If you think that's a lot ...

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How much would you pay for organic strawberries?

My dry cleaners is in the same shopping center as the ShopRite in Rochelle Park, so after dropping off two pairs of pants, I went into the supermarket, looking for Jersey Fresh blueberries.


Two for $5, a bit pricey. A&P is selling a six-pint pack for $6.99 with a store card through Thursday.


Large red or black seedless grapes are on sale for 99 cents a pound with the A&P card.


At ShopRite, a pound of organic strawberries were $2.99 with a store card, twice the price of conventional strawberries. 


If you think that's a lot, I saw organic strawberries at Whole Foods Market in Paramus for $3.99 a pound.


I bought one pack of the ShopRite organic strawberries, because I've read that fruit gets more pesticides than any other.


At Fairway Market in Paramus, a whole beef tenderloin for filet mignon is $6.99 a pound (4-to-6-pound average).


ShopRite often puts the same cut of beef -- from free-range, grass-fed cattle in Australia -- on sale for $4.99 a pound with a store card.

Australian beef takes center stage

Tenderloin in the beef cut chart.

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There is good news for meat eaters in the ShopRite sales flier: Free-range, grass-fed filet mignon from Australia for only $4.99 a pound with the PriceClub Card. The sale starts Sunday.


You'll have to buy the whole beef tenderloin sold under the Nature's Reserve label, probably a minimum of four pounds. And when you get it home, you'll need to trim it well. The last time I bought this beef, I sliced all of it thin and put it in freezer bags with marinade for Korean barbecue at home. But you can also cut it into small steaks.


The same cut of conventionally raised American beef also is on sale at ShopRite for $6.99 a pound with the card.


ShopRite can sell foreign beef for $4.99 a pound, compared with $10 or more a pound for American, grass-fed beef, because costs are so much lower in Australia. The same goes for naturally raised Australian lamb. Why Australian beef isn't served more in American steak houses is a big question.


Free-range, grass-fed beef has less fat than beef from cattle confined to pens and fed only grain; it cooks faster and probably shouldn't be prepared past medium.