$200,000 Bentley Convertible tries to cut me off at Costco gas pumps

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Egg Whites have returned. You get six 16-ounce cartons, and the price is lower than the four-carton Egg Beaters we've been forced to buy since the Teterboro warehouse opened last October.

Egg Beaters (four 16-ounce cartons for $9.39), left, and Kirkland Signature Egg Whites (six 16-ounce cartons for $8.79).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the year since we bought Michelin Defenders for our 2010 Toyota Prius, Costco Wholesale's tire store moved to a new, bigger warehouse in Teterboro.

Teterboro offers a bonus over the Hackensack warehouse -- a members-only Costco gas station selling regular for under $2 a gallon, plus a cash rebate of up to 4% on credit-card purchases.

On Thursday, I had an appointment for a free rotation and tire balancing, so in the interest of conserving energy, I brought a long food-shopping list and figured I might as well fill the tank of my wife's 50-mpg gas-electric hybrid.

6,000-pound land barge

I entered Costco's parking lot, and started maneuvering so my gas door would be next to the pump, when I saw a couple in a Bentley Convertible on a collision course.

Damn if I was going to yield to a driver who blew more than $200,000 on one of the most environmentally irresponsible cars on the road -- a 600-horsepower, 6,000-pound behemoth that supposedly gets 12 mpg.

The bald driver had the top down in 90-degree weather, but didn't even know enough to wear a hat.

He was headed for a premium-gas pump on the far left and I was driving almost straight ahead, so I just hit the gas pedal and put the nose of the Prius in front of that flashy monstrosity, and got through.

The Bentley owner probably has to fill up his 24-gallon tank three times a week, so I guess I can't blame him for going to Costco.

After I filled up for $1.95.9 a gallon, I parked our Prius next to the tire store, and the car was ready before I finished my food shopping -- a little over an hour later. 

$2 off organic eggs

Two-dozen Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs were $4.99 after a $2 instant coupon.

Fresh Blackberries from Mexico were $4.49 (18 ounces), 3 pounds of Organic Bananas were $1.99, and 5.5 pounds of Premium Honeycrisp Apples were $15.99.

I also bought Organic Kiwi Fruit from Italy (4 pounds for $7.99).

I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh wild flounder fillets ($7.99 a pound), caught and processed in the United States, when I didn't find fresh wild salmon from Alaska.

The first Copper River salmon of the season arrived in Seattle on May 17.

On Friday, my wife saw fresh Copper River Alaskan salmon for $35.99 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Last year, the Hackensack Costco sold the first Copper River sockeye salmon for $14.99 a pound. 

Another change for the better at the Teterboro warehouse is Kirkland Signature Organic Coconut Water. You get the same amount as Vita Coco Coconut Water, which isn't organic, for a lower price, $9.99 v. $13.99, below.

Kirkland Signature Strawberry Spread still is made with fresh fruit, but is no longer organic. A 42-ounce jar is $5.99, a dollar less than the same size organic spread I bought in December 2014 at the Hackensack warehouse.

Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy ($8.79 a pound) costs a little more than Pecorino Romano, but it is aged longer, and has one-third less salt and less total fat. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with part-skimmed cow's milk and the other cheese uses full-fat sheep's milk. I like pieces of the crumbly Parmigiano with fruit, such as the delicious but pricey Honeycrisp Apples you can get at Costco.

My wife asked me to buy Organic Coconut Oil, but when I pointed out 1 tablespoon of the Kirkland Signature brand contains 60% of the daily recommended intake of saturated fat, she returned it the next day to the Hackensack warehouse and got a full refund ($18.99).

After time change, a few of my favorite dishes are really comforting

A hearty breakfast of leftover whole-wheat pasta shells with sardines and two organic eggs with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese really helps me shake off the blahs.

Editor's note: I've added another favorite comfort food, organic quinoa. And the cooking time for 365 Everyday Value Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Whole Foods Market ($1.49) is only 8-9 minutes, not the 14-15 minutes listed on the box.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Daylight Savings Time is especially challenging because it scrambles such routines as when you get up in the morning and when you feel like having dinner.

After we turned the clocks back one hour on Nov. 1, I often find myself wide awake at 6 a.m., then realize my body thinks it's 7, when I usually get up with the help of an alarm.

Dinner hunger pangs are now hitting in mid-afternoon, earlier than during the rest of the year, when we eat dinner at 4:30 p.m. or 5 p.m.

There also seems to be a shortage of sunlight in the mornings and an early exit for the sun in the afternoons, leading to a pronounced case of the blahs.

Taken all together, my thoughts have been turning to favorite comfort foods, including pasta, mashed sweet potatoes, eggs and omelets.

A 10-inch omelet made with three organic whole eggs -- stuffed with reduced-fat Swiss cheese, smoked wild salmon and Mexican-style salsa -- is another hearty breakfast, especially when served with mashed sweet potatoes and Kabocha squash, and a couple of pieces of stewed tofu.

One box (Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Whole Foods Market), one bottle (the 40-ounce Victoria Marinara from Costco Wholesale) and three cans (Season-brand skinless-and-boneless Sardines, also from Costco) combine to make one of my favorite dinners. Optional are red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, a can of rinsed and drained anchovies, and dried Italian seasoning added to the sauce before you heat it up.

I've heard Italians add bread crumbs, not grated cheese, to seafood pastas, such as shells with sardines. It's good I'm not Italian, because I sometimes enjoy a sheep's milk cheese, Pecorino Romano, on the dish. To complete this dinner, pour a glass or two of red wine and finish with a big salad dressed in extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

For breakfast, I prepared three great items from Costco Wholesale in an electric rice cooker -- Nature's Intent Organic Quinoa, Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes and peeled Christopher Ranch California Garlic Cloves, with a little extra-virgin olive oil and sea salt. A great bread substitute, quinoa also has fewer carbs than pasta or rice.

What gives with Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites at Costco Wholesale?

My wife went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today, looking for Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites, but she came home with Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites. And she ended up paying more for less product.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I warmed up quickly to Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites at Costco Wholesale.

Costco introduced the 100% Egg Whites to replace Kirkland Signature Real Egg Product, which was 99% egg whites, plus color, spices, salt, onion powder, xanthan gum and other ingredients not found in the real thing.

The new liquid product was cholesterol-free and had no saturated fat, but was thin and watery.

Still, it produced terrific egg-white omelets you could stuff with smoked wild salmon, cooked fresh spinach, cheeses, salsa and other ingredients.

Egg Beaters?

This morning, my wife went to the Hackensack Costco, but couldn't find Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites -- six 16-ounce cartons for $9.99 that were introduced a little over two years ago.

Instead, she brought home an Egg Beaters package, which doesn't offer as much value as Kirkland Signature did, containing only four 16-ounce cartons of 100% Egg Whites for $8.99.

That means you get one-third less product (four cartons instead of six) for only a dollar less than the Kirkland Signature version.

What gives, Costco?

Is this a temporary substitute for the Kirkland Signature version? Or is this change permanent? 

Cage-free controversy

Costco has been severely criticized recently for saying it would stop selling whole eggs from caged chickens, but continuing to do so years after the pledge.

If you buy Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs, the package is labeled cage free.

There was no such labeling on Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites or the new version from Egg Beaters.

The latter are from Con Agra Foods in Omaha, Neb., the big packaged-food company that doesn't have the greatest reputation.

A Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites omelet I made this morning with my last carton. I stuffed it with cooked fresh organic spinach, two kinds of cheese (reduced-fat Swiss and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano) and salsa, and ate it with sweet plantains and leftover organic brown rice.

If you're a dieter, this snack bar from Costco can help you skip lunch

The old and new boxes for Nature's Bakery Fig Bar from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack. There are six more twin packs in the larger box, but those who love figs don't welcome another change.

Editor's note: A favorite snack from Costco Wholesale now comes in a bigger box at a lower price per bar. Today, I also discuss other ingredients from Costco and other sources we can't live without.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Dieters like me who try to skip lunch to maintain their weight loss rely on snack bars and coffee to get them to dinner.

I usually eat a big, homemade breakfast, then snack on reduced-fat cheese or a twin pack of Nature's Bakery Fig Bar -- two 1-ounce bars that wrap fig paste and other flavors in stone-ground whole wheat.

Think of them as Fig Newtons for adults who want to avoid high-fructose corn syrup and other genetically modified ingredients. 

Nature's Bakery Fig Bars are non-GMO, kosher and dairy free.

I love figs -- fresh, dried or in an anise-flavored marmalade from Lebanon (sold at Fattal's in Paterson) -- so I took to these bars immediately.

They are the best snack bar Costco Wholesale carries and I have to hide them from my son, a teenager.

The two bars in each pack have a total of 220 calories, but they have no saturated fat or cholesterol. Each bar has 8 grams of dietary fiber.

Growing box

I first encountered them at the Hackensack Costco in November 2013, when a 3-pound box with 24 twin packs was $8.59 -- about 36 cents each.

I'm not sure I noticed when the box got bigger and held 30 twin packs.

This week, my wife brought home an even bigger box of the same fig bar with 36 twin packs for $10.79 or only 30 cents each.

But another, unwelcome change is that the unflavored fig bar is gone. 

Apple Cinnamon-flavored fig paste replaced it. Other flavors are Blueberry and Raspberry.

Costco's Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy (shredded) melted during the reheating of this vegetarian lentil soup from the cafe at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. I added Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, a refrigerated product, before serving the soup. Don't forget a glass of red wine.

I made a 10-inch omelet with Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, reduced-fat Swiss cheese, fresh spinach and Mateo's Gourmet Salsa from Costco, and ate it for breakfast with leftover organic whole-wheat spaghetti my wife made with three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce, sweet peppers, fresh tomato, onion and extra-virgin olive oil, but no pasta sauce.

Other great products

Two Costco products I miss when the wholesale store sells out are Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, a refrigerated product that uses basil from Italy ($7.99); and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

We bought two 1-pound jars of the aged cheese from Italy when they were on sale for $8.49. 

Normally, a jar costs $11.49 or about a buck more per pound than the same cheese in wedges Costco also sells.

We use the shredded cheese in soups, as well as in egg and pasta dishes, and slices from a wedge are great with fresh or dried fruit and nuts.

Another great item is Wholly Guacaole, now organic. Three 16-ounce "peel-and-serve trays" were $12.99 at Costco this week.

The company says it uses 15 hand-scooped Hass avocados to produce the 3-pound package.

To put that in perspective, you can pay $14 for guacamole made at your table with a single avocado at Rosa Mexicano Restaurant, a couple of miles from the Hackensack Costco.

Dandelion Tea

One of the teas we buy from Amazon.com is Organic Roasted Dandelion Root, a caffeine-free herbal tea made from "sustainably harvested [roots] from the wild meadows of Poland."

Six 16-count boxes are $17.61 under Amazon's Subscribe & Save program, which sends us an order every five months.

Other teas we get under the same program are Stash Moroccan Green Tea (120 bags for $15.57) and Newman's Own Organics Royal Tea, a black tea that never turns bitter, no matter how long you steep the bag (500 bags for $17.95).

Whole-wheat pasta

Organic whole-wheat pastas you can cook al dente without leaving a card-boardy feel in your mouth are commonplace, allowing me to completely give up conventional pasta.

Whole-wheat pastas, organic and non-organic, have more fiber and fewer carbohydrates than their conventional cousins.

ShopRite, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market all stock organic whole-wheat pasta in a variety of shapes.

ShopRite has the best prices for an import, $1.25 a pound for Luigi Vitelli-brand Spaghetti, Linguine, Capellini, Fusilli and Penne.

Vitelli Foods is based in Englewood.

I prepare whole-wheat pasta at home every week, because I'd be lucky to find an Italian-American restaurant in North Jersey that serves anything but whole-wheat penne.

Mouth-filling Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood dressed with Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, pignoli nuts and shredded Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. I also prepared a side dish of organic baby spinach with ingredients from Costco. The broad, flat noodles take a few minutes longer to reach al dente than the 8 minutes listed on the bag.

Simple wild salmon, Jersey tomatoes, pasta and more

Grilled wild sockeye salmon from Canada needed only sea salt, fresh lime juice and Aleppo pepper to turn it into a great dinner entree. The serving pieces spent about 10 minutes on a non-stick grill pan sprayed with oil, and were turned once, below.

Fresh wild sockeye salmon was $8.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Editor's note: Cooking large quantities ensures you'll have leftovers for other meals in the days ahead, saving you time in the kitchen. Many dinner leftovers are suitable for breakfast.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Fresh wild salmon is plentiful and relatively cheap. Jersey beefsteak tomatoes are appearing in the market. And organic whole-wheat pasta from Italy can be found in many stores, including ShopRite. 

Summer may be coming to a close, but there is plenty of good food to prepare simply at home.

I've been enjoying fresh wild sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale just about every week since late May, and the price is now $8.99 a pound, down from a high of $14.99 a pound.

Fresh and canned wild salmon are among fish with the lowest amount of mercury, according to the October 2014 issue of Consumer Reports.

Slices of a Jersey beefsteak tomato from ShopRite in Paramus ($1.29 a pound) smelled earthy, but looked better than they tasted. Still, they made a nice light meal with shavings of Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, fresh oregano, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and Kirkland Signature Himalayan Pink Salt, which Costco says is the purest sea salt available.

What is a bit of tomato doing in my pesto pasta?

Little of this, little of that

I had a few ounces of dry organic whole-wheat spaghetti and a couple of ounces of dry organic whole-wheat linguine, both with a cooking time of 7 minutes.

And I had a little Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and leftover marinara with anchovies and sardines in the refrigerator.

I'm not going to make a habit of this, but the combination wasn't bad, and I had enough leftovers for two other meals.

For breakfast the next day, I had pasta and eggs -- a leftover wedge of egg-white frittata with pesto and fresh tomatoes.

Save water. You can boil several ounces of pasta in a shallow pan, above.

With leftover grilled wild salmon in the refrigerator, all I had to to do was prepare fresh spinach with lots of chopped garlic for dinner on Wednesday night.

The spinach went well with the leftover pasta combination, too.

Two cups of organic brown rice, one cup of organic lentils, one cup of organic quinoa, a can of organic diced tomatoes, organic chicken stock, pignoli nuts, salt and extra-virgin olive oil all go into an electric cooker at the same time, below. I used the longer "Brown Rice" setting on my Panasonic rice cooker.

All of the ingredients for this one-dish meal can be found at Costco Wholesale, and I would have added a dozen or more peeled garlic cloves, if I had not run out of them.

Costco changes Egg Whites closure, but not carton

The new, larger screw top on Kirkland Signature Egg Whites from Costco Wholesale, but the carton still carries directions on how to open the old closure. "NO PULL RING" is incorrect; under the new top, you'll find a pull ring, below left.

The new pull ring and larger screw top, left, and the original instructions on the carton, which I crush to recycle.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss preparing food at home using ingredients fron Costco Wholesale in Hackensack and other stores.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Using the 100% liquid egg whites from Costco Wholesale just got a lot easier with the introduction of a larger, easier-to-open screw top and a pull-ring seal.

Frankly, I sometimes had trouble twisting the old, smaller top, which pierced the carton as you turned it to open the 16-ounce carton.

But the six-pack of Kirkland Signature Egg Whites my wife picked up at the Hackensack store for $7.99 on Saturday had cartons with the new top and printed instructions for the old closure, which had no pull ring.

The new screw top is the size of the one you find on a half-gallon of milk or orange juice.

Egg Whites are still listed on the Costco receipt as "KS Real Eggs," the name for the old product, which contained coloring and other ingredients.

A wedge from a 10-inch frittata made with a 16-ounce carton of Kirkland Signature Egg Whites, low-fat milk, shredded Asiago Cheese, salt and chopped garlic, scallion, sweet pepper and onion. After the frittata finished cooking under the broiler, I poured Garlic Chipotle Salsa from Trader Joe's and La Costena Mexican Green Salsa over the top.

A salad made entirely of ingredients from Costco Wholesale except for the dressing, organic extra-virgin olive oil from Turkey and balsamic vinegar from Italy. I used Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, Sunset-brand Campari Tomatoes and Gourmet Cucumbers; Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Organic Made In Nature Dates, which are sun dried and unsulfured.

Organic whole wheat pasta shells from Whole Foods Market prepared with Kirkland Signature Marinara Sauce, chopped Christopher Ranch Monviso Garlic (peeled) from Costco Wholesale and Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce. 

Fresh, wild-caught porgy ($1.99 a pound at H Mart in Englewood) seasoned and poached in Trader Joe's Salsa Verde and fresh lime juice, and served with California-grown brown rice, also from the Korean supermarket chain. 

Beautifully sliced Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon made putting together a dinner salad easy, using Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, Campari tomatoes and cucumber, blueberries and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, all from Costco. Complement the luxurious taste of the naturally smoked salmon with a full-bodied red wine, such as Giordano Nebbiolo D'Alba from Italy.

I used organic extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress the salad.

Costco's Christopher Ranch garlic with spuds, pasta

Christopher Ranch peeled California garlic cloves and skin-on sweet potatoes, both from Costco Wholesale, can be boiled together for mashing with avocado and extra-virgin olive oils, and such seasonings as cinnamon, black pepper, red-pepper flakes and a little salt.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor 

Google "Can you eat too much garlic?" and you'll discover a lively Internet discussion of the many health benefits of this onion-related bulb.

You'll also find a few cautionary tales, such as "garlic breath" and a warning that garlic is a blood thinner and shouldn't be eaten in large quantities after surgery.

One food blogger mellows chopped raw garlic by blending it with butter or sour cream, neither of which I eat.

I love cooking with Christopher Ranch garlic from California that I buy at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, and use it freely when mashing sweet potatoes and preparing pasta with oil-and-garlic.

We recently started buying the refrigerated peeled variety in 3-pound bags for $5.99 that are stamped with a "best before" date that isn't as inflexible as the one found on Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

Garlic mashed sweet potatoes and leftover baby spinach with chopped fresh garlic make great side dishes for two organic brown eggs with prepared pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, a thin slice of French-style cheese and Aleppo pepper.

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti from Whole Foods Market forms the basis of this twist on oil-and-garlic pasta with the addition of diced organic tomatoes, a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, fresh organic baby spinach, chicken stock, red wine and such seasonings as black pepper, red-pepper flakes and dried Italian herbs. I used about three dozen garlic cloves,1 pound of spaghetti and a half-pound of pre-washed spinach. Most of the ingredients were from Costco.

I enjoyed the last of the garlic sweet potatoes this morning with two fried organic brown eggs seasoned with a little salt, curry powder and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Enjoying the many winners from Costco Wholesale

A recent addition to the fresh-fish case at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, wild-caught mahi-mahi fillets from Costa Rica take a swim in Mexican green salsa with fresh lime juice, pinches of Aleppo pepper and fresh basil leaves.

Three more winners from Costco -- Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from Italy and Campari Tomatoes -- team up to make a beautiful salad. Two other ingredients are sliced fuyu and cucumber, and everything is dressed in extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Lollo Rosa, Tango and Mizuna.

They roll off your tongue and dazzle your taste buds when they meet in a salad made with Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

The prewashed spring mix is among the many winners from Costco Wholesale that have become staples of our diet at home.

I have an Earthbound Farm salad after just about every home-cooked meal, often adding cheese, fruit and cucumbers.

Sliced fuyu, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and organic spring mix.

Reduced-fat cheese

Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from Italy, in wedges or shredded; Ground Saigon Cinnamon, Himalayan Pink Salt in its own grinder, Organic No-Salt Seasoning, Basil Pesto, Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon -- the list of winners is long.

Aged cheese cut from the wedge is ideal to eat with fruit and cinnamon-dusted almonds or to add to fried organic eggs, using a vegetable peeler.

The rind can be diced and added to pasta sauce, lending it a distinctive flavor.

The shredded cheese gives body and flavor to Kirkland Signature Egg Whites when they are mixed together before you add them to the pan for an omelet or frittata.

The hard cheese is made from part-skimmed cow's milk, and a serving has only 1.5 grams of fat.

Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano cheese added to organic eggs with leftover organic quinoa made in an electric cooker with organic diced tomatoes, all from Costco Wholesale. The quinoa has fewer carbohydrates and more protein than organic brown rice.

Fish in salsa

The fresh, wild-caught mahi-mahi I bought last week at the Hackensack Costco was $5.99 a pound or $2 less per pound than the same fillets I purchased at the warehouse store in December.

I squeezed fresh lime over the fish, which I cut into serving pieces, and then added a pinch of Aleppo pepper. 

They cooked for 10 minutes in Mexican green salsa I had heated on top of the stove to a gentle boil, and I ate the meaty and flaky fish and sauce over organic quinoa. 

This time, I used a preservative-free brand, Herdez Salsa Verde from Mexico, I found at ShopRite.

The label on the bottom of the plastic, 1-pound tub of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

Peeled garlic

Peeled garlic from the Christopher Ranch in California is a real convenience item, allowing you to chop up a handful of cloves, throw them into heated extra-virgin olive oil until they are fragrant, and stir-fry fresh broccoli or organic baby spinach from Costco with a little salt and red-pepper flakes.

A 3-pound bag of Monviso heirloom garlic cloves was $5.99 at the Hackensack Costco. 

Last week, I bought a bag with a use-by date of Feb. 15.

Sweet potato parmigiano and other delights

Leftover bottled marinara sauce and shredded Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano from Costco Wholesale transform a baked sweet potato, which was split and reheated in a microwave after the sauce and imported cheese were added.

Sweet potato parmigiano served for breakfast with two organic brown eggs from Costco, above; and with an egg-white omelet and stewed tofu from H Mart, top photo.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss substitutes for bread and pizza that won't put on weight, and a ShopRite special on imported pasta sauce.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

I never quite understood why all those chicken and veal parmigiano dishes listed on restaurant menus carried the name of one of Italy's great cheeses, but were covered in gooey mozzarella.

I guessed that the dishes were made in the style of Parma, where mozzarella cheese reigns.

But when I chose to dress up a leftover baked sweet potato for breakfast one morning, I used a little marinara sauce and reduced-fat Parmigiano Reggiano from Costco Wholesale, not full-fat mozzarella.

Not bad.

See: Invite the 'King of Cheeses' into your home

Lifting the lid on healthy organic whole-wheat fusilli from Trader Joe's with organic diced tomatoes, sardines and plenty of baby spinach, which was added to the hot pasta water just before the spirals were drained.

Two organic brown eggs got pinches of Aleppo pepper and grated Pecorino Romano, a sheep milk's cheese that I also add to whole wheat pasta. The cheese and eggs come from Costco.

Kirkland Signature Egg Whites and two organic brown eggs were mixed for a simple all-Costco frittata with grated Pecorino Romano cheese, Camapari Tomatoes and Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, which I add after the thick no-flip dish finishes browning under the broiler.

Bottled pasta sauce

I couldn't find many bargains among the bottled pasta sauces at the Rochelle Park ShopRite on Friday afternoon, and had to read a lot of labels to find one without added sugar.

One sauce from Two Guys Food Group, made with famed Jersey tomatoes, was a pricey $5.49 for a 25-ounce bottle.

But the oddly named Dress Italian sauces were not only imported from Italy and on sale, but also were free of added sugar.

I picked up 26.5-ounce bottles of Classica (Tomato Basil), Arrabiatta (Angry Chili) and Siciliana (Sun Dried Tomato) for only $1.99 each or half price.

Two of the sauces contain red or white wine, and they are made from 61% or more Italian crushed tomatoes.