Northern and Central California Grocery Store Deals Thread

Sync American Express with Twitter to get $10 AMX credit when you spend $50 at Staple. I bought $50 Amazon GC at Staple today, got $10 credit email instantly. 20%off GC, good deal.

https://sync.americanexpress.com/twitter/offerterms/F120820001

Quote from Maui603 : SMart definitely better than SW this week....saw today Brown Cow is .75 this week. Cashiers should love me between that and sour cream! Does anyone know of a website that tells what sort of things freeze well and how to do it. Got a new freezer and would love to try some new things but don't want to ruin them.

I can give you general info that the higher the fat content, the better dariy quality when defrosted.
Lower fat content separates and freezes
Learned this from Dreyers salesman when I ran frozen food dept (something i try hard to forget )

Quote from rejoyce : Not so exciting, the pistachios were definitely a better freebie, anyone plan to get the free apples? Is $4.99 for the Jennie-O burgers a good price? Thanks! Spend $20, Get one 3 lb. Bag Raley's Apples Selected varieties including Fuji and Gala. FREE! With this coupon. Limit 1. ...

um, yeah, I still have a couple from last time. Wash in vinegar & peeling them I *hope* gets rid of most of the pesticide problem. Dunk in lemon juice & add to salads once a week or so.

The HF grilled essentials are 3.50 - 2.50 Q in Raley's mag [raleys.com]
expires 3/31
SInce it's online mag, I'm hoping printing the Q is legit. But I'll look in the store tomorrow for magazine
Q on page 4

My kettle chip Qs didn't get here til after CVS sale ended so I'll get some of those, with my SQs for cheap oatmeal, baggies, PTs & if I can ever figure out what the HBA one works for...should be able to get one of each kind of apple

Quote from missusg : I can give you general info that the higher the fat content, the better dariy quality when defrosted. Lower fat content separates and freezes Learned this from Dreyers salesman when I ran frozen food dept (something i try hard to forget ) um, yeah, I still have a couple from last time. Wash in vinegar & peeling them I *hope* gets rid of most of the pesticide problem. Dunk in lemon juice & add to salads once a week or so. The HF grilled essentials are 3.50 - 2.50 Q in Raley's mag [raleys.com] expires 3/31 SInce it's online mag, I'm hoping printing the Q is legit. But I'll look in the store tomorrow for magazine Q on page 4 My kettle chip Qs didn't get here til after CVS sale ended so I'll get some of those, with my SQs for cheap oatmeal, baggies, PTs & if I can ever figure out what the HBA one works for...should be able to get one of each kind of apple

does the cereal SQ still work (for the oatmeal i'm guessing)? thanks!

Quote from rejoyce : does the cereal SQ still work (for the oatmeal i'm guessing)? thanks!

It didn't this morning


couldn't find Something Extra mag, used the Qs I printed from the online mag
it had 4 UPCs on the bottom, one for each flavor
they added the price, so are the same as the UPC On pkg
the SCO attendant took them and just deducted the value. Didn't blink at the fact they were printed.

Found Tide Stain release 10ct on clearance .99ea. Got 4, used 2 x 1.50/2 from P&G insert and 1.50 laundry catQ. CatQ took off .99, so I guess it doesn't work on cumulative value. But I paid 3.96 and got 3.99 in coupon value, so they can go into overage.
scanned one MQ to be sure it worked OK, then catQ, then the other MQ

Tried the HBA Q again, on their own brand cotton balls. didn't work

the apples eQ says "including gala and fuji"-not only. so I tried granny smith. Worked
price of apples =2.98

Kettle chips are larger bag. 2.50 on sale for figuring purposes. 1.99 with eQ
the baked ones are still on sale 1.99

Quote from missusg : It didn't this morning

THANKS Missusg, guess that SQ code is truly expired. Oh well, I did get a couple boxes of Quaker Life last week, thankful for that. Oatmeal is just healthier than breakfast cereals. Thanks again!

Found two good SFW JFU personal price:
- 3off10 Produce
- Fresh Express Salad Kit: $2.49 (Great with $2off from Feb Produce Magazine, exp 3/31)

The only thing is they are not on the same card. :<

Thank you all for the Whole Foods tips.

Here is what I found/can confirm.

So Delicious and Brown Cow are no longer on sale.

Nasoya products were free with $1.25 WFQ and $.75 MQ.. Any tips on cooking soft tofu to please a meat and potatoes guy? It seems most recipes that disguise the tofu call for firm...
Celestial Seasonings: $2.50 - $1 WFQ and $1 MQ (Vitamin Angels) =$.50
Spectrum Cooking sprays starting at $4.29 - $2 WFQ and $1 MQ (Vitamin Angels) = $1.29 and up. Spectrum MQ had to be pushed through, even though the wording was very inclusive.
Garden of Eatin': $2.19 - $1 WFQ and $1 IP = $.19
Food Should Taste Good: $2 - $1 IP = $1
Rice Dream Frozen sandwiches $1 - $1 (Vitamin Angels) = Free

No Zevia on sale. Oh well, I left 4 $3 IPs on the shelf (expiring tomorrow). Maybe someone will pay $2 a six pack...

So, there were a few good deals, but I doubt I will return until the prices switch since it was barely worth the drive. Also, cashier gave me a hard time since DD got a kid's club freebie and my total dropped below $10 ($9.69). Previous cashiers have never questioned me as pre-coupon total is always well above that mark ($30 today).

Staples Notes: I was able to get some $2 coupons on Crayola FB page. I took them to Staples to use with 50% off Crayola. It took four transaction attempts to check out, but the cashier and I learned that Staples coupons have to be used prior to MQs. The cashier threw my MQs in the trash after scanning them. Lead caught him and he got a scolding... Staples would have been out $4. It was worth the hassle as I got 2 boxes of sidewalk chalk and 3 Color Wonder to Go kits for $2.50 total.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks jdoggy for the WF report. I only have WF and Safeway but o therwise, I probably wouldt make a long drive to WF for deals either.

SW - made a large run to get to $75. Used up some free Q's, plus had to spend $15 in Frozen, and got the general mills rebate stuff so it wasn't as hard this time. Sign on freezer says that the $5 CAT wyb $15 ends 3/31.

Free Betty Crocker easter sprinkles with $1/1 insert Q or $3/2. The duck and easter egg sprinkles are on sale for .99.

Lots of stops today:
SW: didn't try $75. used my 5/50 recyclebank in Morgan Hill.
FF CAT didn't print at 8:50pm. Tried penny trick at least 10min earlier.
Been reports of the 3/15 produce working on just one or 2 select items. I got both I saw reported and still had to spend $15. Red/yelllow/orange bell peppers are $1 ea, which is nice but the organic are only 1.50/ea. They were really big-decent price for those.
All in all, $55ish AC, $30BC. Friendliest store around which is nice, but not worth it $$ wise

Sunday ad is Easter one. quite a few Qs but didn't see anything amazing. MFA has them listed.

RA-I had a $1 off flowers Q. Single plants are $1.99 or 2/$3-which isn't discounted by silver or gold status.

next week I was going to get A&H litter but the deal isn't in our ad. Looks like we're back to getting our own special ads......not sure what else we did or didn't get.

CVS-allegra 5ct is regular price 6.99. I got mine b4 ad changed. So it should work next Sunday ($7Q exp 4/8)

Lucky-$4CAT expiring, so I went even tho didn't need anything there
MM OJ is $2. One of the Kelloggs Q pkgs has a $1/1 Q
1.25 duncan Hines -.35 Q, meh, but they have some different flavors. I got Pineapple Supreme. I was looking for lemon. I know I saw it on sale somewhere, thought it was Lucky. Was it at Target?
***********
I had a $20pre-paid visa from Olay MIR exp 3/12. I used it the first time earlier this month and it worked fine. 10.50 left Tried it 4 places today -just in case they didn't put it thru right, starting about 6pm and it came up "invalid account" PITA
each total under $10

any wisdom into the care & feeding of pre-paid cards?

Quote from jdoggy : Thank you all for the Whole Foods tips. Here is what I found/can confirm. So Delicious and Brown Cow are no longer on sale. Nasoya products were free with $1.25 WFQ and $.75 MQ.. Any tips on cooking soft tofu to please a meat and potatoes guy? It seems most recipes that disguise the tofu call for firm... Celestial Seasonings: $2.50 - $1 WFQ and $1 MQ (Vitamin Angels) =$.50 Spectrum Cooking sprays starting at $4.29 - $2 WFQ and $1 MQ (Vitamin Angels) = $1.29 and up. Spectrum MQ had to be pushed through, even though the wording was very inclusive. Garden of Eatin': $2.19 - $1 WFQ and $1 IP = $.19 Food Should Taste Good: $2 - $1 IP = $1 Rice Dream Frozen sandwiches $1 - $1 (Vitamin Angels) = Free No Zevia on sale. Oh well, I left 4 $3 IPs on the shelf (expiring tomorrow). Maybe someone will pay $2 a six pack... So, there were a few good deals, but I doubt I will return until the prices switch since it was barely worth the drive. Also, cashier gave me a hard time since DD got a kid's club freebie and my total dropped below $10 ($9.69). Previous cashiers have never questioned me as pre-coupon total is always well above that mark ($30 today). Staples Notes: I was able to get some $2 coupons on Crayola FB page. I took them to Staples to use with 50% off Crayola. It took four transaction attempts to check out, but the cashier and I learned that Staples coupons have to be used prior to MQs. The cashier threw my MQs in the trash after scanning them. Lead caught him and he got a scolding... Staples would have been out $4. It was worth the hassle as I got 2 boxes of sidewalk chalk and 3 Color Wonder to Go kits for $2.50 total. Have a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for the tofu tips! I'm trying to go meatless at least one night a week, but DH loves his meat (and dislikes "rabbit food" and "chick food"). Last week I made from scratch falafel, whole grain pitas, and tzatziki. It took several hours but he loved it!

Quote : What are Vitamin Angels coupons? Thanks!

Vitamin Angels is the name of a coupon book that was found at Whole Foods several months ago. It has some really nice coupons that don't expire until December!

Somehow I got a free Fresh Express salad blend tonight. It rang up as $1.99 and showed copient discount of $1.99??? It wasn't on J4U. Maybe Safeway is repaying me for all the messed up deals. The only other thing I bought was the B2G2 coke 12 packs with the free crackers.

Bought Allegra 5ct at Walmart today. regular $5.94, used $7 coupon, got little overage toward my other purchases. $7 coupon was scanned as invalid that cashier refused to take it. I asked manager to come over. She pressed some keys, somehow $7 showed on the screen magically. The manager said the coupon is ok to use, but I think most of cashiers don't know how to deal with it. Just heads-up.

Quote from SuDilly : Somehow I got a free Fresh Express salad blend tonight. It rang up as $1.99 and showed copient discount of $1.99??? It wasn't on J4U. Maybe Safeway is repaying me for all the messed up deals. The only other thing I bought was the B2G2 coke 12 packs with the free crackers.

did you have the 3/15 produce loaded to your card?
been reports that a single produce item triggers it, some get the full $3, some get it adjusted to the value of the item.
Usual SW roulette. I had to buy $15 Sat. nite
but a HU that the 3/15 is gone if you were planning on using it
if you didn't load it

Quote from jwsd2000 : Bought Allegra 5ct at Walmart today. regular $5.94, used $7 coupon, got little overage toward my other purchases. $7 coupon was scanned as invalid that cashier refused to take it. I asked manager to come over. She pressed some keys, somehow $7 showed on the screen magically. The manager said the coupon is ok to use, but I think most of cashiers don't know how to deal with it. Just heads-up.

TY
I have 2 left & vaguely considered driving to the nearest WM that gets the overage concept
along with some Redplum IPs I read give a little overage (Adidas)
but couldn't get RP to print on 2 computers in IE or Firefox so guess I'll just try to get it free somewhere

Up watching my VVs and wondering why. Did you all read that RA doesn't take 2 Qs on b1g1-50% off anymore? b1g1 I sort of understood, but not this. Think I'll be curtailing RAing