This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder (and Longmont) Sprouts and our Boulder Whole Foods stores.  There's also a new one at Vitamin Cottage that I promise I'll get to very shortly.  Here's what's looking good to my own personal preferences at Sprouts and Whole Foods.

Sprouts will amp things up with a 72 hour sale for Friday through Sunday, through the 17th, and here's what appeals to me.  Jumbo Hass avocados will be $1 each, bone-in New York steaks will be just $4.99 a pound, ez peel 41/50 count raw shrimp will be $3.99 a pound, bulk mild cheddar will be $2.99 a pound, and half gallons of select Horizon organic milk will be $2.50 (beating even the usually unbeatable everyday price on 365 organic milk at Whole Foods).

At Sprouts' regular sale from today through the 20th, chicken breast tenders are $1.99 a pound, all types of chicken sausage (pork also) are $2.99 a pound, stew beef and boneless short ribs are $3.99 a pound, and farm-raised fresh Atlantic salmon steaks are $6.99 a pound, although I've always had better luck working with a salmon fillet than a steak.  In organic produce, green cabbage is stunning at 19 cents a pound for your St. Patty's Day corned beef, one pound bags of baby carrots happily remain at $1.50, green or lacinato kale is $1.50 a bunch, garnet yams are just 99 cents a pound, grape tomatoes are $2 a pint, bulk spring mix or spinach are most happily $3.99 a pound (about twice that elsewhere), and there are a bunch of organic apple, orange and pear specials.  In conventional produce, asparagus will bump up after today's double-ad Wednesday to a still very good $1.88 a pound, but this week's incredible 88 cents a pound has gotten us spoiled, so catch more at that price today if you can.  Elsewhere in the store, bulk coffee is great at $7.99 a pound, especially if I can get to the Baseline store for the Fair Trade-certified decaf at that price (why the other stores don't carry their own Sprouts brand remains a mystery to me).  Select DeLallo pastas are $2 each, which I'm happy to see, since I just paid $2.99 for one yesterday at another store (I'm searching for a whole wheat pasta substitute since my prior $1.39 standby became nonexistent with the Sunflower acquisition), and some Kerrygold Irish cheese is $4.99 for seven ounces.

Whole Foods' new sale runs through April 2nd, and Easter planners might want to take note that their very fine American Homestead or Wellshire spiral sliced hams will both be $4.99 a pound through then.  Wild coho salmon (that would have to be previously frozen, since we're out of salmon season) is $11.99 a pound, and roasted red pepper & fennel salmon burgers are $7.99 a pound.  They also have specials on pork roasts and rack of lamb that look appealing, but I stick with my own territory, and I do ham for Easter.  Their own pumpernickel bread will be an attractive $2.99 a loaf, although I prefer rye for my upcoming corned beef leftovers.  I'm also interested in the Spectrum "Decadent Blend" of chia and flax seed at $6.99 for a 12 ounce package, as both chia and flax seeds have become favorite salad toppers in this house recently, so it looks like this gets us both in one package!