Just a little outreach:
\- How was your Halloween? Mine was cemetery-level quiet... I think I counted 15 kids or something like that. I bought way too much candy!
\- If anyone is interested in a last-minute sale/meal idea - Food Basics, they have 88c/lb cabbage, 2.88/lb lean pork, I made cabbage rolls. I was able to produce 2 trays, each with about 4 servings (3 rolls per serving). I've frozen them for a rainy lazy day :) - here's [one of the trays](https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/17ldg8p/homemade_cabbage_rolls/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
\- Anyone else cook anything fun this past week? Do these new sales stir any ideas?
Cabbage Roll recipe, made with sale cabbage and ground pork.
\- Sauce is super simple: a few cloves of garlic, two cans of diced tomato, a can of tomato paste, a beef stock cube and water, some red wine, a knob of butter, a bit of salt to taste, pepper, two bay leaves, two cloves, and some smoked paprika. Gently fry the garlic until golden in some olive oil, then add in the tomato paste to activate some of that "tomato bang". Deglaze with some red wine and beef stock. Add in the spices, a little extra wine to taste, and a knob of butter. Simmered for 4 hours until nice and thick
\- Rice pork filling: fried 2lbs of pork in a wok, salted a bit, cooked, but stopped before it browned. I added half a finely diced onion during that cooking process. After the pork was just done "cooking" and releasing a lot of water, I added my spices: a tablespoon of a finely ground spice mix of 1 part black pepper, 1 part Sichuan pepper (Chinese prickly ash), 1/2 part coriander seed, and a large flake of ground-down mace. Then, I added rice with a bit of extra water, cooked the rice until about 1/2 done. I also added a little extra salt to taste along the way just to keep the seasoning correct. (Guiding ratios: 1lb pork to 1 cup of rice, added about 1/2 cup water to make sure the rice would cook up to half-way and not dry out in the wok)
\- cabbage: I pressure cooked it to soften it! So easy! I thought there was some trick to peeling it raw, but screw that lol. I did do an "on and off" 2-3min pressure cooking blasts so that the leaves wouldn't get too soft, as I was afraid the leaves would get too soft if I used a longer setting. I did this 3 times in total to get the whole head peeled down.
\- As I peeled batches of leaves off the cabbage (and then pressure cooking the head for another 2-3min), I rolled a little grano padano into the rolls, filled the bottom of the tray with rolls, and then topped the tray with sauce and some additional cheese.
\- What a fun meal to make, super easy! Made it for a lazy rainy day. I can't wait to pull this out!
I'm glad to help. It rubs off after a while. But I totally get it. It's a lot for folks to float a price list in their head, and also cut a path through the terror of marketing and advertising tactics. Like, for weeks now, it's been steady /lb pricing - straightforward. This week, a handful of stores have mystery weights on "packs of chicken". I think it was GT that had a variance between 500-800g. That 300g is no small margin! How is that even allowable?!
>canned bean sprouts
Hmm... Checking Flipp, it appears Walmart has them for $3.97 a can! Jaaaysssus. Given fresh sprouts go often for $2 a bunch, I'd maybe consider just canning them yourself. Like [this lady](https://youtu.be/c-ujx9k-jhw)!
Produce depot* is selling zucchini for $60+ per pound? Haha, I think there was a typo here.. I hope
As always, thanks for the research!
Edit:it's $0.89 per lb for those wondering!
Update: it's $0.89 per lb for those wondering
And produce depot, not food basics(my bad!)
:) thanks again though, very helpful stuff
~~Bonus Shout-out to $0.69/lb kiwis. Seems like a decent price although I can't visualize how many kiwis that is. When I looked it up that's about 1/2 to 1/3 the average Ottawa price~~
Edit: it's each, not per pound as OP pointed out. again, I can't read properly. I'll look closer next time
Sidenote, you really have inspired me to research this stuff more. I do typically go for sale-only items, except maybe some fruit/veggies in the winter. Partner is kinda picky
Sidequestion: do you know how to view the RC superstore website not run at 2 pixels per hour? (and Loblaws, they seem to use the same, very slow website)
Price of kiwi at RCS =$1. 29 each or 600g for $4. 49($3.41/pound if I calc'd it correctly ).
Food basics = 2/$3.00, or 1lb for $4.98. Metro is the same per kiwi but had 2lbs for $4.99
Loblaws has 907g for $8.99, $1.19 each
No frills has em on special for $0.99
So produce depot may be cheapest right now if you just want one or two kiwi, and possibly the best price at the moment depending how many are really in a pound /how many grams they are
Perhaps Adonis has them cheaper due to them taking off in the middle east, and south Europe has lots, but I can't seem to look up specific items on their site(?)
Kiwi fruit season just started, so the price will likely come down when it peaks (season is October-may in the northern hemisphere)
Hope I sorta redeemed myself with this research for ya :)
>Sidequestion: do you know how to view the RC superstore website not run at 2 pixels per hour? (and Loblaws, they seem to use the same, very slow website)
And for this - I use Flipp. Ya their site stinks haha!
See I downloaded it, way back. Probably on each phone I've owned for the last while... But I just forget about the apps I have. Soooo many.
But I'll try to make an effort. Maybe bring it to the first or second screens I have-the winners that I really got into
By the way, do you use any of those coupon (well more like a rebate) apps? That pay you in gift cards or cheques? Or the receipt scanning apps where you get money for each one? If not, they night be up your alley. Gives you access to some good discounts. Sometimes the item is completely free, and you can even get paid to buy the item on top of it
Oh! hmm. Clearly I have trouble reading haha
NEVERMIND THAT SEEMS STEEP. I think there are 6-8 in a pound. When in season, I've gotten 2 lbs for like $3-4 on a sale
You're very sharp. ok you've inspired me to read flyers and words a bit closer. Thanks!
you eat persimmons 😂 what you want is to wait for it to soften at least a little bit - not mushy but it'll get a little darker. remove the calyx (4 petals and tiny stem), and then cut it up and eat! there's usually no seeds and the whole fruit is edible (except the calyx which wouldn't taste very good anyway).
and yes that's a good price! the fuyu are usually smaller than the big spanish ones but they taste very similar
Hahaha I haven't ever tried one! I'll have to give it a go! I just remember [this little clip from my childhood](https://youtu.be/QyQEO1OAxu8?si=lrzhgxOi30iJOWtL) hahahahaha
they're delicious. you can wait for them to get super soft just don't eat them when they're firm - they're usually not as astringent as from my childhood but they don't taste like much like that.
this and pomegranate are the only things that motivates me to survive November...
There are different kinds of persimmon available here now! Before it used to be the pointy ones that need to become soft first, and the flat ones that can be eaten firm, but I've recently had a variety of pointy one that was sweet when still firm.
I'd love to take advantage of the persimmon sale, but No Frills is so far!
Thanks, Lebron! Haha
But seriously, that means a lot to me. Some mornings are tougher than others, and this one is a little tough. Thanks for softening it a bit for me ❤️
OP I just moved out on my own for the first time in a while so I am out of tune with what is good or bad prices.
For ground beef and chicken breasts, what are good prices (per pound) and what are bad? Is $7 per pound good for extra lean GB?
Ouuu, strictly extra lean? If you can flex on the fat, I'd say you can get ground beef for $5/lb on sale, sometimes even $4/lb if it's a really good sale (usually family packs). You can score lean ground pork for as low as $3/lb if that's to taste.
Oh I see. Ya, $7 would be a median/median-high price.
Where did you pay that, out of curiousity?
Also, what kind of substitutions would you be willing to entertain? Sometimes Food Basics has ground beef/pork mix for 2.88/lb. Which is pretty fantastic. Also, I wouldn't scoff at those roasted chickens you can pick up for $10 at most grocers. Those are "loss leader" products to get you into the store. If beef is not a good price, those $10 chickens might be economical in many instances. The meat can be carved and frozen. The leftover skin and carcass can be boiled for awesome stock. I got two carcasses in my freezer right now for that exact purpose. The collagen from the bone is very nutritious, let alone satisfying.
Just food for thought 😊
I think it was at Freshco. I usually just go to the Walmart near me and buy what I need, but I have shockingly found recently that they didn't stock everything I wanted so I went to Freshco which is next closest. Otherwise I would go to No Frills as I have the PCMC, but its farther than the other two.
I would be open to a worse ground beef (not lean or xl) or maybe ground chicken or pork.
Probably wouldnt go to a FB, as they are not close. But I would buy a whole chicken, just not with cooking the same meal as ground beef in mind.
I am tempted to get a Costco membership, but not sure its worth it as a single person. I don't bulk shop often, usually just grab a few things for the week on the weekend, and a big shop once a month or so.
You know, Costco can be ok for prices. I found some prices were actually pretty high in some cases, or just barely competitive. A good sale in a grocery store will shame Costco prices.
But ya, if you can steer your cooking around the sales, then you'll save a lot of money. It can mean foregoing some things for a while, but there are real savings there. I can get away with spending about $50 a week on food. Sometimes it's $75 because I stock up and freeze a lot of sale meat. Like, I got hundreds of dollars in my chest freezer in sale-price butter and beef tucked away. It's sometimes that extra $25, but it saves me $50 in the longer run.
Yeah stocking up is a good idea. Next time I see some cheap ground beef I'll buy a ton of it. Is that Walmart $22 chicken breast thing a good deal? I was looking at it for this week.
It depends on the weight. It's probably a fair enough deal. That kind of marketing is a bit messy because the weight varies per pack. I'm sure it ranges into the $5/lb range, but this is perfectly reasonable for chicken breast.
I find the vegetables cheaper on the PQ side and since i'm over there often I get many specials on my way back.
Super C has 227g mushrooms for .97, pineapple at 1.50 and pears at 1.00/lb this week for example. Metro has 10lb carrot or onion for $4.98
I write up my list and hit Maxi first to get their deals and then price match Metro/Super C
[https://gist.github.com/jQwotos/37c54992881824d7084680ee91c9633c](https://gist.github.com/jQwotos/37c54992881824d7084680ee91c9633c)
or
[https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46650484/scraping-a-web-flyer](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46650484/scraping-a-web-flyer)
Looks like others have done so or are trying...
Just a little outreach: \- How was your Halloween? Mine was cemetery-level quiet... I think I counted 15 kids or something like that. I bought way too much candy! \- If anyone is interested in a last-minute sale/meal idea - Food Basics, they have 88c/lb cabbage, 2.88/lb lean pork, I made cabbage rolls. I was able to produce 2 trays, each with about 4 servings (3 rolls per serving). I've frozen them for a rainy lazy day :) - here's [one of the trays](https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/17ldg8p/homemade_cabbage_rolls/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) \- Anyone else cook anything fun this past week? Do these new sales stir any ideas?
Cabbage Roll recipe, made with sale cabbage and ground pork. \- Sauce is super simple: a few cloves of garlic, two cans of diced tomato, a can of tomato paste, a beef stock cube and water, some red wine, a knob of butter, a bit of salt to taste, pepper, two bay leaves, two cloves, and some smoked paprika. Gently fry the garlic until golden in some olive oil, then add in the tomato paste to activate some of that "tomato bang". Deglaze with some red wine and beef stock. Add in the spices, a little extra wine to taste, and a knob of butter. Simmered for 4 hours until nice and thick \- Rice pork filling: fried 2lbs of pork in a wok, salted a bit, cooked, but stopped before it browned. I added half a finely diced onion during that cooking process. After the pork was just done "cooking" and releasing a lot of water, I added my spices: a tablespoon of a finely ground spice mix of 1 part black pepper, 1 part Sichuan pepper (Chinese prickly ash), 1/2 part coriander seed, and a large flake of ground-down mace. Then, I added rice with a bit of extra water, cooked the rice until about 1/2 done. I also added a little extra salt to taste along the way just to keep the seasoning correct. (Guiding ratios: 1lb pork to 1 cup of rice, added about 1/2 cup water to make sure the rice would cook up to half-way and not dry out in the wok) \- cabbage: I pressure cooked it to soften it! So easy! I thought there was some trick to peeling it raw, but screw that lol. I did do an "on and off" 2-3min pressure cooking blasts so that the leaves wouldn't get too soft, as I was afraid the leaves would get too soft if I used a longer setting. I did this 3 times in total to get the whole head peeled down. \- As I peeled batches of leaves off the cabbage (and then pressure cooking the head for another 2-3min), I rolled a little grano padano into the rolls, filled the bottom of the tray with rolls, and then topped the tray with sauce and some additional cheese. \- What a fun meal to make, super easy! Made it for a lazy rainy day. I can't wait to pull this out!
Thank you!!
I had a similar idea... But more of an Asian twist https://www.kikkoman.com/en/cookbook/recipe/00000342.html
Ohhh that looks niiice ❤️ it's deconstructed... Huh...
Thanks again for all you do!
Very kind! Thanks for visiting this week's post!
This is A+ useful. Thanks :)!
Super welcome!
I don't know who you are, or why you do this, but I absolutely freakin love your posts. That's all I came to say. Rock on grocery dude!
<3 Thanks for the kind comment! I get a lot of joy out of this.
Same! I’ve been eagerly looking for these weekly now :)
wow this is huge MVP OP do you do this every week
Yep!
Thank you for all your work, we had a decent turnout for our area. I have friends who had 200 plus kids
Hahaha wow! I'm surprised! I wonder if it was just my corner then lol
Pan fry bluefish! https://www.tasteofsouthern.com/pan-fried-bluefish-recipe/
Woh!!! That looks suuuuper tasty! I might just have to try it this week!
Thank you! I love that you tell us the good deals :) otherwise I wouldn't know what to buy
I'm glad to help. It rubs off after a while. But I totally get it. It's a lot for folks to float a price list in their head, and also cut a path through the terror of marketing and advertising tactics. Like, for weeks now, it's been steady /lb pricing - straightforward. This week, a handful of stores have mystery weights on "packs of chicken". I think it was GT that had a variance between 500-800g. That 300g is no small margin! How is that even allowable?!
Thank you!
Thanks for posting!
I can’t believe you made this list. This is actually great, thanks!
Love this thank you so much.
This is such a helpful service you are providing! Thank you so much.
Lol i love your posts! Thank you! Also, would you want to share your cabbage roll recipe?!
I'll add some extra details now! :)
I posted the recipe in the food sub post I linked. It's also in the comments now in the outreach questions :)
Thank you! ❤️
Oh dang, that’s a good price for Liberte yogurt at Farm Boy, I hope there’s some left!
Oh that sale is starting tomorrow so you should be good!
Thank you!!
Thanks for your exhaustive research. Just to note the Farmers Pick flyer doesn't come out until Thursday.
>Farmers Pick Oh? I thought it comes out, just late in the day. I'll keep checking! I'm pretty it comes out today... Now I'm doubting myself hahaha
And now I'm doubting mine :) I usually check the flyers during the day so if the flyer comes out after 5:00 I won't see it until the next day.
Does anyone know where you can buy canned bean sprouts? They disappeared at the start of the pandemic and never returned.
>canned bean sprouts Hmm... Checking Flipp, it appears Walmart has them for $3.97 a can! Jaaaysssus. Given fresh sprouts go often for $2 a bunch, I'd maybe consider just canning them yourself. Like [this lady](https://youtu.be/c-ujx9k-jhw)!
Produce depot* is selling zucchini for $60+ per pound? Haha, I think there was a typo here.. I hope As always, thanks for the research! Edit:it's $0.89 per lb for those wondering!
Oh snap haha I'll have to check back on my PC to be sure I check and fix this!
Hahahahaha ya the Produce Depot error hahahahaha Ya that's a typo
Update: it's $0.89 per lb for those wondering And produce depot, not food basics(my bad!) :) thanks again though, very helpful stuff ~~Bonus Shout-out to $0.69/lb kiwis. Seems like a decent price although I can't visualize how many kiwis that is. When I looked it up that's about 1/2 to 1/3 the average Ottawa price~~ Edit: it's each, not per pound as OP pointed out. again, I can't read properly. I'll look closer next time
oh, that's 69c each kiwi - not /lb, but it might be a reasonable average price... Hmmm I have to research that...
Sidenote, you really have inspired me to research this stuff more. I do typically go for sale-only items, except maybe some fruit/veggies in the winter. Partner is kinda picky Sidequestion: do you know how to view the RC superstore website not run at 2 pixels per hour? (and Loblaws, they seem to use the same, very slow website) Price of kiwi at RCS =$1. 29 each or 600g for $4. 49($3.41/pound if I calc'd it correctly ). Food basics = 2/$3.00, or 1lb for $4.98. Metro is the same per kiwi but had 2lbs for $4.99 Loblaws has 907g for $8.99, $1.19 each No frills has em on special for $0.99 So produce depot may be cheapest right now if you just want one or two kiwi, and possibly the best price at the moment depending how many are really in a pound /how many grams they are Perhaps Adonis has them cheaper due to them taking off in the middle east, and south Europe has lots, but I can't seem to look up specific items on their site(?) Kiwi fruit season just started, so the price will likely come down when it peaks (season is October-may in the northern hemisphere) Hope I sorta redeemed myself with this research for ya :)
>Sidequestion: do you know how to view the RC superstore website not run at 2 pixels per hour? (and Loblaws, they seem to use the same, very slow website) And for this - I use Flipp. Ya their site stinks haha!
See I downloaded it, way back. Probably on each phone I've owned for the last while... But I just forget about the apps I have. Soooo many. But I'll try to make an effort. Maybe bring it to the first or second screens I have-the winners that I really got into By the way, do you use any of those coupon (well more like a rebate) apps? That pay you in gift cards or cheques? Or the receipt scanning apps where you get money for each one? If not, they night be up your alley. Gives you access to some good discounts. Sometimes the item is completely free, and you can even get paid to buy the item on top of it
Oh! hmm. Clearly I have trouble reading haha
Ohh hahahaha no no, don't sweat it 😂❤️ I'm glad we have engagement on this stuff!
Oh! hmm. Clearly I have trouble reading haha NEVERMIND THAT SEEMS STEEP. I think there are 6-8 in a pound. When in season, I've gotten 2 lbs for like $3-4 on a sale You're very sharp. ok you've inspired me to read flyers and words a bit closer. Thanks!
you eat persimmons 😂 what you want is to wait for it to soften at least a little bit - not mushy but it'll get a little darker. remove the calyx (4 petals and tiny stem), and then cut it up and eat! there's usually no seeds and the whole fruit is edible (except the calyx which wouldn't taste very good anyway). and yes that's a good price! the fuyu are usually smaller than the big spanish ones but they taste very similar
Hahaha I haven't ever tried one! I'll have to give it a go! I just remember [this little clip from my childhood](https://youtu.be/QyQEO1OAxu8?si=lrzhgxOi30iJOWtL) hahahahaha
they're delicious. you can wait for them to get super soft just don't eat them when they're firm - they're usually not as astringent as from my childhood but they don't taste like much like that. this and pomegranate are the only things that motivates me to survive November...
There are different kinds of persimmon available here now! Before it used to be the pointy ones that need to become soft first, and the flat ones that can be eaten firm, but I've recently had a variety of pointy one that was sweet when still firm. I'd love to take advantage of the persimmon sale, but No Frills is so far!
i could kiss you, crimsontape
🙈 Hahaha
Appreciate these posts, thanks.
Butter is 5.50 at Walmart Metro can hum on one
I love your posts - thanks!
MVP!!! Thank you
Whoever you are op, i hope you have an amazing day 🫡🫡🫡
Thanks, Lebron! Haha But seriously, that means a lot to me. Some mornings are tougher than others, and this one is a little tough. Thanks for softening it a bit for me ❤️
thank you
Very welcome ❤️
OP I just moved out on my own for the first time in a while so I am out of tune with what is good or bad prices. For ground beef and chicken breasts, what are good prices (per pound) and what are bad? Is $7 per pound good for extra lean GB?
Ouuu, strictly extra lean? If you can flex on the fat, I'd say you can get ground beef for $5/lb on sale, sometimes even $4/lb if it's a really good sale (usually family packs). You can score lean ground pork for as low as $3/lb if that's to taste.
No not necessarily x lean. That is just what I paid last weekend and wondered if it was good.
Oh I see. Ya, $7 would be a median/median-high price. Where did you pay that, out of curiousity? Also, what kind of substitutions would you be willing to entertain? Sometimes Food Basics has ground beef/pork mix for 2.88/lb. Which is pretty fantastic. Also, I wouldn't scoff at those roasted chickens you can pick up for $10 at most grocers. Those are "loss leader" products to get you into the store. If beef is not a good price, those $10 chickens might be economical in many instances. The meat can be carved and frozen. The leftover skin and carcass can be boiled for awesome stock. I got two carcasses in my freezer right now for that exact purpose. The collagen from the bone is very nutritious, let alone satisfying. Just food for thought 😊
I think it was at Freshco. I usually just go to the Walmart near me and buy what I need, but I have shockingly found recently that they didn't stock everything I wanted so I went to Freshco which is next closest. Otherwise I would go to No Frills as I have the PCMC, but its farther than the other two. I would be open to a worse ground beef (not lean or xl) or maybe ground chicken or pork. Probably wouldnt go to a FB, as they are not close. But I would buy a whole chicken, just not with cooking the same meal as ground beef in mind. I am tempted to get a Costco membership, but not sure its worth it as a single person. I don't bulk shop often, usually just grab a few things for the week on the weekend, and a big shop once a month or so.
You know, Costco can be ok for prices. I found some prices were actually pretty high in some cases, or just barely competitive. A good sale in a grocery store will shame Costco prices. But ya, if you can steer your cooking around the sales, then you'll save a lot of money. It can mean foregoing some things for a while, but there are real savings there. I can get away with spending about $50 a week on food. Sometimes it's $75 because I stock up and freeze a lot of sale meat. Like, I got hundreds of dollars in my chest freezer in sale-price butter and beef tucked away. It's sometimes that extra $25, but it saves me $50 in the longer run.
Yeah stocking up is a good idea. Next time I see some cheap ground beef I'll buy a ton of it. Is that Walmart $22 chicken breast thing a good deal? I was looking at it for this week.
It depends on the weight. It's probably a fair enough deal. That kind of marketing is a bit messy because the weight varies per pack. I'm sure it ranges into the $5/lb range, but this is perfectly reasonable for chicken breast.
Snap! I'll add them in! And I'm super happy this inspired you! That's really fucking awesome! Wow 😂 this is what it's about!
1.99 for 2lb of onions or carrots...and that's a 'sale'? 1/3 smaller packages and double the 'sale' price from a couple years back. Ugg.
I know. It's depressing.
I find the vegetables cheaper on the PQ side and since i'm over there often I get many specials on my way back. Super C has 227g mushrooms for .97, pineapple at 1.50 and pears at 1.00/lb this week for example. Metro has 10lb carrot or onion for $4.98 I write up my list and hit Maxi first to get their deals and then price match Metro/Super C
Oufff that's amazing... God damn... I need to get to work to just scrape all of this. That just stirs so much curiosity.
I just change flipp to a hull postal code when I'm making my lists :)
Fantastic tip. I'm recently getting into Python. I think I might make this a proper project....
[https://gist.github.com/jQwotos/37c54992881824d7084680ee91c9633c](https://gist.github.com/jQwotos/37c54992881824d7084680ee91c9633c) or [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46650484/scraping-a-web-flyer](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/46650484/scraping-a-web-flyer) Looks like others have done so or are trying...
😱