Monday, February 29, 2016

Watch Those Sugary Drinks

Sugar lurks just about everywhere, and especially in drinks that I fortunately don't partake of. The Boulder County Health Department will host a panel discussion about the topic this Thursday, the 3rd, and free lunch will be included, hopefully with a minimum of added sugar (if you eat something not made from scratch, look at the label - the sugar is shocking in places you'd never expect it). Here's the news provided via the Boulder Farmers' Market:

Liquid Sugar: Drinking Ourselves to Disease
Mar. 311am, Boulder eTown Hall
Boulder County Public Health will host a free lunch reception and panel discussion about the health risks and impact of sugary drinks. Lunch will be at 11am, with the panel discussion following from 12 to 2pm. Panelists include: Jim O'Hara, Director of Health Promotion Policy, Center for Science in the Public Interest; Jorge De Santiago, Executive Director, El Centro AMISTAD; Eric J. Harker, M.D., Preventive Medicine Lead Physician, Kaiser Permanente Colorado; Wyatt Hornsby, Campaign Director, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation; and Robyn O'Brien, Food's Erin Brockovich, Boulder mother, author. 

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Another Pearl Whole Foods Remodel

This seems minor compared to the huge expansion Whole Foods did on Pearl Street several years ago, but they'll be putting another almost three quarters of a million dollars into mixing things up in the prepared foods area for a remodel. You can read all about it (plus some things about downsizing for the company elsewhere) in the Daily Camera article here.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Big Parmesan Sale Tomorrow

In conjunction with Whole Foods' simultaneous cracking of huge wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano tomorrow (look a couple of posts below for that), I just heard from the TastyTown guy at the Pearl Street store that the cheese will be half off its regular price from 1 to 4 p.m. tomorrow only. Given they usually sell it in the $20 range, the sale should put it in the $10 range per pound. It doesn't get better than that for a very good cheese. I did hear this at Pearl so if going to another location for it, you might call ahead to check.


   

Special Sale At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's is at it again, tormenting me with a special sale on their fine grass-fed boneless New York strip steaks for the incredible price of $9.99 a pound through Sunday. They're also offering a sustainable Norwegian salmon (supposedly the finest of the farmed) for $9.99 a pound too. Get thee to Alfalfa's by Sunday.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Weekend Sale At Whole Foods

Looks like Whole Foods will offer us a duo of very nice specials for this weekend, tomorrow through Sunday, and the prepared appetizer one sounds ready-made for the Oscars. Here's what they say (although the $4 off banner for the Dover sole unfortunately didn't come through):

GOURMET FOODS
Select Oven-Ready Meat Appetizers
(1 oz)
5 for $4
Regular $1.99 each
you save $5.95
Valid 2/26 - 2/28
$5.95 OFF
FRESH, WILD-CAUGHT
Dover Sole Fillet
(Per lb)
$7.99 / lb
Regular $11.99 / lb
you save $4
Valid 2/26 - 2/28

Whole Foods' Parm Cracking Coming Up

One of the more ingenious events happening in the grocery world is Whole Foods' simultaneous cracking of a gazillion huge wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano at its many stores, with a tasting included. This year's will be this Saturday, Feb 27th, at 1 p.m. for our local stores. (It's 3 p.m. Eastern time, but this has to be simultaneous, right?) Celebrate a great cheese, and get some fresh off the wheel.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, plus what looks to be a new one at Whole Foods (they are really confusing me by this new thing of publishing something every week with specials that may or not be new). And the current sale at Vitamin Cottage continues through March 5th, so look down quite a few posts for that one. Here's what's looking good to me now.

At Sprouts through March 2nd, there are two bits of excellent news: the outrageous BOGO sale continues, and conventional asparagus is ridiculously low at 98 cents a pound. I eat almost exclusively organic produce, but somehow asparagus is one of the exceptions for me, and this price will make it more so.

In meat at Sprouts, value packs of chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, baby back pork ribs are $2.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken, chicken breast or pork are $2.99 a pound (looks like a good week for some Asian dishes), their very good stuffed chicken breasts are also $2.99 a pound, Italian chicken sausage (pork also) is $3.99 a pound, and filet mignon steaks are $14.99 a pound (sounds high but the steaks are by definition small and boneless, so the actual cost is reasonable). In fish, previously frozen 26/30 count wild Gulf shrimp from the USA look good at $7.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild sockeye salmon fillets are $6.99 a pound, but I'd wonder about those so long since the fresh season.

In organic produce at Sprouts, some Earthbound Farms salads are BOGO, five pound bags of either table carrots or russet potatoes are just $2.98 each, Gala or Granny Smith apples are $1.88 each, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are $2.98 each. Elsewhere in the store, the news is the continuation of the big BOGO sale. Items calling to me this week are my fave Blue Diamond Nut Thins, my new fave Home Run Inn pizzas, Stonyfield organic Greek yogurts, 15 ounce Westbrae organic canned beans, 16 ounce Garden of Eatin' tortilla chips, and Seventh Generation dish liquids ("select varieties" on all, but that usually means just about everything).

In what looks to be a new sale for Whole Foods this week through March 1st, organic on-the-vine tomatoes are $2.98 a pound (although Vitamin Cottage has organic tomatoes for $1.99 a pound through March 5th), 31/40 count easy to peel shrimp are $9.99 a pound (bigger ones are less at Sprouts, but not with the Whole Foods pedigree, although I'm so pleased those Sprouts ones are domestic), organic whole chickens look very good at $2.29 a pound, and their excellent made in house black and blue (for blackberries and blueberries) crostata are $7.99 each. Those can serve as dessert, breakfast, or even birthday cake in this house, where sweets aren't much in favor. Also, some Seventh Generation dish soaps are $2.99, but I'd check the BOGO sale at Sprouts on that one first.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Celebrating The Oscars

With the Academy Awards coming up so quickly next Sunday, I'd think my favorite sources would have more resources to offer by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe folks are getting tired of such things, as I am as well. In any case, here's a link to Your Dream Oscars Party from Bon Appetit last year, and a link to a prior post I did on food for the Oscars. Hope those links might still be good, but regardless, the advice re Trader Joe's for easy prepared finger foods still holds. Since the return of Harrison Ford in Star Wars was the only thing that drew me into a theatre this year, I'm not so concerned about the voting, but food is always good.

Monday, February 22, 2016

More Alfalfa's Events

The Alfalfa's stores in Boulder and Louisville are really on a roll with events, although one of these has a $5 charge.. Here are a couple more coming up:

Plant Based/ Whole Food Cooking Demo
Friday, February 26
6:30pm - 8pm 
Louisville Community Room
Sign up here - $5
Shannon Solomon is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America
Freezer friendly meals for the Super Busy  Vegan and Gluten free, and nutritionally sound  Lentil Shepard’s Pie • Homemade Italian Sausage & Peppers w/ Polenta • Breakfast of Baked Quinoa & Apples.

Uplift Your Mood with Superfood
Saturday, February 27
1pm - 3pm
Boulder Community Room
Sign up here 
with Todd Nelson, D.Sc, Naturopath
 Discover how anxiety, depression, and insomnia are affected by diet -Learn about the Gut-Brain Connection -Why gut bug imbalances can ruin your day -Eating for energy brightens your mood! -Supplements that feed your neurotransmitters - Practicing the art of exceptional self-care

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Wellness Webinar At Sprouts

Sprouts will host another free wellness webinar this week, this time to Feel Well-Rested and Balanced with Adrenal Support. It will be this Thursday the 25th, looks like at 6:30 pm our time. You can get the details and register here.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Free Events At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's has several events coming up shortly in either the Boulder or Louisville store (and the first one is very shortly, like in a little over an hour). Here's what they say:


The Lighter Side to Loving Your Body More
Saturday, February  20
3pm - 4pm 
Boulder Café 
Sign up here
Join Jane Machol and hear about 10 steps towards a Positive Body Image and learn new thought patterns to love "you" and the body you naturally have. Stick around for the raffle drawing! 

Creating Heart Health, Naturally 
Sunday, February  21
1pm - 3pm
Louisville Community Room
Sign up here 
with Todd Nelson D.Sc, Naturopath
Top 10 Diet and Lifestyle Tips - The Skinny on Cholesterol: Facts and Myths - Inflammation and Heart Disease - Blood Sugar and Heart Health - Keeping arteries clean and lean - De-stressing for heart health

Paleo Glow Cooking Demo with Kelly Elle
Tuesday, February 23
5 pm - 7pm
Boulder Demo Kitchen
Join us every Tuesday at the demo kitchen from 5-7pm for a FREE Paleo cooking demo with Kelly Elle, Paleo Nutritional Therapist. Learn a new Paleo dish each week, complete with recipe and ingredients list.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Denver Restaurant Week

While it doesn't compare locally with our First Bite Boulder restaurant celebration in the fall, Denver's own Restaurant Week does include some Boulder participants. The Week features multi-course dinners for $30, runs through March 6th, and local participating restaurants include the Boulder Chophouse, Boulder Cork, Cafe Aion, Dagabi Cucina, The Greenbriar and more. Look here for details and menus.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Cured Introduces Classes

With its new space at Cured West, the lovely store Cured is introducing education classes. First up will be bloomy rind cheeses. Here's what they say:

Cured Introduces Education Classes!!! For the past few years, we’ve been patiently waiting and scheming, dreaming and planning for the day that Cured gets to offer Education Classes for you all. We love cheese. Plain and simple. If you walk into our shop bloomyon any given day, the enthusiasm emanating from our mongers is contagious. We couldn’t be luckier to have an incredible, passionate team of cheesemongers behind us, all led and educated by our manager and Certified Cheese Professional Jessica Beer. Now that we have sweet little Cured West in our lives, we finally have the perfect space to offer monthly education classes. StartingMonday, February 29th (a once in a four year opportunity no less!;) at 6 pm, Jessica will be guiding Cured’s first education class on Bloomy Rind Cheeses. Bloomy Rinds are often better known as the luscious, creamy double and triple cremes we all know and love. This class will take us on a journey to Northern France to study the history and flavors behind our some of our softest and most delicate cheese friends. We will do a horizontal tasting of cheeses from and inspired by this famous region, diving deep into the stories behind these cheeses, the best ways to enjoy them and what makes them so utterly irresistible.  Classes will all cost $55 per person and will include a flight of cheeses, more than a few sips of wine, and some serious education to boot. Space is limited so give us a call to reserve your spot today!! 

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Happy National Indian Pudding Day

At almost 10:30 at night, it's a bit late for me to start a dessert that requires three hours in a slow oven, but I just noticed that today is National Indian Pudding Day. Who knew there would be a day dedicated to my favorite New England dessert recipe? And as desserts go, it almost qualifies as healthy. Perhaps a project for this weekend.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores, while Whole Foods continues to mess with my mind by publishing weekly sales that repeat some and introduce some new ones. Meanwhile, Vitamin Cottage's sale lasts through March 5th - look just below this post for that one. Here's what's looking good to me now.

In Sprouts' new sale through February 24th, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts (thighs also) are just $1.77 a pound, boneless pork loin chops (roast or shoulder roast also) are great at $1.79 a pound, whole or split fresh chickens are $1.49 a pound (a little more for fully cut up), all chicken sausage (pork too) are $3.99 a pound, and boneless London broil is $3.99 a pound (not such a great cut on its own in my opinion, but maybe a good one to cut up for stew beef, which this week has a sale price of $4.99 a pound). Previously frozen 31/40 cound wild peeled and deveined shrimp are $5.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild Alaskan cod fillets are $7.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, Braeburn or red Delicious apples are great at 98 cents a pound, broccoli is $1.48 a pound, celery is $1.48 a bunch, some Earthbound Farm salads are BOGO, and blackberries are $2.98 for a 5.6 ounce container. In conventional produce, asparagus is notable at $1.98 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, there's a huge BOGO sale on hundreds of items. Catching my eye are my favorite Green Mountain Creamery Greek yogurts (most are just 110 calories and really good), 15 ounce cans of Westbrae organic beans, Blue Diamond Nut Thins, Late July organic tortilla chips, Back to Nature cookies or crackers, Earth Balance peanut butters, Home Run Inn pizzas, DeBoles pastas, and Rising Moon Organics pastas (all "select varieties"). My, my. Shop till you drop.

At Whole Foods through February 23rd, things are looking rather like I reported last week, with organic on-the-vine tomatoes $2.99 a pound and the like. Look a few posts below for that one, but it does drive me a bit crazy that some things do change. What pops out at me as new this week is Lundberg's wonderful rice and multigrain chips at $2.50 a bag, and I don't recall the $4.99 price on Metropolitan brie last week for an eight ounce wheel.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Current Sale At Vitamin Cottage

Finally off its Hotline sale hiatus, Vitamin Cottage (aka Natural Grocers) has a Hotline sale running through March 5th. I'm really liking the idea of organic tomatoes being available at $1.99 all the way until then. I also like 15 ounce cans of Westbrae organic beans for $1.79 (although store brands of organic canned beans frequently go lower), Monte Bene pasta sauces $3.69 a jar, the big 13 to 16 ounce party size of Garden of Eatin' tortilla chips $3.50 a bag, some Glutino gluten-free snacks seriously discounted, Udi's gluten-free bagels or sandwich breads $3.99 a bag, some Rudi's organic sandwich breads also $3.99 each, some R.W. Knudsen organic juices $2.99 each for 32 ounces, some Chocolove bars (including bite-sized covered nut treats I've never seen before, look great) $1.99 each, Barbara's puffins cereals $3 a box, and some Earth Balance peanut butter spreads $3.79 for a 16 ounce jar.

Monday, February 15, 2016

Meditation At Louisville Alfalfa's

For those of us who could use some relaxation and/or focusing of the mind, it looks like the Alfalfa's in Louisville might be offering just the thing this Friday. Here's what they say:

Meditation for ALL!

Louisville: Friday 19th 6-7pm

Lena Wenzel  
Guided meditation through stillness, music, scent and relaxing.
Call guest services 303.335.4200 or click right HERE.
- See more at: https://www.alfalfas.com/events/meditation-for-all-2/#sthash.u3LwoEY5.dpuf

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!

And I hope you are able to enjoy it without it going too commercial or full of pressure. But if you are still looking for something a bit special to cook, here's a reminder about the guides I posted about that. And remember the Whole Foods fabulous special on roses at two dozen for $20 continues through today. Much love to everybody.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Alfalfa's Chocolate Fair Today

The Alfalfa's stores in Boulder and Louisville will both be hosting chocolate tasting fairs today, but note they will be at different times. Louisville will hold its from 4 to 6 pm, and here's what they say about the Boulder store:

For the Love of Chocolate Fair

Boulder: February 13, 12-2pm

Join us for a chocolate tasting fair! Enjoy FREE samples from some of our favorites chocolate vendors along with delectable housemade creations!
FREE Valentine’s cookie decorating for kids!

Friday, February 12, 2016

Cheese Happy Hour Hiatus

For a while there, our local Whole Foods stores were doing a "Cheese Happy Hour" quite regularly each Friday afternoon, with one luscious cheese spectacularly discounted 40 or 50 percent, just between 4 and 7 that afternoon. Having been missing any notice of such a sale recently, I asked the cheese folks at the Pearl Street store what was happening, and was told they're taking a bit of a break from doing that sale. I'd love to see it return - I was really enjoying discovering some wonderful (and expensive) cheeses at prices that were accessible during the Happy Hour.

Alfalfa's Does Valentine's

Alfalfa's is doing a nice body care sale for the weekend at 20% off, plus several other specials (including wild lobster tails two for $10, although they are three ounces, while other specials tend to be an ounce or two more, and grass-fed beef tenderloin $14.99 a pound). Let's see if this pretty picture cuts off on the right too.

Some Valentine's Menu Ideas

Dining out on Valentine's Day can be a most unromantic zoo, so why not enjoy a nice dinner at home. Here are a couple of guides to help you out, and also consider all the special takeout options being offered around town, mentioned several posts below. From Epicurious, there's Recipes, Menus and Ideas for Valentine's Day, and Cooking Light brings you Celebrate Valentine's Day.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Whole Foods Also Loves Lips

Just saw that Whole Foods is doing a lip care and color sale this weekend too, in addition to the rose sale mentioned below. Here's what they say (hope the pretty picture doesn't cut off on the right, but everything you need to know is on the left):

5 for $5 Avocados

Whole Foods' Weekend Rose Sale

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Whole Foods, at least at the Pearl Street store, will have Whole Trade roses at the great price of two dozen for $20 for tomorrow through Sunday. That sure beats Sprouts' current sale of $16.99 for a dozen.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

This will be a shortened version, as I look at Sprouts' new specials the old fashioned way, looking at the sale flyer, and my Daily Camera newspaper has not been delivered, and going between so many screens is just too tedious. (I'm in a Catch 22 with that flyer - about the only reason I still bother to subscribe to the paper is the ads, and I can't get them in my mailbox because I subscribe.)

In any case, in Sprouts' new sale through February 17th, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are very good at $1.77 a pound, all chicken sausage is $3.99 a pound, their very good stuffed chicken breasts are $2.99 a pound, boneless ribeyes are $10.99 a pound, and filet mignon is $13.99 a pound. In fish, previously frozen wild sockeye salmon fillets are $6.99 a pound, and previously frozen five ounce lobster tails are $5.99 each.

In organic produce at Sprouts, cauliflower is just 88 cents a pound (so good roasted), on-the-vine cluster tomatoes look good at $1.98 a pound, five pound bags of table carrots or russet potatoes are just $2.98 each, and four pound bags of Valencia oranges or grapefruit are also $2.98 each. In conventional produce, asparagus is notable at $1.88 a pound. Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking their bulk coffee at $7.99 a pound (includes organic ones), some DeLallo organic whole wheat pasta $1.50 a bag, some Lundberg rice 35% off, and Chobani Greek yogurts great at 79 cents each. There's more, but I can only take so much time to go back and forth between screens, hope I got the best.

At Whole Foods through February 16th, I'm liking uncooked wild 16/20 count white shrimp at $12.99 a pound, $5 off, three types of American Homestead pork spare ribs $3.99 a pound, Wellshire Black Forest bacon $7.99 a pound, their own smoked mozzarella pasta salad $8.99 a pound, and Theo organic chocolate peanut butter cups $1.50 each. For organic on-the-vine tomatoes, I'd stick with the Sprouts sale, as Whole Foods' sale price is $1 higher per pound.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Mardi Gras Madness

Happy Fat Tuesday. If you are doing a late scramble as to what to serve for Mardi Gras dinner, here's a reminder of the collection of recipes I recently posted. Earlier today at my gym, I overheard a hilarious exchange regarding the day. One woman (and these ladies were twenty-somethings, not the retired crowd) said to the other, "You have to get some gold beads," to which the other replied, "I need old beets, wha???" At least even in misunderstandings, Boulderites' thoughts turn to veggies.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Cured Offers Valentine's Takeout Option

Our wonderful local store Cured, on Pearl Street, is offering a great-sounding option for those who want to do Valentine's Day without the hassles of going out or even cooking at home. Here's what they say, and I'm sure you'd need to contact them to preorder:


Valentine’s Day Dinner Special!! I don't know about you all, but Valentine’s Day is always that awkward one…any time you go to a restaurant you inevitably run into 50 of cornish-hensyour closest ‘friends’ and colleagues which means that your evening is spent making small talk rather than actually sharing a meal and connecting with the one you love. On the flip side however, bySunday night, you’ve had a long week, a busy weekend, and the last think you feel like doing is facing the grocery store parking lot and spending the day in the kitchen feeling tired and resentful by the time dinner rolls around. Which is where Cured comes into the equation. For Valentine’s Day, our chefs are whipping up a special Love Bird feast, perfectly prepared and hot out of the oven right before close at 5 so all you have to do is swoop in, grab your dinner, head on home, pop open a bottle of bubbles, and enjoy an uninterrupted, mellow evening a deux. Dinner costs $95 and includes: Twin Roasted Cornish Game Hens Stuffed with House Made Sausage, served with a salad of Oxford Garden Greens with Roast Beets, Toasted Hazelnuts, House Made Ricotta Salata and Pomegranate Vinaigrette. A luscious slice of Delice de Borgogne (triple creme) with Cured's House Baguette rounds out your meal before you dig into a guilty Mexican Chocolate Pot de Creme to finish it off!Plus we've even included a bottle of the Val de Mer Brut Rose Bubbly with which to toast the one you love. 

Super Bowl Celebration/Recovery

So how does one simultaneously celebrate the Broncos' Super Bowl win last night and start recovering from the culinary excesses that undoubtedly accompanied it? Just realized this morning that something I already had in mind for tonight might be the perfect ticket for that. Having been out indulging with friends this weekend, I was already looking to do winter squash stew with cilantro-avocado salsa from Cooking Light as a vegetarian way to tone things down with seasonal foods for tonight. I now realize it's also predominantly orange, continues the theme of Super Bowl dishes but in a healthy way, and with the addition of blue corn chips, would be blue and orange. Sounds like the perfect way to both celebrate a Broncos victory while recovering from the recent excesses of the weekend.

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Time For The Super Bowl

I hope you've gotten your Super Bowl plans well in line by now, but for last minute organizers, here's a reminder about guides for Super Bowl fare I posted a bit ago. Also look down to Wednesday's post about Boulder natural grocery sales - tons of good deals on snacks for the game in that one.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Mardi Gras Coming Up

Okay, so how much partying can a body take in a week? Besides the Super Bowl tomorrow and Chinese New Year Monday, we have Mardi Gras on Tuesday (plus don't forget Valentine's Day on the horizon). If you are looking to laissez les bons temps rouler, consider these: 31 New Orleans Classics for Mardi Gras from Southern Living magazine (and they should know a thing or two about that), or Mardi Gras Recipes from Allrecipes.com.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Chinese New Year Soon

I've always had a suspicion that we humans have some deep-rooted need to schedule celebrations for February, about the most dismal month of the year. So Chinese New Year is next, on the 8th, just after the Super Bowl extravaganza. For menu ideas, check out Chinese New Year Food from Food and Wine magazine.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Hosea And More Re Super Bowl

The Daily Camera is reporting that Boulder's own Top Chef winner and Blackbelly restaurant owner Hosea Rosenberg will appear on the Today Show tomorrow morning at 9:30, demoing eats for the game. The same Camera article also has info on many local options for takeout, if you are looking for an easy way to please your Super Bowl guests. You can read the article in its entirety here.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

On this chilly, snowy (so we got just shy of 17 inches yesterday) morning, we have a new sale starting today at our Boulder Sprouts stores. Whole Foods is also posting a new one week flyer, but as I've mentioned before, they seem to keep their two or three week sale pattern, but with a few tweaks (big one to be mentioned below). Vitamin Cottage should have just ended their Hotline hiatus, so I must get there to check it out. Here's what's looking good to me now.

In Sprouts' new sale through February 10th, the emphasis is not unsurprisingly on items that would be suitable for a Super Bowl party. Baby back pork ribs are $2.79 a pound, chicken breast tenders (thighs also) are $1.77 a pound, all chicken sausage (pork also) is $3.99 a pound, fresh ground chicken or chicken breast are both $2.99 a pound, and pork spare ribs or boneless country style ribs are just $1.99 a pound. In fish, I'm liking previously frozen stuffed clams, scallop or crab at $1 each (they make for the easiest appetizers ever, just popped into the oven), and previously frozen wild Alaskan sockeye fillets are $6.99 a pound (although even frozen starts to get old to me at this time of year).

In organic produce at Sprouts, broccoli is fabulous at 98 cents a pound, red, yellow or orange bell peppers are $1.50 each, and navel oranges are 98 cents a pound. For your guacamole, you can get conventional Hass avocados at 48 cents each, or 98 cents for organic. Elsewhere in the store, I'm absolutely thrilled to see Home Run Inn frozen pizzas practically given away at $4.99 each (these are my new faves, so I hesitate to even mention such a good deal. They are also sold at Whole Foods, and the usual going price is $8.99 or higher everywhere. Plus, they're really good.) Cliff, Luna or Mojo bars are very low at 88 cents each (10% lower if by the case), Frontera salsa is $3 a 16 ounce jar, some Barbara's cereals, granola or snacks are 35% off, Back to Nature crackers are $2.50 a box, and all Annie Chun's Asian cuisine is 35% off (time to stock up on noodles and the like). For Super Bowl snacking, there are several BOGO offers: Starlite Cuisine taquitos or rolled tacos, Earthbound Farm organic roasted potatoes, Annie's Homegrown appetizers, and Evol street tacos (all "select varieties"). A bunch of Sprouts' own snacks are $1.50 a bag, and some Bulk Foods packaged snacks are $25 off. Happy snacking.

Whole Foods' new weekly flyer through February 9th looks to me as being largely the same as the one I reported on last week (look a few posts below for that). There are a few differences, the huge one to me being their own fully cooked chicken wings for $3.99 a pound, basically half price for them. I'm usually on the lookout for their chicken wing bucket sale for my one-time indulgence at this time of year, but who needs a bucket when you can get exactly the amount you want at that price?

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Another Chic Super Bowl Rumination

So I'm getting way off track, contemplating high-end Manhattan catering for the Super Bowl when I'm supposed to be focusing on natural foods in Boulder. But having just posted about the great high-end option we actually have from Cured for Super Bowl indulgence, I can't resist posting this, showing what the haut chef Daniel Boulud is offering for takeout for the game in Manhattan. If you look closely, you'll see we are so much luckier to have Cured here locally, both in terms of options and price. Here's what I got from Epicerie Boulud, just in case it also influences your meal planning (personally, I'd stick with Cured, and you can only get the Boulud by pickup in NYC, so it's just for ideas, and sorry it's likely to cut off on the right side):

For A Tres Chic Super Bowl

As we dig out from this pretty impressive snow, here's something else to contemplate for your Super Bowl festivities. Cured, that fabulous store on Pearl featuring artisinal cheeses and charcuterie, fine wines, and everything else to tempt your palate, is also offering Super Bowl specials for takeout. Here's what they say, and note the pre-order requirement. Food for football doesn't get better than this, my friends.


Here at Cured, we may know a bit more about food than we do about football, but we sure as hell know that half the fun of the big game is all about the food we get to eat while watching our favorite orange and blue clad men gladiate in the grandest of arenas. In honor of this most delicious day, Cured has a couple of Super Bowl specials to help fuel you for a long evening of screaming at the TV, jumping up and down, and cheering your little hearts out. If I must confess, I am not sure what I am more excited for, the game or the food that goes with it…


Normandy 2The Foot…(and a half) Long Sandwich: Step aside footlongs, because our 18” of deliciousness trumps your measly 12…Normally we make our sandwiches by cutting abaguette into thirds, but sometimes that just isn’t enough. Whether you’re entertaining a crew for the big game, or all the cheering and yelling just makes you extra hungry, we’ve got you covered. For Sunday, we’re stretching our famous sandwiches across an entire baguette, which means three times as much goodness in one single sandwich. We’ll even slice it up into small bite-size chunks, should you choose to share, for perfect game watching fuel. Each baguette yields about 9 mini-wiches.

OUR GAME DAY SANDWICH OPTIONS:($27.5 ea, GF avaialbe for $5 additional) 
1) Spicy Frenchman (Brie, Butter, French Ham and Peach Jalapeno Jam)
2) American Classic (Rustic Salami, Cheddar Cheese, Romaine, Dijon and Aioli)
3) The Payton Manwich (Capicola, Dry Jack Cheese, Pickled Red Onions, Aioli and Romaine) 
4) The Mediterranean – our token Veggie - (House Made Hummus, Feta Cheese, Olive Tapenade, Cucumbers and Greens) 


pimentoChips, Dips and Spreads: You had me at Pimento… purely to fuel our own personal pimento problem, we’ve convinced our chefs to make up pint sized tubs of our favorite dips and spreads to devour on game day. We’ll have pints of house made Pimento Cheese Dip, Artichoke spread (totally vegan btw) and Hummus topped with the addicting Chili Crunch, all available for $15. We’ve ordered in extra large bags of Zapps Voodo flavored potato chips, we have house made crostini redolent with EVOO, and or course GF crackers and Etalia loaves boot! 


Cheese and Charcuterie Platter: We are building up special Super Bowl Platters for Sunday’s game, laden with Red Leicester (it’s orange), Dunbarton Blue Cheddar (it’s blue), Gruyere (it’s really damn good), Calabrese Spicy Salmi, Mocetta Bresaola and Sopressata, rounded out with Pepperoncinis and Marcona Almonds ready for you to pick up at your convenience on Sunday. Plus, we even have a wine shop filled with the best Colorado brews, perfect to either toast the Broncos success, or drown your sorrow should things go south.  Platters average $10 per person but can be customed tailored to fit any budget or appetitie.  All orders must be placed by Saturday (Feb 6th) and will be available any time fromNoon-4:25(game time!) to pick up on Super Bowl Sunday!