Trader Joe Deals

Though not found at the dollar store and certainly not $1, I couldn't pass up on sharing these deals on new products spotted this weekend at Trader Joe's in Northern California:

• $2.99 8 oz. chickenless crispy tenders- beats Gardein!
• $2.99 8 oz.+ orange 'chicken' morsels
• $5.99 16 oz. extra virgin coconut oil

Happy shopping!

Post-Thanksgiving Deals

Post TG deals from today's visit to the 99c store included:

• pint of grape tomatoes
• 5 oz. corn husks
• baby spinach
• bunch of green asparagus
• 30 oz. crushed Hunts tomatoes with basil
• Green Giant 5 oz. white mushrooms
• huge jar of sauerkraut
• Mori Nu silken aseptic tofu
• dark soy sauce (great for Pad See Ew)
• rice vinegar
• frozen blackberries and mixed berries (strawberries and blackberries)

4th and Geary St. Market deals in SF:

• butternut squash 79c/lb.
• acorn squash ~50c/lb.
• sweet potatoes and yams ~50c/lb.
• small container of blackberries ~79 c
• red seedless grapes 69c/lb.
• oranges 49c/lb.
• celery 3 for $1
• spinach 89c/bunch
• leeks $1.99/bunch
• kiwis 6 for $1

Take advantage of these deals!

Vegan Thanksgiving

I haven't hit the dollar store recently for any good Thanksgiving finds, except for cute leaf-themed cupcake wrappers and toppers for a dollar.

However, I have found deals at Bay area grocery stores that I wanted to share in time for Thanksgiving:

Fresh & Easy (33rd/Clement in SF):
- raw cashews: $5.99 for 16 oz.  Trader Joe's price is about a dollar more.
- tofu always 99c per box
- their fried onion price ($1.49?) may be lower than TJ's ($2.99), too, per a comment on the Post Punk Kitchen site that I haven't yet verified
- graham crackers (no milk, but has honey, so not vegan) $1.99/box (vs. TJ $2.99/box also with honey)
- potatoes 99c for 10 lbs.

Trader Joe's
- Tofurky $9
- Amaretto $6.99
- Frangelico ~$17.99 for 750 mL

Grocery Outlet in Berkeley:
- walnuts 16 oz. for $4.99

4th and Geary Farmer's Market in SF:
- Imagine portobello vegan creamy mushroom soup $3.49 (vs. Rainbow Grocery $3.99)

Foodsco (15th/Folsom in SF):
- Green beans for 99c/lb.
- Sweet potatoes 2 lbs for $1

Deals for week of 8/3/11

Safeway

• Almond Breeze almond milk $2.49 64 oz. (need in-store coupon, limit 3)
• Black beans $1 for 15 oz. can

Tonight I made Pasta de Los Angeles from Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes.  I used:

• cilantro from FoodsCo (under 70 cents I think)
• lime from Lien Hing on Clement St. (8 for $1.10)
• spinach from Lien Hing (~$0.69/bunch)
• pasta from a previous Los Angeles sale (~5 x 7 oz. bags for $1)
• tomatoes from Lien Hing ($0.59/lb.)
• black beans for 99c store in LA (32 oz. for $0.99)
• leeks from 4th/Geary Farmer Market ($2.99 for 3 stalks; only small portion used here)
• jalapeno peppers from New May Wah on Clement St. (~$0.70/lb.)

 

Yesterday I made Thai Basil Green Beans, also an Isa recipe.  Notable ingredients I used included:

• green beans from a previous Safeway sale for 99c/lb. (this price also available at Civic Center farmer's market)
• Thai basil from Ferry Building farmer's market ($2 for large bunch; a better price is found at Civic Center farmer's market, $1.50 for 2 large bunches)
• ginger from 99c store (better price likely at Lien Hing where it's <$1/lb.)
• leeks from 4th/Geary farmer market

 

The best part of the meal is dessert, and what a better way to round off these nutritious dishes than with a fresh fruit smoothie.  I used Chloe Coscarelli's recipe.  Notable ingredients include:

• Soy milk (32 oz. West Soy at 99c store, or Safeway sale last week Silk 64 oz. for $2.49)
• Blackberries ($1/basket at Civic Center farmer's market; I narrowly missed snagging raspberries for $1/basket, Driscoll brand, from 4th/Geary, but that was a leftover stock fluke)
• Bananas (39c/lb. at May Wah- not New May Wah, but a cousin across the street on Clement.)

I doubled the soy milk called for in the recipe since the initial product was thicker than my liking.

 

Yum!!!

NorCal Dollar Store Deals

DollarStoreVeg has relocated to Northern California, where the East Bay hosts 99c stores that feature several of the same deals as the Southern California chain.  Unfortunately, the bargain basement produce deals are few and far between compared to Los Angeles.  At my most recent 99c store visit this past weekend, I spotted:

• 15 oz. garbanzo, kidney, and black beans
• Fresh baby spinach, pre-washed
• West soy tetra pack 32 oz. soy milk
• Arabian flat bread (great for pita pizza or with hummus)
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Bunch of asparagus
• Balsamic, rice, plain, red wine, and white wine vinegars
• The usual other greens: pack of romaine lettuce, celery, limes, red bell peppers

A couple weeks ago I had spotted 5 oz. cremini mushrooms and portobello (~2 caps) mushrooms, too.

As for other stores with deals (not necessarily for $1), I like the Geary & 4th Ave. market (called "Farmer Market") for their good produce prices, by NorCal standards.  For example, 3 bunches of leeks were $2.99, white nectarines were 79c/lb, and apricots were 69 c/lb.  They also have capers, olives, and other specialty items. 

I also love Rainbow Grocery (around 13th/Folsom St.) for offering bulk Ener-G (around $5-6/lb.) and nutritional yeast (under $7/lb).  I bought bulk vital wheat gluten (also just under $7/lb.) but later realized that I can get Hodgson's Mill or even Bob's Red Mill brands less expensively.  In addition, they have bulk brown rice syrup, TVP, and tons of other surprises (trail mix of various kinds, dry pasta, beans, lentils, etc.).  They no longer carry my favorite Black China Bakery vegan carrot cake with the delectable soy cream cheese frosting, at least not in the past few visits there.

If you are looking for Asian style fake meat products in the freezer section, both New May Wah and Lien Hing supermarkets along Clement St. (start at 6th Ave/Clement and walk east or west) offer them at just under $4/bag or more.  My favorite soy triangles with veggies embedded in them run around $4 for 8 little triangles. Thus these items are pretty pricey but cheaper than eating at a restaurant.  For example, ~12 veggie fish filets run around $10-12.  The produce prices are hit or miss: tomatoes for 59c/lb (good) while other items are less expensive elsewhere (Fuji apples 99c/lb. vs. only 79c/lb. at other places blocks away).

It took a while for me to find mirin to use in some of Isa Moskowitz' recipes.  Food4Less (aka Foodsco in NorCal) carried it in SoCal, but the SF Foodsco does not.  However, Safeway does sell mirin for ~$4/bottle.

Stay tuned for more NorCal DollarStore deals!

Asparagus Sundried Tomato Tofu Frittata, Sesame Asparagus

From the 99c store: extra firm tofu, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, asparagus, lemons

From the 99c store: asparagus, sesame seeds, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes

Dollar Store Deals 4/3/11

Today I found the makings of vegan crunchy tacos at the local 99c store.  These included: a dozen Old El Paso crunchy tacos, Pace salsa verde sauce, and Old California green olives. 

Other deals included: box of sugar in the raw (turbinado sugar) packets, ~30 oz. can of garbanzo beans, a bunch of aspargus, portobello mushrooms, and a 5 lb. bag of corn meal.

Lacto-vegetarians may be interested in: 8 oz. of Nestle semi-sweet mini morsels, Pillsbury Grands! biscuits, graham crackers, and vanilla wafers.

Let's not forget the Breathe-Right strips...yeah, they're vegan.  Gotta love the dollar store.