This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts and Whole Foods, while both are also doing "double ad Wednesday" today, customary for Sprouts but most unusual for Whole Foods, and Vitamin Cottage should be on its previously reported sale hiatus. Here's what's looking good to me in the new sales.

At Sprouts through January 7th, value packs of boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.99 a pound, boneless New York steaks are $8.99 a pound, all fresh chicken sausage is $3.99 a pound, ground turkey breast is also $3.99 a pound, and their very good stuffed chicken breasts are yet again $3.99 a pound. In fish, fresh farmed Atlantic salmon fillets are low at $5.99 a pound, fresh farmed tilapia is $6.99 a pound (same price for trout or catfish), and 31/40 count peeled and deveined raw shrimp are $9.99 a pound.

In organic produce at Sprouts, green curly kale is just 98 cents a bunch, broccoli is $1.48 a pound, Fuji or Gala apples are both $1.48 a pound, grapefruit or Valencia oranges are $2.50 for a four pound bag, and blackberries are $2.50 for a 5.6 ounce container. Elsewhere in the store, all Kashi items are 30% off, plus if you buy four, they'll take an additional $4 off at the register, and the Ezekiel 4:9 bread I like is $3.99 a loaf.

I tried to stop by the Whole Foods on Pearl Street to pick up a few things (most importantly the new sale flyer), but just as it was on Christmas Eve, the parking lot looked impossible. The flyer they have online is still the one ending today, maybe because of the overlapping sales, so I'll do my best looking at the features in limited boxes they also post, much harder for me to work with. In their new sale through January 13th, I'm liking turkey or chicken kale sausage links for $4.99 a pound (not everybody's taste but it's right down my alley), Fonterra New Zealand grass fed cheddar at $6.99 a pound, and for my gluten-free friends, four-packs of Dancing Dear chocolate chunk brownies for $4.99. Once I see the full flyer, I'm sure I'll find much more to like.

Happy New Year's Eve - stay safe and warm in this cold weather!

New Year's Eve Ideas

New Year's Eve isn't a crazy time in this house, but if you are looking for some special ideas, Bon Appetit has it covered with New Years Eve, including the scary-sounding How to Drink (and Eat) Like a Russian.

Big Sale At Cured Tomorrow

Cured, our local purveyor of wonderful artisan cheeses, meats, fine wines and other goodies will be doing a fabulous sale of 25% off almost everything in the store tomorrow before they close for a much-deserved time off. Here's the word from them:

We wanted to quickly send out a reminder that December 31st is the very last day of 2014 which means that it is once again time for our annual end of the year sale. From open to close (10:30-5) everything in the shop is 25% off. That means champagne, whiskey, sandwiches and caviar alike….anything you can pick up and take out the door with you! The only exceptions are charcuterie platters and holiday catering orders; everything else is yours for the taking.
 
Following this most epic of sales, Cured will be closed for the first week of January, re-opening on Thursday the 8^th, just about the time you’ve really started to miss us. We hope this doesn’t cause too much distress or inconvenience for any of you and we thank you in advance for your understanding as our staff recuperates and we get re-organized after the bustling last few weeks.

Double Sales At Whole Foods Tomorrow

We get double ad Wednesdays all the time from Sprouts and Lucky's Market, but never in my memory from Whole Foods. But for New Year's Eve tomorrow, Whole Foods will be joining the double dip frenzy, with a new sale starting while the current one extends one day beyond usual. I just hope I'll be able to check out the new sales tomorrow - Internet connection problems are plaguing me again. Maybe the fact that it's 6 below zero in Boulder right now has something to do with it.

Lucky Foods For The New Year

There are traditions around the world regarding foods said to bring good luck for the New Year, as well as some foods thought to do just the opposite. Here's the link to one of my prior posts regarding lucky foods for the New Year. I've been making a form of Hoppin' John on New Years Day for several years now, so it's probably time to give that one a rest and move on to something else.

BOGO Pizza At Alfalfa's

So my resolution to take a break from posting lasted only a day. But how can I help it when those delicious housemade pizzas at Alfalfa's are BOGO through today? They are one or two topping pizzas made to order from the hot case, a saving of up to $10.99. Also, Mary's natural turkeys are $1.99 a pound, and antibiotic-free 85 percent lean ground beef is $4.49 a pound.

Six Day Sale At Whole Foods

I said I'd take a holiday break from posting, but couldn't resist this. Instead of the usual three-day weekend sale, for this special holiday weekend, our local Whole Foods stores are offering us six days, today through the 31st, instead. During that time, gifts in the Whole Body department will be 20% off while they last, king crab legs are $16.99 a pound, $5 off, yummy 365 brand chocolate holiday truffles are very tempting at two for $8, $2.99 off, Izze soda four-packs are two for $6, $2.29 off, and Annie's frozen pizzas are 40% off at $5.99 each. Those sales last six days, but there is also a three-day sale at the Pearl Street Whole Foods wine and liquor shop, with all wine bottles $15 or more being 20% off for today through Sunday.

Okay, now I'm really going to take that break from blogging.

Merry Christmas!

Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and holiday season, with snow expected by this evening! I'm planning to spend my time with friends and family here in Boulder, maybe taking a bit of a break from the blog posting habit. (Although I do wonder what Whole Foods might have up its sleeve for a weekend sale, which after a major holiday tends to be a whopper...)

A Cautionary Tale

I'm so glad I got all my grocery shopping done Monday. As I was passing by the Whole Foods on Pearl Street yesterday afternoon, the line to turn left into the parking lot stretched all the way back to 28th Street, and there was even a police presence to keep things in order, with a squad car parked up on the sidewalk at the parking lot entrance. I can't imagine things will be any better there today, but remember there are other options in town, and the Whole Foods in Superior is a very large store too (big enough to have been the flagship of Wild Oats in its previous life) and is usually much calmer than the Pearl Street store during holiday frenzies.

Whole Foods' Feast Of The Seven Fishes

I have my seven fishes already lined up for tonight's Feast of the Seven Fishes, but here's Whole Foods' take on the feast as well.