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As a child, Halloween was my favorite holiday - an excuse to wear an outrageous outfit and walk around my neighborhood getting free candy - what was there not to love? Sadly, I’m a few years past my trick-or-treating prime (though I still enjoy those crazy costumes!), but thankfully there are many bakers out there making sophisticated Halloween treats right in their own kitchens! Check ‘em out.
Categories: What We're Reading
Photo courtesy of julianmeade via Flickr
I lived in Alaska for a few years, where almost everything is a lot bigger than Texas. The sight of 800 pound (and heavier) pumpkins at the State Fair in Palmer is simply astonishing. Kitschy postcards of pumpkins the size of tool sheds date back to the 1950s, at least, and show up yearly in local newspapers. How in the world, I wondered, is it possible for a pumpkin to attain the heft of a horse? As I was soon to learn, cool weather crops such as pumpkins and parsnips attain gigantic girth in the long daylight hours of the growing season at such high latitudes. In the more temperate latitudes of Tennessee, where I also lived, farmers were justifiably proud of their 180 pound pumpkins, and even they were the very devil to move out of the field without the help of a mule or a sturdy field hand with a wheelbarrow.
Categories: Incredible Food
One of my favorite aisles to walk down in any Whole Foods Market is the bulk section. Towering clear bins brimming with grains, dried beans, dried fruits, nuts, spices and more - all waiting to be weighed out and taken home - in exactly the quantity you want and need. Plus, everything in the bulk section comes with minimal packaging and can be stored without the aide of refrigeration. It’s arguably the greenest, healthiest and most economical place to shop in the store. So if you’ve never taken a spin down the bulk aisle, I encourage you to give it a try!
Remember, each week, we choose tips to be featured in our weekly The Whole Deal™ blog post. Every chosen tip gets a $25 gift card, so submit you tips and recipes here.
And without further ado, our tips of the week, featuring some great tips on shopping in this great section.
From Claire:
Beans are a great way to stretch a meal and add protein to your diet. The best way to save on beans? Ditch the can! I used to buy all my beans in cans until I realized I could spend the same amount on dried beans and end up with 3-4 times more food! If you plan ahead and put them in a slow cooker over night, you’ll have all the beans you need for your recipes the next day. Whole Foods has a really awesome selection of dried beans and peas in the bulk bins that are even cheaper than the prepackaged dried beans!
From Ed:
When the money is running a little short, its time to make sure the perimeter of the store is on the radar. Many of the packaged foods we like can be made by hand and save a considerable amount of money. Instead of buying a fancy granola cereal, go to the bulk foods section and buy oatmeal, various nuts and seeds. Get some sugar cane or honey or fresh fruit (will need to dehydrate if you want to keep the cereal for any time). Then with a little creativity add the ingredients together. Congratulations: cereal. Then head to the dairy section and get yourself some organic milk. Eat and enjoy.
From Marissa:
I love the bulk section of the store. As a recent college graduate not making much money, this section is the place to shop. You can buy HUGE bags of quinoa or barley, even polenta, for a fraction of the price. I also love the 365 brand. Everything from their shampoo and body wash to their frozen fruits (which are AMAZING once that particular fruit has gone out of season, just buy and stock in your freezer!!) are sooo cheap that you’d be silly NOT to buy it.
Categories: Value
Pictured above: Italian Wedding Soup with Vegan Meatballs
With the change of the season, we start craving warm and nourishing soups and chili. Lucky for us, there are many ways to have a great meal like this without putting a strain on our wallets. They are great for feeding a crowd as well as freezing for a quick meal later. Listen in as nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar shares her tips for delicious soups and chili. Here are a few of our recipes to get you started. Got a favorite? Rate and comment!
Categories: Food Podcasts
Shrimp farming and healthy mangrove ecosystems…Can the two go hand in hand?
The past few months have been an exciting time for seafood at Whole Foods Market. In July 2008 we released our newly enhanced standards for farmed finfish and shrimp. In launching these standards, we set a high bar not only for how our seafood is raised, but also for environmental performance in aquaculture globally. Our commitment to sustainability reaches beyond our own stores, which is why we’ve posted our standards on our website and contribute to share and discuss our work at conferences and meetings worldwide.
As we have received several questions from customers particularly interested in shrimp and wanting to know what Whole Foods Market is doing specifically to protect mangroves from the impacts of shrimp farming, I’ll focus this posting on the topic of mangroves.
What are mangroves, anyway?
Categories: Whole Body
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Chicken Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing [5:05m]: Play Now | Download (2715)
Podcast Video: Download (293)In preparation for Thanksgiving, we’ve put together a winner of a stuffing recipe using this week’s secret ingredient, Whole Foods Market Fresh Chicken Sausage. Made in-house with the finest cuts of chicken and a blend of herbs, spices and seasonings, our chicken sausage adds a special touch to our recipe for Southern-Style Chicken Sausage and Buttermilk Cornbread Stuffing. We’ve also included a recipe for Buttermilk Cornbread that’s perfect for our stuffing recipe and even better when paired with steaming bowls of chili or eaten on its own with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey.
Get the Recipe: Southern-Style Chicken Sausage and Buttermilk Cornbread Stuffing
Get the Recipe: Buttermilk Cornbread
Categories: Holidays, Secret Ingredient
The distinct chill of fall is in the air and I’ve started engaging in the usual rituals of preparation for cold weather — unearthing my pullovers and sweaters and hypoallergenic comforter. I’m cancelling items on my social calendar in favor of curling up at home with a pair of knitting needles and a few skeins of yarn. And with all this newfound time at home, I’m dreaming of roasting butternut squash with sage, baking a silky cinnamon spiked pumpkin pie, and mulling a comforting mug of apple cider.
Seems like some of my favorite food bloggers have the same idea. Check out these awesome autumnal recipes and share some of your own.
from The Bitten Word
From Coconut & Lime
From eat me, delicious
Categories: What We're Reading
Michael Franti is an American poet, musician, and composer. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues. And he is today’s guest blogger!
Back in the late 80’s, I hopped in a van with my band mates. Sleeping on floors across America, eating at truck stops, or on some lucky nights, enjoying a plate of tour spaghetti made with love and generosity by the people who loaned us their couches for the night. Eating healthy on the road took a bit of creativity back then. Often the most nutritious meal at a truck stop (filled with processed nacho cheese dip, soda pop and candy) was a can of sardines and some saltine crackers (which I would trade off with the occasional peanut butter and crackers). A truck stop salad was a wedge of iceberg lettuce smothered in thick Thousand Island dressing with a tomato slice and an olive thrown on top. Sometimes the only way to make my own “salad” was to order a burger with all the fixings and just eat the fixings!
Categories: Thoughts on Food
In our Budget Recipe Challenge, we got some excellent recipes and money-saving tips from a seasoned group of food bloggers. After going through our comments in The Whole Deal™, it’s clear that we’ve got some creative customers who’ve come up with their own frugal gourmet creations from the items on our shelves! From simple, hearty, weeknight friendly recipes to making your own prepackaged foods - there are a ton of ways to save time and money, while still feeding you and your family nutritious and tasty food.
We thought we’d share some of our favorites with you this week…
Categories: Value
Secret Ingredient A cooking show for people who are big on taste & short on time.
Food Podcast Audio podcast exploring the world of natural and organic foods.
Be Good to
Your Whole Body Audio podcast all about natural body care and supplements.
Welcome to Whole Story, the official blog of Whole Foods Market.
Don’t know us? In a nutshell, we are the world's leading natural and organic grocer and we’re passionate about healthy food and a healthy planet. Learn more about us.
We’re lucky to have a whole bunch of smart, passionate people doing incredible things in areas like organics, supporting local growers, green practices, fair trade, micro-lending and all kinds of food related stuff. We’ll use this blog to share some of the cool things going on around here.
Of course, what makes this blog really exciting is YOU — so join the conversation!
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