At ShopRite: Spanish cider, organic pasta, grass-fed beef from Australia

SWEET DEAL: At the ShopRite in Englewood on Tuesday, I bought four 25.4-ounce bottles of Sparkling Cider from Spain at $1.88 each, the lowest sale price I've seen in the many years I've enjoyed this non-alcoholic beverage, which is made with 100% apple juice, but has no added sugar. There was a limit of four with store card.

PALE IMITATION: Not far away, but at a higher price, was Goya-brand Sparkling Cider, labeled as an authentic Spanish import, but a check of the label showed this non-alcoholic beverage contains only 35% apple juice. Other ingredients include sugar, apple vinegar, preservatives and caramel color.

ORGANIC IS BETTER: A 1-pound box of Gia Russa-brand 100% Whole Wheat Roman Rigatoni or Penne Rigate from Italy were reduced to $1.39 from $3.29, but at the same ShopRite you can buy Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti and other shapes for $1.29 a pound.

SEAFOOD SHELLS: Whole Foods Market in Paramus also carries imported Organic Whole Wheat Shells and other shapes for $1.49 a pound. Here, I prepared the shells with anchovies and sardines in Victoria Marinara, adding red wine and seasonings to the sauce. Victoria Marinara and Vodka Sauce also were on sale at ShopRite ($3.49 for a 40-ounce jar).

FROM AUSTRALIA: At ShopRites in Rochelle Park and Englewood last Friday and Saturday, Nature's Reserve Grass Fed Beef from Australia was on sale for $2.99 a pound with a $10 additional purchase and a store card. A roast or strip steaks were available with a limit of two packages.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

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).

Whenever you go food shopping, keep in mind GMOs are a big no-no

Look for this seal on packaging, if you want to avoid GMOs --genetically modified organisms -- in organic and non-organic food.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Millions of words have been written about genetically modified organisms in food, but many consumers still are in the dark about the dangers GMOs pose to them and the environment.

That's why it's important to buy organic or to look for the seal of the Non-GMO Project, a non-profit "committed to building and preserving sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers and providing verified non-GMO choices."

I've learned crops raised with genetically modified seeds involve the heavy use of pesticides and chemicals that are harmful to humans, as well as to farmland and the water supply.

Buying 100% organic, certified organic and USDA organic-labeled products is usually the easiest way to identify and avoid genetically modified ingredients. 

The U.S. and Canadian governments do not allow companies to label products "100%/ certified organic," if they contain genetically modified foods.

Still, the United States is not among the 61 countries that already have mandatory labeling of food with genetically engineered ingredients.

"The GMO Deception" is a book available online that promises to tell you "what you need to know about the food, corporations and government agencies putting our families and our environment at risk."

See the chart from the Non-GMO Project at the end of this post for other information on the battle against genetically modified seed and food.

Described as a GMO film thriller, "Consumed" is available on Netflix.

Dole 100% Pineapple Juice from the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack is labeled "NON GMO" by the company. The metal cans also are BPA free.

Lundberg Organic Brown Long Grain Rice carries the seal of the Non-GMO Project. The California-grown rice is available on Amazon.com.

Organic baby spinach and organic spring mix, above and below, are sold at Costco Wholesale.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli or spirals and other shapes are available at ShopRite in Paramus.

Two dozen organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro are only $6.99.

Home cooking: Pulling together great ingredients from my favorite stores

For a snack at home, I layered smoked wild Alaskan salmon, reduced-fat Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard and sliced California black figs on Swedish crispbread, topping them with fresh mint leaves from my garden.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Swedish Food Market at IKEA in Paramus stocks a lot of bottled herring with way too much salt and fruit drinks with too much added sugar.

But the simple Swedish crispbread is irresistible: 

These crunchy disks -- each about 3 inches across -- invite you to layer cheese, smoked salmon and fresh figs on them for a midday snack.

Or, you can top them with sliced cheese, organic greens and tuna salad dressed with Dijon mustard, lime juice and ground cumin.

IKEA sells two kinds -- Rye Crispbread and Multigrain Crispbread, both made in Finland -- in 8.8-ounce packages for $2.99 each.

I rely on Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for smoked wild Alaskan salmon ($14.89 per pound), reduced-fat sliced Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese (2 pounds for only $6.69 with an instant coupon last week), and Dijon mustard.

I picked up a pound of California Black Figs for $3.99 at Trader Joe's in Paramus, but had to refrigerate them to prevent spoilage.

I baked a pan of Fresh Wild Coho Salmon from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro with fresh spinach, organic diced tomatoes, pitted black olives, grated cheese, olive oil (on the spinach), fresh lime juice (on the fish) and fresh herbs from my garden.

I cut up the fillet, cooked the pieces skin-side down on a stove-top grill for 4 minutes, then placed them on the spinach. The pan spent another 7 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven. The organic diced tomatoes were cooked separately with red wine and seasonings, and were added along with the chopped herbs when the pan was removed from the oven.

Fresh wild salmon

If the past is any guide, fresh wild salmon will be available at Costco in Teterboro for another month or so.

Last week, my wife found a Fresh Wild Coho Salmon Fillet instead of the sockeye we've been buying since June ($9.99 a pound).

Meanwhile, I went to the Costco Business Center in Hackensack for a 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.89), the world's best-tasting salad.

The price fluctuates, and earlier this year, Costco was selling it for only $4.29 a pound, compared to $6.99 in most supermarkets.

When buying the salad, select packages that have little or no condensation to avoid the greens rotting before their use-by date, which is printed on the front label.

No dinner is complete without a salad and a glass of red wine.

A salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix with cherry tomatoes from our garden and kernels shaved off an ear of sweet Jersey corn, dressed simply with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The Organic Spring Mix has a new label, but the triple-washed greens are as delicious as ever. Earthbound Farm added the words "grown without GMOs," "a blend of tender baby greens" and "a versatile classic" to new label. See the ingredients, below.

The Earthbound Farm label on the back or bottom of the package.

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix can go straight from the container onto a plate or into a bowl. Here, I added cucumbers and our cherry tomatoes. Three large hothouse cucumbers from Costco Wholesale were $3.49.

I also like the Spring Mix from Olivia's Organics, but even on sale at H Mart in Little Ferry (5 ounces for $1.99), you'll pay more per ounce than at Costco for a 1-pound tub of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

With Kirkland Signature 100% Liquid Egg Whites from Costco, you can eat an omelet or frittata every day and not worry about cholesterol. Six 16-ounce cartons were $8.79.

At H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, Baby Mustard Greens, above, were on sale for 78 cents a pound; and Chinese Eggplant, below, were 99 cents a pound.

I grilled the eggplant slices on the stove top with spray oil and a little salt.

At ShopRite, my wife picked up a carton of Barilla Whole Grain Spaghetti made with 100% whole wheat, which I prepared with olive oil, fresh garlic, cherry tomatoes from our garden and homemade pesto. But the package was a couple of ounces shy of a pound and cost more than the 1-pound package of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti, which ShopRite also sells ($1.29). The cooked organic spaghetti feels better in your mouth, too.

When you buy six bottles of wine with prices ending in "9" at Total Wine & More in River Edge, you get an additional 10% off. I purchased six bottles of Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Carmenere for an average of under $7 each, plus tax.

Details

For fresh wild salmon and fresh fish from Iceland, smoked wild Alaskan salmon, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, fresh organic spinach, Dijon mustard and so many other great ingredients at great prices:

Costco Wholesale, 2 Teterboro Landing Drive, Teterboro; and Costco Wholesale Business Center, 80 S. River St., Hackensack.

For California Black Figs, organic sweet potatoes, organic whole wheat pasta; Green Plant, a 100% fruit and green food juice blend with no added sugar, and antibiotic- and preservative-free beef hot dogs and bacon:

Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north, Paramus.

For cans of pitted black olives, conventional sweet potatoes, grass-fed Australian beef, lactose-free milk and Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Pasta:

ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east at Forest Avenue, Paramus. 

For a large variety of Asian greens, fresh fruit, fresh whole fish for as little as $1.99 a pound and prepared Korean food:

H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry; go for the low prices and ignore the shabby entrance and drab interior of this large supermarket.

For crispbread; frozen meatballs, including a vegetarian version; and other food from Scandinavia:

Swedish Food Market at IKEA, 100 IKEA Drive, Paramus. 

For inexpensive red wine:

Total Wine & More, 135 Kinderkamack Road, River Edge.

More food photos: Home cooking sparkles with flavor, but holds the fat

GLOBAL BREAKFAST: Clockwise from top, two prepared items from H Mart in Englewood, Stewed Tofu and Stewed Alaskan Pollock; a baked sweet potato and a wedge of black-olive frittata.

GOOD FOR YOUR BRAIN: Last week, the H Mart at 25 Lafayette Ave. in Englewood put two large bunches of spinach on sale for 99 cents. They cooked in minutes in a large covered pan with olive oil and sake, with added sea salt, garlic powder and other seasonings.

NO SHELL GAME: I ate the spinach with a generous serving of leftover organic whole wheat shells from Whole Foods Market ($1.49) prepared in marinara sauce with anchovies and sardines. I used a 40-ounce jar of sauce, 1 pound of pasta, 1 can of anchovies, drained and rinsed; and 3 cans of sardines, plus red wine, extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings.

SUNNY SIDE UP: I fried two organic eggs with grated cheese and Aleppo pepper, and ate them with leftover pasta, tofu and stewed pollock, a member of the cod family.

CRUNCHY SALSA: Fresh organic salsa from Costco Wholesale (2 pounds for $7.99) brightens a breakfast of sweet potatoes, mashed with extra-virgin olive oil, and a simple egg-white omelet dusted with Moroccan spices.

TASTES GREAT: Big Taste Tomatoes were on sale last week for 99 cents a pound at the ShopRite in Paramus. They taste as good as the smaller Campari Tomatoes sold at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for more than twice the price. Here, I enjoyed them with a bowl of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.29 at Costco).

SNOWY FISH: A 1.86-pound skinless-and-boneless halibut fillet from Costco Wholesale ($18.99 a pound) served four. I prepared the fish with fresh spinach, pitted olives, fresh tomatoes, shredded cheese, sea salt and fresh lime juice in a large pan, and the meal was ready after 15 minutes in a pre-heated 400-degree oven. I served it with organic quinoa made in an electric cooker.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Shop Whole Foods Market's frequent sales, rely on great return policy

Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value Mexican-style salsas, shown at the Paramus store, can be used to poach fish fillets or in omelets.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whole Foods Market's 365 Everyday Value products aren't always organic, but their price and quality give other supermarkets a run for their money.

I've come to rely on two 365 Everyday Value products, a line of non-organic salsas and organic whole-wheat pastas from Italy in several shapes.

Last Saturday, I drove over to the Paramus Whole Foods to get a refund for frozen turkey parts, and discovered the store was knocking 10% off all 365 Everyday Value items.

I picked up 1-pound boxes of Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli and Shells for $1.49 each, and a 25-ounce jar of 365 Everyday Value Organic Italian Herb Pasta Sauce with no sugar added for $2.99, both before the discount.

ShopRite and Trader Joe's also sell organic whole wheat pasta, but you won't find any shells, which "catch" the sauce in which you prepare them.

Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value salsas are terrific for poaching eggs or fish fillets -- they serve as both cooking medium and sauce for a side dish of rice or pasta.

A 24-ounce jar of Roasted Salsa Verde was $3.99, and 16-ounce jars of Roasted Poblano and Roasted Chipotle Salsas were $2.99 and $2.69, respectively, all before the 10% discount.

At $1.99 each, these 25-ounce jars of 365 Everyday Value Pasta Sauce, with no sugar added, are competitive with sauces you'd find at ShopRite and other supermarkets. The Whole Foods' pasta sauces have added value, because they are free of genetically modified ingredients (GMOs).

Great return policy

My wife likes the Whole Foods' case holding frozen meat, including antibiotic-free chicken backs, necks and feet for soup.

But she doesn't like the larger frozen turkey parts, as I discovered when I brought home turkey backs and giblets with a gift card I got for Christmas.

It was no problem returning them without a receipt, and the refund was put on a gift card that enabled me to buy 365 Everyday Value salsas, organic pasta sauce and organic whole wheat pastas that were on sale.

I had to pay only another 86 cents.

With organic food and produce widely available at ShopRite, Costco Wholesale and other stores, I'm able to shop only occasionally at Whole Foods, especially when the store is having a sale, including discounted wine and seafood.

They are a good deal for me and other consumers.

Whole Foods Market, 300 Bergen Town Center, Paramus; 201-266-1244.

Open 7 days from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., but less busy on weekdays.

After end of fresh wild salmon season, a consolation prize at Costco

Fresh Whole Farmed Sea Bass from Costco Wholesale, prepared with organic diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and red wine, were ready in only 15 minutes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the last few weeks, Costco Wholesale in Hackensack has received a small amount of fresh wild salmon fillets and sold out immediately.

I've missed getting any, and now the four-month season for this wonderful wild-caught fish from Alaska and other northwestern states is over (early June to late September or early October).

So, on Thursday afternoon, I picked up my consolation prize:

Three Fresh Whole Farmed Sea Bass from Greece ($8.99 a pound), and prepared them for dinner with olive oil, garlic, red wine and a few other ingredients.

Once the sauce was prepared, the fish, also called branzino or bronzino, cooked in a covered pot in only 15 minutes.

Dynamite fishing

Costco's label tells you nothing about how this farmed fish is raised in Greece, an island nation where dynamite has been used indiscriminately to catch wild fish for decades.

Of course, that led to over-fishing and high prices for wild fish that were evident when I ate in restaurants on a visit to Greece in the 1990s.

In 2006, farmed whole branzino from Greece or Italy was so common in upscale Manhattan restaurants, The New York Times called it "the fish that ate New York." 

In recent years, whole farmed fish from Europe has appeared on many menus in North Jersey, too.

The irony of dynamite fishing is that Greeks who came to the United States opened expensive restaurants they call fish houses, and started charging as much as $50 a pound for whole fish and more for lobster and other seafood.

A 2012 European Union article about branzino farming doesn't say whether antibiotics or preservatives are used in raising the fish.

But the article says fishing accounts for only about 10% of the sea bass production worldwide. Click on the following link:

Sea bass are voracious predators   

I scored the flesh in three places, and cut the fish in half. I used a little sea salt from a grinder on the fish, but none in the sauce: Olive oil, minced garlic, red wine, organic diced tomatoes, chopped scallions and fresh lime juice, boiled and reduced before I put the fish on top and covered the pot.

When I put the leftovers away, I remembered chopped fresh mint, rosemary and parsley from our garden that I had in the refrigerator, and added it to the fish. I finished my meal with a big Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix salad dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

At the Hackensack Costco, a sign reminds members the warehouse is closing on Oct. 13, but not that the store will reopen as a Costco Business Center. One employee said the warehouse, without a food court or pharmacy, is expected to reopen to members next March.

Costco prices

Costco's food prices remain low when compared to ShopRite and other traditional supermarkets in North Jersey.

A 1-pound package of prewashed organic baby spinach was $3.99 this week; a pound of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.49 or $4.59.

Three half-gallons of 2% lactose free milk were $7.99, and three liter bottles of organic carrot juice were $6.99.

Organic bananas are $1.99 for 3 pounds, and the same amount of conventional bananas are a low $1.39, beating every other store I know.

Before the fresh wild salmon season ended, the price for sockeye fillets was $8.99 a pound -- only a dollar more than artificially colored farmed salmon.

This week, ShopRite's sales price of $1.99 with a store card does beat Costco's regular price for a 59-ounce container of Tropicana Orange Juice (four for $10.99).

Wawa store and gas station are under construction in Hackensack

CLARIFICATION: A Wawa store and gasoline station are being built at East Moonachie Road and South River Street in Hackensack, above and below, across the street from the ShopRite shopping center. Earlier, I inadvertently posted a two-year-old item on free coffee available in the week after the opening of another Wawa on Essex Street in Lodi, near the Hackensack border.