No issues there! I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was talking about you when I expressed my opinion. I remember about the gym because I was so startled weeks ago when you said just how much time you spend working out. Admiration.

Admiration.

Thank you! I also cook enough meals daily to cover us 6 days a week. We do eat out. And my thrifting trips spill over into getting the best prices on groceries. Grilling salmon is a once a week thang....for instance. Prices vary greatly! The Farmers Markets should be starting in June...here.

Now, see, Nicole. I don't remember where "here" is, just as you said we all don't. :)

Your description sounds right on. I'm past the bargain hunting, and am more about ease of acquistion, nowadays, but there wre good things about the four floors above ground walkup, tight budget and all. We've lived in this house for 25 years, and just realized that with a full flight outside and two stories in, that it was that flat that prepared me, while my friends were complaining. :)

I've been using the "Nutpods" in my Pero all week. Thing is...it's cold, out of the frig. I have to remember to put it in my mug of water...then heat it ALL up together. Otherwise, it's a great cream substitute. It's sugarless. It doesn't add much flavor tho. I can't taste the coconut over the Pero flavor.

I'm not a fan of the non-milk "milk" products, but some people have dairy allergies and sensitivities and use them. I'm a farmer's kid, I just drink milk and support my local small dairy, LOL>

Sweet Loren's is a company that makes many gluten free and other allergy free products. My celiac daughter will eat their refrigerated cookie dough cookies occasionally but says they are like most gluten free baked goods, better avoided than consumed, LOL.

Grocery stores around here don't give anything away, not even samples!

Annie

Wow, Annie! I didn't know that about the gluten free cookies.

I'm sort of getting used to the cookies. I'm still not dunking them..but there are only 200 calories in 3 cookies....and I've been making a point of eating them. :0) They had Chobani yogurt for .69cents. I purchased a ton of those too! They're like dessert.

I earn points with every purchase, then cash them in for free food or cash. I opted for a bag of frozen brocoli spears.

Today, 3 new things to try:

Necco wafers were my favorites when I was a kid. The chocolate and orange were my favorite flavors. They cost 5¢ for a roll of them back in the early 1950s. Made by the New England Confectioners Company made in Cambridge, Mass. Yes, I grew up in New England.

The pickle "thang" would be a good hot dog garnish. Otherwise....it's minced onions, pickles and red bell pepper....those are the prominent flavors. Quote: finely diced dill pickles, pickle brine, crisp cucumbers, red onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and fresh dill.

I haven't been eating hot dogs. But I tried it...

Y'know those people (I will not say anything sexist) whose fridges have a 12 of beer, the other beer, RC Cola, a tub of spreadable butter, a big bottle of French's, an ancient roll of slide film, a grotty looking bottle of chocolate sauce, and a penicillan project in the back. Plus a new packet of brats and some rolls. They could add "vegetables" to the intended meal if they thought it was a condiment...

😂 😂 😂

OK...sooooooooooooo I purchased some Healthy Organic Chicken frankfurters, a loaf of French bread...and my husband still would NOT try the "Pickle De Gallo" condiment! 😂 I did put some on my "dog"...it was OK. Neither of us drink alcohol...we fixed some Iced Tea....it's still a little chilly outdoors...THAT was our Easter Sunday Big Meal!

Oy. Happy Easter anyway!

Another full size Nutpods 25.4oz...and I cashed in my points for $1 cash and a loaf of French Bread.

Hubby has a loyalty card too. He used his $5 off curbside pickup today. They had a coupon for $4 off Fancy Feast Cat food, 24 pack. When they were out of Toll House Dark Chocolate chips, on sale for $5.49 they substituted the BIG 20oz bag @ no additional cost! Penne pasta was .69cents/limit 2. Bertolli Alfredo sauce $1.69/limit 2. Salmon$7.99lb. 7 avocados/$2.99. They had some REALLY good deals!

There's a grocery store across from the gym. Strolled in today and they had boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99lb! THAT'S cheap!

Loss leader to entice gym rats?

Today:

The Dole is pretty good. They offer it often. The La Colombe, it's a "Saturday Sampler" they give to everyone with a loyalty card. We know a couple of guys who would enjoy them...we'll drop them off at their office on our way to the gym, after they've been chilled. Says vanilla Latte. 🍻🍻 🍻

“…they had boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.99lb!”

Great price! They’re $2.99 at our market and I thought that was good.

Todays freebies:

1) 48oz Diamond Almond Milk.

2) O Organic's tea bags, 16 ct, I chose digestion.

3) Miltons' Gluten Free Crackers....I got the Jalapeno.

This is funny. 10-15 years ago I was invited to church by a neighbor. After the service she excitedly brought me down to their donated food store - it was full of food my friend had never tried but I had. Organic avocados, blood oranges, tofu, soy milk etc…

I tend to prefer homemade food and food closer to its original form. As in if I can’t eat bread I would prefer rice to bread made from rice. I have learned to be more tolerant as I have had more friends with food limitations. Right now I am dealing with some health issues of my own and have to avoid things like raw vegetables. I went to lunch in Saturday and instead of my favorite turkey salad I had bacon and eggs. Not the healthiest but high protein and lower risk than fresh greens for me at the moment.

This week: 52oz Oatmilk .....my husband drinks it. I've never tried it. :0)

I cashed in 300 loyalty points, which gives me $4 off my next purchase. :0)

I used to use a very basic oatmilk to make outmeal, but I stopped eating oatmeal (too sweet) and now they've made it "better". :( It used to be just oats, water and maybe salt. Three ingredients. I suppose I could try making it in the Vita-mix. Perhaps the issue was children being given it instead of milk to drink? I think there was a governmental push to make things called "milk" more nutritious. I've also read that in the 19th C., when the price of tea came down enough in England for everyone to be able to drink it, the little splash of milk they were getting improved general health. I'm not sure that plant based milk would do that... But interesting that your husband will drink it, not just lighten a caffeine drink.

As part of a cholesterol lowering campaign (which has worked and kept me off statins) I have changed to soya 'milk' on my porridge. It is low in saturated fat, high in protein and fortified with calcium and vitamins. But they are not allowed to call it 'milk'.

I don't use it in tea. The taste isn't the same as dairy milk.

I don't find oatmeal sweet. I make it with water and I don't add sugar, honey or syrup to it. It is an excellent addition to a cholesterol controlling diet.

I don't put sweet in my oatmeal. I just think oats taste sweet. I mean, plain dry oats, themselves taste sweet.

This week:

Low sugar Gatorade

Kodiak French Toast Sticks

I don't usually buy ice cream, too much sugar...but...I'll try it!

I love mochi ice cream, but not strawberry! I hope yours are better than the ones I've had. For ice cream mochi or sesame balls, my favorite filling is red bean. Often, mochi are less sugary, but I don't know about packaged ones, since sugar is a preservative (though freezing is even moreso). Enjoy your trials!

We tried the "cookies & Cream" Mochi. That...is...weird! :0) Not anything I'd buy again. The rice dough is sticky...then cold...and slightly sweet. The combination is not pleasing to my taste buds.

I did earn 700 bonus points, with a clipped coupon, after that shopping trip and cashed in my reward points for30 Mega rolls of toilet paper/FREE...and $2 off a loaf of Sourdough Bread.

It is fun for me to read about your smart deals. I am a fan of yours!

@westsider40...thank you!!!

I've been VERY busy "deal shopping". I'm trying to encourage other crafty people to renovate a piece instead of throwing it in a landfill. I've posted a few projects if your curious. Here are a few links:

The new pergola

Sling Chairs

I did just purchase a serrated bread bow knife for $6.49....could have made it for less using a serrated coping saw blade...but it would have been a lot of trouble! ❤️ :0)

I love NEW kitchen toys! BEST bread knife I've ever used!!!!

Cost for knife = $6 - $7 Link

32oz coffee creamer....FREE

Then for Father's Day, they had a BIG sale. Safeway: Boneless Pork Tenderlion .99lb, .88cents Chobani yogurt, .99cents Skippy Peanut Butter

Neccos candy wafers

Almond Breeze 64 oz carton

11 oz Canadian sparkling water...got strawberry flavor, it's sweet

Grillo pickles (good on hot dogs, but we just don't eat hot dogs but once a year)

Fozen, 14.5oz of plant based chorizo

Then they had coupons, where if you spend $365 they'd give you 650 points...put with my other points, I have $20 to spend, in store. DH purchased a lot of whey protein powder, vitamins, creatine & cat food + boneless pork tenderloin(my freezer is stocked).

I missed one of your posts when it went up. I'm not 100% sure that a saw blade wouold be the best on bread. They don't have the bevelled teeth, but for many years my father used a coping saw with a new blade on it to cut things like big blocks of frozen (homemade) stock to the size Mother wanted. And he sometimes used a hacksaw for butchery. At some point we got him a chef's saw for a "can't think of a gift for Father present", but it's just a hacksaw with a slender blade and a yellow handle. :) I have it now. I haven't found a need for it, but I'm ready to cut! Okay, maybe it would be the right thing to cut the chickens for my mother's arroz con pollo, but I'm not sure I'm read (or strong enough) to cut through the bones on a couple of chickens... Still, I highly endorse kitchen saws. :)

@plllog...I own a Wusthoff bread knife....full tang...really nice! And...the cheapo bow knife is sooooooooooooooo much better! I was really impressed! I can cut really thin slices off my homemade bread...also...NO squishing the bread....it's so "perfect"! I'm rarely amazed by a knife...yet...the teeth on a bow knife..."ARE" bevelled. And...price wise...so cheap! I know you've purchased some very pretty knifes...the best money can buy. THIS knife...almost "crazy" to look at...MAN! It really is superior! Growing up with my father, a chef...I learned how to oil a sharpening stone...the correct angle to run a blade on it...never used an electric knife sharpener on a quality knife. Cooking was an ART! Your kitchen gear made it all happen. If he were alive today I'd buy him one of these. 👩‍🍳

I get you. My go-to bread knife is a cheap-a$$ scallop edged one with a plastic handle I acquired when I was living in a poor, tiny town on the other side of the world. It's carp. And it cuts bread really well. My really pretty expensive knife (I just have one) cuts extremely well, but it's just a chef's knife with an awesome blade. I save it for special. I've tried to learn to use the whetstone my father gave me, but it doesn't click and the little cutlery store went away when the owners aged out, so I've been using an X-spring sharpener, carefully. It works. I envy your skills. I'm so glad your bow knife is working so well for you!

My whetstones are NOT near as big as the one "dad" used wrapped in an old towel. :0) If I press too hard on them, they break in half. :0) I usually use a "steel" for sharpening my kitchen knifes. The whetstones we take on job sites, use them for utility knifes mostly. :0) We do own an ax...used to have a wood burning fireplace. :0)

Axes are useful. I've never sharpened one, though. :) My father got me a two sided whetstone and made a wood box for it. It's lovely, but I just never for a feel for it no matter how many times he showed me. But what he taught me was that the stone sharpens the blade and the steel straightens the edge. Which makes it cut better. :) I finally understood when a friend had a chef's knife so thing and soft that the edge actually curled.

There''s a kid whom I started on good cast iron and sharp knives when he was about 16 and wanting to make Japanese omelet and accompaniments. Gifts complete with websites explaining how to season and maintain, how to sharpen and hone, etc. He took it to heart. And kept his good things at home when he want away to college, though his mom did borrow them until I got her nice things of her own. :) It makes me happy to know that he took the instructions to heart, uses his tools well and has continued to learn. :D At some point I got him a fancy Japanese five stone sharpening set, but I don't know if he actually uses it...

They offered $30 off a $75 or bigger order if you do curbside pickup or delivery. OK! I can always use catfood....did an order with curbside pickup....and the guy came out with someone elses order...? Said the tags fall off the crates and they just stick them back on randomly.....huh...? I gave my last name, he said, yeah...THIS is yours. Uh no....where's the catfood? Then I asked, "The two cars next to me...they NEVER got out of their car to check the order before driving off...how do YOU know the order was correct? " ....he smiled...

Another employee overheard us, "said I'll help him"...and 10 minutes later he came back with my partial order.....I said no...I had 3 of those...2 of those...he said, "The screen wraps around and I can't see quantities". But....if THAT were true...then why do I have 2 packages of Nestle choc chips....that's right....or one McCormick pepper grinder...that's correct....he ran back inside...10 minutes later...got more of my other things. I said, "So sorry your system isn't working and it's giving you a hard time." And left.

My husband said, "You know he was just lazy. He didn't check quantities." OK....how does THIS system work? Why would anyone use curbside pickup! Does anyone else have THIS problem?

I don't do curbside, but I've had good luck with Instacart. I do tip well. Occasionally, I've thought that something they list as unavailable was because the picker didn't know what it was or where to find it, but then they started listing the tenure and accomplishments of your picker, and the ones who've been at it for a couple of years are very good, and I think they give the simpler orders to the newbies, now.

It sounds to me--opinion, not anything with evidence--like the day's orders were interfering with the stockboys' tokefest. Or maybe they were gassed from the promotion that was designed to encourage you to use the service more in the future, fulfilling four times as many orders as usual, so put together random orders to discourage you from using pick-up again.

"I'm supposed to tip them?" Really?!

THAT never even occurred to me. I've NEVER seen anyone tip them. Usually the SUV pops the hatch...bags are sitting opened....filled by the attendant...hatch is closed....they drive off. They never even get a "Thank you!". .......I am soooooooooooooo out of the loop. 🧑‍🩰

(I had to Google "What is Instacart") Never done "Door dash"..."Uber eats"....NEVER! 🫣 I'm retired...free time and plenty of it is ALL I have! 😁Guilty....

The ones who do the full shopping, driving and bring it all up the stairs? Yes. It might be different elsewhere, but here we tip.

The all wrong pickup? Never. Pickup done right and well? Depends on how much and how heavy, and where you live.

For me, the delivery is the key. I can do a light shopping now, and leave the heavy bottles and stuff in the car, in the garage, for the beloveds to bring upstairs, but there were a few years when I could barely get myself up and down the stairs, and the beloveds can pick up a couple of things, but not a whole shopping. Before ever I was injured, before the don't breathe with people pandemic, I occasionally used Instacart as a time saver. Back then, the picker would call to make sure they were getting just what you wanted. It's not that excellent now, but still better than turning the beloveds loose in the store. I've only used other services such as you mentioned, when I needed something specific from someplace that only dealt with them (traffic and parking are big factors here). One of the best known has the very worst service you could imagine and ridiculous fees. A good tip for a job well done is worth it to me. :)

I live in a gated community. They/drivers leave packages at the guardhouse or behind bushes at the gates, we have three entrances....ALL the time. (people should include a gate code with their order & they don't). I routinely stop...pick up packages and deliver it to the address. The other day there was a Starbucks chocolate danish with NO address sitting sealed...on top of the entry gate post. ☺️

After that last fiasco, they gave themselves a 5 star rating for accuracy of order, attention to time & customer satisfaction with product choices....they are NOW offering me $5 off on my next curbside pickup. 🙄

I have really good luck with curbside pickup at my local Meijer. It doesn't cost extra and I used it a lot when Mother was still with me and I didn't dare leave her for the couple of hours it would take to drive, shop, drive home. I'd just order on line, choose my time and send someone to pick it up for me. When you get there you call/text with your order number and they bring it out. I did have it delivered a couple of times and tipped that person but I live too far out in the sticks for DoorDash or even pizza delivery,none is available.

I never got a wrong order although a couple of times they were out of items I ordered and they substituted something else, until I figured out I could ask for no substitutions. The workers who brought the orders out to the car told me they were employees of the store and were not allowed to accept tips.

Annie

Nicole, that's hysterical!!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell.........................I'm out of milk, Hubby makes himself protein shakes with it, I NEED an onion, kitty litter is on sale.....I'm going to use THAT $5 off coupon. Wish me luck! 🤞 😆

Update: FANTASTIC! A perfect order pick up!

They were out of the little 4oz frozen apple pies I was going to try @ $1.29ea...they substituted Marie Callenders 10oz apple pies, $3.29...even exchanged it! NICE!!! And my produce wasn't rotted...had that happen before......

My husband likes it...FREE...One carton.