This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Sunflower, while the current sale continues at Whole Foods through August 14th (click for prior report).  Here's what's especially appealing to me in the new sales.

Sprouts and Sunflower have been sharing meat and fish specials for several weeks as their merger progresses, and this week, that sharing has extended to all advertised specials except produce, which remains ornery with some differences.  In their shared meat and fish specials through August 15th, I'm particularly liking boneless center cut pork loin chops or boneless skinless chicken breasts (value pack) at $1.99 a pound.  Boneless New York steaks are $7.99 a pound, and whole or cut up chickens are $1.49 a pound.  In fish, Atlantic (read: farmed) salmon is $7.99 a pound, and I'm curious to check out the fresh, wild caught Hawaiian albacore tuna steaks for $9.99 a pound.  In dairy, both stores have my favorite Cascade Fresh yogurts at a very good 69 cents each.

In organic produce at Sprouts through the 15th, differences between the two stores can be noted with the broccoli, which is on sale for $1.49 a pound at Sprouts, but just 99 cents at Sunflower.  Organic produce looking good at Sprouts includes baby carrots at $1.25 a one pound bag, russet potatoes $3.99 for a five pound bag, celery 99 cents a bunch, one pound of strawberries for $2.50 (same at Sunflower), six ounces of blueberries also $2.50, red or green grapes $1.99 a pound, and red or black plums $1.29 a pound.  And Sprouts continues to offer their prepackaged organic specials, which I don't particularly favor, although a package of three organic beefsteak tomatoes for $2.50 sounds pretty good.

In organic produce at Sunflower through the 15th, broccoli is great at 99 cents a pound, leaf lettuce is $1.50 a head, green onions are just 50 cents a bunch, one pound of strawberries is just $2.50 (same at Sprouts), and six ounces of either blackberries or raspberries are also $2.50.  We're continuing to see the unwelcome march towards prepackaged organic produce, but I have to admit the a package of six organic romas is a pretty good deal at $2.50, since all the packages I've weighed so far have been about a pound and a half.

Those heading farther afield might be interested in fresh wild coho salmon for $9.99 a pound and large avocados $1 each with card at King Soopers through the 14th.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

Sometimes I have to wait until pretty late on Tuesday to learn what Whole Foods has in store for us for their customary Wednesday sale, but today they've gotten the word out quite early.  Cantaloupe fans will enjoy what our local Whole Foods will offer us for tomorrow only, the 8th.  Here's what they say:

One Day Sale
On Sale Wednesday, August 8th only:

Colorado Cantaloupes

Hirakata Farms
2 for $5
(save $1.49/ea)

Wednesday update:  if you like these Hirakata Farms cantaloupes, Safeway has them at 2 for $5 (club price) all the way through the 14th.

Sprouts Webinar Tonight

Sprouts will host a webinar discussion this evening on natural interventions in menopause.  Here are the details from them:

August 6 at 7 p.m. PDT

Lipids, Libido, Lifestyle: Have your menopausal cake and eat it, too!

Join Naturopathic Doctor Carrie Louise Daenell and Sprouts Nutritionist Janet Little for a discussion on the three phases of menopause. Discover how herbal supplements and bioidentical hormones can reduce your health risk and menopausal symptoms. Learn how hormones affect your sex life and body fat. For more information or to reserve your space for this online lecture, click here.

Supper Sampling At Sunflower

This Wednesday, the 8th, our Boulder Sunflower will be doing a Simple Supper Recipe Sampling from 4 to 6 pm, when they invite you to "stop by to try a new Sunflower dinner recipe!"

Weekday Dinner Ideas

Sunday already, time to get going on weekday dinner plans.  The asparagus that's $1.99 a pound at both Sprouts and Sunflower through Wednesday seems to be heavily influencing my thinking (maybe because I need a bit of a break from my Munson's corn fetish).  Tomorrow will be asparagus and leek risotto with prosciutto from Bon Appetit.  Whole Foods usually has chunks of prosciutto that are good for cooking, at a considerably lower price than they charge for the freshly sliced product.

Tuesday is our usual repeat of something big made over the weekend, which this week is the cod adaptation of smoky shrimp and halibut stew from Bon Appetit.  With a quick salad on the side and maybe some bread from the Whole Foods bakehouse, that's dinner in a flash.

We'll turn back to that sale asparagus for both Wednesday and Thursday, buying it by the end of the sale on Wednesday.  Since we'll be looking for a pasta dish by Wednesday, it will be penne with asparagus, spinach, and bacon from Cooking Light.  Another side salad, and we're done.

Something Asian-inspired will be needed by Thursday, so we'll finish off that sale asparagus with chicken, asparagus, and broccoli stir-fry from Bon Appetit, using the chicken breast tenders that are $1.99 a pound through Wednesday at both Sprouts and Sunflower.  Served over brown rice, with some steamed edamame on the side, it's an easy dinner.

Which gets us through to Friday's planning.

Boulder Farmers' Market Today

It's a fine day to get out to the Farmers' Market, either in downtown Boulder today from 8 to 2, or out in Longmont from 8 to 1.  The advantage of the Longmont one for today is that not only is the Boulder County Fair happening right there, but you can also visit with the friendly folks manning the Longmont Public Library booth at the market.  I won't be one of those folks today, but if you're in the neighborhood, please do stop by the booth and say hi.  And if you like to plan your marketing in advance, you can see the fresh produce you can expect to find at the market here.

Weekend Dinner Ideas

This week's natural grocery sales are definitely putting me in a grilling mood, which is a good thing for the first weekend of August.  Some fish will go on the grill tonight.  It could be the fresh wild sockeye that's $9.99 a pound at both Sprouts and Sunflower, but first I'm going to check out the previously frozen swordfish steaks that both have for $8.99 a pound.  I don't usually go for previously frozen fish when there's a fresh option, but I was pleasantly surprised by the swordfish I had from Sprouts a little while ago.  Some steamed asparagus (conventional is $1.99 a pound at both Sprouts and Sunflower) will have to go along with that fish.  Or the asparagus might also go on the grill, if I can ever locate my grilling basket for such things.

We'll be back out on the grill tomorrow, trying out the filet mignon that both Sprouts and Sunflower have for $9.99 a pound.  With steaks, some Munson's corn fresh from the field will have to figure in, either as straight ears, or perhaps dressed up in something like corn and summer vegetable saute from Cooking Light.  Sunflower also has organic yams at $1.50 a pound to also go on the grill in spears.

Sunday will be time for a big chowder, and with super big shrimp $6.99 a pound and cod $7.99 a pound, it will be my cod variation on smoky shrimp and halibut stew from Bon Appetit.  Sprouts has organic leaf lettuce or romaine at $1.29 a head for the side salad.

Which quickly gets us through the weekend.

Longmont Library At Saturday's Farmers' Market

Saturday will be a big day for the Farmers' Market in Longmont, since it is held on the Boulder County Fairgrounds and the fair itself will be in full swing.  Among the offerings at the Farmers' Market will be a booth manned by smiling staff and Friends of the Longmont Public Library, a place near and dear to my heart.  I won't be working the booth this time, but if you're in the neighborhood, do stop by to find out about some really cool stuff happening at the library.  There might even be some tasty treats!

Craft Food And Beer Tastings At WFM Pearl

The Wine and Spirits Store at the Pearl Street Whole Foods is initiating a promising-sounding new tasting tomorrow that will happen on the first Thursday of each month, pairing fine food samples and beer.  Left Hand's Polestar Pilsner is well liked in this house, so I'm intrigued by the idea of pairing it with an oyster.  Yup, I can see it.  Here are the details from Whole Foods:

Whole Foods Market Boulder


Join us at the Pearl Street Wine and Spirits Store tomorrow for a new event we're calling "First Thursday Craft Food and Beer Tastings." First Thursday of every month, we'll be sampling an awesome beer and some delicious eats from our catering team. Tomorrow from 5:30-7pm the menu features Polestar Pilsner from Left Hand Brewery, expertly paired with a Drunken Kumamoto Oyster. Did I mention it's free? See you there!

This Week's Hot New Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our local Sprouts, Sunflower, and Whole Foods.  With time extremely tight, here's a quick rundown of what's appealing to me.

Sales that Sprouts and Sunflower have in common through August 8th:  chicken breast tenders $1.99 a pound, filet mignon $9.99 a pound, fresh wild sockeye salmon $9.99 a pound, chicken sausage $2.99 a pound, huge 16/20 count raw shrimp $6.99 a pound, ground pork $2.99 a pound, and conventional asparagus $1.99 a pound.  Also, previously frozen center cut swordfish is $8.99 a pound.  While I'm not a big fan of previously frozen fish, I did have quite good luck with this swordfish at Sprouts a bit ago, and Sunflower is now using the same fish supplier as Sprouts, so I'm thinking I'll give it another try from either store.

In differing sales, organic baby carrots are quite good at $1.25 for a one pound bag at Sprouts, but stunning at Sunflower at 99 cents for the same.  Sprouts also has pints of organic grape tomatoes for $2 and organic leaf lettuce or romaine at $1.29 a head, organic romas $2.50 for a six pack, and organic russet potatoes $3.99 for a five pound bag.  At Sunflower, the standout is really those organic baby carrots, along with organic hothouse tomatoes just 99 cents a pound (although it's time for non-hothouse locals), and red or green organic grapes $1.99 a pound.  Sunflower also has the 15-ish ounce size of Muir Glen organic tomatoes for $1.25 each.

At the new sale at Whole Foods through August 14th, I'm liking Stonyfield Farms organic fat-free yogurts at 5 for $3, New York strip steaks for a surprisingly good $12.99 a pound, Laughing Cow Babybels half price at $2.50 a package, and the big Seventh Generation laundry detergent for $12.99.