Berries! I’ve managed to stock up on berries often enough recently that there’s a good stockpile for smoothies in the freezer. Of course, my kids are now freezing due to the polar vortex.  This week is another good chance, with berries on sale at Sprouts and HEB.  These are especially easy to store, just pop in a freezer bag and get as much air out as you can. They’ll be ready to use in a smoothie or cobbler just like a sack of frozen berries from the store.

Or your 7yo can thaw and smoosh them, and eat them with her hands. No? Just me, again? Okay.

Also this week, HEB has those pork picnics I described in last week’s ad post, a bit cheaper, with a limit of two.  If you’re thinking about that purchase, please check out my advice on this particular cut of meat here.

But don’t get mixed up and think that post is this week’s ad post, just because they look similar. No? Just me, still? Okay. I’m glad you didn’t wander CM looking for kale that one time.

Also! The 5lb sack of organic carrots is on sale again at Sprouts! Maybe this time I’ll make the carrot soup I wanted to make last time.

Randalls:

It’s their turn to be first on the rotation, but they’re just too late getting the new flyer up. A girl can only refresh so long! So I’ll note anything worth a trip tomorrow.

HEB:

raspberries or blackberries, 6 oz.                      97c/ea

organic gala or honeycrisp apples                  $1.47/lb (DD)

HEB organics celery hearts                              $1.50/ea

pork picnic roast                                                $1.27/lb  (limit 2)

vine tomatoes                                                      97c/lb

Sprouts:

blackberries, 5.6 oz.                                                         98c/ea

cranberries, 12 oz.                                                            98c/ea

green and red bell peppers, cucumbers                          50c/ea  (DD)

acorn, butternut or spaghetti squash                                50c/lb

boneless skinless chicken thighs                                    $1.99/lb

bulk long or short grain brown rice                                       69c/lb

organic carrots, 5lb sack                                                    $2.98/ea

ending today:

many apples (not honeycrisp)                                             88c/lb

organic kale                                                                         $1.48/bunch  (DD)

Fiesta:

chicken drumsticks, large sack (usually 10lbs or so)          69c/lb (Fiesta limit)

Yukon Gold potatoes, 5lb sack                                           $1.69/ea

A note on Fiesta! If you don’t usually go to one, it’s worth checking out around the holidays if you’ve got any European or Mexican holiday items you wish you could buy.  Not just the boxes of panettone, but British crackers, and all kinds of things show up there. It’s fun to check it all out.

The turkey deals have started. I didn’t really address them last week, but HEB has a good example this week.  They’ve got a free 12lb. turkey with a 4.5lb minimum purchase of an HEB brand ham deal this week. The ham is $4.99/lb, so that’s a minimum of $22.50 on the ham for a free frozen Riverside brand turkey.  I haven’t made an assessment this year yet, but in previous years, serious couponers are on this bargain the second it hits, and anything resembling a small ham disappears fast (yes, there are people vastly more serious about their deal shopping than I am! they have coupons, collect inserts and trade them, and follow folks like the HEB Bargain Hunter.)

I love turkey, and if I”m cooking one it’s going to be bigger than 12lbs.  I’m not going to sneeze at a free turkey, but I find just waiting for Randalls to put a turkey on sale for 69c/lb with a $50 purchase more straightforward than trying to find a small ham, and then find a turkey the right size to be free.  They will credit the cost of 12lbs toward a larger one, so if you’re a ham AND turkey family, you might be able to use this deal.

I’ll keep everyone posted about Turkey Deals as the next six weeks roll, because the deals vary from place to place.