The girls and I stopped by the health food store after a fun morning out together (while Grandma watched Silas). Here are the deals we found:
2 half-gallons of Horizon Organic Milk — marked down to $0.99 (it expires tomorrow, so I’ll be freezing whatever we don’t use by the morning to use for pancakes and waffles)
1 box of Barbara’s Organic Cereal — marked down to $1.59
2 Mangos — $0.50 each
1 and 1/2 head of cabbage — on sale for $0.17/lb. for St. Patrick’s Day
1 box of Mi-Del Honey Grahams — marked down to $1.59 (We all ended up thinking these were icky so I think I’m going to re-purpose them as a graham cracker crust, unless anyone else has a great suggestion!)
1 tub of Wallaby Organic yogurt — marked down to $1.99
My total was $9.09.
I have never seen milk on sale anywhere! I’m in PA and we have state minimum pricing on milk, so maybe that’s why. I buy Horizon milk at my grocery store, or Walmart and usually can’t get it for under $3.50 a half gallon. It’s expensive, but having all boys, I just don’t think the hormones in the other milk are worth any possible savings. (Even though we use about 1/2 gallon a day) With Horizon expiring usually 4 – 6 weeks in the future, I’ve never been close to an expiration date. I read it is good so long because not many farms provide organic milk so it is ultra-pastuerized to allow for the long distance shipping.
Oh how I’m soooo jealous of the health food store where you shop. I can’t get a gallon of organic milk for less than $6.50 anywhere in town! And, our only health food store doesn’t even have a refrigerated section… Consider yourself blessed!
Another idea for milk . . . I use the free milk that I get from our health food store (free on the day it expires) to make yogurt. I still smell it to make sure it’s good and then make up a gallon of yogurt or more!
Yogurt pie is a “fave” around our house. 2 cups flavored yogurt folded into 1 cup whipped cream slightly sweetened and dolloped into a graham crust helps get rid of icky grahams. As does yogurt and peanut butter parfaits with crushed grahm layers. It is a bummer when you get a thumbs down bargain!
We have bought the same graham crackers when they have been marked down and do not care for them either. My 1 year old will still eat them.
The recipes that call for sour milk, are usually referring to raw milk that has naturally gone sour(not spoiled, but sour). When homogenized, pasteurized goes “sour” it’s actually gone bad, spoiled. It doesn’t have all those live cultures that raw milk has to preserve the integrity of the milk. That said, pasteurized milk can be frozen as well. I freeze my raw milk(it only lasts about a week and a half in the fridge) and I can’t even tell the difference.
My 15 month old son loves those graham crackers – lol. I like them too.
I noticed the regular brand name graham crackers have trans fat in them so that’s why we switched to Mi Del. Plus they’ve been on sale at Grocery Outlet in Northern California for $0.99. I think the New Morning grahams don’t have trans fat either. Making your own sounds like the best option – I’ll have to try that! 🙂
Granola & granola bars are good ways to use up those less than tasty graham crackers.
Homemade peanut butter cups can use up the Graham crackers. I don’t have my recipe on hand right now but if you look up some online it’s a great way to get rid of them and the taste will be hidden 100%.
I make graham crackers now and they are so much better tasting than anything I’ve ever purchased at the store. I know it’s more work and you only have a certain amount of time but this is one thing I think is worth the time.
I have to say I’m always a little bit envious of your great health food store deals! I’ve NEVER seen deals like that at the store nearest us. Alas! 😉
Crystal – Where I live it’s often lots cheaper to buy a loss leader gallon of milk than half gallons. I can’t often use a gallon of milk up before it’s no longer fresh. and hate to throw it away. Since you freeze milk to add to pancakes etc, do you measure out the milk in portions? In what type containers do you typically freeze the milk? Do you leave the container out to thaw or microwave to defrost? I’d love to freeze milk for making puddings, to use in cream soups, etc.
Great questions! I would also love to know these answers:)
I just freeze milk in the container it came from (provided it’s a half-gallon of milk or less) and thaw in a sink full of warm water or in the refrigerator overnight. If I make a big batch of waffles or pancakes, I can pretty much use whatever is left in the container (we usually drink/use whatever we can before the sell by date and then freeze, so that container usually just has 3/4ths of the half-gallon in it or less).
Yes, I know, it’s not the most organized system, but it works for us — and it’s very simple and economical!
When I find gallons of organic milk on markdown, I stock up and just put them right in the freezer. Some people recommend pouring a little milk out of the jug to allow for expansion, but I don’t do that and it’s never been a problem. Once it’s thawed, we just give it a good shake and then use as usual. My kids drink it, use it on cereal, etc. and have never complained or mentioned noticing any difference in the taste.
Just wanted to offer/reiterate that you shouldn’t feel as though you have to freeze milk the day it is marked for expiration, especially Horizon organic milk. I have been buying it on clearance for more than a year now and often don’t open it until the day it expires or later. I’ve found it is typically good for at least 5 days after we open it (so if it is marked to expire on March 15 and we open it that day, it is good through the 20 and sometimes longer). I might wager the half gallons could stay fresh even longer than the gallons, too. I also took the plunge earlier this week and purchased regular milk marked to expire the next day. Since it was only $0.28, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. We’re two days past the expiration date today and it’s still good.
(not super healthy)….but just made a chocolate eclair dessert using graham crackers…. turned out yummy! =)
I made a chocolate eclair dessert last night too!
Wow! $9.09 for all of that at a health store?! I am thoroughly impressed. Just dropped by my local health store today and left soon after seeing a small (very, very small) date bar valued at a whopping $3.99.
How did you find such great deals this trip?
Our store has amazing markdowns and I typically just shop those plus the loss leaders. Definitely check around to see if your store has a clearance table or shelf. That’s what I always go to first!
AMAZING – I used to have a health food store where we used to live and I could NEVER find anything marked down even a little bit. This is one trip I’m definitely jealous of. Now we’ve moved to a small town with NO health food store for 35 miles.
Your health food store rocks.
I know! 🙂
So funny! I also bought Mi-Del grahams once and didn’t care for them. I used them for graham cracker crust and also dipped some in chocolate for a friend that loves chocolate covered graham crackers. They were good covered in chocolate and as a crust. :o)
Where do you find such great deals at health food stores? I’m still kind of new to the whole shopping-for-a-family thing (and even newer to shopping for good deals :). I peruse the nearby Whole Foods every once in awhile, but can never find items that have been marked down like this. Is there a usual spot for these items, or are they scattered throughout the store? I’m not big on coupons yet, but would love to take advantage of non-coupon deals like this.
I also would like to know the answer to this… I like to shop at health food stores, but I can never make my money go as far, so I end up not going at all most of the time.
I agree Katie..my natural food store does NOT have any deals like this…the writer is lucky, sometimes our store marks it down a dollar at most when it is coming near due date..
I live in Crystal’s area and I *think* I know the health food store where she shops. The shop makes it pretty easy for us deal-seekers. There is a basket for produce that is marked down…a usual place for the dairy…and separate bins for grocery items. I usually also scan the shelves because things are often marked down there too. This particular store does markdowns each morning. I find if I go between 10am-noon I can find a decent stash of markdowns…though it can be hit and miss. You can always ask your store when they markdown.
I thought it was weird when I heard people say they would freeze milk. I am one that has to throw out the milk on the day it expires, cause there has been more than one time where I have had a bad glass of milk. Freezing milk to use for waffle and pancakes is a great idea, do you have a recipe to share for this??
We routinely use milk after the “expiration” date. I just check to make sure it doesn’t smell funny, and if for some reason I miss that and it tastes bad, we pour it out then. It’s almost never the case that our milk is bad on the day listed on the packaging, and we’ve never had a problem! Someone told me once that many of the dates listed on packaging are primarily to safeguard the manufacturer from liability….and many products are good well past the date listed.
thanks Meghan for this info…had no idea!
Megan, our family does the same! I have never had milk go bad on the exact day listed. Check out this website:
http://www.stilltasty.com/
It tells you how long things are good AFTER the expiration date! 🙂
We usually always think the milk tastes/smells funny on the expiration date. So that’s why I freeze it. I think our family tends to have a using-milk-going-bad-phobia, though. 🙂
It would be interesting to do an experiment with the milk in a non-original container (i.e., no date to see) to see if you still think the milk tastes/smells funny after the date! Freezing it sounds like another great way to not let food go to waste, so whatever works for each family!
Even if milk is sour, it can still be used for pancakes, muffins etc. Some recipes call for sour milk. Just make sure it’s not too old. I don’t know when milk is old enough to make someone sick, but generally, sour milk is safe (just tastes bad) I try to use it up with a few days after it starts to smell sour.
After having a couple of bad experiences tasting sour milk, let me tell you, I definately have the same phobia 🙂
I have found that if I haven’t opened the jug of milk yet, it’s still ok for another day or two. If there’s only a partial amount left, it goes bad quicker. Or so it seems.
MiDel graham crackers are the only brand I’ve ever found that we didn’t like either. I think the graham cracker crust idea is a good one. 🙂