Groceries

Grocery store sushi is extremely convenient, and it’s way less expensive than sushi from a restaurant. Some grocery store sushi is even quite tasty, although in general everybody understands that the $10 plate of sushi from the grocery store is not going to be quite the same quality as the sushi you pay $30 for at your friendly neighborhood sushi restaurant.

In excellent news for the wine-drinkers of the world, Aldi has done it again. The discount grocery chain has a $7 bottle of Shiraz from Australia that has been named one of the best wines in the world, and it just beat a $375 bottle in competition. Aldi’s One Road Shiraz is a medium-bodied red with a flavor that’s described as “clean and fruit driven with no sign of wood. It retails for $6.99 in Australia, which is just about $5.35 in the U.S.

There is no denying that the three-pound, five-dollar rotisserie chicken from Costco is not only a time saver for quick weeknight meals, but also a great way to make your dollar stretch. I mean, one person can eat the same chicken for five straight days! But as you toss that rotisserie chicken into your cart, are you checking the ingredient label? Truth be told I haven’t been, but I might start — and here’s why. Last year the infamous Dr.

For the last few years, the folks over at Barilla have held a tasty competition where they see who can come up with the most innovative pasta design. As you might know, how a noodle or pasta shape is made can affect how it tastes, feels in your mouth, and holds onto sauce. Italian grandmas would be ecstatic if they only knew their handmade craft has been turned into something so, so cool. Want to see how it works?

The world is still coming down from the combined sugar rush of Halloween and Starbucks’ viral Zombie Frappuccino, but the coffee giant is ready to get the holiday season started. Starbucks just released two new holiday drinks — the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha and Chestnut Praline Chai Latte — and they both sound very exciting. The Toasted White Chocolate Mocha is made with a special new toasted white chocolate syrup, espresso, steamed milk, and whipped cream.

When I was 26 I set my wok on fire seasoning it (before I knew how to do it properly), but luckily my trusty fire extinguisher took care of things before it became really serious. That’s why the news that 38 million fire extinguishers are being recalled right now — models made over the last 44 years — is especially unnerving. There are recalls and then there are tell all the people recalls. This is the latter variety.

Costco is an excellent place to buy pumpkin pies and olive oil, but it’s probably not the first place that comes to mind when one thinks of romance. It should be, though, because Costco is very romantic. There’s lots of good food and diamond engagement rings, and the presence of all the sample stations means it’s basically a giant, free tapas bar. Now one Twitter user has made a case for why Costco is the ideal first date location, and he’s absolutely right.

If you regularly shop at Trader Joe’s, you might want to check your fridge when you get home. The FSIS is issuing an alert for the grocery store’s pre-made “Broccoli Slaw & Kale Salad with White Chicken Meat” for potential listeria contamination. It’s not an official recall, however, because the salad is technically past its “use by” date. If your household is anything like mine, however, those dates are often taken with a grain of salt.

At Starbucks, there are two types of people: those who stick to the menu and keep their orders super simple, and those who doctor up their drinks with all kinds of so-called “hacks.” These complicated orders no doubt drive baristas bonkers and hold up the line for coffee, but they’re also wildly unhealthy. Unless you’ve witnessed these orders first hand, it’s hard to imagine something as sinister as 20 pumps of pumpkin syrup in one cup.

I love spreading good news and cheer, especially to all you busy moms out there who make everything magical for everyone else during this frantic time of year. Today is the perfect day to do some table dancing because you can now get your hands on chocolate wine. Aldi added Rubis Chocolate Wine to their yearly wine advent calendar. This luscious wine is described as being, “velvety, smooth dark chocolate complemented by rich, puckering fruit and hints of dried fig.” Yes please.

When you’re in the kitchen, there are countless things that can go wrong. I’m not talking about burning toast or drying out a turkey roast à la the Griswolds. I mean full-fledged incidents like scorching your arm on the wire racks in your oven or slicing your hand open while cutting an avocado. That said, one of the last kitchen gadgets I’d expect to cause me harm is my cake server.

Here at Kitchn we believe that getting in control of your finances starts with food. Do you want to save up for a special trip? Or maybe you’re trying to lower your student debt? Keeping a close watch on your grocery budget can help. Being a smart shopper and planner can save you a whole lot of dough in the long run. Here are five smart tips and tools for managing your grocery budget.

This just in from the front page of the Daily Prophet: Starbucks has made all of your wildest dreams come true with pumpkin juice. The best part? You don’t even have to go all the way to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to get one. Thank you, Starbucks. Thank you. If I had to explain the excitement behind drinking something that was merely written into a story, a beverage that only fictional characters have tasted, then it would just sound silly.

Raise your hand if every day for lunch you prepare a homemade, Instagram-ready meal featuring seasonal ingredients sourced from local farms. Or maybe you sit down to a dazzling Michelin-star spectacle of culinary genius. Perhaps, on any given Tuesday, you tuck into a gorgeous bowl of glistening sashimi caught by Hawaiian fishermen, with your feet in the sand and the South Pacific sun overhead. Doesn’t sound like you? No, me neither.

Every September it’s not the school supplies or apple picking adventures that mark the final return of fall — it’s the arrival of Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. Seriously, that sweet, baking-spiced brew is like a cozy cashmere sweater in a cup. And now the coffee chain is about to take your coveted PSL and take it to the next level. After debuting on the menu last year, pumpkin-flavored whipped cream is finally returning to Starbucks.

World Vegetarian Day falls on October 1, and this year Whole Foods Market is getting in on the fun. To celebrate, the high-end organic supermarket, which was recently acquired by Amazon, is going to retail organic bunches of kale for $1. And this offer won’t be limited to World Vegetarian Day — it’ll be valid from September 27 to October 3, while supplies last. Get your kale while it’s hot (and cheap), people!

How we grocery shop is changing, and Albertsons Companies — one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States — is trying to adapt. On Wednesday, the company (which owns the likes of Safeway, Kroger, Food Lion, Ralphs, and Winn-Dixie) announced its acquisition of the popular meal kit company Plated. While talks for the deal reportedly began months ago, Albertsons made the official announcement this week.

With the popularity of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, one would think the first day of fall (September 22) would be the day Starbucks brings the cult-favorite drink back to the menu. But the PSL made its debut earlier in the year, on September 5. To celebrate fall, Starbucks is launching two items in its brick-and-mortar stores that line up with the vibe and feel of the season, and we think you’re going to be very excited about both of them. The first is a Maple Pecan Latte.

Hurricane Irma left a lot in devastation: people were stranded and homes, businesses, and farms were destroyed. The latter leaves the future of produce especially vulnerable. Gene McAvoy, a specialist on vegetable farming at the University of Florida, told NPR that orange and grapefruit groves that were approaching harvest were impacted, as the storm left “50 or 60 percent of the fruit lying in water [or] on the ground.

You might want to change your plans for next Wednesday.

Fall has become synonymous with one particular squash-themed beverage: the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The Starbucks drink has spiked in popularity and each year fans eagerly wait to learn when the drink will make its debut. If you’ve been twiddling your thumbs waiting for your favorite coffee drink, then I have good news: Starbucks announced today that its fall menu has officially been released and it includes the Pumpkin Spice Latte, or PSL.

If you had any doubts about Amazon taking over the food and beverage industry, here’s even more evidence: You can now order wine on Amazon Prime and they will deliver it to your door in an hour. Yes, wine in one hour is now possible. Amazon’s Prime Now is a super-fast delivery service where you can buy anything from chapstick to clothing to toothpaste.

If you’re on this site, chances are that you love grocery shopping. It’s probably not a chore for you, right? No matter how much you enjoy it, though, you don’t always have hours and hours to spend, slowly moseying up and down each and every aisle. Because, well, life. That’s why we asked some brilliant time-management experts for their best tips to help us all get in and out of the grocery store quickly.

There are a ton of grocery apps out there, claiming to save you time and money. Unfortunately, most of them (like a lot of apps) aren’t actually worth the time it takes to figure them out or the money it costs to use them. There is one, however, that is super easy and convenient to use — and it’s free! It’s called Flipp and you should download it ASAP. The best way to know what’s on sale near you is to subscribe to your local grocery stores’ circulars.

Amazon is a solid player in the grocery delivery service and, with its recent acquisition of Whole Foods, it is slated to become a major player in the brick-and-mortar supermarket scene too. Now the e-commerce giant may also be planning to tackle takeout. Motley Fool reports the company is testing ready-to-eat meals that don’t mandate refrigeration.

When it comes to delivering groceries to homes, Amazon has a firm understanding of what works and what doesn’t. But the e-commerce company is going to face some fierce competition: Discount supermarket Aldi is slated to partner with Instacart, a grocery delivery company that allows consumers to shop for groceries online and then have them delivered to their door in a matter of one to two hours.

Target is awesome for all sorts of things: towels, toiletries, sports bras. It can also be a great place to buy food — especially if you know how (and when) to shop. If you haven’t checked out Target’s grocery selection recently, you should: There’s so much more than just Archer Farms! Plus, you’re already there picking up makeup, pens, and leggings anyway. Thanks to the megastore’s redesign, the experience is about to get even better.

It was only last week that Halo Top announced seven additional flavors to their roster. We were blessed with additions like “Pancake & Waffles” and “Rainbow Swirl.” Well, Halo Top has another pint up their sleeve, and I have a feeling you’re going to be very excited about this addition. Just in time for fall, the low-calorie ice cream brand is releasing a pumpkin pie flavor. Who needs a PSL from Starbucks when you can eat ice cream? No one, that’s who.

Do you hear that? That soft, but forceful whooshing sound? It’s the sound of summer coming to a close. You might be sitting beachside this weekend with a cold beverage, but Starbucks has other plans that involve cable-knit sweaters and cozy nights by the fire. It might only be the second week of August, but this week the coffee giant announced that two new Pumpkin Spice Latte products will be hitting grocery shelves near you.

I’ve always looked at my freezer as one of the best kitchen tools at my disposal. Not only does it hold my hoard of butter pecan ice cream, but it also serves as a staging area for any number of meals that I can pull together in minutes — without resorting to flimsy TV dinners.

Avocado-lovers received some bad news earlier this year — their favorite fruit was going to cost them more money as the market rate reached record highs. A Bloomberg report warned that a combination of growing demand and a smaller crop would make the price of avocado steeper than usual in 2017, and it did. At the time, the going rate for a box of avocados was double that of last year, reaching a 19-year high. Oof.

There are more men wandering grocery store aisles, reports a new survey from Men’s Health. The survey — which only questioned men (insert eye roll) — found that 84 percent of men are the main grocery shoppers in their households. That’s 19 percent higher than what was the case 10 years ago.

Coca-Cola announced a major change in its product lineup on Wednesday. It’s no-calorie drink, Coke Zero, will be swapped out with a new beverage — featuring a new recipe, new design, and new name — called Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. The drink will make its debut next month. According to the company, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is the “new and improved Coke Zero.” Fans of Coke Zero in the United States are furious, devastated, and grieving the loss of the drink.

In the produce section of my grocery store, right above the big bin of work-a-day, slicing cucumbers, there sits another section of cucumbers snuggly blanketed in plastic wrap. I’m certain there’s a similar setup in your local grocery store, and I have no doubt that the same question that has crossed my mind has also crossed yours: Why are some cucumbers wrapped in plastic? It’s time to finally put your curiosity to rest, because I have the answer for you.

Amazon is the Jack of all trades: It’s an online marketplace, has its own video and music streaming service, owns upscale organic retailer Whole Foods, and has a popular home assistant (Hi, Alexa!). Now the company is slowly dipping its toes into the meal kit market. As GrubStreet reports, Amazon has been selling meal kits since late June. It looks like they are currently being sold in a limited quantity and most likely to expand.

Ben & Jerry’s has a brand new ice cream flavor, and it’s big news for Phish Food fans. The Vermont-based ice cream company has made no apologies for its love of Phish over the years (rumor has it the company even gives employees the day off for local Phish shows) and even honored the band with its own ice cream flavor back in 1997.

Just in time for National Ice Cream Day (yes, it’s today!), Talenti let us in on a little secret regarding the best-selling gelato flavors from their utterly delicious brand. You would think that flavors like Tahitian Vanilla Bean or even Double Dark Chocolate would be up at the very top because those are classics, right? But it turns out that they didn’t even make the top five. Here are the most popular Talenti flavors right now — have you tried any of them?

I like to think that one’s freezer is a lot like one’s medicine cabinet. A peek inside reveals so much about the character and lifestyle of its owner! I suppose a refrigerator can offer you a similar insider perspective, but the freezer? Well, the freezer really gives you a look at the person’s future hopes and dreams — what is she stashing away in cold storage? — as well as one’s everyday habits and preferences.

In the last couple years the meal kit industry has exploded, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Trying to find the right recipe to fit your dietary needs, plus grocery shopping, and then prepping all the ingredients to actually make the dish takes time. Meal kits offer you back time in the kitchen, without having to order takeout (again) or going with another bowl of cold cereal. The only problem with meal kits, of course, is that they’re normally pretty expensive.

Online retailer Amazon announced earlier this month its plans to acquire Whole Foods, an upscale grocery chain with 460 physical stores, for $13.7 billion. Amazon is known for its use of technological innovation for behind-the-scenes efficiency, which raises a great question about what is in store for Whole Foods and its existing employees.

Wine snobbery is not something I take part in. I don’t always taste the oak in a chardonnay, I have a hard time pronouncing the names of most fancy vineyards, and I always feel like a putz when I swirl the glass before I take a sip. That said, I drink a lot of wine. As you may have guessed, I’m not discerning — I’ll usually drink whatever is around or whatever is inexpensive (and easily accessible) at the wine store across the street.

Last Friday, online retailer Amazon announced it is acquiring Whole Foods — the upscale grocery chain started in Austin, Texas, in 1980 that has over 460 brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, Britain, and Canada — for $13.7 billion. With Amazon being the world’s largest online retailer, the future of Whole Foods’ partnership with startup Instacart, which delivers goods to a consumer’s doorstep, remains unclear.

If you ever had any doubts about Amazon taking over the world, rest assured that it’s happening. Amazon is coming for your groceries. The company announced Friday morning that they agreed to buy Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, a massive deal that launches the e-commerce site straight into the supermarket business. It’s no secret that Whole Foods has been struggling in the past year.

Walmart is experimenting with making grocery shopping more efficient than ever for the consumer. The budget retailer has rolled out self-service kiosks — or giant 20-foot-by-80-foot vending machines — for all your grocery needs. While the concept already exists in the United Kingdom, the first U.S. testing location is the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in Warr Acres, Oklahoma.

This week the European grocery chain Lidl is launching nine new grocery stores in the United States (you can see the full list here). If you’ve been freaking out about the new chain finally coming to the U.S., then you’ll be even more excited to see the company’s leaflet with pricing and specials for the store’s grand opening on June 15. The store features in-house brands that can’t be found elsewhere, and have a cult following similar to Trader Joe’s goods.

In the peak of summer, I look forward to Saturday mornings more than anything else. I rush through my stint at the gym in order to get to the good part of the day (aka my stroll through the farmers market). I tend to load up my tote with more than it can carry, especially this time of year when everything from tomatoes and zucchini to lettuce and berries are in abundance. But I always save just enough room among all the produce for one additional item: a loaf of bread.

American shoppers will soon be able to peruse the aisles of a popular European grocery chain called Lidl in nine different locations in the country.

Your iced coffee from Starbucks might just get a whole new makeover. Starbucks is currently experimenting with coffee ice cubes, which means your favorite summer beverage won’t be diluted after a few minutes in the sun. The new offering is coming to select franchises and it’s going to cost customers 80 cents more. But what people get in return may be well worth the extra money. The coffee ice cubes will not be made from leftover coffee.

What alcoholic seltzer is right for you? I tried 21 different flavors and found a few favorites.

If you’re a Costco regular, then there’s no doubt you’re well acquainted with just how often this massive store can come to the rescue when you’re getting ready to feed a crowd. While there are a ton of great buys, Costco really wins in the appetizer department. Meaning: The warehouse store can really be a life-safer this time of year when holiday parties are nonstop.

Avocado-lovers need to brace their wallets, as prices of the healthy fruit are going to continue increasing. Bloomberg reports that a combination of growing demand and a smaller crop will keep the cost of avocados high this year. Right now, a 22-pound box of Hass avocados from Mexico cost $27.89. That’s double what it cost last year and the highest prices have been in the past 19 years. Part of the reason is growing demand.

The supermarket can be a very not fun place — especially for kids.

Starbucks has plans to go from “grande” to “trenta” for their new upscale location on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The Seattle-based coffee company announced their plan to open an interactive 43,000-square-foot, four-story Roastery in the windy city. The location should be up and running by 2019.

If grocery chain Albertsons has its way, it’ll be adding a fancier supermarket to its roster: Whole Foods. According to the Financial Times, the private equity firm that owns Albertsons is looking to acquire the Austin-based upscale grocer, known for retailing organic and natural products. The Financial Times reports, citing anonymous sources, that Cerberus Capital Management is in discussions with bankers to place an offer on Whole Foods.

When it comes to buying chicken and getting a good deal for your money, the price tag doesn’t tell the whole story. Yes, it tells us dollar-per-pound cost, but if you consider price alone you miss one important thing: the bones. While bone-in options can be particularly economical and flavorful, a smaller percentage of the package you paid for is actually edible (stock-making aside). Do you know which cut of chicken actually gives you the most meat for your money? Are you surprised?

One of the best things to do when walking down the aisles of a wholesale retailer like Costco or Sam’s Club is to try all the samples. Oh, you want some cheese? Here you go! Oh, you’d like to try that new drink on sale? No problem! This offers consumers a risk-free way of trying new products without having to make a purchase they’ll potentially later regret. For the retailer, it introduces consumers to a new item they can buy, which can possibly increase sales.

Navigating the grocery store was a shock when I went to college. I grew up with my mom buying everything for the household, and suddenly I was alone and struggling to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner a reality. How did I create a budget? What’s the deal with leftovers? Just like everything in college, grocery shopping was a learning curve and I made plenty of mistakes along the way. During my freshman year I had no concept of budgeting when it came to grocery shopping.

Discover something new to help make your time in the kitchen a little bit easier.

Those who regularly shop at the grocery stores may have noticed a trend over the past few years: the prices are getting better and better. It’s not an illusion — chain supermarkets have been lowering their rates to keep up with the competitive times. USA Today reports the pricing scale is offering shoppers great bargains, but it’s taking the axe to grocery store’s profits.

Grocery stores are wonderful places for many of us who love food — places of solace, joy, adventure, and family. What they really aren’t is romantic. Until now. French grocery chain Intermarche has just figured out how to make even the most mundane chore during the weekday nostalgic, romantic, and downright beautiful with their sweet commercial (and to be honest, this is really more like a mini movie than a commercial).

In case you were starting to worry the internet held no more surprises, we present the fact that — you guessed it — you can buy cereal marshmallows in bulk. Finally, a way to live out our childhood fantasies of eating bowls of all-marshmallow Lucky Charms! This fact first came to our attention through a short piece on the site called Cereal Marshmallows, which is devoted to the crispy dehydrated marshmallows of our childhood dreams.

Pork chops and tenderloin are favorites among many, but these mild-flavored, lean cuts come with a higher price tag to match. Look inside the meat case and you’ll find a selection of options to get your fill of pork without killing your food budget for the week — you just have to know what to look for and what to do with it when you get home. Here are our five favorite budget buys and how to cook them to perfection.

The 14th of March is commonly known as Pi Day around the world — a holiday celebrating the mathematical constant Pi, which is approximately 3.14159 and has 6.4 billion known digits. Lucky for you, you don’t need to be a mathematician to take part in this special day. In fact, Pi Day is really just an excuse to have as much pie and pizza as you can possibly handle. Don’t have time to make your own sweet or savory pie? Whole Foods is here to help you out.

Butchers aren’t just there to grab the second sirloin from the back out of the meat case for you; they are equipped to do all sorts of meat-related tasks, probably much better than you would do yourself. All you have to do is ask. We spoke to butchers from Stew Leonard’s, Publix, and Sprouts to get a refresher on what you can ask your grocery store butcher to do for you.

A few weeks ago I caught sight of my overworked, frazzled, absent-minded self in the big mirror in my local grocery store and did a double take; as unbelievable as it was, I had managed to go to the store wearing my pajamas. I honestly thought I’d remembered to change into jeans and a T-shirt. One embarrassing trip wouldn’t be so bad, but it happens more often than not — mostly when I’ve run out of something, usually coffee or milk, which I need in order to function.

How do you create a food budget that works? I mean, you could just buy what you want and let the chips fall where they may. You could buy only what you need, but sometimes, uh, you really need a gallon of high-end ice cream. As boring as it sounds, having a food budget — a distinct allowance for grocery shopping — really is important. In fact, it’s key to living within your means and achieving your financial goals.

Snow days are like unplanned, inconvenient little vacations. All your plans are cancelled whether you like it or not. (Surprise!) Resistance is futile. There is nothing to do but lean in. That includes partaking in cooking projects and indulging in some special-occasion treats. What else are you going to do? Unpopped popcorn: The ultimate snack for hunkering down and staying in, popcorn is satisfying, festive, and very, very easy.

Grocery stores are the stuff of cults and obsessions — just ask anyone who has ever stepped foot inside of a Trader Joe’s. Our readers have shared their love for many a grocery store, including the big-hitters like Costco, Whole Foods, and Aldi, but there’s a new store coming to the United States that might just be the new favorite in town.

What should you be buying from your butcher? Theo Weening, the global meat buyer for Whole Foods, shares his favorite budget-friendly cuts of meat. Why? They’re like steak, but a lot cheaper and really hard to screw up. First of all, I like the flavor profile. Short ribs are tender and have a lot more flavor than some other cuts. It has the bone in it, so when you serve it, it has a nice look to it. It looks really substantial.

There’s a vegetable shortage in the U.K. that has Brits freaking out and buying a whole lot of seeds. After floods and storms in southern Europe destroyed crops, there’s a deficit for iceberg lettuce, broccoli, courgettes, eggplants, and vegetable of the moment, cabbage. The deficit has U.K. retailers rationing supplies across the country. Experts anticipate the shortage to last until April or May. Lettuce is especially vulnerable since it is sensitive to temperature.

Online shopping platform Amazon is working on its first physical convenience store and, according to reports, an automated grocery store could be next. The New York Post reports Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has toyed with the idea of a two-story grocery store equipped with a staff of robots and as little as three human staff members.