Now, it's easier than ever to keep unhealthy red meat off of your table

Wild-Caught Gulf Shrimp were on sale last Friday at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, where you'll find the best seafood counter in all of northern New Jersey. An employee deveined the shrimp for me, and at home, they cooked in minutes in olive oil, fresh lime juice and seasonings.

For a delicious and healthy dinner, I added the wild shrimp to leftover antibiotic-free farmed salmon from the new Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There is no end to reports on just how bad red meat is for you, and 95% of the time, the animals are raised under horrific conditions on antibiotics and hormones that are harmful to humans.

But if you stop eating meat and poultry, as I did more than five years ago, there are so many great alternatives, including an abundance of heart-healthy shrimp, salmon and other seafood.

My two main sources for fresh fish, both whole and fillets, are Costco Wholesale and H Mart, a chain of Korean supermarkets.

But I don't hesitate to buy wild shrimp or other seafood when it is on sale at Whole Foods Market, usually at prices that are near or equal to the others.

Not at Costco

For one thing, you can't buy wild-caught shrimp at Costco, and at H Mart, finding wild shrimp from Mexico is hit or miss. 

Last week, 16-20 count previously frozen wild-caught U.S. shrimp at Whole Foods in Paramus were on sale for $15.99 a pound (that's $5 off per pound).

You can't minimize the value of a seafood counter with workers willing to devein your shrimp, a difficult job. 

Even with the right knife, it's easy to cut your fingers. 

The shrimp at Whole Foods were 16 to 20 per pound, so I purchased 1.5 pounds, and after cooking them, they were as tender as could be. 

And if you do eat poultry, Whole Foods is a terrific source for such soup ingredients as antibiotic-free turkey necks and backs, which you'll find in the freezer case near the butcher counter ($1.99 a pound).

Skinless-and-boneless Atlantic Salmon fillets are from farmed fish raised in Norway without antibiotics. The fillets, from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, poach in under 10 minutes in Mexican-style salsa with fresh lime juice ($8.99 a pound).

In a simple dressing of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a salad of butter lettuce and organic spring mix, both from Costco, is a nice way to end a meal.

'Greenest of the Green'

If you're concerned about contaminants in fish, you should take a look at a new list of seafood that is sustainable, low in mercury and rich in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

The Safina Center at Stony Brook University calls the list "Greenest of the Green".

Wild Alaskan salmon and sardines, two of my favorites, are on the list.

You can find wild Alaskan salmon -- fresh, frozen or smoked -- at Costco Wholesale. 

We prepare organic whole wheat pasta with sardines every week or two.

All the dessert I need: Honey Crisp Apple, sodium-free almonds I roast at home and dust with cinnamon, and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy.

Antibiotic-free farmed Atlantic Salmon served on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes, Kabocha squash and peeled garlic cloves.

After boiling, draining and mashing white-fleshed sweet potatoes and squash, both with their skin, I added more extra-virgin olive.

I used an unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil from Spain to mash the potatoes and squash, plus as many seasonings as I had on hand, including curry powder, cinnamon, red-pepper flakes, black pepper, cumin, garam masala and a little sea salt.

Organic Chopped Vegetable & Barley Soup from CedarLane is so thick you can stand up a spoon in it. I buy it at Costco Wholesale.