Written By: Sara Lilkas  We’ve got Mega Meat savings this week and in addition to all the great weekly specials we are featuring our Mega Meat Packs. There are five mega meat deals available to choose from ranging from 20lbs-37lbs (we did say mega!) These mega meat boxes feature a wide variety of your favorite cuts of meat from Certified Angus Beef boneless bottom round sirloin steak to Price Chopper all natural chicken wings! The Mega Meat Packs are perfect for prepping for a barbecue or just getting the best value possible. When you purchase a Mega Meat Pack you’ll have enough cuts of meat to make 12-20 meals and that’s not counting any delicious left-overs you may have from the night before! The Mega Meat packs are available every day at the meat counter at your local Pricemegameat-box_tv-copy Chopper or Market 32 store. Whether you opt for the 20lb pack perfect for a fall barbecue or the 37lb mega pack for three weeks’ worth of meals, when you buy big, you’ll save big! The question that comes to mind for most Mega Meat pack purchasers, is what am to do with all this meat? Well we have hundreds of recipes on our website and Pinterest boards so you’ll never have the same meal twice! So what are you waiting for? Each box is made to order in minutes and is loaded with value! So which pack will you choose? Ellie Wilson, MS, RDN Family time is precious and rare in our busy lives these days, but there is a big opportunity ensure your family is stronger and your children have the skills they need to navigate in our distracted, over-scheduled world – it is the simple, old-fashioned family meal that can nurture and protect them in very significant ways. We have been highlighting some easy power bowl meals all month to help you with thefmm3 time/budget/#everyonelikesit part – now we have some fun tips on the table talk part. The simple act of chatting around a meal gives your children better social skills, and builds communication connections. Given how busy we all are, it is sometimes hard not to use that time to discuss chores, or grades, or sports. Those conversations are important, but maybe we can inspire you to finish with them rather than start. Help build your children’s confidence and emotional intelligence with some simple questions and conversation starters. Tip – have everyone put whatever phone/device they use on silent, and leave them in a basket in a different room until your mealtime clean-up is done. Play games when they are little, and get different topics going as they get older. Check out these ideas from our  Pinterest board! Setting off for school with food allergies can be daunting, but we’re here to help make the transition easy and worry-free! We’d like to share these back to school resources to help you and your student enjoy the school year to the fullest.
  1. Safety Tips


The most important part of sending a food-allergic kid to school – whether for the first time, or the 12th time – is making sure they are equipped with the resources to stay safe: enjoylife2.pngmedication and safe food. Before the school year starts, make teachers, administration, student health and kitchen staff aware of your student’s needs and inquire about any food allergy policies they have in place. In case of an emergency, it’s best to have an action plan prepared so your child will be taken care of.
  1. Lunchbox Ideas


Packing a nutritious, allergy-friendly lunch for your child is an important part of his or her school day. Make your little one’s lunchbox fillers stand out with these helpful tips, tricks and recipes. Check out Enjoy Life Food’s Recipe Page for tons of yummy recipes – both sweet and savory – that will be sure to put a smile on your kid’s face. Here are a few of our favorites: Need help figuring out the best way to “build” your student’s lunchbox? Check out Enjoy Life’s Lunchbox Inspiration Guide!
  1. Lunch-Libs


Use Enjoy Life’s Lunch-Libs template to create a customized message that will be sure to brighten your child’s day. Click here for a downloadable version! With these tips, you’ll be parent-of-the-year for sure. enjoylife1   Ellie Wilson, MS, RDN Tailgating is a time-honored tradition – in fact, there is real history behind the practice, according to the American Tailgaters Association, starting with spectators “attending” the 1861 Battle of Bull Run in Virginia with food and wine, cheering on their Civil War “teams”. Chuck wagons, those traveling kitchens of the prairie, are also part of lore. The first football game, between Princeton and Rutgers, (145 years ago!), though it pre-dated cars and parking lots, saw the first fans wear team colors and bring picnics, and the modern-day tailgate party tradition began. Now, it may be a professional sport event, or your son’s football games. It can be a iStock_7322188_LARGE.jpgmusic event, or your daughter’s soccer league – tailgating is a great way to enjoy meals and snacks with friends and family. For a delicious gathering that scores big taste, check out these tips and recipes! Make your own playbook with these ideas and more recipes on our Pinterest board. Go Team! #FamilyMealtimesMatter         fmm September is National Family Meals™ month, and we are celebrating with our annual Family Mealtimes Matter campaign! With our community partners, the Times Union and Cornell Cooperative Extension, we will be sharing recipes, blogs, videos, articles, Facebook posts, tweets and other resources about family meals. We are all so busy, for many, meals together have been moved out of family schedules. They should be a time to enjoy and connect! Commit to one more meal together as a family each week – the National Family Meals month goal to bring families together with food. You will enjoy family-building benefits that make this investment a lifetime win for parents and children. Meals don’t have to be perfectly nutritious, or only happen at dinnertime, or even be served on a plate  – just being together and sharing food offers everyone big benefits. Children and teens that have frequent family meals: Join us, and the National Family Meal month movement to Raise Your Mitt and Commit to one more meal per week with your family!raise your mitt Check out our favorite mealtime resources below! We’re celebrating local again in New York’s Capital District! Our Homegrown Flavors events feature tastes from local communities, meet ‘n greets with local growers and producers and an overall celebration of all things local here in the Northeast. Cup of coffee and coffee beans viewed from directly above Our next event is slated for Saturday 8/27 from 10am-2pm in 5 Albany-area stores (see below for location details). We’ve lined up an exciting group of local producers for each store on 8/27, including Death Wish Coffee at our Wilton Market 32 and The Cookie Factory at our Hudson Valley Market 32. Each store will have a local brewery on hand to chat with guests and offer tastes of their New York brews! Our friends at DeCrescente Distributing are hosting a Bean Bag Toss competition outside our Shoppers World Market 32 – if you’re in the area stop by and challenge us to a game! While you’re there, enjoy a $1 hot dog from Old World Provisions, with all funds being donated to local United Way chapters. Can’t make it to the store? Tune in to WGNA on event day: they’ll be broadcasting live at Clifton Shoppers World from 10-noon! Check out the event roster below to see who will be in the house at your store.
Clifton Shoppers World Market 32   
Pede Pasta (Flavor of Schenectady) Schenectady NY
Gatherer’s Granola (Flavor of Schenectady) Schenectady NY
Casa Visco (Flavor of Schenectady) Schenectady NY
Sindoni Sausage (Flavor of Schenectady) Schenectady NY
Grower’s Hub Troy NY
Miss Sydney’s Sauces Fuera Bush NY
Old World Provisions Albany NY
Dominick’s Sauce Guilderland NY
Shaul Farms Fultonham NY
WGNA Albany NY
Saranac Brewery Utica NY
Schmaltz Brewing Company Clifton Park NY
Decrescente Distributing Mechanicville NY
   
Hudson Valley Plaza Market 32 (Troy)  
Peanut Principle Albany NY
Larry’s Southwestern Sauces Slingerlands NY
The Cookie Factory Troy NY
Minissale’s Sauce Troy NY
Brown’s Brewing Company Troy NY
   
Hamilton Square Market 32 (Guilderland)  
Adirondack Brewery Lake George NY
Tara Kitchen Schenectady NY
Sanavi Water Schenectady NY
Herkimer Cheese Herkimer NY
Vital Eats Saratoga Springs NY
   
Wilton Market 32  
Shushan Valley Hydro Farm Shushan NY
Olde Saratoga Brewing Company Saratoga Springs NY
Cabot Creamery Waitsfield VT
Saratoga Chips Saratoga Springs NY
Barkeater Chocolates North Creek NY
Death Wish Coffee Round Lake NY
   
Market Bistro (Latham)  
Ole McDonald’s Honey Farm Fultonville NY
Ithaca Beer Co Ithaca NY
Black Horse Farms Coxsackie NY
Old World Provisions Albany NY
Hillard’s Greenhouse Latham NY
Vermont Hydroponic Produce Florence VT
    Submitted by our home.grown. friends at Cabot Creamery Farmers are a dedicated group. For generations they have staked their livelihood to working the land and feeding America. For us at Cabot Creamery Co-operative, that tradition began in 1919 when a group of 94 farmers came together to bring their excess milk to new markets in a way they could as individual farmers. That spirit of hard work and cooperation remains at the core of Cabot nearly 100 years later.  The cooperative now includes 1,200 family farms spread across New York and New England. These farmers live in your local community. They serve on school boards and volunteer fire departments. They work 365 days a year to deliver the highest quality milk to our creameries, which in turn is made into award winning cheese and dairy products.  Just this year Cabot Sharp Cheddar and Cabot Greek Yogurt took home ‘Best in Class’ at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin. image1[1]Price Chopper and Market 32 are also dedicated to bringing local products to local communities. In conjunction with their Homegrown Flavors program, the farmer-owners of the Cabot Creamery Co-operative have had the chance to visit their local store and sample their cheese and dairy products. These in-store interactions are valuable. They provide the farmer a chance to meet folks in their community and provide shoppers with an opportunity to try Cabot products and meet the people behind them. As a cooperative, our farmers truly own the business and any profit made goes back to the farm. When you buy Cabot products, you are supporting local farms and their ability to farm into the next generation. The farms that make up Cabot vary in size and location throughout the Northeast, but at the core of each one is family. Whether it’s the Ziehm family of Tiashoke Farm in Cambridge, New York or the Tully family of Tully Farm in Dunstable, Massachusetts, each farm is connected to their local community. They are committed to producing high quality milk and are proud of the Cabot products that are made using that same milk. If you’re in a Price Chopper Market 32 and see Cabot handing out samples, be sure to stop by, say hello to your local farmer and try some of our award-winning cheddar cheese! Visit our home.grown. web page for more information on our local growers and producers. CabotHGFlavors Written by Jane Golub Director In-Store Marketing Programs July 17, 2016 FULL CIRCLE ORGANIC SALADS Addicted to organic food?  Full Circle Organic Salads have what you crave.  These organic salads are farmed organically and are eco-friendly.  What’s so super about organic?  Everything! FullCircle5ozSpringMix.jpg Full Circle Organic Salads provide great health benefits with each serving while promoting a healthy and balanced ecosystem. When it comes to giving your body all the nutrients it needs, Full Circle Organic Salads are a tasty choice and provide the energy you need to power through your busy day. All Full Circle Organic Salads are harvested at the peak of freshness, triple washed and ready to serve. Look for Full Circle Organic Salads in the Produce section with the packaged salads.  Enjoy!! Written by Jane Golub Director In-Store Marketing Programs July 17, 2016 EAT SMART SALADS Introducing two new Eat Smart Salads:
  1. Sweet Kale Salad – The Eat Smart Sweet Kale Gourmet Salad Kit is a unique blend of seven super-foods that include kale, green cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, chicory, roasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries, complete with a delicious poppy seed dressing.  Eating healthy never tasted so sweet!
  2. Wild Greens and Quinoa Salad – The Eat Smart Wild Greens and Quinoa Gourmet Salad Kit with avocado dressing features seven super-foods containing kale, beet greens, julienne broccoli, carrots, red cabbage, quinoa and almonds and makes a hearty, healthy and gluten-free salad.  It has never been easier to eat healthy!
Look for Eat Smart Salads in the Produce Department.   Ellie Wilson, MS, RDN We are savoring summer at Price Chopper and Market 32, and continuing to celebrate July’s summer entertaining season with an amazing array of cheese! Our Big Cheese, Chris Boyle, is an explorer extraordinaire, and his passion brings you everything you need to build a delicious summer cheese adventure. We carry local, artisan, domestic and imported cheeses from around the corner and around the world. Explore with us, and discover a world of flavor and fun! iStock_75836931_MEDIUM.jpgThere are some basics to the anatomy of a cheese board. Generally, you should choose about 5 -7 different cheeses, and accompany them with something sweet, savory, and crunchy. Some tips, tricks and twists to merit oohs and ahhs from your partygoers:
  1. Know your guests – are they into basics or excited to try new things? If you have a mix, plan on some favorites like aged New York cheddar, and something different like Red Apple Sriracha Cheddar.
  2. Consider a theme – all cow’s milk cheeses, or cheese from Italy, or cheese that starts with the letter “B” – it is fun and inspiring.
  3. Choose a range of textures and flavors – textures from soft to hard, and flavors from mild to intense. This is where the store cheese monger can be a great resource.
  4. Savories – charcuterie like prosciutto lends a salty-sweet element; olives or cornichons add a light vinegar kick to cleanse the palate.
  5. Sweets – dried fruit, fruit paste or preserve, fresh fruit like grapes or sweet cherries (in season!) are easy and their jewel colors decorate your cheese board. You can take it up a notch by roasting or grilling fruits – roasted grapes on the vine are easy, delicious and dramatic. Honeycomb is another sweet idea.
  6. Bread and crackers – Slice baguettes up just before your guests arrive. Or, drizzle with a good olive oil, and toast on a cookie sheet. Crackers are as diverse as cheese – look for multigrain types with seeds like sesame or flax, to bring in a nutty flavor that also has some nutrition benefits.
  7. Speaking of nuts – they are another way to put crunch on the board. Marcona almonds, toasted walnuts or pecans bring texture and taste.
  8. Cut cheeses ahead of time – use a wire cutter for soft cheeses like blue and brie, and a sharp knife for harder cheeses. Avoid cubing – they do not sit well on crackers or bread.
  9. Finally – summer food safety. Cheese should be served at room temperature, BUT -summer’s warm temperatures can impact the time you keep cheese out – experts recommend about a two hour time frame. If you see a sheen on the cheese, it is starting to lose fat and flavor. I love the ice filled trays that can be placed under plates and boards – consider using one to balance temperature on very warm days.
Savor summer, and say CHEESE!!!!