Does anyone really spend a whole paycheck at Whole Foods Market?

I try to take advantage of sales at Whole Foods Market, such as the one I saw last Sunday on wild-caught Skate Wing Fillet at the Paramus store, but it's only one of the places I rely on when shopping for food in northern New Jersey.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The opening of a new Whole Foods Market in Closter has renewed competitors' claims the organic supermarket is so expensive you have to blow your "whole paycheck" there.

That's nonsense -- unless you make minimum wage.

I've been shopping at Whole Foods Market in Paramus since it opened in March 2009, and though it's closest to my home, the supermarket is only one of the places I rely on.

Two competitors, ShopRite and Costco Wholesale, have greatly increased the number of organic items they sell, and both offer antibiotic-free meat and poultry.

Prices are among the lowest in the region on an admittedly limited selection.

Best seafood counter

But neither can match Whole Foods' variety of naturally raised meat and poultry nor the Paramus stores' sweeping fresh seafood counter, especially when fish or wild shrimp are on sale.

And Whole Foods' 365 Everday Value line offers Mexican-style salsas, imported organic whole wheat pasta, bottled pasta sauces and other items at competitive prices.

For example, a 1-pound box of Whole Foods' Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Italy is $1.49, a great price considering Trader Joe's and other stores don't offer that organic pasta shape, one of my favorites. 

ShopRite sells several shapes of Luigi Vitelli-brand organic whole wheat pasta in 1-pound packages for $1.29, but doesn't offer shells; Costco doesn't sell whole wheat pasta, organic or otherwise.

I buy organic sweet potatoes not at Whole Foods, but at Trader Joe's in Paramus, where a 3-pound bag is $4.49, compared to $5.99 at the ShopRite in the same town. 

Fresh haddock fillets from Iceland were only $8.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro this week, but the warehouse store offers only a limited selection of wild-caught fish.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, a 1-pound package of Garofalo Whole Wheat Farfalle ($1.99), also called bow ties or butterflies, are not organic like the whole wheat pasta sold at Whole Foods Market for $1.49 a pound.

Costco Wholesale has finally closed the loophole on cage-free eggs by offering Kirkland Signature Cage-Free Egg Whites, above and below. A 16-ounce carton is about $1.50 when you buy six ($8.99). They can be frozen.

Costco's new Cage-Free 100% Liquid Egg Whites, left. When Costco switched to selling only cage-free whole eggs, the Egg Whites, right, were the only exception.

Also at Costco, Kirkland Signature Chicken Tortilla Soup is now made using poultry raised without antibiotics.

Stop & Shop ad

Stop & Shop has been running a TV ad touting its Nature's Promise line of organic or naturally raised products, and one of the shoppers shown makes the crack that "it doesn't take a whole paycheck," a clear reference to Whole Foods Market.

That upset one Stop & Shop customer, who called the comment "snarky" and "a cheap shot." 

She also pointed out Whole Foods' prices are comparable and occasionally lower than at Stop & Shop, and the selection is "astounding."

The Whole Foods in Paramus also sells wine -- with many bottles under $10 -- unlike the new store in Closter or virtually all of its other competitors in Bergen County.

Costco Wholesale in Teterboro sells organic brown eggs for about $3.50 a dozen when you buy 24 ($7.99).

Food photos: Spicy seafood soup, tuna salad, home cooking and more

At Ewha Won, a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Closter, a seafood soup with green noodles and oysters, called jampong, costs $1 more when you ask for the extra-spicy version containing cut up whole chili peppers ($13.99). The large bowl of soup, which will leave your lips tingling, is a filling meal for one or can be split, if you order an appetizer or another dish.

Ewha Won, at 570 Piermont Road in the Closter Commons shopping center, served us three complimentary side dishes, including crunchy radish kimchi, above, and black bean paste for the soup.

If your soup isn't spicy enough, you can always use a shaker of ground red pepper on the table. On Saturday afternoon, after a large group of parents and children were seated for a birthday party, it was difficult for me and my wife to get a refill of our water glasses or extra napkins.

The Mediterranean Salad at the Suburban Diner, 172 Route 17 north in Paramus, includes white tuna, mixed greens, Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese, Capers and Artichoke Hearts, dressed in a vinaigrette of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon ($13.50). I took home leftovers. Organic tea is $2.50.

Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, was out of takeout seafood dinners when I stopped there after 4 on Friday afternoon, but I picked up two steak dinners -- complete with pasta, vegetable and salad -- for the meat eaters in the family at a reduced price of $5.99.

I'm happy with a dinner of pasta, salad and wine at home, especially when I prepare it with Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli, Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto and Organic Pignoli Nuts, the last two from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

After lunch on Thursday at the Suburban Diner, I stopped at Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north in Paramus, for two 3-pound bags of Organic Sweet Potatoes ($4.49 each). The next day, I boiled the potatoes from one bag with whole peeled garlic cloves, mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, and had some for breakfast with an egg-white omelet and sauteed spinach, above and below. I baked the others.

I stuffed the omelet with smoked wild salmon and fresh organic salsa, both from Costco, and dusted it with Ras el Hanout, a Moroccan spice mixture.

A kitchen-sink Frittata I made at home on Saturday morning contained slices of smoked wild salmon, chopped black olives, whole eggs, egg whites, grated cheese and fresh tomatoes. I served it with leftover organic brown rice and fresh organic salsa.

For Sunday night dinner, we shelled and deveined 2 pounds of raw frozen wild shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico that were on sale at the Paramus ShopRite ($19.98), preparing them with fresh spinach, extra-virgin olive oil, pitted green olives, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese and lemon juice. They were ready after 10 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven. 

At the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack, a 2-pound bag of Mayorga Organic Cafe Cubano dark roast coffee beans was $13.99, perfect for my built-in coffee machine, which grinds them for espresso, lattes and other drinks.

The Hackensack Business Center also sells 2.2-pound bags of Lavazza espresso coffee beans for about $10 less than I have seen them elsewhere.

KIND Fruit & Nut Bars are 18 for $18.99 at the Costco Business Center. The warehouse also sells 1 pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix -- with lettuce, arugula, radicchio, spinach and chard -- for $4.29.

 -- VICTOR E. SASSON

This no-frills spot in Fort Lee is my pick for healthy, delicious food

The Hot and Dirty Bowl with added grilled shrimp, one of the quinoa-based dishes at the moderately priced Mood'whiches in Fort Lee, tastes even better than it looks.

Editor's note: A wonderful dish of quinoa and wild shrimp was among the highlights of a week of eating in and eating out; food shopping at Trader Joe's, and the anticipated reopening of Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I had my heart set on fish-head rice-noodle soup, but found the Malaysian restaurant on my must-try list had closed.

That's when I remembered another Fort Lee spot high on my list, Mood'whiches, where "eating healthy is the foundation to a good mood."

"We offer clean food, free of processed meats, refined products, artificial flavors and colors, additives, preservatives, fillers and anything that is not good for your body," according to the takeout menu.

"We serve local ingredients when in season and free range, humanely raised meats," all of which are antibiotic and hormone free.

Late Friday afternoon, I placed my order at the counter, and it was delivered to my table a few minutes later.

But customers of Mood'whices and sister restaurant Tast Eatery, on Anderson Avenue in Fort Lee, also can place their orders online. 

Bowled over

The Mood'whiches menu offers lots of salad, sandwich and bowl options for carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, and those in between like me (no bread, no pizza, no meat or poultry, but an unabashed lover of wild-caught seafood).

I was eager to try one of the quinoa-based bowls, and chose Hot and Dirty ($6.50), adding grilled wild shrimp ($4).

Other extra-cost add-ons are grilled chicken or tofu, flank steak and salmon.

The small bowl and fork were plastic, and the table was bare, but who cares?

The food couldn't have been more delicious:

Quinoa, jalapenos, carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, cheddar, black beans and pico de gallo with chimi churri, plus crunchy grilled shrimp.

I washed that down with a thick fruit smoothie, called Mango Ango, with orange juice, pineapple, mango and strawberry ($6 for 16 ounces).

The focus at Mood'whiches is on great ingredients and great food. Customers order at the counter, and the food is delivered to the table. Online ordering also is available.

Mood'whiches is decorated with food quotes, above and below.

Mood'whiches serves breakfast, lunch and dinner (2448 Lemoine Ave., at Washington Avenue, Fort Lee; 201-944-1404). Web site: Eat With Us & Heal The Planet

In January, I was intrigued with House of Malaysia on Main Street in Fort Lee, where I ate at a Japanese soba restaurant on the same block, and asked for a takeout menu. But when I returned on Friday for dinner, I found the restaurant portion of the business had closed. A bubble tea parlor remains open, and the sign on the door promises T-Swirl, described as a premier creperie, will be ready in April.

Silver Pond Seafood Restaurant at 230-34 Main St., Fort Lee, has been renovated and renamed Aquarius by the new owners, who operate Joyce Chinese Cuisine in River Edge. 

Aquarius Restaurant is expected to serve dim sum, as did Silver Pond.

Costco Wholesale parked delivery trucks near the entrance to its Hackensack warehouse, which is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday as a Costco Wholesale Business Center, the first in New Jersey. The warehouse will cater to restaurants and other small businesses and offer delivery, but also will be open to any Costco member (80 S. River St., Hackensack).

Takeout from Lavash City, a fast-casual Armenian grill and bakery at 331 Main St., Hackensack (201-464-5445). I ordered Mediterranean Salad, including stuffed grape leaves, cheese and olives, left; and 10-Vegetable Salad with roasted carrots, cabbage and cauliflower; and Hummus. They came with fresh-baked lavash, the thin, chewy and addictive Armenian bread. Small salads are $4 each and a small Hummus is $3. 

A serving of Trader Joe's O's ($1.99) has only 1 gram of sugar, but other cereals have more. Trader Joe's High Fiber Fruit & Nut Multigrain Medley ($2.99), made with seven whole grains, contains 8 grams of sugar per serving, and Trader Joe's Raisin Bran has twice that.

At the Paramus store, 404 Route 17 north, not all of the Trader Joe's Chicken Sausage is from antibiotic-free birds, though the price is the same, so you have to read the labels carefully.

A Rochelle Roll from Maguro Sushi in Rochelle Park is available for about $8.60 at the cafe in Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, 350 Engle St., Englewood. See ingredients below.

From Costco Wholesale, a homemade breakfast of two organic eggs, smoked wild salmon and Mexican-style salsa served over organic quinoa with organic diced tomatoes, organic black beans and whole garlic cloves.

My wife prepared canned mackerel with sweet peppers and onion for another hearty breakfast. I ate them with an omelet and mashed sweet potatoes.

Another heart-healthy breakfast substitutes pasta and eggs for bacon and eggs. Here, I enjoyed a simple egg-white omelet over organic whole-wheat fusilli with sardines and anchovies in Victoria Vodka Sauce, which contains no heavy cream.

At ShopRite is Paramus, best value in pasta isn't from Mario Batali

On Friday at the ShopRite in Paramus, a 1-pound box of Mario Batali Pasta was on sale for $1.29, above, compared to $2.99 in January, below. Still, this normally overpriced conventional pasta from a celebrity chef isn't the best value in the supermarket's pasta-and-sauce aisle. Maybe, the store will try giving it away next.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you haven't tried the 100% organic whole wheat pastas available at ShopRite, Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's, you're missing out on a bargain that delivers more nutrition.

At the ShopRite in Paramus on Friday, a 1-pound box of Mario Batali Penne Rigate Pasta had a bargain-basement price of $1.29, compared to $2.99 in January. 

But on a lower shelf, 1-pound packages of Luigi Vitelli Organic Whole Wheat Linguine, Spaghetti and other shapes were only $1.25 each.

Chef Mario Batali claims his bronze-extruded pasta offers "better taste and texture," but organic whole wheat pasta has more fiber than this and other conventionally grown brands. 

Both the Mario Batali and Luigi Vitelli brands are imported from Italy.

For $5, I bought four 1-pound packages of Luigi Vitelli Organic Whole Wheat Capellini, the thinnest.

Cooking times

This pasta cooks up al dente in unsalted water in exactly 3 minutes, has a nutty taste and feels no different in your mouth than conventional capellini.

Luigi Vitelli is made from 100% organic whole wheat durum wheat semolina, and cooking times on the packages are reliable.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Pasta is $1.39 a pound, and at Whole Foods Market, a 1-pound box of Organic Whole Wheat Shells from Italy, a shape no other store has, is $1.49.

But the shells cook up al dente in 10 minutes, not the 14 minutes to 15 minutes listed on the box. 

The shells "catch" whatever sauce your using, from pesto to oil with chopped fresh garlic to marinara.

I eat only whole wheat pastas now, and they are a great stand-in for bread on my no-bread, no pizza diet.

Peaches, blueberries

Also on Friday, I bought Tree Ripe Peaches from California for 99 cents a pound, and six pints of Diamond-brand Blueberries from Hammonton, N.J., for $6.99 or $2 off.

Six pints of Diamond Blues are the equivalent of about 4 pounds of berries.

I like to eat them by themselves after dinner or in the morning, with the no-fat Greek Yogurt and a little Organic Agave Syrup available at Costco Wholesale.

Luigi Vitelli Organic Whole Wheat Pasta from Italy is usually "on sale" year-round at the Paramus ShopRite.

Sweet potatoes are another great bread substitute, baked or mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, including sea salt, curry powder, cinnamon, tumeric powder and black pepper. A 3-pound bag of Top Crop Sweet Potatoes from Hammonton, N.J., are $2.99 at the ShopRite in Paramus, but you can usually find a bag that weighs more. On Friday, I bought one that weighed just over 4 pounds.

For breakfast on Saturday, I paired an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon, reduced-fat Swiss Cheese, Whole Foods Market Organic Salsa and za'atar thyme mixture with a baked sweet potato.

Summer Can Can Sale

ShopRite's Summer Can Can Sale starts today, but the flier I got with the newspaper doesn't hold much promise.

You have to clip a coupon to get three 24-packs of Poland Spring Water for $10, and spend $10 on other items, but that is a better price per ounce than at Costco Wholesale.

Liter bottles of Adirondack Seltzer are 40 cents each, and the Can Can Sale is usually when I stock up on the calorie- and sugar-free beverage.

Sweet potatoes and pesticides, complaints about Clayton's beef

Natural sugar oozing from organic sweet potatoes I baked at home.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the May 2015 issue of Consumer Reports, you can find a chart showing the risk of pesticide exposure from eating 48 fresh conventional fruits and vegetables from 14 different countries.

"We recommend buying organic for any produce-country combination in the medium or higher risk categories," the editors say.

"We found that all organic produce falls into the low- or very low-risk categories," the magazine reports.

Still, a footnote says, "Our analysis is based on the risk to a 3-and-a-half-year-old child, estimated to weigh 35.2 pounds."

Sweet potatoes -- one of the key bread substitutes I rely on to maintain my weight loss -- are listed in the high-risk category, and the magazine says:

"Beware of conventional," if the sweet potatoes are from the United States.

But I will continue to buy conventional and occasionally organic sweet potatoes, because Consumer Reports and other experts say their N0. 1 rule is to eat more produce.

"Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables -- even if you can't obtain organic -- takes precedence when it comes to your health," the magazine states.

Consumer Reports leads all general-interest publications, including newspapers, in reporting on pesticide use, antibiotics in meat and poultry, and other important food issues.

A 3-pound bag of organic sweet potatoes, top, at the ShopRite in Paramus goes on sale occasionally for $4.99. On Tuesday, I bought a bag at the regular price of $5.99, but it tipped the scale at nearly 4 pounds, below.

A 3-pound bag of conventional sweet potatoes at ShopRite is $2.99, but often weighs 3.5 pounds or more. Trader Joe's on Route 17 in Paramus sells organic and conventional sweet potatoes at lower prices than ShopRite.

A 3-pound bag of Southern's 10 in 1 Sweet Potatoes is a favorite purchase at the Paramus ShopRite. Even though these are conventionally grown, they are triple washed, which would reduce our exposure to any pesticide residue.

A large, seedless watermelon from Florida was $6.99 at the Paramus ShopRite, a discount of $1. No need to thump. Pick the biggest and heaviest you can find.

Clayton's Organic Ground Beef from Australia in the refrigerated case of the ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east, Paramus.

Clayton's Organic Beef

Here is a comment I received in February from a reader who buys Clayton's Organic Ground Beef from Australia at the ShopRite, at 668 Route 70, Brick, a town on the Jersey shore:

"I've been buying Clayton ground beef at Shop-Rite for several years now, at least one-pack per week and we love it. It's the best ground beef I've have ever had. 

"But, the past 2 months I've noticed the Clayton ground beef is not as lean as usual and I don't blame Clayton.

"Upon closer inspection I've noticed that it appears that Shop-Rite (Bricktown - Rt 70) is re-packing the date-stamped vacuum-sealed Clayton ground meat and adding filler if the meat is near the expiration date. I think maybe they are adding fresh ground beef of low quality. 

"All I know is that it looks like the packages are being tampered with and resealed by the Butcher Dept., at least at this particular Shop-Rite."

Then, on May 18, another reader said:

"I read the above post and agree the Clayton ground beef at the RT 70 Brick Town Shop-Rite does not taste the same as the the Clayton ground beef purchased at other Shop-Rite stores.

"Their steaks taste the same, they are consistent and don't vary from store to store, but imo [in my opinion], not the ground beef.

"Doesn't taste as fresh and doesn't have the WOW factor even though the expiration date is almost one month out.

"IMO, something's not right. 

"Maybe a SR Representative could investigate by comparing the ground beef from several different stores (visually inspect and compare & cook and taste test it) and see for themselves without informing the meat dept management or employees."

I called Wakefern Food Corp., a cooperative composed of 50 member companies that own and operate supermarkets under the ShopRite banner. 

A ShopRite spokeswoman said:

"All Clayton's Organic Beef is vacuum sealed - and is not resealable - to ensure freshness and to protect the integrity of the product. We take these complaints very seriously and would ask any customer who feels that they have purchased a product that does not meet their expectations to let us know via our Customer Care Center at 1-800-ShopRite. 

She also addressed the "distinctly different" taste of Clayton's Organic Ground Beef, compared to other beef, noting that Australian cattle are free range, grass fed and grain finished.

Depending on the time of year and "growth cycle of the grass," the taste of the beef can differ, she said.

If you buy three packages of Clayton's Organic Ground Beef at the Paramus ShopRite this week, you'll save $1.

Costco Wholesale, ShopRite trounce Walmart in shopping survey

A quiet day at the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, above, where members think nothing of leaving milk behind near the checkout counters, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A nationwide survey of more than 62,000 supermarket shoppers ranks Costco Wholesale sixth and ShopRite 26th among 68 stores.

The top-rated store in Consumer Reports' 2014 Supermarket Survey is Wegmans, but they are few and far between in New Jersey.

Trader Joe's finishes third, even though the stores are smaller and the selection is more limited than at Costco and ShopRite.

Walmart Supercenter, such as the one opening in Teterboro soon, is next to last, just above 68th-place Waldbaum's.

The stores were ranked on a scale of 0-100 for the quality of produce, meats and poultry, bakery and prepared food, as well as staff courtesy and store cleanliness.

Time-pressed shoppers told the magazine freshly prepared meals that can be taken home are important to them.

Here is a link to a post describing a 2011 visit to a Wegmans and trying the store's prepared food:

Biggest Supermarket in New Jersey?

The Consumer Reports article, "The Best Supermarkets in America," appears in the May 2015 issue.