Beware The Imagine Broth Ring Up

The Whole Foods store on Pearl Street has a huge display (maybe five or six feet wide and several feet high) of my beloved Imagine organic broths, proclaiming them to be on sale for $2.50 each (two for $5). However, today, taken from that big display, they rang up at $3 each, also noted as a sale price. A kind person ran back to that display (facing the meat counter) and returned to confirm the two for $5 price, which was quickly adjusted on my bill. But I also want to double check the price I was charged for Blue Moose roasted red pepper hummus, which I grabbed because it was marked at a particularly good sale price that I didn't pay much attention to, yet rang up at basically $6, yikes.

Imagine Broth $2.50

Back on Wednesday, I mentioned that my favorite Imagine organic broth is part of the big sale Sprouts is doing through this coming Wednesday on Hain Celestial products. Got there yesterday and found its sale price is $2.50 a box, pretty good for a product with a regular price closing in on $4. This is a great chance to stock up, as its usual sale times are from Thanksgiving through New Year's, with another round usually happening at Easter. It has a long shelf life (the ones I bought yesterday say "best before 22/OCT/15") and greatly improves anything that might otherwise be made with water, chowders, rice, etc. etc.

Last Call For $2 Broth

It's no secret that I think Imagine organic broth is the best broth out there (aside from something you actually make yourself), and that using it instead of water enhances everything from rice to chowders. Today's the last day of Whole Foods' current sale that includes Imagine broth for just $2 a box. Past experience has been that, with Easter now over, this will be the end of the big sales all the way until the competition starts cranking up again around Thanksgiving, although you never know. Regular pricing across that wasteland tends to be about $3.50 a box. It stores well, and the boxes I stocked up on yesterday have a "best before" date of July 25th this summer.

Imagine Organic Broth For $2.79

It took me long enough to get there, but the current 30% off regular retail that Sprouts is running through tomorrow on Imagine broth translates to $2.79 a box.  That's a pretty good price for something that usually sells for about $1 more, although as we get into the holiday season, the sales on this (fortunately for us consumers) tend to get competitive.  This broth is so versatile and adds so much flavor to soups, stews, rice dishes and the like, while it's also organic, free range, MSG-free, and delicious to boot.  A hard combination to find elsewhere, plus the boxes store well with long expiration dates.

P.S.  No word yet re what tomorrow's customary one-day sale at Whole Foods will be.  That will probably have to be a post for tomorrow morning.

Imagine Organic Broth For $2.50

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Imagine's organic broths and cooking stocks, and go through a lot of them in stews and rice dishes.  Packaged in aseptic boxes, they have far-out expiration dates and are therefore a good stock-up candidate.  We usually see pretty good sales on them around the holidays, but I go through so much of the stuff, my stash from the Thanksgiving sales is already running low.  So ho, ho, ho, I am so pleased to find it for $2.50 a box (not the lowest price ever, but much better than its norm around $3.69) at both Sprouts and Whole Foods.  The Whole Foods sale runs through December 25th, and the Sprouts sale even longer, possibly to the end of the month (I was there a couple of days ago, and if I don't write it down, it exits the sieve-brain immediately).  Both stores carry my favorite low sodium variety of the chicken broth.  Now if they'd only put the cooking stock on sale too...

Heads Up Re Vitamin Cottage Sale

Happy November!  Just a note that the current sale at Vitamin Cottage ends on Saturday, the 3rd.  You can see my prior coverage of the sale here, but the big question is what will be happening with my beloved Imagine organic broths and cooking stocks.  Having them on sale for $2.49 a box currently has been a great help (especially for the pricier cooking stocks), as my laid-in supplies from past sales are long gone, but as the holidays approach, we've been known to see even lower prices.  I guess this is grocery shopping meeting Vegas odds-making.

Even Better News Re Imagine Broth

Knowing they started a new sale yesterday, I got finally myself to Vitamin Cottage (aka Natural Grocers) and found that, true to form, they have an early sale started on Imagine organic broths and cooking stock, both for $2.49 a box, beating Whole Foods, even with the errant coupon described in the post below.  Although the price should go even lower as the holidays approach, this represents a stock up opportunity for those of us who go through it in quantity now.  More about the new Vitamin Cottage sale (through November 3rd) when time permits.

Imagine Broth For Less

I know I'm not the only Boulderite who's a big fan of Imagine's wonderful organic broths and stocks as cooking staples.  With the lengthy expiration dates on its boxes, we lay in as large a supply as we can during the competitive sales around the holidays, but that stock is long gone.  (Although it's only a few more weeks until this year's round should get started.)  With an everyday price in the mid-$3's ($3.69 at Whole Foods), it's a fairly pricey commodity to be using in quantity (Whole Foods' own brand, while not as good in my estimation, is a fair substitute at $1.99 a box in a pinch).  Whole Foods' current Whole Deal coupon flyer, copies of which you'll find throughout the store, comes to the rescue with a $1 off coupon that's good through November 30th.  It won't help for laying in a large quantity, but I've been picking up a box on every shopping trip recently.  I've also just made a very interesting discovery.  I certainly haven't been trying to scam the system, but I don't wear my reading glasses while shopping, and have been merrily picking up one box per trip and getting $1 off.  Having my reading glasses on to write this blog post, I see that the coupon actually says that it's $1 off any two Imagine products.  In all innocence, I can say that it has been working with just one.

A Deal On Imagine Broth

Faithful readers (thank you!) know that I am practically rabid about the virtues of Imagine broth, bringing a depth of flavor to soups, casseroles, and especially to plain ol' rice, without any version of MSG, which is so often found in other broths. Its boxes store very well (look at how far out those expirations dates are), but I go through so much of it that my stock from the holiday sales this past winter is almost depleted. Since it usually runs near $3.50 for a 32 ounce box, a springtime deal is welcome news. Whole Foods has it on sale for $3 a box through the 17th, which is nothing to write home about by itself, but if you check out the March/April Whole Deal (either instore or online), you'll find a $1 off coupon for it, which is very good news indeed.

Best Store-Bought Broth?

I use a lot of boxed broth in all my cooking, and it can be a godsend during the busy holiday season (although stock made from scratch is obviously preferable for those with an abundance of time). Frequent readers know my devotion to Imagine organic broths and stocks, which have no MSG, come in low sodium varieties, and taste fabulous. I'm therefore surprised by the results of a chicken broth taste test done by Bon Appetit, in which Swanson certified organic free range broth came out the winner. Since it's organic and they also like its low sodium content, I'll have to check it out (checking the label for the various disguises that MSG wears), but it will be hard to shake my devotion to Imagine, which appears to have been part of the taste test.

And by the way, a very merry Christmas Eve to all.

Best Deal Yet This Year On Imagine Broth

My apologies to anyone who thinks I'm obsessed with the virtues of Imagine organic broth, but when you find such a useful product that's free range, organic, MSG-free (read some of those other labels carefully for all the names under which MSG masquerades), and also is super-flavorful, it's maybe worth a little obsession. Since it also has a long shelf life (look at the expiration date on the top of the box), it's also a good stock-up item. Its usual price pushes towards three and a half dollars, so the discounts on it that crop up around the holidays present an excellent opportunity to lay in that stock. If you haven't already laid in enough to get you through several months (for me, that's a lot, and current expiration dates are next summer), there's an opportunity to do so at a place I don't usually cover: King Soopers. They're doing a "10 item mega event" through November 15th, in which $5 instantly comes off your price at checkout when you purchase 10 of the participating products. Their price with a King Soopers card is an already good $2.49, so if you buy 10 of them, it works out to $1.99 a box with that card. (You can mix and match participating products, so if you want something else to fill out your 10 items, Annie's mac and cheese, a pantry staple, is also participating, and that price works out to just 69 cents a box.) Yes, technically Whole Foods had an even lower price a few weeks ago with their $1 off coupon for a single box of sale broth, but $1.99 a box is the best price we've seen so far this season for buying a slew of them.

P.S. If you happen to be there this Saturday, the 12th, they're doing a Holiday Open House sampling from noon to 5, too!

Whole Foods' Imagine Broth/Stock Sale Continues!

People are probably getting tired of my singing the praises of Imagine organic broth and cooking stock, but they really do make a big difference in soups and the like. I blathered on and on over the past few weeks about the Whole Foods sale on it, which at $2.50 a box wasn't all that great, but when combined with the $1 off coupon in the Whole Deal newsletter, became a stellar deal. The sales flyer it appeared in expired this past Tuesday, but I was just in the Pearl Street store, and lo, it's still on sale, through November 1st. While most of the products are still at $2.50 (before using the coupon), the bad news is they've increased my favorite low sodium stocks to a sale price of $3. But still, $2 after the coupon is a good deal, and I didn't see the low sodium chicken stock carried at all at Vitamin Cottage, where the stocks and broths remain $2.39 a box all the way through October 29th.

Last Call For $1.50 Imagine Broth

Just a heads up that today's the last day of the current Whole Foods sale, which includes Imagine's wonderful organic broth or cooking stock at $2.50 a box. Combined with the $1 off coupon you'll find in the Whole Deal newsletter available at the store, that results in my favorite broth/stock at just $1.50 a box. Vitamin Cottage does have it on sale for $2.39 a box until nearly the end of the month, and we can always hope for even better prices as the holidays get underway. With their giganto shelf space, Whole Foods carries a low sodium version of the chicken cooking stock that I didn't see at Vitamin Cottage (which has the regular chicken stock). The stock usually sells for more than the broth, so it's great to have them both at the same price. A customary broth user for my soups, rice dishes, and casseroles, I've really been getting into using the stock instead. The pork green chili I made with the stock a week or so ago was the best ever.

Pssst - A Hint Re Imagine Broth

I've been madly singing the praises of Imagine organic broth and stock, currently on sale at both Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage. Vitamin Cottage has the better sale price at face value, $2.39 a box all the way through October 29th, while Whole Foods' sale price is $2.50 a box through next Tuesday, the 11th. But Whole Foods' own coupon newsletter, The Whole Deal (available at the front of their stores and online) includes a coupon (good only at Whole Foods) for $1 off per box, bringing its price down to an astonishing $1.50 a box. The coupons do limit themselves to one per purchase, but I've heard a rumor that the cashiers have excepted more than one coupon for more than one box. Not sure I'd experiment with this myself. Just sayin'.

Imagine Broth On Sale At Vitamin Cottage!

There's a new set of specials running all the way through October 29th at Vitamin Cottage. Since I'm very tight on time today, there'll be more about that later, but one of them has me so excited, I can't wait to tell. I am in adoration of Vitamin Cottage for putting my very favorite Imagine organic broths and cooking stocks on sale for $2.39 a 32 ounce box (with the kosher chicken broth at $2.79). As I've previously related (and have friends who concur), Imagine broth tastes fantastic, and does that with absolutely no variant of MSG in it. (Since MSG masquerades under quite a few names, you might be surprised to realize it is in some other "natural" brands.) Vitamin Cottage usually, very graciously, puts it on sale in time for the Thanksgiving through New Year's holiday cooking season, and since I've run out of my stock from last year (these boxes sport expiration dates that are very far out), I'm thrilled to see it on sale again this early. I caught some flak from the family last year when my stockpile not only filled the kitchen cupboard that is dedicated to broth for cooking, but also spilled into a spare room closet. But broth brings such a flavorful dimension to dishes like soups, casseroles, and risotto, that sure enough, my stockpile is gone. Another great facet of this sale is that Vitamin Cottage has the cooking stock at the same price as the broth, when it usually runs higher. I'll definitely have to experiment more with the cooking stock. Oh thank you, thank you, Vitamin Cottage.

P.S. I create my stockpile over the fall sale season, and as we get into the holidays proper, the sales may actually get even better. While $2.39 is a good price, especially for the cooking stock, the broth may get even cheaper. Last year, Vitamin Cottage went as low as $1.99 a box in December, with Sprouts countering at just a penny more.

More Praise For Imagine Broth

I've previously sung the praises of Imagine Broth, my favorite, oh so useful cooking broth that goes into all sorts of soups, casseroles, and rice dishes (it absolutely transforms them compared to what they would be made with water). For fans of Imagine Broth, this is your week. Not only can you continue to stock up on them at Vitamin Cottage for the stunningly low price of $1.99 each through the 15th, you can also snag them at Sprouts for just a penny more, $2, also through the 15th. Since these store so well (the ones I just picked up have expiration dates of next August), you should keep a good supply on hand at these sale prices, never shelling out the full price, which runs around $3.39.

Last Call for Some Good Deals at Whole Foods

Here's your two-day heads up that you have through tomorrow for the current deals at Whole Foods, which include some good ones. Frequent readers know I positively worship Whole Foods' Two Bite brownies, which are $2 off at $2.99 a tub through tomorrow. Organic red or green leaf lettuce is a great deal at $1 a head, and if you're into London broil, it's $3 off at $3.99 a pound. Imagine broths had been looking like a good deal at 2 for $5, reduced to $2 each when you use the coupon available online or in the Whole Deal newsletter in the store, but lo, Vitamin Cottage now has them for $1.99 each, no coupon hassle needed, all the way through December 15th.

In Praise of Imagine Broth

I'm so, so pleased that Whole Foods has Imagine's wonderful organic broths on sale for $2.50 each for one quart boxes through November 2nd. That's an exceptional price on its own, but you can even improve it further with the $1 off purchase of two boxes coupon that you can find either online or in the hard copy Whole Deal newsletter in the store. With soup and stew season upon us, and the holidays coming up, this is the time to lay in a good supply of broth, be it chicken, beef, veggie, whatever. Imagine's is particularly good (not just my saying so - Cook's Illustrated found their chicken broth superior in a taste test a few years back), and I'm especially fond of their organic, low sodium free range chicken broth. The broths also have no MSG, something you might be surprised to find masquerading under one of its many names in other broths on the shelves of our natural food stores. If you don't get a chance to take advantage of this great sale, Whole Foods' own 365 organic broths are a good deal at $1.99 everyday (and the chicken also comes in a low sodium version), but I'd grab the Imagine while it's comparably priced with the coupon.