Central Market Bargains

I live so close to Central Market that I can (and do) treat the store as my personal walk-in pantry. I know their inventory. There are lots of bargains and good deals over there. One just needs to know where to look.

It is possible to spend an obscene amount of money at Central Market. I stood in the meat department with a friend while she spent over $100 on meat for 2 for only 3 meals. I was shocked. All I could say was at those prices I hope those cows died happy.

HEB House Brands tend to be less expensive than the house-brands at Tom Thumb or Krogers. They haven't been driven all over the continental US. People in other parts of our fair state can just go to their HEB to buy these products. In Dallas, we have to rely on Central Market to provide them to us. So, look for the HEB house brands. I am notoriously fond of their frozen fruits (a 3-cup bag of Mango chunks for $1.80, a 13-cup bag of peach slices for about $8). House-brand pasta, crackers, butter, milk. It is all good.

Bulk items. Why buy a pound of powdered sugar if you only need a cup? Bulk teas are a great deal. I have had people balk at the teas because they looked at the price per pound and stopped there. When I have coaxed them forward to actually putting the teas into a bag and they saw how much volume they were getting, they became converted.

Spices. Bulk spices. Central Market has changed my life in the spice department. I haven't bought a bottled spice since Central Market opened in Dallas. I keep a list of standard spices I want in my kitchen. Once a year I throw away all of those spices and I start over. I spend 15 minutes in the bulk section bagging and weighing small amounts of bulk spices. It may cost me $5 to replace all my spices.