King Salmon Price Differential

As previously mentioned as a plan, I did a rare detour to our Boulder King Soopers this morning to get some of their fresh wild king salmon that they have for a spectacular $11.99 a pound with card through Tuesday.  Yes, I wound up with previously cut individual pieces packaged on those nasty foam trays, but I was also there quite early, and they were just starting to fill the fish case.  I'm pretty sure that if I'd arrived later, or simply bugged the staff this morning, I also could have gotten a whole fillet instead.  I did the rest of my shopping at the Pearl Street Whole Foods, and swung by the fish case for comparison.  Fresh wild king salmon fillets there are $27.99 today, so my detour to King Soopers seems definitely worth it.

Weekend Dinner Plans

We'll not really, since I've hardly had time to flesh them out, but maybe the focus on sales might be helpful.  And I'll throw in Labor Day, since we're thankfully facing a long weekend.

Tonight, I'm planning on checking out the fresh tilapia fillets Sprouts has for just $3.99 a pound.  If from the USA, that can supposedly be quite eco-friendly.  I've used a recipe from that was published years ago in Bon Appetit from Passionfish, a fave restaurant in Pacific Grove, CA, but without time to go fishing for the link, the basic idea is sauté tilapia in a bit of olive oil, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and serve.  Who needs more?

We'll hit the grill tomorrow for some fresh wild king salmon, and King Soopers wins that one this week at $11.99 a pound with card.  Sprouts is a runner-up at $14.99 a pound.

For Sunday, we'll turn to a seasonal chowder, again enjoying corn and green chile chowder from the Food Network.  Whole Foods has roasted fresh Hatch green chiles plus a weekend special on corn at half price, but I still might head out to Munson's Farm for the corn, fresh picked that day.

Since Monday's Labor Day, obviously something's got to go out on the grill.  And since we've already been fairly reasonable for the weekend, with fish twice, followed by a nearly vegetarian chowder. we'll hit the steaks.  I'm thinking one of two steaks the new Lucky's in Longmont is offering, both grass-fed Teton Waters Ranch ones, the sirloin steak at $4.99 a pound, or the New York strip at $5.99 a pound.  The NY strip will undoubtedly win out, as I more often use sirloin as something more to cut up for stir-fries, although it is also decent on its own.

So, happy long weekend!

Copper River $19.99 At King Soopers

I was just running an errand at my wonderful vet in Table Mesa this morning, so stopped by the King Soopers right next door to check out their price on the first of the season Copper River salmon.  Fillets are $19.99 a pound there, beating the $22.99 a pound I saw yesterday at the Pearl Street Whole Foods by $3.  Tough call for me this weekend, whether the price difference is worth a separate trip.

This Week's Hot Deals (IMHO)

Happy Wednesday, our day of new food deals every week. This week, we have new sales starting at our Boulder Sprouts and Sunflower, while current sales continue at Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods (click those links for prior reports). Here's what's looking particularly good to me in the new sales, IMHO as always.

The big news at Sprouts is that they're doing a Big Brand Sale all the way through April 4th, with major brands and products 20 to 35% off, with the majority looking to be 25% off. Not knowing the starting price before the discount, this makes it hard to know in advance just how good the sale price will be, but the products that are included will make it worth a tour around the store. There are too many to mention (and the special insert isn't online), but here's a taste of the options (some with select varieties), with respective percentages off: Applegate meats, including organic (25%), Earthbound Farm organic salads (25%), Clif, Mojo or Luna bars (30%), Kashi organic cereal (25%), Lundberg organic foods (25%), Organic Valley cheese (20%), and lots more. In other news, in their regular sale running through March 28th, boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound, and London Broil is $2.99 a pound. Their very good boneless center cut pork chops are $2.99 a pound, and whole or cut up chickens are $1.49 a pound (although I'd consider the $1.99 a pound fine chickens at Vitamin Cottage also). Organic produce is continuing to look good, with celery 77 cents a bunch, one pound bags of baby carrots the lowest I've seen at $1.29 each, leaf lettuce 99 cents a head, kale $1.29 a bunch, red yams $1.29 a pound, green onions just 59 cents a bunch, Bosc pears $1.99 for a three pound bag, and more. They're not organic, but if you're a Cuties fan, five pound boxes are $3.99.

The news at Sunflower through March 28th is an All Natural Chicken Extravaganza, with several family packs of cuts all 40% off (making the boneless breasts hard to compare with Sprouts' $1.99 a pound price above). Fresh chicken sausage also looks good at $2.99 a pound. Spring is springing in organic produce, with large artichockes $2 each and fresh English peas $1.99 a pound. Organic leaf lettuce or romaine are $1.50 a head (but 99 cents for the leaf lettuce at Sprouts), green cabbage and red or yellow onions are all $1 a pound, and I'm happy to see the organic hothouse tomatoes continue at $1.50 a pound.

Both Sprouts and Sunflower have sockeye salmon on sale, but any wild caught salmon would have to be from last year's season, which is a little too far removed for me at this point. Salmon fans might note that fresh farmed salmon is $6.99 a pound this week (through next Tuesday) at both King Soopers and Safeway, with card.

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!

This Week's Hot Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods, while current sales continue at Alfalfa's and Vitamin Cottage (click those links for my prior reports). Here's what impresses me in the new sales, stores in alphabetical order, as always.

At Sprouts through September 21st, I'm happy to see the return of their 25% off the whole bulk department sale. This includes 25% off their bulk roast coffee, which makes their organic Fair Trade coffee offerings a fantastic deal. Also looking good are 100% grass-fed organic ground beef for $3.99 a pound, boneless skinless chicken breasts (value pack) or spare ribs for $1.99 a pound, boneless center-cut pork loin chops or their yummy stuffed chicken breasts for $3.99 a pound, and previously frozen wild caught Alaskan cod at $7.99 a pound. They also have fresh wild caught Alaskan coho salmon for $8.99 a pound, but I wonder how much I'd like that this late in the fresh wild salmon season. Organic produce is looking good to me, with baby carrots $1.50 for a one pound bag, red grapes $1.99 a pound (same at Whole Foods), celery just 99 cents a bunch, Bartlett pears $1.49 a pound, romaine hearts $1.99 for a three-pack, and bananas 69 cents a bunch. Tillamook medium or sharp cheddar looks good at $3.99 a pound, my favorite Straus European-style yogurt is $3 for the big 32 ounce container (same at Alfalfa's), and in Sprouts' own organic lines, all 8 ounce salad dressings are $2.50 and all spices are $3 a jar, wow.

At Sunflower through the 21st, they're having an "all natural chicken extrravaganza," with family packs of several cuts all 50% off. Chicken sausage is $2.99 a pound, and fresh whole Rosie organic chickens are $2.99 a pound. Avocado fans will note that Hass avocados are 77 cents each, by far not the best sale we've ever seen, but low for recent memory. In organic produce, plums are just 99 cents a pound, romaine lettuce is 99 cents a bunch, green onions are 50 cents a bunch, three types of apples are $1.88 a pound, and russet potatoes and red or yellow onions are all 99 cents a pound. Mozzarella Fresca fresh mozzarella balls look good at $3.99 for the half pound ball (but see below for an even better fresh mozzarella deal at Whole Foods), and I'll also check out the select Ling Ling appetizers for $3.49 each (they make some very good choices like potstickers that are great to have in stock in the freezer).

At Whole Foods through September 27th, there's an excellent sale that totally dismays me: organic butternut or acorn squash for $1 a pound. That's a great price on organic squash, but I am so not ready for fall. On a brighter summer note, organic heirloom tomatoes look good at $3.99 a pound, organic grapes are good at $1.99 a pound (Sprouts is limited to the red ones at that price), and organic Bartlett pears are also $1.99 a pound (but just $1.49 a pound at Sprouts through the 21st, and check out the King Soopers price below). I love their Market Made wild salmon burgers, and the flavor on sale this time is the incredible-sounding roasted red pepper and fennel one. WFM's own large pepperoni pizzas are very good at $8.99 each, and I like Ford Farm Seaside cheddar for $8.99 a pound, but the big news in cheese is the excellent Crave Brothers fresh mozzarella at $5.99 for a big, one pound log. Finally, my favorite Mrs. Meyers Clean Day liquid hand soap is very good at $2.99 each, and if you're really lucky, you might find one with a $1 off coupon hanging from it.

Finally, I don't usually cover King Soopers, but they're having a particularly good organic produce sale, including Colorado-grown Bartlett pears at $2.50 for a three pound bag (wow, under $1 a pound), yellow peaches, nectarines, or black plums at $1.49 a pound (Sunflower doing better on the plums), green, black or red seedless grapes for $1.99 a pound (matching Whole Foods), and mini carrots $1.50 a bag (matching Sprouts), all prices with K Soop card.

New Sale Prices Are Up

Highlights of today's new sale prices for our local Sprouts and Sunflower groceries are up on the left, along with Whole Foods' longer lasting sale and a link to Vitamin Cottage's very long lasting sale. This week's big news about food you really want to eat ironically isn't happening at any of those places; it's at King Soopers, where organic asparagus can be had for $2.50 a pound, and first of the season fresh halibut is $16.99 a pound (both presumably with card). Back to news from our natural stores, Sprouts has 30% off their entire bulk cheese department, while Sunflower is doing 50% off all chicken. Look to the left for more specials.

Organic At King Soopers

Thanks to my friend, Ms. A. for pointing out a number of organic fruit and veggie deals happening at our local King Soopers through tomorrow. Organic mini carrots look particularly good at $2.50 for a big two pound bag, and organic navel oranges are great at $2.99 for a four pound bag, with card.

Organic Berries At King Soopers

I don't usually cover King Soopers, but they have so many organic berries on sale this week, thought I'd mention them. Being advertised: 2 pounds of organic strawberries for $3.88 (or a one pound package for $2.50), or 6 oz of organic raspberries or blackberries for $2. A dry pint or organic blueberries is $2.50, all prices with a KS card. Nice organic choices!