It's easy to find good heart-healthy food here, there and everywhere

The Ahi Tuna Salad at the Suburban Diner, 172 Route 17 north in Paramus, includes rare, sesame-encrusted fish; romaine lettuce, toasted almonds, mandarin orange sections and crisp wontons ($16.50). I asked for the Asian Sesame Dressing on the side, and found it too sweet.

From Maguro Sushi House in Rochelle Park, a Spicy Tuna and Crab Roll (about $8.50). A variety of Maguro rolls are available in the cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, 350 Engle St., Englewood.

A Seaweed Salad from Maguro Sushi House also is sold in the hospital's cafe (about $3.50).

I often use the $8 dining card given volunteers at the Englewood hospital to buy fresh spinach from the cafe's salad bar. I prepare it in olive oil and sake, adding red-pepper flakes, a little sea salt and other spices.

Japchae, translucent noodles made from sweet-potato flour, are among several meatless, non-spicy Korean dishes from Jinga, a caterer in Queens, N.Y., that are sold at H Mart supermarkets, including the store at 25 Lafayette Ave. in Englewood.

Slices of Kimbap, a Korean sushi roll, are both soft and crunchy, and addictive. Trays include Korean pickles and sliced jalapeno pepper.

Stewed Tofu comes with a spicy red-pepper sauce, and sliced jalapeno peppers are the kicker.

A Tilapia Francese Dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, includes pasta, vegetable, dumpling and stuffed zucchini, above and below.

Jerry's restaurant-quality Meals To Go are marked down to $5.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.

A 64-ounce jar of crunchy Arirang Mahk or Cabbage Kimchi is $12 at the source, a storefront in the H&Y Marketplace shopping center, 1 Remsen Place in Ridgefield. The kimchi is handmade without MSG.

At the H&Y Korean supermarket next door to Arirang Kimchi, 1-pound packages of strawberries from Florida were on sale for $1.99 each today, and 18-ounce containers of blueberries from Chile were only $2.99 each.

When I got home, I had a snack of Arirang kimchi and japchae, translucent noodles with vegetables ($4.99 for a 1-pound container made in the kitchen of H&Y Marketplace).

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

When you buy an Italian takeout dinner at Jerry's, appetizers are free

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood on Friday afternoon, there were free samples at stations throughout the store, including hard and soft cheeses, bread, crackers and focaccia, above and below.

At other stations on Friday, customers could sample farm-fresh milk, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can try Italian wines. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

When I'm in Englewood once or twice a week, I always try to stop at Jerry's Gourmet & More for a delicious Italian takeout dinner at an unbeatable price.

I usually don't get to the specialty food store until late in the afternoon, so I make a beeline for the refrigerated case holding the complete dinners, called Meals To Go, which are marked down to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.

On Friday afternoon, I  could choose between dinners with grilled branzino or tilapia, along with vegetable dumplings, cooked carrots with garlic; and two salads, snap peas and fava beans with walnuts.

I grabbed a branzino dinner, and then set out to have a few appetizers, courtesy of Jerry's, before paying and driving home.

I tried a half-dozen cheeses, three or four slivers of focaccia, farm milk and crackers.

If it's from Italy and you can eat it or drink it, you usually can find it at Jerry's, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood (201-871-7108).

Jerry's Meals To Go also are available on weekends.

One of the samples was a spicy Wasabi Gouda ($4.99 a pound), a different take on green cheese.

 

Jerry's own Neapolitan-style Pizza Margherita was $5.99.

After 4 on Friday afternoon, the remaining Meals To Go were marked down with a $5.99 sticker. The restaurant-quality dinners are said to be prepared from Jerry's family recipes.

At home, I plated the Grilled Branzino with Balsamico and Cherry Tomatoes; vegetable dumplings, snap peas and carrots, and reheated them for 2 minutes in a microwave. I also poured a glass of red wine.

My takeout dinner also included a Fava Bean Salad with fresh fava, walnuts, arugula, fennel, radish and radicchio, and I ate that cold from a separate plate. This is a great salad, but I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.

I also purchased a 20-ounce container of pitted olives for only $3.99.

Takeout from Homung Nangmyun in Closter and Jerry's in Englewood

The Shrimp and Vegetable Dumplings from Homung Nangmyun Restaurant in Closter were still warm when I got them home.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Closter Commons is the other shopping center in the wealthy Bergen County community, the one that isn't a big, noisy redevelopment zone, and it has a pronounced Korean accent.

That's good for me and anyone else who enjoys Korean food and services, such as the haircut I get once a month at Closter Dongyang Barber Shop, complete with a head vacuuming that usually puts me to sleep ($20).

A few steps away is Perfect 20 Nails & Spa, where you can follow the haircut with a manicure and pedicure, including a no-charge back massage.

Then there is a small restaurant, Homung Nangmyun, which specializes in nangmyun, chewy cold noodles in an icy beef broth.

For non-meat eaters, the restaurant serves tasty Shrimp and Vegetable Dumplings to eat in or take out (10 for $9.45).

The other dish on the place-mat menu that caught my eye is a Soft-Tofu Stew with clams and other seafood, served with several complimentary side dishes ($12.95).

You'll also find Gateaux, a Korean bakery and cafe, in one of the bigger spaces, usually filled with Korean housewives catching up on the latest community gossip.

Other businesses include a Korean-Chinese restaurant that I've never tried. 

Closter Commons

All businesses are at 570 Piermont Road, Closter.

Homung Nangmyun Restaurant, 201-750-1010,

closed Tuesdays.

Dongyang Barber Shop, 201-767-4541, closed Wednesdays.

Perfect 20 Nails and Spa, 201-750-7370, closed Sundays.

At Homung Nangmyun Restaurant, I was told a takeout order of dumplings would take 15 minutes, and given a cup of hot tea while I waited. 

I'm guessing Homung Nangmyun has about 30 seats, and if you are by yourself and want to eat in, you might be seated with another lone diner.

The House Salad from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood includes a small cup of Italian dressing made with mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar and olive oil.

Salad, salmon and more

On my weekly visit to Jerry's Gourmet & More (410 S. Dean St. in Englewood), I picked up a wonderful dinner salad for me and a complete, restaurant-quality meal with salmon, beet salad and crabmeat-stuffed zucchini for my wife ($5.99 each).

The next night, the Eggplant Parmigiana side dish from her dinner made a light meal for me with some leftover whole-wheat pasta.

This Baked Salmon Dinner and other Meals To Go are marked down to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m., but make sure you remind your cashier about the discount, if the container doesn't carry a $5.99 price tag.

Jerry's has an incredible selection of Italian wines.

I saw one bottle of Italian wine for $6.99, but this Montepulciano d'Abruzzo elicited sticker shock.

Two can shop faster at Costco, another great fish dinner from Jerry's

The lot at the new, bigger Costco Wholesale in Teterboro appeared to be full less than an hour after the 10 a.m. opening on Friday, but there were plenty of parking spaces on the fringes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Working together, me and my wife managed to get our weekly food shopping done at Costco Wholesale in about 30 minutes.

That's half of the time I spent on my first two visits to the new Teterboro warehouse, which opened last month.

The new Costco is far bigger than the Hackensack warehouse, with a separate cold room for milk, and three enormous refrigerated units for eggs, yogurt, frozen and prepared seafood, and other items.

I still think walking through the entire store and picking up items on your list as you see them is more efficient than just plunging into unfamiliar territory or going on individual searches.

On Friday, I stopped at the independent liquor store in the warehouse (with a separate entrance) to ask the price for a bottle of new Beaujolais, but my wife went ahead and I caught up to her in the produce section.

I didn't buy the French wine, which was between $8 and $9, a few dollars over my limit for a drinkable red.

Even though Friday's shopping trip was disorganized, we still managed to get in and out in close to a half-hour.

We spent about $185 on fresh and salted fish, smoked wild salmon, antibiotic-free chicken, organic eggs, lots of fresh conventional and organic produce, orange juice, lactose-free milk, peeled California garlic, guacamole and two dozen roses ($16.99).

We bought two fresh wild-caught red snappers from Panama that were nestled in ice at Costco's Seafood Road Show. They were 1.5 pound each and fully cleaned ($6.59 a pound). My wife prepared them for dinner Friday in closed aluminum-foil pouches with fresh lime juice, onions, sweet peppers and seasonings (40 minutes in a 400-degree oven). Delicious.

A wonderful piece of mahi mahi was the centerpiece of a takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

Seafood dinners at a discount

I lucked out on Wednesday afternoon, when I stopped at Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, and found five restaurant-quality Meals To Go in a refrigerated case, all seafood.

I picked up two, Mahi Mahi All'Acqua Pazza and Baked Grouper, at the discounted price of $5.99 each (after 4 p.m.)

My poached mahi mahi, with fresh tomato sauce, was accompanied by linguine in white clam sauce, vegetable dumplings, a vegetable frittata and an avocado salad.

I plated and reheated everything but the salad, which I ate cold.

My wonderful dinner only needed a glass or two of red wine to complete. 

My wife's grouper, with roasted peppers, came with gnocchi, sauteed broccoli rabe, vegetable dumplings and an artichoke fennel salad.

She has said the sauteed broccoli rabe in Jerry's dinners is the best she has ever had, and all of his sauces are bursting with flavor. 

At Jerry's, three dinners with Sea Scallops were still available Wednesday after 4 p.m., when the price is reduced to $5.99 from $7.99 (discount taken at the register).

Plating favorites from Costco and Jerry's Gourmet

A no-mayo salad uses canned Genova-brand Yellowfin Tuna from Costco Wholesale. Two other Costco items, Campari Tomatoes and Earthbound Farm Orgnaic Spring Mix, and Italian olives from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood complete the plate.

Chopped sweet peppers, carrot and onion, and a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, in bottled Kirkland Signature Marinara from Costco add up to a tasty dressing for imported organic whole-wheat spaghetti ($1.39 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Canned-fish salad makes a great sandwich or cold plate for breakfast or lunch.

I use Genova-brand Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil, Bear & Wolf Pink Salmon and Season-brand Skinless & Boneless Sardines, all from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

For a crunchy salad, I mix the fish and their liquid with lots of chopped sweet peppers, onion and celery, and dress everything with Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice and ground cumin to taste.

Six cans of the solid light tuna were $11.89, six cans of the wild Alaskan salmon were $12.99, and five 3.75-ounce cans of the Moroccan sardines were $6.19 after an instant $2.25 coupon.

The Moroccan sardines (with skin and bones) I buy at Fattal's in Paterson are only 99 cents, and the can is larger, but the Season sardines have less sodium and the container is BPA free.

Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood has an unusually large selection of cheese, with many free samples (410 S. Dean St., 201-871-7108). If you think the streets are choked with traffic, the aisles at Jerry's often are jammed with people grazing on free cheese, bread, olive-oil and other samples, as they were at mid-afternoon on Tuesday.

A complete dinner from Jerry's: Chicken alla Milanese, Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Artichoke, Zucchini Flower, and Shrimp and Broccoli Dumplings ($7.99 or $5.99 after 4 p.m.). Plate the food before reheating in the microwave, and finish the meal with a salad.

Grazing at Jerry's

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, you'll find containers of mixed Italian olives with whole garlic cloves for a low $3.99 a pound.

Jerry's Meals To Go are complete, restaurant-quality dinners for $7.99 or $5.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.

At mid-afternoon on Tuesday, I picked up three dinners: Chicken alla Milanese, Monkfish Ossobucco and Fillet of Sole Francese, but the last one contained chicken, not fish.

That's the first time I've encountered a mislabeling in the years I've been buying Jerry's Meals To Go.

I also picked up a 2.2-pound bag of Lavazza Crema e Aroma Coffee Beans from Italy for $19.99, and a 1-pound bag of Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle for $2.59.

A 20-ounce jar of Bella Rosa aged Asiago, a shredded cow's milk cheese, was only $6.99.

Add to egg whites for a simple omelet or elaborate frittata, as well as to pasta, soup or salads.

Something new at Jerry's are larger, more readable receipts that are a welcome change to shoppers who have spent years squinting at narrow strips of paper with hard-to-read print.

Imported egg noodles, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and pre-washed organic baby spinach -- all from Costco -- made a terrific one-dish dinner tonight.

Pesto and spinach

In my cupboard this afternoon, I found 4 ounces of dried egg tagliatelle, which are handmade noodles imported from Italy by Costco.
They cook up al dente in just four minutes, and I added a big handful of organic baby spinach to the boiling water in the last minute of cooking.

I drained the pasta and spinach, returned them to the pot, now off of the heat, and added about three tablespoons of prepared pesto.

Far from authentic, but delicious just the same, especially when washed down with a glass of red wine.

A pound of the organic baby spinach was $4.49 last week at my Hackensack Costco, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.79 and 5 pounds of sweet potatoes were $5.99.

A 70-ounce jar of Half Sour Pickles were $5.89, and two 96-ounce bottles of Kirkland Signature Organic Lemonade (18% juice) were $5.99.

Crisp Pink Lady Apples from Washington State were $9.99 for 5.5 pounds, and Made in Nature Organic Calimyrna Figs -- they are non-GMO, sun dried and unsulphured -- were $10.99 for a 40-ounce bag.

These Turkish figs are soft and sweet, quite a contrast to the jawbreakers I've bought in supermarkets, and they can be stuffed easily with a cinnamon-dusted roasted almond or two for a great snack or paired with cheese for dessert.

A 3-pound bag of sodium-free almonds are $14.99 at Costco, which also sells Ground Saigon Cinnamon from Vietnam.

I roast the almonds in the oven at 275 degrees for 1 hour and 2o minutes, let them cool and liberally shake the cinnamon container over them.

Sweet ShopRite deal goes sour once again

The sign on sweet potatoes at the ShopRite in Paramus clearly states you get a 20-cents-per-pound discount, if you buy more than 5 pounds, but the store's computer continues to ignore that at checkout, requiring an "override" from a supervisor, who then goes to the produce section, eyeballs the sign ("Buy Big and Save!) and gets a code to punch into the register.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss how the ShopRite in Paramus requires shoppers to jump through hoops for a discount, compare prices at ShopRite and other stores, offer suggestions for meals made with seafood from Costco Wholesale, and report on good buys at Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

How long does it take to fix the computerized checkout gizmo at the ShopRite in Paramus to reflect a volume discount on 5 pounds of sweet potatoes?

In the past few weeks, I've stopped there on the way home from the gym to buy sweet potatoes for baking and mashing, and each time, I saw a sign offering a discount of 20 cents a pound for more than 5 pounds.

The first time, I got the discount automatically at checkout, but the last two times, including on Wednesday, I didn't, and the sweet potatoes rang up at the full price.

That meant a delay of 10 minutes to 15 minutes while the problem was cleared up.

On Wednesday, after all the back and forth, I was charged 69 cents a pound for 4 pounds and given the 5th pound free. The regular price was 89 cents a pound.

The Paramus ShopRrite sells peeled garlic from China for $3.39 a pound, compared to the $2 a pound I pay at Costco Wholesale for peeled heirloom garlic from the Christopher Ranch in California.

Comparing prices

In the produce section of the Paramus ShopRite, I noticed peeled garlic from China for $3.39 a pound, compared to $5.99 for a 3-pound bag of peeled California garlic at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

ShopRite had a bag of celery stalks for $1.49, compared to 99 cents at Hackensack Market, 120 Passaic St. 

Other sale items at Hackensack Market on Tuesday included 12-ounce bottles of Goya Malta at 5 for $3.

A 1-liter bottle of Valentina Salsa Picante (Black Label), a terrific Mexican hot sauce that doesn't obliterate the flavors of the food you're eating, was $1.99. 

At ShopRite, a 1-pound package of Olivia Organic's Spring Mix was $7.99, a dollar more than a 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix or Organic Half & Half (spring mix and baby spinach).

At Costco, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix is $4.99 or less.  

Salted cod fish fillets from Canada is available at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack in 2-pound bags for $11.99. Here, the wild-caught fish is prepared with okra, sweet peppers, onions and garlic, and served with a leftover fish from a Korean takeout order, rear.

Canned wild-caught pink salmon in water and smoked wild sockeye salmon also are sold at Costco. A no-mayo pink salmon salad, left, includes chopped celery, sweet pepper and red onion; and Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice, ground cumin and avocado oil for moisture. The smoked salmon is sliced and ready to add to salads, right.

Salted cod fish with cabbage and sweet peppers served with baby spinach sauteed in avocado oil and chopped California garlic.

Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon goes into an egg-white omelet served with leftover shrimp, organic brown rice and organic quinoa. The price of a 1-pound package of smoked wild salmon jumped more than $3 recently, to $18.89, but you'll pay about $30 a pound at other stores. 

Deals at Jerry's

I ran out of Ponti Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, but found half-liter bottles for $1.99 each on Wednesday at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

I was served this balsamic vinegar at restaurants in and near Milan during a trip to Italy in 2010, and have been buying it ever since. 

It contains no added color, unlike so many other brands I see.

I also found two Jerry's Meals To Go, complete restaurant-quality dinners reduced to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m.

The dinners contained Chicken Siciliano, toasted orzo salad, string beans and artichoke salad -- ready to be plated and reheated in the microwave.

After I grabbed the last two Meals To Go in a refrigerated case, I walked around sampling Jerry's cheeses, and came across an antipasto platter with two cheeses, two styles of salami, sweet peppers and mixed olives with sun-dried tomatoes.

The 2.1-pound Messana-brand Party Platter was $6.99 or less than half price.

The Asiago and Fontina cheeses are made with part skimmed milk, meaning they are reduced fat.

Part of the antipasto platter I picked up at Jerry's for $6.99.

You can't beat eating breakfast at home

Where can you get a filling and delicious breakfast of organic brown eggs, wild and brown rices, and broccoli with plenty of garlic? At home.

I like the way the cheese in a wedge of homemade frittata with tomato, pesto and smoked wild salmon melts into the organic brown rice when re-heated for a few minutes in the microwave.

Editor's note: I love dinner leftovers for the boost they give me at breakfast. Today, I also discuss picking up the last few items I need for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Eating out is expensive, and you don't always know what you're eating or how it's prepared.

Why stop for one of those egg-and-mystery meat sandwiches when you can buy preservative- and antibiotic-free bacon at Trader Joe's that microwaves in minutes?

Skipping breakfast at home is especially foolhardy, because it deprives you of taking advantage of those great dinner leftovers to help launch your day.

An important component of my weight-loss strategy is to have a filling breakfast at home, allowing me to avoid all those unhealthy temptations at Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.

And I can skip lunch by relying on snack bars from Kashi and Nature's Bakery (try the terrific Fig Bar available at Costco Wholesale). 

Few places offer such breakfasts as the eggs with fried or broiled whiting you can order at the Golden Grill on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, where a bottle of hot sauce stands ready on every table.

But when eating breakfast at home, you can always plate a piece of leftover fish -- such as the fried haddock, onions and sweet peppers we had the other night -- with a wedge of frittata and pasta or rice.

Coscto Wholesale in Hackensack was a pleasure in the first hour it was open today, above and below. Maybe the bad weather kept pre-Thanksgiving shoppers away.

Today at Costco

The doors were thrown open well before 10 this morning at the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, and it was a pleasure for me and other early shoppers to pick up the last few items for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

There was no line at the Seafood Road Show, and I went overboard, asking for five Alaskan King Crab legs and claws at $19.99 a pound.

They weighed in at nearly 3 pounds or $58.57.

I also picked up a 4.60-pound bag of wild-caught Littleneck Clams for $3.49 a pound or $16.05. 

Among other items, I purchased 10 pounds of organic carrots for $7.99, and 6 pounds of Bosc Pears for $5.99.

As I headed for the exit of the parking lot around 10:20 this morning, I noticed a line of cars going out to the street as lazy shoppers were trying to get spots closest to the doors.

I saw the same phenomena when I visited the Wayne Costco on Monday.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, the Meals To Go went fast today.

We're sorry

This afternoon, at Jerry's Gourmet & More on South Dean Street in Englewood, the parking lot was full, but the refrigerated case holding Meals To Go was empty.

An employee explained the store prepared a ton of dinners, only to see them sold out during the morning hours.

The restaurant-quality dinners of fish, pork and chicken with pasta, vegetables and other side dishes are only $7.99 or $5.99 after 4 p.m.

100% whole wheat pasta: Why eat anything else?

Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Italy dressed in fragrant Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti and sardines glistening with added extra-virgin olive oil.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

You can find 100% whole wheat pasta in almost any food market, and it's available in so many shapes there is no reason to continue eating the conventional kind.

With whole wheat, you get more flavor, 100% whole grains and fewer carbohydrates, and your body will process it better.

Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Markets sell 100% whole wheat pasta in a variety of shapes, and you get a better deal at those stores than at a conventional supermarket.

At both stores, the whole wheat pasta is organic, and Whole Foods' linguine and shells are made in Italy.

Both also charge $1.39 for a full pound of whole wheat pasta, but at ShopRite, I noticed that Ronzoni's 100% whole wheat pastas comes in 12-ounce boxes at a higher price.

Barilla uses only 51% whole wheat in its whole grain pastas, and sells them in 13.5-ounce boxes.

A brand from Italy I saw at ShopRite comes in 16-ounce boxes, but is priced at $2.49.

Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood sells the Garofalo brand from Italy, and my favorite is the wide, thick, mouth-filling ribbons called pappardelle, especially when dressed in fragrant pesto.

With Garofalo whole wheat pastas, cooking times listed on the package are unreliable.

For example, the pappardelle took about 12 minutes for al dente, not the 8 minutes listed.