Grocery Store Stuff Recomendations

[newts]

I am an expert grocery shopper. Some tips:

- With the exception of late November, December & early January, Superstore will have the best prices in the market place. There is no need to flyer shop anywhere else, as they match all advertised prices. If you can put up with crappy service and empty shelves at times, this is the best place to shop for dry goods at the best price.

- Superstore marks up their prices in the time periods I stated above, to match the rest of the market. They are still marginally less expensive, but this is when they make their highest retail margins of the year. Their motto is "prices you can trust", but you can put an asterisk beside that for the time periods I stated.

- The best time to shop is on Tuesday or Wednesday. This has given the stores time to recover from the weekend. The store will be the most stocked on these days.

- Superstore, Sobeys & Walmart have a free item policy (under $10 or $15), if the wrong price is displayed on shelf. Other stores may have this policy, but generally this is where I stick to my shopping. The day after Superstore flips their flyer, is the best day to take advantage of this. Because of limited and incompetent staff, they miss a ton of prices which should have been switched, either because SS is no longer advertising them, or they are no longer matching a competitor. If you bring a list to the store, mark down the prices, then go thru your receipt at the end. In some instances, I've gotten up to $20 in free items because of this.

- Out of the major chains, Safeway has the best produce, bar none. Superstore has the worst. Safeway procures grade A produce, Superstore procures anything but. You pay for what you get when it comes to produce. But if you're shopping the centre of the store at Safeway (dry goods), you're paying 10-30% more, depending on the item. Obviously you pay more for the produce, but it's worth it.

- Buy 2, 3, 4 etc. for $x ... at most grocers, except for Superstore, you can buy just one item for an equal fraction of the multiple.

Overall, if you shop on Tuesday or Wednesday and track your prices, Superstore is your best bet. But buy your produce somewhere else.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by troutman

Sunterra take-home dinners for the win.

I didn't know Sunterra was a grocery store.

[henriksedin33]

Originally Posted by Dion

Never seen these, but I wonder how they taste compared to their Kettle-Chip counterpart. Love those things.


I highly recommend this steak sauce, I'm sure most people have had it...Good with pork and other things that used to be living as well.

[Weiser Wonder]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

I didn't know Sunterra was a grocery store.

What did you think it was?

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Weiser Wonder

What did you think it was?

Kind of like a restaurant and a food court combined.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by henriksedin33

Never seen these, but I wonder how they taste compared to their Kettle-Chip counterpart. Love those things.

The Kettle ones are better but I find you can get sick of either brand pretty quickly. At first they're addictive but they later become kind of gross.

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by newts

I am an expert grocery shopper. Some tips...

What are these "dry goods" and "produce" you speak of?

Are you a witch?

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by BuzzardsWife

sweet potatoes are actually the lighter colored ones..the yams are dark orange..the best way i like my yams is to wrap them whole, in foil and bake until the sugar runs out of them...sweet potatoes are good in potato salad too..substitute half reg. potatoes for sweet ones

heh... I typed it right the first time. At least as far as the ones I buy -- Yams are the darker. But there are many varietals of the respective plants.

I usually roast an assortment of other root vegetables with squash and a bit of garlic. I have very little in the way of white potatos.

I have to watch very carefully what I eat, so I limit a lot of "snack" foods. Certain things I get are organic, particularly greens.

Knorr, Campbells and V8 now market a variety of vegetable soups in tetrapacks. I have a lot of those.

I'll also second the mention of Safeway Select Salsa Verde. Mixed with ground turkey or chicken, it makes an awesome chili soup.

[Eric Vail]

The best service is at Co Op. About 80% of the time I leave Superstore I am angry at the poor service. It just isn't worth it for the few bucks I'd save. Co Op always has their shelves stocked, and they have friendly courteous service. You don't need a coin to get a shopping cart. They always carry out your groceries for you, so you don't need to be bothered with the cart. Though I have never been an employee at Co Op or any grocery store for that matter, I get the impression Co Op treats their workers better.

Their prices are competitive with any except Stupidstore. However, for me the agravation is hardly worth a few bucks.

Jamaica Mistake Salad Dressing
Kraft Asian Sesame Dressing (even good as a sauce for meat)

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

The best service is at Co Op. About 80% of the time I leave Superstore I am angry at the poor service. It just isn't worth it for the few bucks I'd save. Co Op always has their shelves stocked, and they have friendly courteous service. You don't need a coin to get a shopping cart. They always carry out your groceries for you, so you don't need to be bothered with the cart. Though I have never been an employee at Co Op or any grocery store for that matter, I get the impression Co Op treats their workers better.

Their prices are competitive with any except Stupidstore. However, for me the agravation is hardly worth a few bucks.

I speak as someone who is a regular CoOp shopper due to it being the most convenient for me. It's not just a few bucks. Whenever consumer or media groups do price comparison shopping, Co-Op is consistently the most expensive in the market, and you will pay at least 25% more there. If you eat out most of the time and are single, maybe this 25% doesn't account for much... but if you are spending $200-$300 a trip on a family or four or more, the difference is HUGE.

[JerzeeGirl]

I'll just pass on some additional love for VH sauces - their new Indian Market sauces make awesome curry in a hurry! I've had the Tikka Masala, Mango Curry & Korma varieties and have yet to be disappointed.

[Clarkey]

Rotolino from Costco. It's mozza cheese rolled up with bail leaves and prosciutto slices into a tube.

[PYroMaNiaC]

Sobey's will also pack your groceries, like Co-Op. Their pricing is better too. Produce at this time of year is garbage across the board. The only way around it that I've found it to buy stuff labeled "organic". The pricing on organic is getting better, but really, it comes down to wether or not it will get eaten. I can save a few pennies by buying crappy produce and then wasting it all when I have to throw it out because no one in the house will eat it.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by PYroMaNiaC

The only way around it that I've found it to buy stuff labeled "organic".

I bought some green onions in Superstore yesterday where the organic stuff was very close - if not better - to the price of the "regular" stuff.

[Ironhorse]

Organic bananas.... mmmmmmmmm.....

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by PYroMaNiaC

Produce at this time of year is garbage across the board.

I've found Costco produce to be consistently decent year round. You have to buy a ton of it at once, but it tends to be better quality then your average grocery store stuff.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by fotze

Odd thread I know, but since most of us spend 10's of thousands of dollars in these places..

Recommend:
Those Casa di mama instant pizzas - Surprisingly good, best instant pizzas, better than those crappy mcain pizzas that never turn out right. Dr Oetker pies are actually decent too.

Sorry. I have a mad obsession with McCain frozen pizza. It doesn't even taste like pizza to me ... it's something different ... but I love it like no other.

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

I tried this brand of frozen lasagna at Safeway called "Eating Right"....Italian chicken tomato kind. Best frozen lasagna bar none.

Do you know if they make a spaghetti (dried)? I think I tried a spaghetti with this brand name a few weeks ago and it was incredible compared to the others. Unfortunately it's never in stock when i look.

Originally Posted by newts

I am an expert grocery shopper. Some tips:

- With the exception of late November, December & early January, Superstore will have the best prices in the market place. There is no need to flyer shop anywhere else, as they match all advertised prices. If you can put up with crappy service and empty shelves at times, this is the best place to shop for dry goods at the best price.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, Classico pasta sauce is just about the best stuff in the free world. $5 a bottle is a bit of a killer though. Superstore somehow manages to price it at around $3 a bottle year round. I would shop there exclusively simply for that reason, but there are few places that irritate me more than superstore. To be fair, it's the people in superstore more than the store itself. I just always leave that place fuming.

[prarieboy]

If you like garlic chili sauces this is the bomb. Not to hot, a little salty and just plain awesome.
I shoudn't be posting this cause it's hard to come by but I've found it at Sobeys and Safeway.

http://canada.lkk.com/commonCA/Consu...aterialCode=18

Try it

[MRCboicgy]

I love the Safeway "O" brand Mac and Cheese. Yes it's expensive, but it's the best thing to come out of a microwave since popcorn.