The stunner in the list below is watermelon–I haven’t seen them for that price in a long time.  They might not be as sweet as a watermelon in July or August, but that’s no reason not to grab a couple for these early fall warm days.  Kids will always eat watermelon, and if you don’t have kids you can make agua frescas (and then you can pour some vodka in there and relax in your calm, whiny-free space).  You can even freeze chunks for making agua fresca later, when maybe a random 90 degree day in November is making you angry and has you wondering why, exactly you live at this precise point in the world.

I apologize to anyone  that bought watermelons last week at $3.99. There must have been some kind of watermelon panic to cause Sprouts to decide to shed watermelon at the cheapest price in years. The opposite of the lime panic, where gangs were somehow using limes to launder money and thus scared the entire state into thinking we were in for a summer of $20 margaritas.  It’s possible the dip into the 70s at night has them thinking we’re all in pumpkin-latte mode, and they’ve got to ditch these giant green vessels of summer.

They lose, we win!

Randalls

red or green bell peppers          50c/ea

HEB

russet potatoes, 10lbs.                            $3.27/ea

cucumbers                                                 47c/ea

butternut, acorn, or spaghetti squash         77c/lb

Dole pineapple                                        $1.99/ea

drumsticks                                                     $1/lb

HEB premium bacon, 12oz.                    $3.50/ea

Sprouts

new this week:

whole seedless watermelon                 $1.99 ea

peaches and pears                                  99c/lb

gala and granny smith apples                  99c/lb

boneless skinless chicken thighs          $1.99/lb

bulk oats (quick, steel cut, or rolled)        69c/lb

ending tomorrow:

blackberries, 5.6oz                            $1.25 ea

asparagus                                          $1.99/lb

peaches                                                 99c/lb

green bell peppers                               50c/ea

chicken drumsticks or whole legs         99c/lb

Fiesta

center cut bone-in loin chops         $1.99/lb  (limit 2 w/$10 additional purchase)

cabbage                                            33c/lb

fresh green beans                              79c/lb

I feel like Randalls and Fiesta aren’t even trying this week.

A note about Fiesta: They have their large sacks of leg quarters on sale this week for 69c/lb. Which is obviously a lot of cheap chicken. The reason I’m not including it is that in addition to the usual Fiesta ‘limit 2, additional purchase of $10 required, additional bags at 85c/lb’, I find this particular product to be work.

I’m trying to stick to the types of groceries that are fairly universal, and are easily incorporated into meals. These quarters are…not straightforward. They’ve got an extra segment on them, that I remove before freezing (sharpish bits can rip bags) or cooking to serve in a meal (sometimes organ meat is attached to the extra. kidney? gizzard? who’s to know? enough that it isn’t a fight I want to have at the dinner table).  In addition, the portions are smaller than those you’re used to buying when you get a package of legs or thighs, so if you’re trying to portion out servings, you’re can be caught short if you’re not paying attention.

In short, this product has both a high work to value quotient, and a bit of cost loss in the part I cut away.  The combination of butchering necessary and time invested to just get it stored makes me leave it off the list.  While it is a deal, you can’t throw a 10lb sack of chicken leg quarters to become a brick-o-chick, you’ve got to put some time into getting it cooked and/or stored properly. If you are very budget conscious, though, it can be a good resource to have socked away.

Go forth and shop. Cheep Cheep!