Five weeknight dinners · week of Monday, August 17, 2026

Dinner from this week's ad

Built from the live Food Lion circular at 3059 Centerville Rd, Herndon VA 20171. Two people, five nights. Every price below was read off the actual ad or the actual shelf.

Shop today or tomorrow. This ad runs Aug 12–18 and every sale price dies at close of business Tuesday, Aug 18. From Wednesday the dinners still work, but the prices are stale — re-check them before you trust the totals.

Late August wants dinner that cools you down before the first forkful. I keep thinking about the salmon: crisp-edged, laid over lemony zucchini and sweet corn, with cold feta breaking into salty little pieces as the heat of the fish softens it. That is the week's treat, bought from the Herndon Food Lion ad at $8.99/lb and stretched into a two-person supper that still feels sunny instead of cautious. Around it are four easier moves: a no-cook wrap night, a pot of chili, limey fish tacos, and cutlets with a carrot salad sharp enough to wake up a humid evening.

One tomato note, since the menu was built around it: the chili on Night 3 is the only dinner with fresh or canned tomato in it. The barbecue sauce on Night 1 contains processed tomato, as most tomato-style barbecue sauces do, and Night 4's source recipe has a tomato salsa that is left out here on purpose. So: one tomato-forward dinner, one trace in a condiment.

The order is not arbitrary. The hot rotisserie chicken is best the day you buy it, so it goes first. Fresh salmon will not wait, so it goes second. The sealed beef chub keeps until Wednesday without ever being frozen. The flounder stays frozen until you move it to the fridge after Night 3. The chicken tenderloins get portioned and frozen on shopping day and thawed for Friday. Only one thing gets deliberately frozen by you: the chicken for Friday. The salmon and the beef go straight from the bag to the fridge to the pan, and the flounder was already frozen when you bought it — you are simply thawing it once, on its way to dinner.

The shopping list

Sale means the ad price is doing the work. MVP means that line needs your free MVP card scanned — without it you pay shelf price. Two sale items need no card at all: the corn and the chicken tenderloins. Normal means it is not on sale and you are buying it anyway, because a week of food without garlic, lemons and canned tomatoes is not a week of food. Normal prices are current Herndon shelf prices, checked, not estimated. Ordered the way you actually walk the store.

1 · Canned and dry goods

Hanover beansSaleMVP15.5 oz can · Night 3
$1.00
Diced tomatoesNormal14.5 oz can, store brand · Night 3
$0.98
Tomato pasteNormal6 oz can · Night 3 uses 3 Tbsp; freeze the rest in a spoonful blob
$0.89
All-purpose flourNormal5 lb bag (cheaper in total than the 2 lb) · Night 5
$1.95
Panko bread crumbs, plainNormal8 oz, store brand · Night 5
$1.89

2 · Condiments

Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauceSaleMVP28 oz · Night 1
$2.99
Dijon mustardNormal12 oz, store brand · Night 5
$1.49

3 · Bread aisle

Mission flour fajita tortillas, 8-inchSaleMVP23 oz pkg · Nights 1, 3, 4 — you need 12; one package covers it. Fajita size, not taco size.
$3.00

4 · Produce

Zucchini or yellow squashSaleMVP1 lb @ $1.29/lb · Night 2
$1.29
Corn on the cobSaleNo card2 ears @ 4/$1.00 · Night 2 — 25¢ an ear
$0.50
Green pepperSaleMVP1 · Night 3
$0.69
Red onionsSaleMVP3 lb bag @ 2/$5.00 · Nights 3, 4 — recipes use 12 oz. Keep the rest somewhere cool and dark, out of the bag, not the fridge.
$2.50
Hass avocadoSaleMVP1 · Night 4
$0.79
Baby cut carrotsSaleMVP2 lb bag · Night 5
$1.99
Fresh Express chopped salad kitSaleMVP10.3–13 oz @ 2/$6.00 · Night 1 — pick a cabbage-based / slaw-style kit, not a lettuce one
$3.00
Green cabbageNormalabout 1 lb · Night 4
$1.58
LimesNormal3 @ $0.33 · Nights 1, 4
$0.99
LemonsNormal3 @ $0.69 · Nights 2, 5
$2.07
CilantroNormal1 bunch · Night 4 (optional on Night 1)
$1.89
Flat-leaf parsleyNormal1 bunch · Nights 2, 5
$0.99
Green onions (scallions)Normal1 bunch · Night 1
$1.29
GarlicNormal1 head · Nights 2, 3
$0.79

5 · Dairy and eggs

Athenos feta in brineSaleMVP16 oz · Night 2 uses 4 oz — keep the brine, the recipe uses a spoonful of it
$5.99
Vital Farms pasture raised eggsSaleMVP12 ct · Night 5 needs exactly one. The other eleven are just eggs.
$5.99

6 · Meat and seafood

Atlantic salmon, freshSaleMVP3/4 lb @ $8.99/lb · Night 2 — ask for two 6 oz fillets, cut to order
$6.74
85% lean ground beef chubSaleMVP16 oz · Night 3
$5.00
Chicken tenderloin, family packSaleNo card$2.99/lb, no card needed · Night 5 + freezer. The only variable price here: the ad sets the per-pound price, not the pack weight. Night 5 uses 12 oz ($2.24); portion and freeze the rest. Take the smallest pack if you don't want the freezer inventory.
$7.48
–$10.47

7 · Frozen

Food Lion flounder filletsSaleMVP12 oz bag · Night 4
$5.00

8 · Last stop, on the way to the register

Traditional rotisserie chicken, hotSaleMVP28 oz · Night 1 — grab it last so it's still warm at home. Eat within 2 hours, or pull the meat off the bones and refrigerate it right away.
$5.99

Already in your kitchen — do not buy: salt, black pepper, olive oil, neutral oil, ground cumin, chili powder, paprika, smoked paprika, dried oregano. Add any you are actually out of. Nothing here assumes anything unusual.

The five dinners

Night 1 · Monday

BBQ Rotisserie Chicken Slaw Wraps

Buying rotisserie chicken cooked buys back the part of dinner most likely to make a weeknight wrap feel like work: heating a pan, waiting on meat and washing up after it. Use hot rotisserie chicken within 2 hours of purchase, or pull and refrigerate it until you are ready to assemble. Barbecue chicken wraps often fail because sweet sauce, wet dressing and soft tortillas all push in the same direction; lime, scallion and black pepper sharpen the chicken, while adding sauce and dressing gradually keeps the filling glossy and crisp instead of syrupy and soggy.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Toss the pulled chicken in a medium bowl with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, the lime juice, scallion and a few grinds of black pepper until the shreds are lightly glossed but not wet. Add more barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon at a time, only if dry shreds remain. Taste a shred; if the rotisserie seasoning is already salty, do not add salt.
  2. Toss the salad greens and kit toppings in a second medium bowl with 2 tablespoons of the dressing until every shred is lightly coated and the cabbage has just lost its raw squeak but still snaps when you bite it, with no dressing pooling in the bottom of the bowl. Add more dressing by the spoonful only as needed. If only a lettuce-based chopped kit is available, use half the greens, keep the dressing especially light and assemble the wraps just before eating.
  3. Wrap the tortillas in a barely damp clean towel and microwave until warm, steamy and pliable, 20 to 30 seconds. Lay them on a work surface and let the surface steam fade for a few seconds, until they bend easily but no longer feel wet to the touch.
  4. Divide the chicken among the tortillas in tight strips just below the center, leaving bare edges for folding. Top each with a loose handful of slaw and cilantro or hot sauce if using, then fold in the sides and roll away from you firmly. Rest the wraps seam-side down until the seam stays closed when you lift your hand and the wrap does not spring open, about 1 minute. Serve with lime wedges and any remaining slaw alongside.
Source, and exactly what changed
URL: https://masonfit.com/bbq-rotisserie-chicken-wraps/

Original recipe: "20-Minute BBQ Rotisserie Chicken Wraps," Mason Woodruff.

What it actually says: The source makes 5 wraps from 1 pound rotisserie chicken, 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, 6 ounces cheddar, 1/2 cup pickles, 5 Joseph's lavash breads or flatbreads, and a slaw of 12 ounces coleslaw mix with nonfat Greek yogurt, honey, apple cider vinegar, Dijon, salt and pepper.

What I kept: I kept the cold pulled rotisserie chicken, BBQ sauce, slaw-and-wrap structure and the 20-minute assembly logic.

What I changed: I scaled it to 2 servings, used the Fresh Express kit and Mission 8-inch fajita tortillas, skipped cheddar and pickles, and added lime, scallion and careful sauce and dressing control so the wraps eat cleaner and do not collapse.
Night 2 · Tuesday

Lemon-Feta Salmon With Zucchini and Corn

Zucchini, corn and salmon do not want the same roast, and zucchini can flood a sheet pan before the fish is done. Here, squash goes in first at high heat on one roomy pan, cut in thick half-moons so its water cooks off and its edges start to color; corn joins next, just long enough to turn sweet. The salmon lands last, brushed with lemon, garlic, oregano and feta brine. Crumble the cold feta over the hot pan after roasting, so it softens into salty pieces instead of turning rubbery.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 40 minutes, including 25 to 30 minutes active

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a rimmed half-sheet pan (about 18 by 13 inches); a smaller pan will crowd the squash and steam it, which is the exact failure this recipe is built to avoid. On the pan, toss the zucchini with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper, then spread it out, cut sides down where you can. Roast until the zucchini has shed some liquid and the cut sides are starting to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
  2. Use a spatula to turn the zucchini, then move it to the two short ends of the pan, keeping the pieces in a single layer; if liquid has pooled, blot it with a paper towel. Add the corn to the center of the pan with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a pinch of salt, spreading it in a loose, even layer. Roast until the corn smells sweet and the zucchini edges are browned but still hold their shape, 5 to 6 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, feta brine, garlic, oregano, the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and several grinds of pepper. Pat the salmon dry and season it lightly with salt. Arrange the corn along one long edge of the pan and the zucchini along the opposite long edge, clearing a bare strip down the middle. Place the salmon in that center strip and spoon the lemon-brine mixture over the fish. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part registers 145°F and the center is opaque, 8 to 11 minutes. That 145°F is the pull temperature, and the fish will climb a few degrees off the heat. For a moister result, pull at 125°F to 130°F; children, older adults, pregnant people and anyone immunocompromised should stay with 145°F.
  4. Scatter the cold feta over the salmon and vegetables as soon as the pan comes out of the oven, keeping most of it on and around the fish; the residual heat should soften it into salty pieces, not melt it into rubbery curds. Let the feta warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Finish with dill or parsley, if using, and lemon wedges.
Source, and exactly what changed
URL: https://jessicalevinson.com/mediterranean-sheet-pan-salmon/

Original title and author: Mediterranean Sheet Pan Salmon, Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN.

What the source says: It roasts zucchini by itself for 15 minutes, then adds corn, tomatoes and salmon for another 10 minutes, finishes under the broiler for a few minutes, and seasons with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.

Kept: The sheet-pan structure, staggered zucchini timing, corn, salmon, lemon, garlic and oregano.

Changed: Scaled to two servings, used the fixed salmon, zucchini, corn and feta quantities, added feta brine and a cold feta finish, thickened and shortened the zucchini roast so it keeps some bite, clarified the pan choreography, added salmon temperature guidance, accounted for the oil, and omitted tomatoes deliberately so Night 3 remains the week's tomato dish.
Night 3 · Wednesday

Beef-and-Bean Chili With Green Pepper

Browning the beef hard is the whole point: Press it into a wide Dutch oven and leave it alone until the underside crusts, or it will turn gray and steam. The tomato paste goes into the fat with the spices so it darkens before any liquid can flatten it; use only 3 tablespoons from the can so the chili stays loose enough to simmer without scorching. And the 30-minute simmer is not a courtesy; it is when the tomatoes lose their raw edge and the pot tightens. Use kidney, black or pinto beans, and warm the tortillas in any dry skillet.

Yield: 4 portions; serve 2 portions tonight with 4 tortillas, and save 2 portions as surplus.
Time: 45 to 55 minutes, 20 to 25 minutes active.

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Heat the oil in a wide Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high until it shimmers and slides quickly across the bottom, about 1 minute. Add the beef, press it into a broad, even layer and season with 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Leave it alone until the underside is deeply browned, 4 to 6 minutes. If the pot is narrow, brown the beef in two batches so it sears instead of steaming.
  2. Break up the beef with a spoon and cook, stirring, until only a few pink spots remain, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper and a pinch of salt to the fat in the pot. Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the vegetables soften and the onion turns translucent at the edges, 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika, and stir until the spices stain the beef and smell toasted, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook, pressing and stirring, until it darkens to brick red and leaves rusty streaks on the bottom of the pot, about 1 minute.
  4. Add the diced tomatoes, beans and 1 cup water, scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven until the browned bits dissolve into the liquid. Bring to a steady simmer, taste the liquid and add another pinch of salt if it tastes flat. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
  5. Partially cover the pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until small bubbles rise lazily around the edges, the tomatoes round out and a spoon dragged through the chili leaves a channel that closes slowly, 30 to 35 minutes. If it gets dry before then, add the remaining 1/4 cup water. Taste again and add salt and pepper until the beans and beef both read as seasoned.
  6. Heat the tortillas one at a time in a dry skillet until warm and pliable, 20 to 30 seconds per side. Serve two portions of chili at the table with the 4 tortillas. Refrigerate the other two portions; chili is steadier after a night in the refrigerator, and this pot was built to give you a second dinner for no extra work.
Source, and exactly what changed
https://www.budgetbytes.com/basic-chili/ Original title and author: “Classic Homemade Chili,” Beth Moncel, Budget Bytes.

The source says to cook 1 diced onion and 2 minced garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons olive oil, add 1 pound ground beef and brown it, then add 1 drained 15-ounce can black beans, 1 drained 15-ounce can kidney beans, 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, 1 6-ounce can tomato paste and 1 cup water. Its seasoning is 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar. It simmers, covered, at least 30 minutes.

What I kept: the 1 pound ground beef base, onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and the nonoptional 30-minute simmer. What I changed: the menu requires one 15.5-ounce can of beans, not the source’s two cans of beans, so the chili is beefier and a little thicker; the green pepper cooks with the onion; oregano and smoked paprika come from the stated pantry; and 3 tablespoons of paste are bloomed in the fat before liquid goes in because this smaller-bean pot needs that darker base without turning too dense.
Night 4 · Thursday

Flounder Tacos With Avocado-Lime Slaw

Vanessa Mota’s fried fish tacos use flounder, lime slaw, avocado and tortillas, but frozen flounder asks for a different move at home. The fillets are very thin and lean, so they can overcook in a minute or two and can break if moved around. A heavy batter would not rescue them before the fish flakes; it would only add fuss. Here, the thawed fish is patted truly dry, seasoned with pantry spices and quickly pan-cooked in a 12-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Nonstick is especially helpful with delicate flounder because it lets the fish release naturally instead of tearing.

Yield: 2 servings, 4 tacos
Time: 25 to 35 minutes, assuming the fish is thawed; 20 to 30 minutes active

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Remove the flounder fillets from any vacuum-sealed or reduced-oxygen packaging, or slit the packaging open, and thaw them on a plate in the refrigerator until flexible with no icy center. If you forgot to thaw them ahead, transfer the unpackaged fillets to a leakproof bag, submerge the bag in cold water, change the water every 15 minutes, and cook the fish immediately once flexible, usually 30 to 50 minutes. Pat the fillets with paper towels until the towels come away mostly dry; frozen fish carries water, and wet fish steams instead of browning. Season both sides with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and paprika.
  2. Combine the cabbage, red onion and cilantro in a medium bowl until evenly mixed, then leave the avocado and lime juice aside so the cabbage stays dry and crisp. Dressing the slaw late matters because salt and lime pull water from cabbage; if it sits too long, the slaw weeps and the tacos go slack.
  3. Warm the tortillas one at a time in a dry 12-inch nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until soft, hot and freckled in spots, 30 to 45 seconds per side, then wrap them in a clean kitchen towel. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and heat until the oil shimmers and a tiny pinch of seasoning sizzles on contact, about 1 minute; the pan needs to be hot so the fish browns quickly instead of leaking water.
  4. Add the fillets to the skillet in a single layer, working in batches if needed, and cook until the edges turn opaque and the underside releases with almost no tug, 45 to 60 seconds. Flip once if the pieces lift cleanly. If a fillet grips the pan, give it another 10 seconds rather than forcing it; if it still will not budge, leave it in place and spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of the hot pan oil over the top two or three times to set the surface. Cook until the thickest part is just opaque and flakes under gentle pressure, 20 to 40 seconds more. Broken fillets are fine in a taco, so do not chase neat pieces around the pan.
  5. Add the avocado, lime juice, remaining 1 tablespoon oil and a pinch of salt to the cabbage mixture and toss gently, lightly mashing some avocado against the side of the bowl until it coats the cabbage and the slaw is still crisp, about 1 minute. Divide the slaw among the warm tortillas, top with the flounder and serve with lime wedges right away.
Source, and exactly what changed
https://mydominicankitchen.com/fish-tacos-long-beach-vibes/ Original title and author: “Fried Fish Tacos with Lime Slaw,” Vanessa Mota. What the source says: It seasons flounder with ground chipotle, lime juice, salt and pepper; fries it in oil for about 3 to 4 minutes per side; warms corn tortillas; dresses slaw with lime juice, salt and pepper; mixes a tomato, jalapeño, cilantro and lime salsa; then builds tacos with slaw, fish, salsa, avocado and chipotle mayo if desired. What I kept: flounder, lime slaw, cilantro, avocado and the taco structure. What I changed and why: I used flour tortillas and pantry cumin, chili powder and paprika; pan-cooked instead of deep frying because thin frozen flounder flakes before a heavy crust can help it; and omitted the tomato salsa.
Night 5 · Friday

Chicken Tenderloin Schnitzel With Lemon-Mustard Carrot Salad

Breading gives lean chicken tenderloins a little insurance: the crumbs brown fast while the meat stays protected. Flour first is what helps the egg and crumbs cling. Panko gives a lighter crunch; plain dried crumbs work too. Dijon can stand in for whole-grain mustard.

Yield: 2 servings
Time: 45 to 50 minutes, 40 to 45 minutes active

Ingredients

Preparation

  1. Grate the baby carrots on the large holes of a box grater into a medium bowl, stopping while the pieces are still big enough to hold safely and eating or saving the stubs — do not chase the last inch down the blade. A food processor shredding disc does the whole bag in seconds if you have one. If you would rather have long ribbons, buy whole carrots and peel them lengthwise instead; baby cut carrots are too short and round to shave safely. Add the parsley and a pinch of salt, toss and set aside.
  2. Lay the tenderloins with space between them on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the flour in one shallow dish, beat the egg in a second, and put the crumbs in a third. Working one piece at a time, coat in flour, shake off the excess, dip in egg, then press into crumbs until evenly covered. Set the breaded pieces on a rack or plate for at least 5 minutes so the coating can cling.
  3. Pour the neutral oil into a 10- or 12-inch skillet to a depth of about 1/8 inch; about 1/3 cup should be close, but add a little more if the skillet bottom is not evenly covered. Heat over medium-high until a pinch of crumbs sizzles steadily on contact but does not spit violently, 2 to 4 minutes.
  4. Fry half the chicken in one layer, leaving space between pieces, until the crumbs are deep golden and the chicken is cooked through, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Check the thickest piece: it should register 165 degrees, feel firm when pressed, or show clear juices when cut. Transfer to a rack or plate and salt right away.
  5. Let the oil return to a steady crumb-sizzle, adding a little more oil if the pan looks dry. Fry the remaining chicken until deep golden and cooked through, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to the rack or plate and salt right away.
  6. Whisk the lemon juice, mustard and olive oil in a small cup or bowl with a pinch each of salt and pepper until it looks glossy, then pour it over the carrots and parsley. Toss until the grated carrots are evenly dressed, then taste and add another squeeze from a lemon wedge if needed. Serve the schnitzel with the carrot salad and remaining lemon wedges.
Source, and exactly what changed
https://www.tastetoronto.com/recipes/crispy-chicken-schnitzel-with-carrot-salad Original title: “Crispy Chicken Schnitzel With Carrot Salad,” TasteToronto.

I kept the schnitzel-and-carrot-salad structure, the lemon-mustard-parsley salad, the flour-egg-crumb order and shallow frying. I changed chicken breasts to 12 ounces chicken tenderloins pounded to an even 1/4 inch, and I changed shaved whole carrots to grated baby carrots because the shorter shape is better suited to a box grater than a peeler.

What it costs

Sale items, fixed prices$52.46
Chicken tenderloin pack (2.5–3.5 lb @ $2.99/lb)$7.48 – $10.47
Sale subtotal$59.94 – $62.93
Normal-price items$16.80
Estimated total at register$76.74 – $79.73

Two per-serving numbers, both true, with the arithmetic shown so you can check it.

NightSale food on the two platesCost
1chicken 8 oz $3.19 · salad kit $3.00 · sauce 2 oz $0.21 · 4 tortillas $0.60$7.00
2salmon 3/4 lb $6.74 · zucchini $1.29 · corn $0.50 · feta 4 oz $1.50$10.03
3half the pot — beef $2.50 · beans $0.50 · pepper $0.35 · onion $0.21 · tortillas $0.60$4.16
4flounder $5.00 · avocado $0.79 · onion $0.21 · tortillas $0.60$6.60
5tenderloins 12 oz $2.24 · carrots 12 oz $0.75 · 1 egg $0.50$3.49
Food eaten across 10 dinner servings — $3.13 a serving$31.28

Night 3 is charged at half because the pot makes four portions and you eat two. The full pot's ingredients cost $7.11, so tonight carries half of that ($3.56) plus its four tortillas ($0.60); the remaining $3.55 buys two more meals later in the week, and charging it against tonight would be dishonest bookkeeping. That $3.13 also leaves out the normal-price garlic, lemons, cabbage, herbs, flour, panko and Dijon you eat, so treat it as a floor, not a true cost. The other honest way to read it: divide the whole receipt by ten dinners and you get $7.67 to $7.97 a serving, charging nothing forward to next week.

What the sale is actually worth

The interesting question is not what you pay, it is what you would have paid next week. These are Food Lion's own non-promotional prices for the same items at the same store, read from their catalog — not estimates, and not manufacturer "compare at" numbers.

Sale itemYou payRegularSaved% off
Rotisserie chicken, 28 oz$5.99$6.99$1.0014%
Fresh Express chopped salad kit$3.00$4.29$1.2930%
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, 28 oz$2.99$3.58$0.5916%
Zucchini or yellow squash, 1 lb$1.29$1.90$0.6132%
Athenos feta, 16 oz$5.99$6.99$1.0014%
85% lean ground beef, 16 oz$5.00$6.99$1.9928%
Hanover beans, 15.5 oz$1.00$1.58$0.5837%
Green bell pepper$0.69$0.89$0.2022%
Red onions, 3 lb bag$2.50$4.99$2.4950%
Hass avocado$0.79$0.99$0.2020%
Baby carrots, 2 lb bag$1.99$2.89$0.9031%
Vital Farms eggs, 12 ct$5.99$6.99$1.0014%
Chicken tenderloin, per pound$2.99$3.99$1.0025%
Sale items with a verified regular price$44.70
–$47.69		$59.05
–$63.04		$14.35
–$15.35		24%

The range on the bottom row is the tenderloin pack again, priced at 2.5 lb and at 3.5 lb. The percentage barely moves either way, because the tenderloin discount sits close to the basket average.

Four sale items are left out of that table. The Mission tortillas ($3.00), the salmon ($6.74), the corn ($0.50) and the flounder ($5.00) — $15.24 of spending — are on sale in the printed ad, but the store's online catalog either does not carry the exact item or does not publish a separate regular price for it. Rather than invent a "was" price, they are excluded. So 24% is the discount on the items I could verify, not on the whole basket — the four unknowns could pull the combined rate up or down. What is certain is the dollar figure: you save at least $14.35 to $15.35, because those four items can only add to it.

The whole basketYou payIf nothing were on sale
Sale items with a verified regular price$44.70 – $47.69$59.05 – $63.04
Sale items, regular price unpublished$15.24at least $15.24
Never-on-sale items (garlic, lemons, flour…)$16.80$16.80
Register$76.74 – $79.73$91.09 – $95.08 or more

So the trip costs about $77 to $80, against about $91 to $95 for the same basket with no sale running — a saving of $14.35 to $15.35. Read the percentage in three steps, because a single number would hide what it is doing:

Discount, measured against…% off
Just the sale items whose regular price I could verify24%
…plus the $16.80 of staples that are never discounted at all19%
…plus the four unknown items, assuming they got no discount16%

That last row is a deliberate worst case, not a measurement. The salmon, tortillas, corn and flounder are on sale — I simply cannot prove by how much — so 16% is a floor on the whole-basket discount, with no ceiling I can honestly put on it. If those four are discounted as steeply as the rest, the whole-basket figure lands around 20% — not 24%, because the never-discounted staples still sit in the total either way.

The one thing that definitely drags the number down is the $16.80 of staples that were never on offer — garlic, lemons, cabbage, herbs, flour, panko, Dijon. That is about 18% of the no-sale basket, and it alone pulls a 24% sale down to roughly 19% across the trip. Sale prices only ever discount the part of dinner that happens to be on sale that week.

The receipt is about $77 to $80. The sale-item value on the ten dinner plates is $31.28. The difference is a 16 oz tub of feta bought for 4 oz of feta, a dozen eggs bought for one egg, a 5 lb bag of flour bought for half a cup, and two to three pounds of chicken now sitting in your freezer. None of it is waste. It just isn't all eaten this week. Both numbers are worth knowing, and neither one on its own tells you the truth.