My very dear friend Marilyn has been encouraging me to stop by Arbor Farms Market — a small grocery store devoted to fresh, local, organic, wholesome foods at reasonable prices — to find a Frugal Floozie Friday meal. She and her partner, Seymour, often shop there to pick up a quick lunch since they live nearby.

So when I was in that neighborhood recently and was hungry after running multiple errands, I took Marilyn's recommendation and treated myself to a nice take-out dinner.

There were so many lovely things to choose from in the prepared foods section! Everything was priced by the pound, so I could determine not only which item I wanted but also whether I wanted one that was more or less expensive, depending upon its size.

Hearty soups clamored for my attention, as did a variety of tempting sandwiches. There were several different salads to choose from, so I picked what seemed to be a small one with bright greens, red onion, dried cranberries, pecans and grated white cheddar for a mere $2.94. A less-expensive salad would leave more room in my mandatory $5-or-less budget for dessert, after all. I know what's important!

I made room for dessert because as soon as I saw the Split Personality Trifle — layers of chocolate and vanilla puddings with dark chocolate cake crumbs — I knew it was going to come home with me. With the pudding costing $1.89, my total for dinner was going to be only $4.83 and would include both nutrition and a treat. (I had salad dressings at home, so I didn't pick any of the offerings at the market; that also would have cost a bit more and put me over budget.)

And what a surprise when I opened the salad and placed it in a large bowl to coat it with dressing — it was enough to feed two people! I packed half of it away for the next day's lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the fresh, crisp vegetables, the sweetness and the crunch... a perfect combination of textures and flavors.

Dessert was utterly sublime — an ideal Snack Pack-sized individual serving that provided a truly luscious ending to my meal.

There are many ways to create a nutritious but still fun meal at Arbor Farms — sandwiches, soups, salads, chips, fruit, desserts, chocolates and all sorts of other goodies are available throughout the store. And the staff is also ready to provide friendly assistance should you be overwhelmed by the multitude of options.

This was a great Frugal Floozie Friday deal!

Arbor Farms Market 2103 W. Stadium Ann Arbor, MI 48103 734-996-8111

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Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures in the kitchen. She was thrilled to have her post about Scottish Oatmeal Shortbread named as one of the daily "Best of the Blogs" by the prestigious Food News Journal.

Go visit Mary's blog — Food Floozie — on which she enthuses and effuses over all things food-related. Feel free to email her with questions or comments or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here.