Whole Foods Market - favorite items?

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  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
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    Staples:
    Wallaby strawberry greek yogurt
    kefir
    Cafe Lalibela red lentil wraps (local to Phoenix, AZ)
    Bell & Evans frozen chicken nuggets
    frozen Amy's light-sodium country cheddar bowls and mattar paneer
    cello-shaved parmesan
    Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal
    bulk white popping corn
    fresh mozzarella
    Crispy Green pineapple
    365 Organic (store brand) canned chick peas make the _best_ hummus. Why does the brand of canned chick peas make a difference? No idea, but it does.
    Orlana white wine
    Cerignola olives from the olive bar
    Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
    their takeaway sushi is actually pretty good
    Cured salmon belly as an occasional treat - only carried in some stores, but so amazing
    Tamales, broccoli salad, turkey cutlets from the prepared food case.

    I don't actually like the Lake Champlain chocolates at all, but they have a lot of other good ones. I don't usually buy them, so I can't remember the brands.

    Their produce, chicken, pork chops, mussels, etc etc are usually very good, but like with any other grocery store, it's good to look for the freshest stuff.
  • desweds
    desweds Posts: 126 Member
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    One of the Whole Foods here in Houston has a wine/beer bar. I love it.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Nothing. I have never in my life seen a grocery store where prices are horribly over-inflated in my life! Seriously. Yes, I know it's all organic and what not, but my local organic store sells things for the same price - or less - than the local "regular" grocer. The Whole Foods I've been to - everything was 10%-100% more than the regular grocer.

    Big fraking waste of money.*


    *Note: I have a lot of food sensitivities and for a long time, Whole Foods was the only place I could find local goats milk. Now, I don't drink goats milk, so it's no longer an issue.
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I love the bulk grain bins, the grind-your-own nut butters, the darker varieties of chocolate, and the cheese selection. Not sure this is what you meant but...
  • Whittedo
    Whittedo Posts: 352 Member
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    chivalryder wrote: »
    Nothing. I have never in my life seen a grocery store where prices are horribly over-inflated in my life! Seriously. Yes, I know it's all organic and what not, but my local organic store sells things for the same price - or less - than the local "regular" grocer. The Whole Foods I've been to - everything was 10%-100% more than the regular grocer.

    Big fraking waste of money.*
    I have to agree with the above. Many things are overpriced and I am not hung up on the organic produce thing. This time of year almost everything is imported to Canada and I don't really trust subsistence farmers in the developing countries to be very strict on their following of organic requirements. When fresh fruits and vegetables are available here I prefer to shop at Farmers' Markets.

    That being said, WF does make an awesome Mango Salsa.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    chivalryder wrote: »
    Nothing. I have never in my life seen a grocery store where prices are horribly over-inflated in my life! Seriously. Yes, I know it's all organic and what not, but my local organic store sells things for the same price - or less - than the local "regular" grocer. The Whole Foods I've been to - everything was 10%-100% more than the regular grocer.

    Big fraking waste of money.*


    *Note: I have a lot of food sensitivities and for a long time, Whole Foods was the only place I could find local goats milk. Now, I don't drink goats milk, so it's no longer an issue.

    Seriously. I almost never go there, except to get some organic apples when the other stores were out (it has to be Pink Lady, and it has to be organic because I can't get over the bitter aftertaste of the conventional ones, so I'm willing to pay a bit more for those). When I went, I looked at the price of the other veggies and fruit, and I end up buying nothing because the prices are crazy (tomatoes were on sale and cheap though). Even their store brand is pretty expensive for a lot of things ($4.50 a box of cereal? Pass).

    Meat is insanely expensive and I'd never buy it there... even if it tastes better. Just can't justify those crazy prices.

    Typically I just go when I want some of their baked goods (really love the bakery at the local one) or some fancy cheese (but yeah, that's not cheap either).
  • azure7
    azure7 Posts: 136 Member
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    Cedar's garlic lovers hummus. Omg, so good!
    Bulk food area - dried fruit, lentils, dates, etc.
    If you eat organic, I can actually find some things cheaper at WF than my local Publix (org frozen berries, org chicken broth, raw nuts)
    The chocolate aisle - so much good dark chocolate
  • FrownWellington
    FrownWellington Posts: 20 Member
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    I live walking distance from a Whole Foods, but I try to only get things that I can't get at my usual grocery store. $$$
    I most often pick up Siggi's drinkable yogurt and Guittard semi-sweet baking chips. Favorite indulgences are Theo chocolate bars, queso dip, and this amazing Izze clementine soda. I take a pass on the bakery, which just never tickled my fancy, and they used to have a better hard cider collection, but I guess that fad is waning. :(
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Bacon Ends and Pieces.
  • Pspetal
    Pspetal Posts: 426 Member
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    I buy all my meats (except seafood) only from Whole Foods. Their chicken drumsticks and thighs are very, very cheap and taste so much better than other stores. Very often they have steaks and lean ground beef at discount prices too. Also, sometimes they have this yucca-corn-chicken Aztec soup in the hot soups section which is yummy and very filling! Everything else I get from regular stores and non-organic. Organic produce from WF doesn't seem to last a long time and I cannot shop every other day for groceries or pay twice of what I'd pay elsewhere.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,325 Member
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    fish
  • girlofsun26
    girlofsun26 Posts: 140 Member
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    I love the salad bar. Overpriced? Hell yes. But does it taste good? *drool* I'm a sucker for variety. I literally ran in today just for peanut butter because I don't want anything in mine. Just peanuts! And I'll get a smoothie if I'm feeling super feisty! But they have a huge variety of foods for vegetarians and vegans which is super nice for my family. But that again is special treats when we have the cash flow. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Before I moved, the Whole Foods there had a horribly bakery section. It's funny how it varies from store to store (and annoying too, honestly, as you can't get nutrition info because of it).
  • Kiku10
    Kiku10 Posts: 66 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Cheaper WFM 365 brands such as yogurt, almond milk, eggs, frozen fruit actually save me money. Then I buy stevia, organic turkey, flax seed because I can find it there. Veggies-fruit: too expensive, often conventionally grown. Save your $.
  • krislynn1974
    krislynn1974 Posts: 1 Member
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    I love their hummus. It really is the best I've ever tasted. Produce is also something I am willing to pay a little more for at WF.
  • pdxwine
    pdxwine Posts: 389 Member
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    I buy their 365 Low Sodium tuna (buy 12 cans and get 10% off); 365 Unsalted Almonds; Mayonnaise; Gedneys Relish; seafood; fresh fruit and vegetables; their salad bar rocks - I put together several small boxes of various items, so I can make great salads at home during the week.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
    edited April 2015
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    we only shop at whole foods and the weekly farmers market.. here is San Diego the prices are the same as when i lived in Portland and Arizona.. we just love everything they have.. its expensive but to us its worth it... mostly though, their expensive cheeses... we are a big cheese couple we also love the quality of their meat.. we got local grass fed beef raised here in SD at our whole foods.. its expensive but sometimes quality is the meat they buy is raised and treated well and thats important to us.. if we are gonna eat meat we want the animals to have the best lives possible (we also buy from local farms as well)... (edited to add the meat comment)
  • Coachconni
    Coachconni Posts: 42 Member
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    I don't find it expensive for some things I would only buy there, diet foods like coconut flour, nutritional yeast, bubies sauerkraut ( I'm scared of eating my own home made sauerkraut), cheeses that are low fat. Can't remember my list but low fat low calorie stuff that are organic I would buy there. Seeds like flax, Chi a, sesame, hemp etc. Prices beat target on things like these
  • frostedpoptart
    frostedpoptart Posts: 15 Member
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    Liberte full fat yogurts. The strawberry and coconut flavors are my favorite.
    Isabella's cookies
    Justin's maple almond butter & vanilla almond butter
    Blood orange macarons
    Pistachio mochi
    Strawberry sorbetto
    Curry chicken salad
    Regular chicken salad
    Orange chicken & vegetable chow mein
    Greyston brownies
    Premade salads
    Mac & cheese from the hot bar

    I agree that the Lake Champlain chocolates are really good. They have also have had Moonstruck & Green & Black's at the store I go to, which are also amazing.

    At my store they have individual little cakes/cheesecakes/etc from a bakery called Perfectly Sweet. I LOVE them. Some of the best desserts I've ever tasted.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    About twice a year I go there for grass fed beef or local shrimp. . . . treats for hubby and items not sold in our local grocery stores.
    I like their quinoa burgers too.

    They have non-food items that I cannot get locally or online so I pick them up then as well.

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