1.50 a box. While I'm a rabid fan of Imagine organic broth, if I've run out, 365 is my go-to brand, and the price doesn't get lower than this.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Time To Choose Your CSA!

A pleasant thought in the depths of winter, it's time to start thinking about a CSA for this year. I've been so thrilled with ours from Red Wagon Organic Farm for the past two years, I'll definitely go with them again. And my other fave, Cure Organic Farm, is so popular, they have to hold a lottery to get into their CSA. I believe that might have just happened a few days ago, but you can check with them to see if any shares remain for sale, which is possible. Plus there are lots of other options out there.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Vitamin Cottage Hotline Hiatus

I stopped again at Vitmain Cottage to find out what might be going on with their usual big Hotline sale, only to find that it is now on hiatus until February 1st. VC Hotline fans, have patience!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Last Call For Chef's Catalog

Sniff. I've previously mentioned that Chef's Catalog is going out of business after 36 fine years, and is offering deep discounts in the process. This Monday the 18th at 3 pm our time (they are based in Colorado Springs) will be your last chance to place an order. While I'm sure many/most things are gone at this point, I'd look to Chef's proprietary brand for the best options. I'm thoroughly pleased with the Chef's bistro flatware I ordered when this news was sadly announced. I got a beautiful service of stainless flatware for 12, plus service pieces like ladles and spreaders, for the ridiculously low price of about $70, including tax and free shipping. Goodbye, Chef's! We'll miss you!

Friday, January 15, 2016

Beef Sale At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's is doing another fabulous sale on their organic grass-fed New York strip steaks for just $9.99 a pound, which has to be a good half off. Unfortunately, neither their email nor website mentions dates for this, so I'd use caution and assume weekend only. Both the Boulder and Louisville stores are also offering wellness workshops tomorrow as part of their previously mentioned Road to Rejuvenation to get your 2016 off to a healthy start. Check several posts below for the link to all those activities, or get in touch with the store. (And apologies that the image below will cut off on the right, but you get the idea.)

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Thursday, January 14, 2016

More Weekend Whole Foods Sales

In addition to the 10% off 365 Everyday Value products already mentioned just below, Whole Foods will be doing some other sales just for tomorrow through Sunday. At the juice bar, some 16 ounce green smoothies will be $3 each, Pangea bar soap will be $1 each, and there will be specials on Epic Bars and Primal Kitchen, although you need to check at the store for those.

Stock Up On 365 Products

For its weekend sale this week, tomorrow through Sunday, Whole Foods will be offering all of its 365 Everyday Value products at 10% off. Their brand can be found in just about every department in the store, and already offers good value at its regular price, including tons of organic options. At 10% off that good price, it's a stock-up opportunity.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods stores. Something's also happening at Vitamin Cottage, but as recently mentioned, they were out of the Hotline sale flyer when I stopped by. Will try again soon, so here's what's looking good to me now.

Sprouts has another 72-hour sale coming up for this weekend, Friday through Sunday. In that window, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts will be just $1.59 a pound, and liters of Sprouts' own extra virgin olive oil will be $5.99 each, among other things. Jumbo Hass avocados will be 98 cents each, but they'd better be quite jumbo for that to feel special.

In Sprouts' regular sale through January 20th, I'm liking boneless ribeye steaks at $7.99 a pound, baby back pork ribs $2.79 a pound, all chicken sausage (pork also) $3.99 a pound, pork shoulder roast or bone-in country style ribs $1.99 a pound, and their very good stuffed chicken breasts $2.99 a pound. There's also a Buffalo Stampede with lots of bison on sale. In fish, previously frozen wild Alaskan cod is $7.99 a pound, quite big 16/20 count ez peel raw shrimp are also $7.99 a pound, and fresh farmed salmon fillets are $5.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, on-the-vine cluster tomatoes are great at $1.98 a pound, green curly, Lacinato or Red Russian kale are all just 98 cents a bunch, red, yellow or orange bell peppers are $1.50 each, and Braeburn or red Delicious apples are $1.50 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking some half gallons of Horizon organic milk very low at $2.99 each, a Kashi special where if you buy a cereal at $2.99 a box, you get a Golean plant-powered bar free, bulk Monterey jack cheese at $2.99 a pound, local Noosa yoghurts very low at $1.50 each, Stonyfield organic Greek yogurts four for $5, the smaller 15-ish ounce size of Muir Glen organic tomatoes $1.25 a can, MaraNatha peanut butters $4.99 a 16 ounce jar, and bulk smoked gouda $4.99 a pound.

Whole Foods' new sale flyer runs through January 19th - they've switched to shorter advertisements, but if the last couple of weeks were any indication, some sales may continue past the week. In any case, I'm currently liking Diestel bone-in turkey breast at $5.49 a pound (time for another feast so soon after the holidays?), farmed barramundi fillets $8.99 a pound, wild mahi mahi $7.99 a pound, WFM's own organic sourdough boule $4.49 each (and they are always happy to give you half a loaf instead, sliced or unsliced), Ciolo seven ounce prepared basil pesto $4.99 each (although I have quite a stock of my own pesto in my freezer), and organic Lady Alice apples $1.99 a pound.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

BCMF Expands To Union Station

It doesn't get better than this for me, the confluence of a fine farmers' market and a gloriously restored historic train station. Following a pilot trial for a bit last summer, it has been announced that the Boulder County Farmers' Market will manage a new growers-only (and that's important) farmers' market next to Denver's beautiful Union Station this summer. While there, you can get another taste of Boulder at The Kitchen Next Door's outpost in the station. Here's a bit of what the Farmers' Market says:

Boulder County Farmers Markets will partner with Denver Union Station to open the city's first growers-only farmers market in 2016. The market will be held every Saturday starting June 4th on the north side of Wynkoop Plaza at 17th and Wynkoop streets in downtown Denver.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Alfalfa's Louisville Plant-Based Class

The Alfalfa's Market in Louisville will be offering a plant-based/whole foods class this coming Friday, the 15th.  For "busy people but nutrionally sound" has resonance here. Here are the details from them:

Plant Based/Whole Foods Cooking Demo

Louisville: Friday 15th, 6:30pm - 8pm

“Getting enough protein on a Whole Foods Plant-based diet”
The menu is going to be geared towards busy people, so easy to fix, but nutritionally sound.
Shannon Solomon is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and 20+year Chef and Restaurateur. She began 8yrs ago as A Thai Yoga Bodywork Therapist and mindful eating Coach, her passion for a healthy life style and awareness of the environment lead her to a Vegan Lifestyle. Currently Shannon is completing Certification in Plant Based Nutrition from the T.Colin Campbell Center for Nutritional Studies in conjunction with Cornell University online programs and enrolled in the PanAmerican University Doctor Of Naturopathic Medicine Degree Program. Her hope is share with others that eating a Whole Foods Plant-Based diet is not only optimum for the planet but imperative to our long term health.
- See more at: https://www.alfalfas.com/uncategorized/plant-basedwhole-foods-cooking-demo/#sthash.CcjAig0x.dpuf

Sunday, January 10, 2016

DIY Detox webinar

The next in Sprouts' popular webinar series will be a good one for this time of year, Start Fresh with DIY Detoxing, this coming Wednesday, the 13th. You can see the details and register for the free webinar on Sprouts' site here.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

No Hotline Flyers

I managed to get a parking space in the vicinity of Vitamin Cottage yesterday, only to find that they had run out of the print versions of the new full Hotline sale flyer. Will try again some other time, but meanwhile, you can see an abbreviated version of sales lasting through February 6th at their site here. The full version might also be lurking there somewhere, but on this pretty (but cold!) Saturday, I have so much else to do.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Lafayette Oatmeal Festival Tomorrow

The ever-popular Lafayette Quaker Oatmeal Festival will be held tomorrow, the 9th, and includes a 5K run/walk, the famous oatmeal breakfast, plus a health fair. You can get all the details here.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Weekend Sales At Whole Foods

After a couple of weeks skipping them across the holidays, Whole Foods is back with a vengeance for weekend sales. First up, for tomorrow from 4 to 7 p.m. only, Somerdale Cotswold cheese will be 40% off. For the whole weekend, tomorrow through Sunday, all supplements (excluding nutritional bars) are 25% off (to be considered in conjunction with Sprouts' 25% off sale on supplements that goes on all week until next Wednesday). Also, 16 inch WFM take and bake pizzas are 25% off, 80/20 ground beef is $5.99 a pound, extra lean stew beef is $6.99 a pound, and beef round bottom roast is also $6.99 a pound. Consider your dilemma on prices with the WFM fine pedigree versus Sprouts on that stew beef or getting ground sirloin instead of 80% lean burger (Sprouts' weekly prices in the post below). A tough choice when stew beef is nearly half the cost at Sprouts.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, and Whole Foods has a new flyer for the week, although it looks to me almost identical to last week's. There also should be something new happening at Vitamin Cottage after their Hotline sale hiatus, must check that out.

At Sprouts through January 13th, the big news is the return of the Vitamin & Body Care Extravaganza, with everything in that department 25% off (although if you are a fan of Whole Foods' own brand of supplements, which you obviously can't get anywhere else, stay tuned tomorrow for news of a weekend sale on all supplements there). In meat at Sprouts, I'm really liking boneless pork loin chops (roast also) at just $1.79 a pound. Chicken breast tenders are also $1.79 a pound, stew beef is finally a good sale price at $3.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken (breast or thigh) or pork is $2.99 a pound, whole or split chickens are $1.69 a pound, bone-in country style ribs or pork shoulder roast are both $1.99 a pound, chicken Italian sausage (pork also) are $3.99 a pound, and 93% nicely lean ground sirloin is $5.99 a pound. It looks like just as you are starting your New Year's resolutions to eat more plants, less meat, Sprouts is making this an exceptionally good week to be buying meat. In fish, I'm liking previously frozen wild Alaskan sockeye salmon fillets at $7.99 a pound, and fresh farmed tilapia is $5.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, one pound bags of Earthbound Farm kale or Power Deep Green blends are $3.98 each, and it's a good week for fruit, with four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit $2.98 each, 5.6 ounce containers of blackberries also $2.98 each, and you can get a three pound bag of Braeburn apples for $1.98 a bag, and yes, we're still talking organic. Elsewhere in the store (besides the big vitamin and body care sale), I'm liking a bunch of juices at 35% off, and some Fage Greek yogurts are just 79 cents each.

Whole Foods' new flyer runs through January 12th, but as I mentioned above, it looks a lot to me like last week's flyer. To recap some faves, paiche (the new darling of sustainable fish) is $9.99 a pound, fresh ground turkey breast is $5.99 a pound, organic green kale remains $1.50 a bunch, organic navel oranges are just 98 cents a pound (that one might be new this week), Wallaby organic Greek yogurts are $1 each, and WFM's own chocolate mousse remains tempting at $6.99 a pound. So I guess some are new, some the same from last week.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Alfalfa's Also Kick-Starting New Year

Alfalfa's is also giving you a way to get your 2016 off to a healthy start. Here are the details from them:

Are you ready to start your Road to Rejuvenation?
Join us all month long for FREE talks and demos with local nutrion experts, featurering Todd Nelson N.D, Conscious Cleanse and Paleo Glow!
See the schedule of events and sign up here!...
https://www.alfalfas.com/events/

Monday, January 4, 2016

Kick Start Your Resolutions

Both Sprouts and Whole Foods are offering programs to get your healthy resolutions for 2016 on track. At Whole Foods, it's the Engine 2 28 Day Challenge, while Sprouts is doing a 21 day Healthy Habits challenge. Three weeks, four weeks, or all year?

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Cured's Annual Vacation

Fans of Cured on Pearl Street will need to go elsewhere for their charcuterie fix this week, as Will and Coral are taking their usual well deserved rest in the first week of the year. (After two wild weeks of holiday indulgence, wouldn't a cleanse be more appropriate this week than charcuterie and cheese?) They report the original store on Pearl will reopen on Friday, the 8th, while its new West End offshoot will reopen on Saturday, the 9th.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year!

Auspicious that we should start to climb out of our recent frigid temperatures on this New Year's Day. For lucky foods to start off the new year, look to the post just below this one. Our tradition is Mark Bittman's stewy and green veggie-laden rif on Hoppin' John, black-eyed pea soup with ham and greens. A couple of days ago, the Whole Foods store on Pearl had a huge display of fresh (but quick cooking) black-eyed peas and organic collard greens at the front of the produce department, perfect for this. I remember the organic collards were a great price at $1.50 a bunch. Don't remember the price on the containers of peas, but those were reasonable too.

Happy New Year!