Ah, September…where summer meets fall and explodes with harvest-season flavor and value. It’s a great time for fresh seasonal produce and the purest, high-quality foods at the fairest prices. Which is why September is the perfect time to celebrate Organic Harvest Month! And celebrating we are, in the newest issue of The Whole Deal value guide in stores and online now!

It’s packed with quick and thrifty dinners,  more than $48 in coupons, 20 Sure Deals, 9 new budget recipes and loads of organic values for stocking your fall pantry.

Think you’ve got the 4-1-1 on organics? Take this quiz and find out:

1. What percentage of a product must be made of organically produced ingredients to be labeled organic?
2. When you want cheese, what is one way to stay away from synthetic growth hormones (rBGH/rBST)?
3. How can you keep irradiated food off your table?
4. What are some environmental benefits of organic farming practices?
5. Does an organic chicken eat organically too?

Find the answers to these questions throughout the September/October issue of The Whole Deal (PDF).

How do you plan on celebrating Organic Harvest Month?

Make The Whole Deal value guide your starting line for healthy family meals! Just like with sports, practice is one secret to success in preparing and enjoying healthy meals on a budget. This easy-to-follow planner, with a week’s worth of easy Health Starts Here^® recipes and meal ideas, will earn cheers while saving you a pretty penny. All of our Health Starts Here recipes celebrate naturally flavorful whole foods with no extracted oils or refined sweeteners. Score!

MONDAY: Veggie Monday

Create your own veggie burgers by replacing patties with grilled portobello mushroom caps (marinate in balsamic vinegar for an hour ahead if you have the time). Serve with raw veggie sticks.

TUESDAY: Turkey Tuesday

Add a healthy kick to a family favorite with Turkey Sloppy Janes. Serve on sprouted whole grain buns with a green salad on the side.

WEDNESDAY: Get Your Greens

Brown sliced onions in a large dry skillet then stir in cooked cannellini beans and a bunch of chopped leafy greens. Cover and cook until heated through. Toss with chopped fresh tomatoes and basil or parsley.

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It’s that time again. Lazy summer days are fading into the hectic pace of a new school year, when work demands can crank up a notch, too. Well, have no fear because the August issue of The Whole Deal is here! Let it be your cheat sheet with these daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert ideas that totally make the grade for flavor, quality and value!

Break Your Breakfast Routine

Rise and shine with these fresh ideas for keeping it simple and saving:

• Toast of Champions: Top your toast with almond butter, sliced bananas, raisins and a cinnamon sprinkle.
• Sweet Rice Bowl: Warm leftover brown rice with raisins, chopped apple, a dash of cinnamon and your milk of choice.
• Breakfast Burrito: Spread a tortilla with refried beans, top with a little cheese and chopped tomato, roll it up and go!
• Bento Breakfast: Mix and match cut fruit (pineapple, apples, pears) and nuts with a cheese stick (a Sure Deal).
• Not Your Usual Oatmeal: Search our recipes pages for hot-cereal ideas such as Millet Breakfast Cereal with Mandarin Oranges and Dates or Apple-Scented Breakfast Oatmeal and Buckwheat.

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The summer heat is on, so now more than ever it’s important to stay hydrated. It’s easy to keep cool and quench your thirst without breaking the bank when following these money-saving tips, all included in the latest issue of The Whole Deal.

1. Brew your Own. We love the convenience of our bottled 365 Everyday Value^® Organic Unsweetened Tea, featured as a Sure Deal, but we also love our 365 Everyday Value™ Organic Tea in an 80-bag box. Brew it, chill it, then sit back and enjoy your homemade iced tea savings!

Waste Not. Freeze leftover coffee, tea or juice in ice cube trays. Drop some cubes into your iced coffee, tea or other favorite beverage to keep it icy cold without watering it down. Or use them to jazz up smoothies and shakes.

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Any way you slice it, summer is made for sandwiches. Using the grill not only adds interest and flavor to sandwich making but also avoids heating up the kitchen. The key to keeping sandwiches affordable while still enjoying the ingredients that can put them over the top — tastewise and budgetwise — is to use those ingredients as accents, piling on more wallet-friendly, complementary flavors. Leftovers are a great place to start!

In the latest issue of The Whole Deal, we feature 10 great sandwiches from the grill that will make you and your wallet happy:

• Wild Wrap – a small portion of grilled wild salmon, flaked and tossed with minced red onion, pickle and hard-boiled egg; rolled into flatbread with cream cheese and leaf lettuce.
• The Beef – a thin slice of grilled grass-fed beef rib eye on grill-toasted sourdough with Gouda cheese, onion and lots of arugula.
• Pizza Panini – slices of Ciabatta bread spread with pizza sauce, layered with a little pepperoni, a slice of part-skim mozzarella and lots of grilled veggies; pressed on the grill using a large spatula and applying pressure on each side until cheese is fully melted.
• Mexi-Melt – a few thin slices of grilled flank steak or chicken on flour tortillas with refried black beans, a little jack cheese and grilled onions and peppers (hot or not); warmed on the grill.
• Shrimp Roll – a few grilled shrimp, chopped and tossed with lightly mashed garbanzos, green onions, mayo, lemon juice and dried dill served in a soft roll or bun with shredded lettuce.
• Veggie Heaven – our Homemade Black Bean Burgers recipe is a customer favorite. After making the bean burgers, serve with grilled buns.
• Barbecue Bird – a few pieces of smoky grilled chicken tossed with barbecue sauce and piled with loads of tangy coleslaw on a brioche roll or burger bun.
• Caprese – sliced tomato, fresh basil and a few slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on slices of grill-toasted sprouted whole grain bread rubbed with fresh garlic.
• Pesto Portobello – grilled balsamic-marinated portobello mushroom on grill-toasted whole wheat bread with roasted red pepper slices and pesto.
• Ballpark Brat – our Sausage on a Bun with Pickle Pepper Relish at only $2.61 each. Click here for The Whole Deal online coupon for The Original Brat Hans Sausage.

Give these summer sandwich grill-ables a try and enjoy the savings! Download coupons, enjoy more fresh food ideas and get additional budget-friendly grilling tips online or pick up the summer issue of The Whole Deal at your local store!

Now it’s your turn. What are your summer grilled sandwich favorites?

Backyard barbecues can be one of summer’s most fun and flavorful ways to celebrate the season with family and friends. Unfortunately, entertaining can be costly. But, with a little planning, you don’t have to skip out on good times even when sticking to a budget.

In the latest issue of The Whole Deal, we’ve turned up the heat on money-saving ideas so you can entertain with ease without getting burned. Here’s our game plan for a BBQ Bash for 8 that makes it easy to plan a grill-side bash at less than $10 per person. Download the menu, shopping list and step-by-step plan here.

THE MENU:

• Alfresco Dip with Crostini
• Grilled Chicken Kabobs
• Grilled Summer Vegetables
• Southwestern Couscous Salad
• Simple Green Salad
• 365 Everyday Value® Frozen Fruit Bars (A Sure Deal!)
• Fresh Seasonal Watermelon

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What do you get when you combine seasonal vegetables, a simple cooking technique and the great outdoors? Summer-fresh, wallet-friendly and ultra-tasty grilled vegetables!

When eggplant, peppers and summer squashes are in season, use a simple cooking method such as grilling to fully enjoy them and benefit from their nutrients. This dish, like all our Health Starts Here recipes, celebrates naturally flavorful whole foods with no extracted oils. Use high heat when grilling vegetables to keep them from sticking without the use of oil.

For a family of four, you can create a delicious variety of grilled seasonal vegetables for as little as $2.27* per serving. The flavor is so fresh and satisfying that you can easily use this as a main course as well as a side to grilled meats. Or, for a little dressier version, follow our tips below to spruce up your grilled veggies.  *Keep in mind, we do our best to estimate the cost of ingredients but slight variations are possible.

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Summer fun for kids doesn’t have to involve a costly theme park or pockets full of tokens. In the latest issue of The Whole Deal value guide, we’ve got lots of ideas for a summer o’ savings including some good old-fashioned, food-fun ideas that will make your kids and your wallet happy.

So don’t stop at melting marshmallows in the campfire; go ahead, let the kids play with their food. Here’s how:

• Watermelon seed spitting contest – the one time it’s okay to spit!
• Potato sack races – old pillow cases work for kids’ little legs as they race to the finish line.
• Corn toss – tie un-popped popcorn into tube socks for tossing into pots and pans.
• Pie walk – like a cake walk or musical chairs; great for neighborhood potluck parties and the winner gets the pie!
• Growing fun – plant radish seeds or beans, and water daily. They both sprout quickly!
• Dance party – crank up Blueberry Hill and dance the Mashed Potato or the Funky Chicken. Be sure to take photos or video.
• Make smiles – kids decorate their own cupcakes with colorful berries.

For more food-related fun, check out our Earth-friendly projects featured during Earth Month, including:

• Herbs in a Can

• DIY Fossils

• DIY Bird Biscuit

• Bird Feeder

What are your favorite food-fun activities? Let’s hear from you. Tag, you’re it!

Ready to taste summer savings? In the latest issue of The Whole Deal value guide we’ve got a week’s worth of budget-friendly meal ideas to kick start your summer and your family’s taste buds! With a little planning, you can savor summer flavors with ease and save a few bucks. Here’s how:

MONDAY: Veggie Monday

Make it soup and salad: Gazpacho served with goat cheese and roasted red pepper grilled sandwiches.

TUESDAY: Breakfast for Dinner

Make whole-wheat pancakes topped with fresh summer fruit—cherries, blueberries and peaches are seasonally perfect choices. Everyone loves breakfast for dinner! Serve with Wellshire bacon or turkey bacon (with no synthetic nitrates or artificial preservatives, colors or flavors). Don’t forget to use our $1 off coupon online or in the summer issue of The Whole Deal.

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Spring can be a busy time but with a little planning, you can easily prepare a week of budget-friendly and family-friendly meals and even have tasty leftovers for lunch. To find out how, just follow along:

MONDAY: Veggie Monday

Have breakfast for dinner by making a frittata loaded with sautéed spinach, asparagus and onions plus crumbled organic goat cheese. Serve with whole-grain toast.

TUESDAY: Fast Fat Tuesday

Warm a few cans of red beans with Cajun/Creole seasoning (and cooked sausage, optional) to ladle over heat-and-serve frozen brown rice, with 365 Everyday Value® frozen greens sautéed with garlic. Remember the hot sauce!

WEDNESDAY: Street Food Savvy

Enjoy traditional Greek flavors in Gyro-Style Lamb with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce over Quinoa. Halve the recipe or pack the leftovers in lunches.

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