You know those food samples they give out at the grocery store? Who doesn't love free, unplanned hors d'oeuvres! It's like a cocktail party, only without the cocktails, and you're grocery shopping. Anyway, it turns out there is a limit to how many samples you can grab off those trays -- especially if you're a grown man. Poor Erwin Lingitz was arrested for "stealing" free samples. How can you steal something that's free?!?

Well, here's how. According to grocery store managers, Lingitz "violated societal norms" by taking more free samples than is customary. They say he would fill produce bags with 20 cookies from the free kids' cookies tray. And there's more. Check out what else the store claims he took.

The other day I bought some fruit punch ‘drink’ boxes to put in my kids’ school lunches. As I was unloading groceries, my husband made a comment along the lines of, “I could have mixed some sugar and water together for a lot cheaper than whatever you paid for these.”

He’s probably right. At that moment in the store, I just didn’t really care that much. They were on sale, and even if they were full of sugar, at least I knew my kids would drink them. Score a point for hydration!

Poor Guy Fieri. Will the mocking never end? Last month he got a sound shellacking in a review for his restaurant in New York City -- not so much because it failed to be fancy, but because it failed on every level for every kind of eater. Now it's his line of frozen foods. I wonder why?????

There's his Old Skool Pepperoni Pizza Eggrolls. (Which old school would that be, exactly?) Crispy Cheeseburger Ravioli Bites. (WTF?!?) And Mozzarella Buffalo Chicken Dip. But it's his S'mores Indoors Pizza that's really got people talking. In all caps. "HORRIBLE!" "WORST dessert ever!" "I was sick from it. Did I mention it was spicy?" So say the reviews.

Oh dear. But you know what? You're in good company, Guy. Here's some other questionable frozen foods.

How long could you live off the food you have in your home? A month? A week? A day? One mom says she could probably go for a whole year without grocery shopping! She keeps a well-stocked pantry, plus a food storage closet in the basement and plenty of frozen meat and vegetables besides. And it's all just to help feed needy families along with her family.

It's amazing what some people do with their space and resources! And after a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, I think we all started wondering how self-sufficient we'd be -- and for how long -- if we were caught in an emergency.

I suck at planning ahead. No two ways about it, I'm forgetful and always distracted and never prepared for anything, particularly not the holidays -- PARTICULARLY not Thanksgiving. So where was I today, the day before THANKSforGIVINGme-a-migraine? Why, I was at the grocery store, of course, battling all the other last-minute shoppers for whatever was left on the shelves (the dented can thing is a myth, right?).

And you know what? It wasn't so bad. HA! I'm lying! It WAS so bad. It was sooooo bad. As bad, if not worse, than every other last-minute Thanksgiving grocery shopping trip of my life. (You'd think I would've learned my lesson by now, but no.) Perhaps you too are a last-minute shopper? Or maybe you're one of those super-organized types who orders your turkey in August. If you're the former, read the following list and chuckle knowingly. If you're the latter, read the following list and snicker smugly.

We all love to drizzle maple syrup over pancakes and waffles, but the real stuff can be awfully expensive in normal years. This year, thanks to an early spring and record high summer temperatures, there was a smaller maple syrup harvest -- and that means even higher prices for us, like $20 for a pint. Ouch!

So we decided to check out some alternatives: Maple-flavored syrups. We lined up seven different syrups plus a homemade maple-flavored syrup for a taste test here at the CafeMom office. And just for fun, we threw in some real maple syrup to see if people could tell the difference. The results will reassure those of you who've been buying the imitation maple syrup -- looks like you're not really missing out on much.

It's been almost exactly a month since the last major salad recall, and you know what that means: Time for a new salad recall! This time it's Dole American Blend bagged salad, recalled in 10 states. Testing by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture revealed some of the salad was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Wow, Listeria monocytogenes? That's one of the most virulent food-borne pathogens! Says Wikipedia.

Anyway, you'll want to check out the usual pertinent recall info below to find out if you happen to be an unhappy owner of this recalled salad.

Over the years my husband and I have moved quite frequently,  and one of the first things I always consider when we do is what my grocery options will be ... or won't be. It may not be as vital as the property tax rates when making our decision, but for me, the markets can make or break a place.

I almost refused our most recent move from Seattle to Orlando because Florida did not have my favorite store. I simply couldn't imagine not being able to access its products that were staples in our lives, but with the promise that the chain would be popping up in the Sunshine state soon, I agreed. I've been sorry ever since, because since we moved five years ago there has been a seriously lack of popping going on down here, and I've been left in serious withdrawal.