What's on sale for Labor Day?

 I realized I usually don't update for a new week because some circulars come out on Thursdays and others on Fridays and I don't want to update if I'm only looking at half. But this week I didn't look yesterday so I am going to review them all at once. I specifically want refrigerated coffee and iceberg lettuce.

Bravo: Dawn for $1. Seltzer 80¢. Not very good.

C-Town: I need chiles de arbol even though they don't go on sale. They're much cheaper to buy in bulk here than in bags anywhere else. I might get guajillos too. The better Dawn is on sale but it costs more here. Frozen vegetables are 4/$5 so I might see which types that includes. Starbucks iced coffee is $6.

Food Bazaar: Hot dog buns are $1.

Foodtown: Diet Coke is 4/$6. Seltzer is 4/$3.

Green Corner:

Ozzie's: Seltzer is 4/$3. Iceberg lettuce is $1.50.

Western Beef: I usually don't consider Western Beef anymore, but all these other sales are not very good. Iceberg lettuce is also $1.50 here. Peanut butter is $2.50. I might go here just to see what the price of beans is.

What's on sale? I'm back after traveling

I've barely been around for a month and I wasn't shopping intensely before either of my trips. Now my refrigerator is fairly empty and I need to shop.

In Pittsburgh I did get banana peppers for 25¢ each and hatch chiles for $5 for 18 oz, so those are in my refrigerator and I need to use and/or freeze them. I can never find hot banana peppers in NYC.

Bravo White tuna is 3/$4

C-Town Cracker barrel cheese are $2.50 for 8 oz. Often I find deals on Ibotta for $1 back, which makes them $1.50 and quite a good deal. Jif peanut butter is $2.69, which after recent inflation, is a pretty good price. The tuna deal is here too.

Food Bazaar I'm still mad at them, but I will look because I might like to get salmon. In Pittsburgh at Giant Eagle, I got a piece of salmon for $6/lb and I dry cured it. It's $10/lb at Food Bazaar. Coke products are 3/$5 for 2 liter bottles. Can of coconut milk are 4/$5.

Foodtown (fka Brooklyn Harvest Market) London broil is $4/lb. A jar of mayo is $4. Pepsi 2-liters are 3/$5. Kraft shredded cheeses are $2 (and on Ibotta for another $0.50 off). Seltzers are 5/$3 per liter.

Green Corner Four pound boxes of shrimp for $3.50/lb.

Ozzie's Sardines 5/$4.

Grocery Inflation!

 Over the years, I have occasionally taken pictures of my receipts and they pop up in my Timehop and I see that most of my prices I used to pay are still similar. Which is surprising. But I have noticed that some things really are more expensive lately. Oil, eggs, and mayonnaise (which is made of oil and eggs) are way up. Meat is generally way up.

And I just saw this peanut butter sale in Bravo's ad next week!

Peanut butter used to be frequently on sale for $2 or $2.49 for a 15-16 oz jar. And now it's 12 oz for that price. The other way inflation gets you. Bags of frozen vegetables are 14 oz instead of 16 at C-Town and Bravo now too.

Here is next week's C-Town ad:

I bought a jar of peanut butter at Trader Joe's recently and remembered why I never liked or buy that. I started adding a spoon to instant ramen and that's really good, but you can't use it in its normal way.

Key Food's Clearance Sale

 Last night I went and it was packed and way more cleared out than I expected. I got 2 jars of peanut butter and 3 bags of dried cannellini beans (all the rest).

Today I needed to break a $20 to do laundry, so I went back. I didn't end up breaking the $20 there, but I did get gorgonzola, 2 cans of tomato juice, a jar of hot horseradish, a tube of anchovy paste (which I've never bought before), a bag of Starbucks coffee beans (which I've never bought before, but people have given me both a French press and a coffee grinder within about the last 6 weeks, so I am going to try something new). I also got sun-dried tomatoes, which I'm not sure if I even like much or if they were a good price. I ended spending $25 after they took the 30% off. Oh, I got dark soy sauce too. I've wanted dark soy sauce for a while, though I don't know why.

Maybe tomorrow they will have different sales (since it's Friday) or they'll increase from 30%. Nobody is buying their oil or pasta at all.

"Ohh, that saved you a lot!" -the cashier at Brooklyn Harvest Market

 I went today before the blizzard. I got 4 2-liter bottles of Coke products, 4 10-oz bricks of Cafe Bustelo, 2 jars of Skippy peanut butter, 2 bags of McCain frozen french fries, and 1 lb of Galbani mozzarella. That would have been just over $50, but I paid $21.

The pop was 4/$5 instead of $1.5 each. The coffee was $1.98 each instead of $4.99. The french fries were $1.50 instead of $5.19. The cheese was $2 instead of $6.49. The peanut butter was supposed to be $3.79 but was $2 and then I had a coupon.

I ate some of the beer-coated french fries for lunch and they were the best frozen french fries I ever had.

I forgot to get eggs or milk, just like I did when I went to Ozzie's yesterday. I can never make eggnog.

The Wall Street Journal has such good grocery news

I read about Smuckers having/trying to raise its prices (which would explain why I can't get Jif on sale or $2 for 15 oz anymore). About which parts of the grocery store aren't doing well (packaged/processed foods) but what is (fresh, and also frozen). What brands are doing to make appealing frozen foods.

I won't link because it's behind a paywall anyway. But it's interesting!

What's on Sale This Week

I hope a big can of olive oil is. I'm feeling lucky, so I'm going to write about it.

Associated: Peter Pan peanut butter is. After I wrote to them complaining that it was too hard to open, they sent me a coupon for more. 2 liter bottles of Pepsi products are $1. A 12 pack of Rolling Rock is $8. But nothing really catches my eye there this week.

C-Town: Also the Pepsi, but with a limit of 2. Colavita olive oil is on sale, but it's the 25 oz bottle for $10 instead of the 3 liter can, so I'm not going to buy that.

Bravo: Bravo has Earth Day specials. But nothing I want to buy. Plum tomatoes are $0.79/lb but I don't trust them to be good.

Key Food: Orange juice is $2. I could drink screwdrivers. Why do they put peanut butter in the "Breakfast" section?

Gala Foods: Their website doesn't work right, so I had to stop in and get their circular. Condensed milk is 3/$4. I don't remember what I make with that. Rolling Rock is $8 here as well.

Eh, nothing is great this week. I'll just go to Dollar Tree and buy beans and bread.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter - I CANNOT GET IN

This is a very sad story about how I was hungry, and I just ate all my other leftovers (which was wedding soup.)

I tried to open a container of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, which I bought for 3/$5 at Key Food earlier this week. That was a price I had never seen before, and I am always hungry for peanut butter. I bought the entire 3 (which was necessary, with my Key Food card..) (Don't try to show up now. It's the new week. They have new sales.)

Anyway, the label is complicated and I can't get in. So I am hungry.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter is a good product if you're on a diet of trying to not devour things when you're drunk.

Circular Review - May 5

Since Fine Fare changed to Gala Foods, their special schedule is Friday-Thursday instead of Sun-Sat. But they don't update their website in time, so they aren't getting reviewed.

Things I'm on the prowl for: red onions, deli turkey breast, bacon.

Associated:  Ortega products still have their Cinco de Mayo deals going. Corn is $0.40/ear, which is an ok price, but I don't trust corn that's ready in May. Crema is $3.59. I haven't had crema in a long time, but it's so good. Queso fresco is $3. Basis is $2.50--I bought a whole plant at Gala Foods for $3! Now it grows in my window. Don't buy basil there. $4 for store brand bacon.

Key Food: It's celebrating its 80th birthday, so there is a list of products that whose prices now have .80 in them. Tree Ripe orange juice is $1.80. A dozen large eggs are $0.80.  Skippy peanut butter is $1.80 (I will stock up at that price!) Corn is $0.40 here too, but I still see no reason to trust it. Radishes are $0.67, which seems pretty good. Key Food has Old El Paso stuff for Cinco de Mayo.

Bravo: They are celebrating Cinco de Mayo by putting Heinz Ketchup (20 oz) on sale for $2. Why? Their ad is too hard to read, so I'm done.

Food Bazaar: I'm still on the hunt for my red onions, turkey, and bacon, so I will expand my usual reviews. Corn is $0.25/ear here (if you spend $20). If it's on sale everywhere, maybe it's good. Maybe they got a shipment from somewhere warm. Turkey breast is on sale, but I don't like the price. $6 for honey turkey breast. I don't want sweet meat. Ortega crunch taco shells are $1.25 for 12. What a good price. Mussels are $2.50 for 2 pounds, which makes me want to buy them.

C-Town: I'm still mad at C-Town because I went in on a Thursday evening and there was a sign up for ground turkey on sale for $3. So I got it, and it was $6 because the sale didn't start until the next day. You need to read the fine print if you want to shop at C-Town and not be taken advantage of, and I don't want to read fine print. No use looking up what might be on special if I'm just going to be abused.

Grocery circular round up

Associated:  Bananas are $0.49/lb. I just put some bananas (for which I paid $0.49/lb) in the freezer because they were getting overly ripe. I will turn them into vegan ice cream. (Which is what happens when you put frozen bananas in a food processor).

Cabbage is $0.39/lb. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Skippy Peanut butter is $2. I need that. Rolling Rock is still $8 for a 12 pack, which I appreciate.

Key Food: I hope they have luxury butter on sale! I see pecorino romano is still on sale for $4.99/lb. That's a good price! I recommend you go get some.

Oh my word! Cabbage is only $0.19/lb. Hold on--I have to text someone.

Plugra luxury butter is on sale for $3.49 for 8 oz. I might have to get that. Brussels sprouts are still on sale for $1.49, so I guess I didn't have to go stock up yesterday.

C-Town: They want $0.29/lb for cabbage. Remember back when I thought $0.39 was a good deal?

Bravo: They also have cabbage for $0.29/lb and bananas for $0.49 and Skippy peanut butter for $2. They have "slicing tomatoes" for $0.69 but I am skeptical about tomatoes in March.

The flyers were liars!

Key Food said it would have 16 oz Polly-O mozzarella on sale for $1.99, but there was no sign. I ended up only getting peanut butter, 2 for $4 (must by 2 :( ). Then Associated didn't have a sign on the Spike salsa, which was supposed to be $1.69.

I hope Bravo actually has tuna on sale tomorrow. $0.69/can.

Grocery Circular Round Up 3/14

I can't even really go shopping. I'm getting a new roommate so I have to eat all my accumulated groceries so he will have room. For the first time, I think I'm going to have 2 roommates who like to cook and use the kitchen. I hope I survive.

On the other hand, both the Ides of March and St. Patrick's Day are upon us. I might have to cook appropriate foods.

Key Food: Cabbage is $0.29/lb. I still have cabbage though. It doesn't go bad very quickly. Potatoes are $0.30/lb if you buy a 5lb bag.  Oh no! Key Food raised the price of its store brand cottage cheese from $2 to $2.19! I live on cottage cheese. I had some with dill in it for breakfast. Axelrod cottage cheese is still $2 though so I won't starve.

C-Town: I walked into C-Town last night, but they didn't have the diced tomatoes I wanted to buy to try before I buy a case of them from Amazon. Nevermind--I cannot own a case of diced tomatoes once I have to share a kitchen with another person. C-Town wants way more for potatoes than Key Food does. You can get Jif peanut butter for $2, which is a pretty good deal. I bought a ton of peanut butter at Key Food on February 23 when I was drunk though, so that won't do me any good. They have Hunt's diced tomatoes for $1. I guess I could eat those. Buttermilk is only $2 here. That's the best price I've seen since Trader Joe's. Key Food wants $2.50. But C-Town wants $2.5 for Axelrod cottage cheese.

Associated: I don't really make special trips to Associated anymore. It has become my default store. I lived here for years without having a default store. And there's nothing worth going out of my way for this week.

Western Beef: They want $4/lb for mussels! Ha! I'll go to Food Bazaar and get them for $1.25/lb. There's nothing worth traveling here for this week.

Food Bazaar: As discussed previously, mussels. I only make a trip here for seafood.

Grocery Circular Round Up

I never got mussels last week :(

C-Town: London Broil is $3/lb. Nothing else worth getting.

Key Food: 8 oz of mushrooms for $1. Cottage cheese is $2.

Associated: London Broil is $3/lb here too. C-Town's meat might look a bit better. But Associated is closer and has other things I want more. Like some table salt for $0.33! When was the last time you got anything for $0.33?

Western Beef: Skippy peanut butter is $2. Hormel ham is $3/lb! I love Hormel ham!

Peanut Butter

I was worried I'd have to remember to go to C-Town today to get some Jif peanut butter while it's on sale 2/$5, but I just read the Key Food circular for next week and they have that same sale. I'm safe.

I eat a lot of peanut butter and bacon bit sandwiches lately. The dog is very envious.

The new pasta norm

I went to Key Food today and stocked up on pasta because Barilla was 5/$5 (must buy 5 and have the card). I got fettucine, linguine, medium shells, gemelli, and penne rigate. Lesser sales only offer spaghetti, elbows, ziti, penne, and rotelle, so I stocked up on diversity.

I thought back to my first year of this blog, back before I forgot the password. I used to be outraged by pasta that cost a dollar. In this post called Giant Eagle Really Sucks written on Christmas in 2006, I said I only pay $0.50 or $0.67 for a pound of pasta. (Giant Eagle has its charms. I hope they hire my brother. They could do a lot worse than hiring from a family of grocery lovers.)

Ricotta was on sale for $2.99 for 32 oz. It's hard to find ricotta at a decent price anymore, so when I find it, I buy it. It made my toast good last night, but now I'm out of bread. I didn't like the price of any bread at Key Food. I got some sugar free preserves (only the sugar free kind was on sale: $1.99) and ate it with a ripped up bagel and peanut butter I got from Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's peanut butter reminds me of why I like preservatives. I really dislike their peanut butter.

Finally, Gorgonzola at a Reasonable Price

Today I went to Manhattan. I was at Chelsea Piers for the first time. Then I walked around for a while. I found a Western Beef I didn't know existed on West 16th St. It's much smaller than the one in Ridgewood, but the prices are the same, which means it's possible to live in Manhattan after all.

 How beautiful. I didn't buy anything though. I like my Western Beef better and I wanted to go to Trader Joe's.

I went to the one on 6th Avenue and 21st St. I had never been there either. What a pleasure. The store wasn't crowded at all. I guess I was hungry because I finally bought food. I got gorgonzola for $5.99/lb, which is a really good price. I got a 6 pack of some store brand of their beer that I had at Roxy's before for $3.99. I don't think it's bad. It's 6.2% alcohol, so it's strong regardless. I got frozen peas and frozen artichoke hearts for $1.29 and $2.99 respectively. I need the artichokes for pungent pasta (along with the gorgonzola) and C-Town quit having the ones I liked before.

I need the picture to remember what else I got. Frozen party (meaning small) meatballs are $3.99 now. They used to be cheaper. They're good for my spaghetti. Buttermilk is only $1.69 there. I had a glass after dinner. I got some peanut butter, which is cheaper than those national brands anyway. I guess that's my effort to stock up before the looming price increase. It was $1.79. I got a can of cannelini beans for $0.89. I ate them.

I considered getting some oregano for $1.99, but I got a brand at a dollar store for $1 yesterday. Maybe I should try using that up quick.

So now I need to make pungent pasta.

Less Pretentious than Nutella - peanut butter and chocolate icing

This is what my peanut butter and chocolate icing on toast meal looks like. It's very good. It's less pretentious than Nutella and probably just as healthy, if not more. I might not feed this to my children, but I would feed it to my grandchildren.

Peanut Butter. Oh no!

Via (Lewis via) Lifehacker:

The time to buy peanut butter is now, friends. The Wall Street Journal reports that prices for Jif, Peter Pan, and other peanut butter jars will be going up as much as 40% starting in a couple of weeks.

Just when I invented a new food that is good for toast. It's a lot like peanut butter and jelly, only better. It is peanut butter and chocolate icing from a can. It also works on saltines. I bought a jar of Reese's brand for $2.99, which was already a bit cheaper than Jif or Skippy.

Good thing I don't have a job. I used to eat PB&J every day for lunch. Or let me take that back. It would be good if I had a job so I could afford peanut butter.  (By the way, this blog kinda sorta got me a job but it was only for a few weeks and it's over and it made me tired of adjectives.)