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Where to get the biggest bang for your grocery buck in the DC area

Posted on23/08/202230/11/2022Author

If you’re picky about your produce but still cautious about the bottom line it might take visits to multiple DC-area food stores to frugally stock the pantry.

“Overall, it’s really difficult here in the Washington area to get both high quality and low prices,” said Kevin Brasler, the executive editor at Consumers’ Checkbook.

Secret shoppers went to dozens of area grocery stores to buy 154 common items and evaluate prices. Checkbook subscribers were surveyed to rate factors, such as quality of fresh produce, quality of fresh meat, customer service and more.

“On one hand, Wegmans remains by far the big fan favorite here in the Washington area, but its prices aren’t necessarily that low. They’re competitive with Giant Food and Harris Teeter, but they’re still higher than the really low-priced options that are out there,” Brasler said.

Checkbook didn’t rank grocery stores during the pandemic.

What’s new this time around?

One of the big changes to the Washington-area supermarket scene recently has been the continued expansion of Wegmans. Also, German owned companies such as Aldi, Lidl and Trader Joe’s continue to increase their footprint in the area.

Except for Target, Checkbook found the major chains have consistent pricing from location to location.

Who has the lowest prices?

Among the area’s big food store chains, Walmart and Food Lion have far lower prices than Harris Teeter, Giant and Safeway.

Rock-bottom prices can be found at Aldi and Lidl.

“Aldi and Lidl have extraordinarily low prices — I mean, they’re really, astonishingly low,” Brasler said. “They’re even lower than Costco’s prices, and you don’t have to buy in bulk to get these discounts. But the rub is that you have to buy their own store products: Aldi and Trader Joe’s and Lidl — they’re pretty much kind of selling their own stuff.” That means you may not find everything you need, he added.

While Aldi and Lidl get fairly low ratings for quality, Brasler said some of the big chains, such as Giant and Safeway do too.

Where are the highest prices?

Safeway’s prices averaged about 32% higher than Walmart, 26% higher than Food Lion, 17% higher than Target and 7% higher than Giant, Harris Teeter and Wegmans.

Brasler said a lot of shoppers are shopping at more than one place: They may go to Walmart, Lidl or Aldi “to try to save as much money as they can on the items offered by those places where quality doesn’t matter, like nonperishables , and then they may turn around and buy produce at Whole Foods or Mom’s Organic Market, or even Wegmans,” where the produce quality is high.

Through a special arrangement with Washington Consumers’ Checkbook, WTOP.com readers can see Checkbook ratings for 30 area grocery stores and delivery services for a limited time.

Consumers’ Checkbook/Center for the Study of Services is an independent, nonprofit consumer organization founded in 1974. It has been an innovator in providing information to help consumers make smarter choices for more than 40 years.

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An air fryer makes healthier fast food

Posted on20/08/202230/11/2022Author

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As a health columnist, I spend a lot of time writing about the benefits of healthy eating. But many evenings I ended up asking myself the same question: What can I make for dinner tonight that’s fast, nutritious and that the whole family will enjoy?

Like many people juggling work, child care and other responsibilities, my wife and I often struggle to find time to cook a healthy meal at the end of a long day.

But a few months ago, I bought an air fryer.

These devices are essentially countertop convection ovens that can give your food the crunchiness and tenderness that you get from roasting or deep-frying, but in a fraction of the time and without all the oil.

My expectations were low. But to my surprise, I found that this amazing little device opened the door to make an endless variety of fun, delicious and nutritious meals. And I can make dinner in 20 minutes or less, without expensive ingredients or extra cleanup.

Using my air fryer, I’ve made roasted Brussels sprouts, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and sweet potato fries that have the perfect texture and are ready in 10 minutes. I’ve made chicken nuggets at home that my 3-year-old son devoured, and organic teriyaki-flavored tofu cubes that make a great topping for a quick vegetable stir fry or vegetable curry.

One of our favorite recipes is salmon with broccoli, buckwheat noodles and sesame ginger sauce. We start by steaming broccoli and boiling buckwheat noodles. Then we combine soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and fresh lime juice to make the sauce.

I pop a pound of fresh salmon into our air fryer and let it cook for 12 minutes. When the salmon is done, we combine it with the broccoli and noodles, and drizzle on the sauce. This meal requires very little time and effort, and it tastes delicious. Even my 1-year-old daughter scarfs it down.

Why air fryers are different

I’m by no means the first person to discover the joys of air-fryer cooking. The modern air fryer was introduced to the public in 2010 by Philips, the consumer electronics maker. It was developed by a Dutch inventor, Fred van der Weij, who was looking for a way to make perfectly crispy french fries without much oil or hassle. Sales surged during the pandemic as people were stuck at home with more time on their hands to cook. According to the NPD Group, more than 25 million air fryers were sold between January 2020 and December 2021, a 76 percent increase over the previous two-year period.

I purchased my air fryer, made by Chefman, for about $70, which takes up about as much counter space as a large coffee maker. It contains a basket with a perforated tray where the food is placed. A powerful fan above the food circulates hot air throughout the chamber.

Preheating only takes a few minutes. While it’s not necessary to use oil in an air fryer, using a spray bottle to spritz a little olive or avocado oil on foods such as fresh vegetables, sweet potato fries, chicken tenders and salmon helps to keep them moist while also giving them a golden -brown color.

“The perforated tray promotes air circulation around the food and that’s what causes the crispiness and crunchiness on the outside and the juiciness on the inside,” says Mona Dolgov, a nutritionist and cookbook author. “Your food cooks for less time than it would in an oven, and you get great results.”

Videos of mouthwatering foods cooked in air fryers have gone viral on social media. But Dolgov noticed that many of the popular items made in air fryers, such as grilled cheese, French toast and pasta chips, aren’t appealing to people with health-conscious meals in mind. So she wrote “SatisFry: The Air Fryer Cookbook,” which shows people how to use air fryers to make easy and nutritious meals and snacks.

It includes meals such as a spinach, avocado and mushroom frittata that takes about 15 minutes, and a hummus-crusted chicken that’s made with artichoke hearts, olive oil and lemon sauce.

Air-fried vegetables can win over picky eaters

Air fryers can turn sticks of carrots, parsnips and other root vegetables into better-for-you french fries (you just need a bit of olive oil and cornstarch). You can toss Brussels sprouts with a little olive oil, garlic powder and parmesan cheese to make crispy Brussels sprouts in the air fryer.

There are recipes for avocado fries, buffalo cauliflower bites, and zucchini chips with lemon and herb dip. “My husband never used to eat a lot of vegetables. and now he eats them all the time because I put them in the air fryer and they come out great,” Dolgov said.

Air fryers can be a