I guess "Whole" Foods does not mean "healthy"...

13

Replies

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited March 2018
    When I think if Whole Foods, I just think "expensive."

    There is only 1 thing that I ever buy there because it's not available elsewhere. That's Bariani Olive Oil, which is expensive, but it's a brand I like that I use sparingly for it's excellent taste & flavor. A bottle will last me over a year.

    Otherwise, I buy my food where ever it is cheapest.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited March 2018
    No, I dont think muffins are necessarily "whole" or "healthy". but what is shocking is the calorie density in ONE SINGLE MUFFIN. No, a bakery is not a place to make healthy choices. But this was beyond my wildest imagination, 740 calories!

    I seldom eat any baked goods anymore precisely for this reason.

    Doesn't matter where they are sold, anything baked w/sugar, flour, eggs and butter or shortening in it is going to be high in cals.
  • blackcatfitness
    blackcatfitness Posts: 57 Member
    edited March 2018
    Whole foods do not mean chocolate muffins.

    A whole food are the grains that went into the muffin.
    Cocoa is the more 'wholier' form of chocolate.
    And just because it was purchased from Whole Foods doesn't mean its healthier! lol
    Even Flax muffins say each muffin contains 2 servings.

    It's very important to read labels
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Hah. Cocoa is refined too. The cocoa butter is largely removed. Here is whole food cacao beans after roasting.


    http://www.marquettemagazine.com/tasting-cacao/
  • blackcatfitness
    blackcatfitness Posts: 57 Member
    yes but comparing it to say Hershey's chocolate chips its very different nutritional wise
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    . But for one muffin to be so calorie dense, it would have to be loaded with fat. That is not exactly what I would consider to be compatible with a store that asks "Are you hungry for better?"

    I would encourage you to write a letter to Whole Foods and share your feelings about their product with them.
    Ask for lower calorie options. Ask for better labeling. Demand an explanation of why they can sell foods with something you consider unhealthy with that slogan.




  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Pure cocoa is bitter. In a recipe sugar or another sweetener is added to give it that delicious chocolate taste.

    Hershey’s does the same thing.

    Adding sugar to cocoa will give you the same nutritional profile as a Hershey’s kiss.

    Since this single muffin came out so high calorie I would say it had plenty of sugar and fat added.
  • MyrnaSolganick
    MyrnaSolganick Posts: 60 Member
    The saga continues: my husband and I went to WF to pick up some dinner. So: here is a bean and cheese quesadilla arranged in a circle, 4 pieces in the circle The sign says that 1/4 quesadilla has ..200 something calories, lets say 220. I ask the guy behind the counter: is each piece the serving size as posted, or is the serving size HALF of each piece? the answer: One piece is actually one half, not 1/4, so the quesadilla as it is is actually 440 calories. I get that not every single deli item can be parcelled out precisely, but if a serving size is 220 calories, shouldn't the serving size accurately represent the serving size posted?? I feel this is really misleading - deliberately. And yea, I wont be shopping much there from this point forward. Lounmoun, I will indeed contact corporate. Many of us are trying to eat healthier, make good choices, read labels. We dont need to be misled.
  • MyrnaSolganick
    MyrnaSolganick Posts: 60 Member
    I feel it is intentionally misleading.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    What I dont get is how they can offer such an item in the bakery - and what the hey is in it that packs that many calories? I think cheesecake is even less caloric than the muffin!

    By that standard bakeries also shouldn't have cake. I mean what you've essentially come to realize is a. muffins are cake, b. vegan doesn't mean calorie deficit (as opposed to calorie dense), and c. "whole foods" aren't things you can assume are easier to fit into your allotted number of calories per day than processed foods (or whatever the opposite of whole food is).
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I'd love to see the size, density and fat content of this muffin. For those calories it would want to be a biggin' and be filling!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Commercial muffins are usually way larger than any muffins you'd make at home (and obviously so). I've never checked the calories on WF muffins, since they aren't something I buy, but the ones I've seen are big.

    Now I'm curious about the calorie counts of their prepared stuff, so may check it out next time I'm in there.

    Quesadillas have cheese, so I'd not expect them to be low cal.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    I'd love to see the size, density and fat content of this muffin. For those calories it would want to be a biggin' and be filling!

    Not as big as a CostCo muffin but heavier in weight than one. It's smaller in circumference, but higher in height. I'd say probably double the size of a Starbucks muffin. I find the texture of the vegan muffins to be very strange, almost like an English Muffin type texture which I think adds to the density/chewiness factor.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    Cbean08 wrote: »
    I'd love to see the size, density and fat content of this muffin. For those calories it would want to be a biggin' and be filling!

    Not as big as a CostCo muffin but heavier in weight than one. It's smaller in circumference, but higher in height. I'd say probably double the size of a Starbucks muffin. I find the texture of the vegan muffins to be very strange, almost like an English Muffin type texture which I think adds to the density/chewiness factor.

    700 calories definitely does not surprise if it's double the size of Starbucks -- the Starbucks blueberry muffin is 370 calories, I think?
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    Muffins are calorie bombs. People go to Dunkin Donuts and think they're being "healthy" by getting a muffin instead of a donut. Eat the donut.

    At Tim Hortons, most donuts are around 250 calories while muffins are around 500 calories.
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
    Oil !!!!!! .... I had my muffin realisation when I made muffins at home and pouring the oil into the mix it dawned on me

    (1) ah this is why they are so moist
    (2) ah this is why each small one is 400kcal

    Now I make carrot and yogurt cakes ... equally as moist but about half the calories per serving

  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I found a mini muffin recipe that works well...
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »

    Oh yeah no totally, speaking personally califlower crust sounds like something Satan himself cooked up.

    It's actually quite good if you make it right, but you tend to have to use plenty of cheese and eggs as a binder. I don't consider it a substitute for real crust. It's more a different food altogether, the same way that I don't consider eggplant parm as a substitute for chicken parm. It's a completely different item that I like just the same.

    The only real benefit to cauliflower crust over regular crust is the gluten-free aspect.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    karl317 wrote: »
    Whole Foods is owned by Amazon now, right?

    Maybe I should ask Alexa why my avocado cost $22.

    Have you been recently? Avocados are one of the items that got a major price cut once Amazon announced their purchase of Whole Foods. The price is pretty competitive now.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Alright so here’s the thing-
    Just because it’s ‘vegan’ doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I’m a firm believer of macros and not labels.
    Whole Foods does have strict rules on what they allowed to be sold in stores. Rules apply to the sourcing and the quality of ingredients used. I know this because I work at Whole Foods.

    However the amount of sugar and unneeded supplements that pass by me at the register astounds me. People need to do their research and find what matches their body best instead of falling for marketing labels such as ‘vegan’ ‘vegetarian’ and ‘paleo’.

    I’m trying to be ‘keto’ but I’m not going to pound my coffee we loads of butter to get to the required fat percentage. I will however use organic coconut oil in cooking to get healthy fats. But this is for my personal diet.

    Whole Foods has a fair number of vegan customers. In this case, "vegan" is probably meant to let them know the product has no animal products, not as a marketing label.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    karl317 wrote: »
    Whole Foods is owned by Amazon now, right?

    Maybe I should ask Alexa why my avocado cost $22.

    Have you been recently? Avocados are one of the items that got a major price cut once Amazon announced their purchase of Whole Foods. The price is pretty competitive now.

    Yup -- their avocados, lemons, and limes are significantly cheaper than my local chain.

    As are their organic products, grass-fed beef, wild-caught seafood, etc.

    I feel like most of the people who complain about Whole Foods' prices don't actually, you know, shop there.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    karl317 wrote: »
    Whole Foods is owned by Amazon now, right?

    Maybe I should ask Alexa why my avocado cost $22.

    Have you been recently? Avocados are one of the items that got a major price cut once Amazon announced their purchase of Whole Foods. The price is pretty competitive now.

    Yup -- their avocados, lemons, and limes are significantly cheaper than my local chain.

    As are their organic products, grass-fed beef, wild-caught seafood, etc.

    I feel like most of the people who complain about Whole Foods' prices don't actually, you know, shop there.

    Yeah, I'm not going to dispute they have some pricey items. But if you are thoughtful about what you pick out, you can get good stuff relatively cheaply.
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