All about GrocerySurf

eTurabian - citation generator for Turabian 7th edition

2007-09-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

Eksendia LLC announced the launch of updated online citation generator eTurabian as the correspondence to the newly released 7th edition of Kate L. Turabian "A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations," revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. (Chicago, University of Chicago Press.)

The makeover of eTurabian not only modifies the citation method to the new edition, but also improves the program in many ways.

eTurabian now supports both citation styles used in Turabian manual - notes/bibliography style and parenthetical citations-reference lists.
Citation for online and electronic resources has added genres: book online, book in other media format, journal article online, thesis and dissertation online database.
Users can choose between basic and advanced interfaces in order to make more detailed and precise citations.
Go mobile with eTurabian (Opera mini browser)

eTurabian, since launched in 1999, has been widely introduced in the colleges and universities as a tool for scholars and students writing papers and theses/dissertations. For more information, please go to the website: eTurabian or contact Eksendia LLC.

Grocerysurf 101 - Mobile recipe box

2007-07-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

Do you have a cellphone? Does it have Internet access? If it does, welcome to join the club! From the past, We had introduced GrocerySurf mobile shopping list (read it). Mobile recipe box is an add-on feature for your mobile list. That means, not only the shopping list follows wherever you go, so does your recipe box!

The main idea here is to encourage people to cook more at home and enjoy healthy and balanced diet. Using the mobile recipe box ensures our users that one grocery trip does all. Best of all, if you spot a great buy at the store (ex. $0.99/lb Pork Baby Ribs), you can double check your recipe for associated ingredients.

The basic functions:

1. Search recipes by ingredient(s) or title(s).

2. The result is shown by relevance.

3. Click any single ingredient and add it into current shopping list.

4. Aisle is assigned automatically.

To learn more about using the GrocerySurf online grocery organizer, check these series of articles "GrocerySurf 101."

Bogof ? 10/10? - Code list for store ads

2007-07-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

Do you read store ads for weekly sale or seasonal specials?
If you do, you can make a code list based on the store ads. It can be input in the "Note" section in the GrocerySurf shopping list program.

Using code list saves you time when writing the shopping list. And it is especially helpful for the GrocerySurf mobile shopping list users since the screen is small.
Here is an example of code list:

bogof, buy one get one free
10/10, mix and match 10 items for $10
c+, with coupon
ST, store brand
sub/no, specific brand as mentioned (that is, no substitute)
sub/yes, can be any brand if out of stock
BB, the bigger the better!
r_label, read the label / check the expiration date

Well~ you got the idea! Create you own and keep it handy. Be sure to share the code list with your family members if you take turn to go shopping.

100% All Natural

2007-06-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

In the mid-June, Tyson Foods,Inc. announced the first time in its history that the new product of chicken meat will be 100% natural - No antibiotics, No artificial ingredients, No hormones in U.S. market. (read news)

It is not a surprise to see large poultry company getting into the natural food business as a response to broad scale consumer demand and the higher pricing compared to regular poultry.

So, Grocery Surfers, what do you think?

For the consumers, more competition means more choices. As Tyson brand poultry product is distributed throughout the country, more families will be able to enjoy the natural food at more affordable price as well. Therefore, we consider it's a healthy news!

This is to say that Tyson brand fresh chicken “raised without antibiotics” is exactly what it says. We would love to see if they will stop adding salt to their chicken the way they do it now. This would make healthy and delicious meals easier.

As always, the new grocery product will be on sale for a period of time. If you are interested to give it a try, this would be the time. So far we'd seen sale terms as "buy one get one free" and "33% off." If you already had a taste, share your opinion with us.

Pricier than Ever!

2007-06-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

The renowned advertisement may go like this -
Block of Cheddar cheese: $2.08
One gallon of milk: $3.40
Enjoy a homemade Pizza with milkshake: Pricier than ever!

If your family monthly budget is getting tighter than before, you are not alone. According to recent study (read it) , the price of dairy products, beef, and numerous grocery items reach record high this year. The rise of fuel price certainly started the chain reaction. But drought, cost of operations, and higher demand are also factors that boost this price rise. So what can we do? Rush to get bigger freezer? Maybe not a wise decision if you aim at saving money. Before you sell your car and buy that new freezer, consider other options.

This is what Grocery Surfers would do.

Weed out: Instead of limiting the budget or changing the diet, start with decluttering the shopping list. Check your pantry room in GrocerySurf program for the right amount of food your family needs and the adequate frequency of your purchase.
Target: List the items with brand names you cannot live without as a target to collect coupons or watch for sales. You can print GrocerySurf pantry list as a reference. (To know more...)
Balance: Use the automatic reminder to make shopping list so the pantry stock is always enough but never too much.

GrocerySurf is a free online program that organizes the grocery shopping and pantry stock. Rather than having an extreme makeover in your lifestyle, it enables you to reach the goal of savings with less effort and down payment. The ultimate goal of using this program is not only to save money and time but also to do it with no compromise in lifestyle.

Grocery saving tip # 2: Use your grocery receipt

2007-06-26T04:43:00.000-07:00

Except checking for the accuracy and amount of savings, you can also use receipt to keep track of fresh produce.

At checkout, separate the grocery items into groups - ex. meat, non-perishable goods, dairy, and vegetable/fruit. It can be in any order of your choice as long as it is in groups. Use the markers to keep track of fresh produce as follows:
Red dot - use within 3 days
Yellow dot - 3 to 7 days
Green dot - after 7 days

You can use a magnet and display the receipt on the refrigerator. Cross out the item after each use. This way, there is no surprising discovery of rotted treasure in the kitchen.

For more GrocerySurf saving tips, click here. You can also join GrocerySurf to save time and money with our online grocery organizer and receive the coupon alert for realtime grocery savings.

Grocery saving tips that work

2007-06-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of people claiming that they spend less than 50 dollars or so weekly and feed the family of four well. Did you ever wonder how they could do it?

The truth is, there are numerous factors that lead to the differences in people's grocery expenses; for example, the physical location, the budget, family profile, and purchase habits. Therefore, comparing the real dollar amount of saving is not realistic and useful.

Here are some grocery saving tips that work for everyone regardless of the difference in lifestyle or budget.

Collect sets of recipes and use them on regular basis. People waste a lot of money buying grocery items that are used only once or twice.
Use coupons for items that you would purchase without a coupon. A coupon is not a reason to buy an item.
Shop in the same grocery stores and get to know the people who work in the fresh produce / meat sections. They give great tips on storing food and the deal of the day as well as when to come in for the best selection during the week. Buying with quality in mind is also an underlying fact to save money.
Making grocery shopping list is a great way to achieve the ultimate goal of living - healthy lifestyle and the balanced money/time management.

You can find more grocery saving tips by clicking on the tag "grocery saving tip". Upcoming grocery saving tips include "Freezer - the magic number 2.30 ", "Grocery Surfer's coupon guide." Subscribe "All about GrocerySurf" now, and you will receive all the grocery saving tips with RSS feeds automatically.

GrocerySurf 101 - Family shopping list

2007-06-07T19:08:00.000-07:00

Genie, one of the grocery surfers, sent us a tip for making family shopping list with GrocerySurf. And we would like to share it with all surfers.

To make a family shopping list, you can sign up an account and share the account within family members. This way they also have access to the shopping list without chasing you around and telling you what they need. They can even update the list at work or anywhere the Internet is available. How do you know which one is for whom? Write the person's name in the "note" section! For instance, "toothbrush, for Jeff" and "toothbrush, for Jammy" will be counted as seperate items in the program. In addition, GrocerySurf team member came up with another idea for family shopping list.

Since GrocerySurf program is able to make multiple-store shopping lists. Why not use the store tag and add all your family members as tags for seperate shopping list?

To add individual name in the store tag, go to "add store" page. There you will find a box to enter the store name. Instead of the store name, input family members' names. This way, everyone has a shopping list seperate, but you can transfer their items into one list before you head for the store. Please note: Make sure the list is empty before you make changes to the store name tag. You may lose the data if you add or delete store names.

It is always fun to receive creative ideas from grocery surfers. Let us know if you have any suggestions as well.

Grocery saving tip # 1: Less is more

2007-06-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Are you playing the coupon game? How much time do you put into it and how much money do you save? Some people immediately shout that "Hey! I save 500 bucks this month. That is 50% savings." But wait! Do you have that 500 dollars in the bank account? Oh~ it is in your pantry and freezer. I see. If everything goes well as planned, eventually you will receive that 500 dollars in a year or two.

Using coupon is a well-known technique to save money. Manufacturers surely know about it. They use coupon to promote new products, and compete with others. But that does not mean you have to play their coupon games. Coupon is not a reason to buy things. Every coupon is another chance to overspending.

If you use GrocerySurf shopping list and unload the items into pantry room for few times, you would have a list of brand name items that are "the regular" in your shopping list. In other words, those items are the ones that you cannot live without. And those should be your target for coupon clipping. Based on the auto-reminder, you would know the "exact" quantity you actually use in a period of time. So you get the quantity plus the target. The only thing you will need is to compare the price between the stores for the best buy by reading the weekly ads.

Less work = Better approach. Our life is fully packed with the duty, the wanted, and the dreamed of. We should always be cautious to try any method that promises the return in the future. The uncertainty may not be a benefit for life but another add-on liability.

Why and How - use recipes wise to save money and time

2007-05-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

I love cooking, and I believe the recipe is the most magical form of literature.

It used to be written down on a piece of paper, or given down through word of mouth. Nowadays, We get recipes from all kinds of sources: family, friends, magazines, websites, and even from a box of cereals. Some of them are lifetime treasures, and some of them are simply great. However, Some of them come with beautiful staged photos, and some of them come with the ingredients long enough to make a necktie.

As you already know, free recipe usually comes with a price unless it is from your own circle of trust! I ended up with a pantry full of ingredients that are rarely used and too painful to throw away. Time for a change, isn't it?

First of all, based on how much time I have, I get new recipe only once or twice a month from the Internet. To get the most use of the recipes, I use the "ingredient search" to narrow down the recipes that use the basic pantry items in my kitchen. If the recipe comes with one or two ingredients that are not the "regular" in my pantry, I either substitute or skip it - for example, instead of the Italian arborio rice, I use the jasmine rice from the nearby grocery store. And of course sometimes I have to add one or two new items into my shopping list in order to get it right.

After awhile, I have a handful of recipes that are "tested" in my kitchen and "reviewed" by my family. I, then, make a very general meal plan that uses this set of recipes as a combination; for example, the grilled chicken breast tied with French baguette, the bacon and egg breakfast come with the English muffin. I follow my flying mood everyday to cook whatever I want.

It should work as I wanted. But it didn't.

I would get the pork rib for grill but forgot about the marinate sauce. I would pick the beef chuck on sale but forgot to get the celery root to cook with. And writing down the ingredients again and again for every shopping trip is getting me crazy. The method needs to be refined.

The recipe input is a key solution for this. It basically uses the recipes in the account and makes the household grocery shopping list combined with all the ingredients from recipes of my choice. I could add the ingredients from the recipe directly to my weekly shopping list. And the items are organized by aisles and stores all together in one list.

Sounds good? Not good enough. How about the surprising sale item found in the grocery shopping trip? How can I make sure that I get everything needed to cook with? Well~ we added the recipe search in the mobile phone. When I see the sale in the grocery store, I search recipe box to add items into current shopping list.

Thinking of the fuel saving and the nice meal on the table, it is the best reward for being a Grocery Surfer!

Grocerysurf 101 - Make shopping list

2007-05-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

This is part of the series "Grocerysurf 101."
Let's start making grocery shopping list, the Grocery Surfer way.

1. Multi-store shopping list
Grocery chains often offer better price on general items, but they may not come with the quality you expect. If that is the case, check local farmers market for better vegetable and fruit selection, and local deli for better quality meat. Most people shop at 2 to 3 different grocery stores. GrocerySurf shopping list program allows you to make multiple lists for stores as many as you need. Take advantage of that, Surfers!

2. Smart input, input smart
Smart input, a set of common items, shows up as you type in the shopping list. You can click on the item name to input. If it is the first item on the smart input list, just click Enter to input. The smart input list actually grows as you use the GrocerySurf program. It remembers all the personal input from your list and minimize the repeated typing process. To avoid the bad input or so-called “spam”, we do not share each user’s smart input list.

3. Why choose aisle?
The list that is organized by aisle can keep shopping trip more efficient. It is especially helpful if the store is as big as supercenter. You can name your own aisle or even use aisle numbers. The program can sort the list by number as well. However, since grocery stores tend to move aisles around, we don't recommend using number system. If you choose NOT to use aisle, the items on the list will be listed under "not specified" in the pantry room, and everything else in the program still works such as auto-reminders and smart input.

Spread the word

2007-05-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

We can’t thank enough for all grocery surfers who had been spreading the words for us through numerous ways. If you like GrocerySurf program, you can do the same. Here is how –

Word of mouth - Talk to your friends or email them about our website.
Blog - Make a link to GrocerySurf, post your grocery shopping photo or talk about being a grocery surfer.
Bookmark - Use online social bookmark (check the bookmark button on the right)
YouTube - Yes! You can actually show off your mobile list and share the whole shopping surfing trip on the web. And don’t forget to give us a link so that we can show it on our website and blog, too!

from grocerysurf team @ Eksendia

Grocery Surfers Go Mobile

2007-05-11T06:14:00.000-07:00

Have you tried the GrocerySurf mobile list yet? There are many reasons why we think you should go mobile with your grocery shopping.

We used to make our list on paper and post it on the fridge. And guess what? It either stayed on the fridge or got lost somewhere on the way to the store. If you were ever in my shoes, you know what I mean.
The grocerysurf pantry is updated at the time you shop. It then generates the auto-reminder for your next shopping.
Simple pleasure of trying something new.

What you need:

Any cell phone or mobile device with Internet access
GrocerySurf account
Internet browser for mobile (ex. Opera mini)

Here is how:

Go to address: www.grocerysurf.com(* tip – bookmark this address in your phone for faster access)
Login with non-secure or secure connection (recommended)
Provide login information (account name and password)
After login, click on the store name to open the list for that store
Scroll down to see entire list organized by aisles
Check the box for each item as you surf through the store
Click Update button to transfer the data back to your GrocerySurf account
If you have recipes saved in the account, you can search the ingredients and add more items to current list.
Important! When you finish shopping, please click logout to end the session.

GrocerySurf 101 - Being a Grocery Surfer

2007-05-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

GrocerySurf (what is it?) comes with three main parts: shopping list, reminder, and recipe box. Here is a simple guide to all grocerysurf users. To become a grocery surfer, you need to sign up an account. It takes less than a minute to complete, and it is free.

Basic

choose store name(s)
make shopping list by clicking the link “edit shopping list”
when finished, save the list
go shopping with your printable list or use your cell phone
go to unload zone and update the pantry (Mobile list user can skip this part! The pantry is updated when you use the mobile list.)

Advanced

keep recipes that are used regularly in GrocerySurf recipe box and make shopping list from recipes
search through recipes on your cell phone in the store (find great savings in store? Don’t forget to get all the other ingredients you need to cook with it.)
manually configure the reminder
transfer grocery items from store to store
print the pantry list and keep it on the refrigerator as a quick reference

Wanna more adventures? try these -

use the recipe box as an event box (ex. name: birthday party, ingredients: balloons, cake mix, candies, invitation cards, etc…)
share the account among family members, and edit the same shopping list together.
become our panelists and help us improve the grocerysurf program. If you have more creative ideas to use grocerysurf program, share with all grocery surfers. Chances are, you will have fun!

Grocerysurf program learns from your shopping pattern and adjusts itself to fit your need. In other words, the more you use, the more accuracy and convenience you will have.

What is GrocerySurf?

2007-05-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

GrocerySurf is a free web-based program developed by Eksendia LLC to simplify the grocery shopping experience. It provides multi-store shopping list organized by aisle, automatic grocery reminder. It also keeps unlimited favorite recipes of your choice that can be transferred into list by clicking. The basic idea is to give you an easy-to-use but powerful tool that actually works for you.

The unique features include:

both printable and mobile shopping list (access through cell phone)
automatic reminder that notifies you two weeks ahead before the item runs out
easy to use and convenient

Do you...
enjoy cooking with lots of recipes in mind
but
tired of writing down same ingredients
over and over again for every grocery shopping?

Would you...
like to grab the food on sale today
but
not sure about other ingredients needed to cook with?

Have you...
minimized the trips to the store
yet kept everything on hand
for the household needs without
photographic memory?

Try GrocerySurf today. It is easy to use, and free to sign up.