Whole Foods Market

Hi!
I shop at Whole Foods whenever possible! We try to eat mostly organic and we also avoid wheat, gluten, dairy and soy because of allergies.
Whole Foods is just great because they have so many varieties and choices for organic and specialty foods. To be honest, I can find almost everything I need at the health food section of most grocery stores I just like the variety at Whole Foods. It can be more expensive but if I go maybe once a month, it's well worth it!
E.

:)
I have a friend who says they call it "Whole Foods" because it takes your "whole paycheck" to pay for your groceries. lol

Your regular grocery store has organic store brands. I buy organic fruit and vegetables because the chemicals being sprayed on directly, I also buy kids' organic yoghurt and milk. That is it.
But it gets very expensive. I wish I could afford it but I can't for everything.
I love whole foods though. To me it's a nice outing just to browse through the isles.
L.

Yah, more expensive.
Fun store. Good food.
Depends on your budget.

Eating "healthy" means eating from all food groups (ideally organic)... emphasizing fruits, veggies, whole grains and proteins as recommended in the food pyramid. Fresh foods. Mainly eating balanced. And not a whole lot of processed foods. But customizing it to YOUR family's tastes.

A good book is: Food Rules: An Eater's Manual (Paperback)
~ By Michael Pollan

Good luck,
Susan

I like Sprouts......see if there is one by you.

Whole Foods is a wonderful store. It is much more expensive, but if you are worried about the amount of chemicals in your food, this is the place to purchase the largest selection of organic foods in one place.

You do realize organic food in not more nutritious than regular food? The difference is that organic foods do not have as many or any chemicals in or on the actual food.If you are purchasing bananas you will save money purchasing the conventional bananas instead of the organic since you will be removing the peel. If you purchase citrus fruit again if you are not going to eat the outer peel, you could save money with conventional citrus.

It is good to do our best to serve safe food, but sometimes this can become a luxury if we cannot afford organic.

We love Trader Joe's. They have a great selection of organic foods and produce (to be honest, about as much as "Whole Paycheck", because most of their product is NOT organic. TJ's is also much more affordable. We do most of our shopping there, and occasionally have to go elsewhere for a few things. My son loves shopping there too because our store gives prizes when kids find a hidden animal in the store (ours is a monkey). They also have kid-sized carts, which my son LOVES pushing. :)

T.
Barefoot Books Ambassador
www.ReadandGrow.com

i shop there from time to time, as well as farmer joe's and safeway (both have some organic selections) and my local health-food store - whole foods is expensive, but so is all high-quality, organic and healthy food: remember, if it's cheap to buy, it's because it's LOW QUALITY! CHEAP! that's what i've discovered :) good on you that you're thinking of shopping there - you won't be sorry (except for the price tag, but, again, isn't your family worth the best quality produce and meats?) -

See if you have a Sprouts in your area-they are way cheaper. And lots of grocery stores and Walmart & Target offer organic.

i love Whole Foods but i don't do all of my food shopping there. I buy the "staples" at normal stores, and then i get all meats, fruits, veggies and snack items at Whole Foods. I feel good about it and think that organic is such an excellent way to go

I would do the main bulk of your shop at a regular store and then buy some fruits & veggies at Whole Foods....yes the produce is much nicer but they are expensive , the sandwich meats on the deli are also nice. You need to go in and take a look at the kind of things your thinking of buying and price it up , it's surprising how a small basket of items can soon add up in that place.

I Love Whole Foods- but you really need to have the $$$.
It is so much more expensive than the regular grocery stores
I try to buy mostly all natural or organic for my son but thankfully our regular stores started carrying alot of it now too and its so much cheaper at super target or super walmart. But whole foods is an awesome store to shop in- go check it out! you wont be dissapointed except maybe in the prices. their sales are usually a decent price.

I absolutely love Whole Foods, but it does have the nickname "Whole Paycheck" for a reason. I would first check out your local grocery store to see what organic choices they have. Like other posters have said, most grocery stores are starting to provide more "health food" type items so that they can meet the demand and compete with the health food stores. That said, stores like Whole Foods do have some items that you cannot find anywhere else. I purchase a lot of vegetarian items there that I cannot find at a regular grocery store chain. So I would do the bulk of shopping at the local grocery store, then go to Whole Foods for a few specialty items.

If you are looking to go organic but are on a budget, your first priority should be getting all your meats and dairy products organic. Non-organic meats and dairy have the highest concentration of hormones and pesticides as compared to fruits and vegetables. You really don't want your children eating hormone-laden meat and milk. If you can afford it, buy thin-skinned fruits and vegetables like strawberries and tomatoes organic. Unless it's really within your budget, you can skip organic avocados and watermelon since the pesticides generally don't penetrate the skin. Good luck!