Would you like a quick, easy way to better understand what we mean when we say one of our products has earned the “Whole Trade Guarantee”? Well, now you can learn about Whole Trade Guarantee the same way that many of our Team Members have-with a quick, easy educational piece produced by Whole Foods Market University (WFM-U). WFM-U is Whole Foods Market’s internal online educational resource that’s available for all of our Team Members to access so that they may learn, grow, and enrich their knowledge of our business. This Whole Trade Guarantee piece was originally produced for our Team Members, and with a few slight modifications, it’s now ready for you to experience! And we’re just getting started. Watch this blog for other WFM-U educational tools coming your way.

When I opened the fridge Sunday morning to a whole lotta “nothing to eat,” I felt like that mostly-blank white interior was challenging me, blowing a cool dare right in my face. “Go ahead, try to make a meal from what you see here.” I knew I had to go grocery shopping that afternoon, but I didn’t want to waste anything that might be lingering. I also wanted to get my dinner plan squared away early. I’d be out all afternoon and knew I wouldn’t want to cook much. I began digging.

First, the family pack of chicken thighs I meant to put in the slow cooker yesterday morning. Here’s a small container of leftover potsticker dipping sauce that will make a marinade. I won’t mind quickly grilling the chicken this evening if that’s all I have to do. Just stretch the sauce with a little soy sauce and a splash of vinegar and oil.

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I love my job at Whole Planet Foundation. Every day is an opportunity to help empower the poor through microcredit in communities around the globe where Whole Foods Market sources product. Whole Planet Foundation funds microlending projects in communities where Whole Foods Market sources coffee from communities in East Timor, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya and Nicaragua; bananas from communities in Costa Rica and Honduras; tea from India and Nepal; rice from Thailand; and produce and dairy from the New York City area. Microcredit is small loans – around $200 – provided to impoverished individuals who use the funds to start their own home-based businesses to lift themselves out of poverty, like these women. Read the rest of this entry »

Pink Tulips – California

Every year right around the start of February I start yearning for more color in my life. The part of the world where I live is not uniformly white in the dead of winter, but like most places the California coast is not as vibrant as it is other times of the year. What makes me start to search out color is an unconscious anticipation of spring – brought about by the first of the winter rains. That first speck of moisture has turned the normally brown wild grasses green and the Acacia trees are starting to put out their tiny yellow blossoms (jam packed with pollen by the way). The ornamental fruit trees are blooming but the “real” fruit trees’ fragrant blossoms are weeks away and the poppies, foxgloves, and sunflowers of summer are still little more than seeds. What I crave are the true colors of spring – and tulips are my winter surrogate. Read the rest of this entry »

February is Whole Foods Market’s Whole Trade™ Month and we are proud to be the first to launch in the US of A Fairhills Winery’s Fair-Trade Certified and Whole Trade Guarantee wines!

Fairhills Tierstel Daycare. 90% of the personnel were employed in the vineyards on all the individual farms where they stay. The daycare opened in 2006. In total, 85 children attend the specific daycare.

These wines, apart from being extremely tasty and yummy, also have the great distinction of directly benefiting over 1300 winery workers, vineyard workers, smaller farmers and their families with fair wages and fair prices for their crops. The Fairhills project covers three of the major growing regions in the wine world: South Africa, Argentina and Chile. Two continents, two great goals: to make great wine, and to improve the living and social conditions of all who participate in making the wine great! Read the rest of this entry »

Are you looking for a way to add gourmet flavors to everyday meals? If so, then this week’s episode of the Secret Ingredient is for you! Featuring Whole Foods Market’s 365 Everyday Value Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil, our featured recipe is Saltimbocca alla Romana, a tender chicken breast layered with prosciutto and sage, sautéed and topped with a buttery white wine sauce.

While it might sound like a fancy Ferrari sport car kind of dish, it’s actually an easy laidback Vespa kind of recipe — one that’s ready in less than 30 minutes and perfect for weeknight suppers or weekend dinner parties. Join guest chef Michele Di Pietro as she shares her passion for bringing authentic Italian flavors to everyone’s table with her favorite saltimbocca recipe, which literally translates to “jump in your mouth.”

Get the Recipe: Saltimbocca alla Romana

Jump directly to the FDA Product Recall List to search for peanut product recalls, or call CDC-INFO at 1-800-232-4636 for more information.

*Updated 2/16/09*

Several additions to recall

Erin Baker’s Original Breakfast Cookie – Peanut Butter (3oz)
Erin Baker’s Home-style Granola – Peanut Butter (Several Sizes)
Erin Baker’s Original Breakfast Cookie – Rocky Road (3oz)

Betty Lou’s Nut Butter Protein Balls

Sunridge Farms: Numerous items (not in all stores and many already pulled): Read the rest of this entry »

All home cooks have them – those moments when you say to yourself “That was my best meal of the week!” Best, of course, is highly subjective. It could be healthy, super quick, inexpensive, fabulously delicious – or a combination of all that and more. Whatever your criteria, we want to hear about your Best Meal of the Week. Here are a few of ours:

Dinner from Kate:

My best meal so far this week is a baked frittata. When I don’t have much of a dinner plan (this occurs more often that I’d like to admit), but I do have eggs, cheese and maybe some other interesting leftovers in the fridge, I turn to a frittata. So for dinner earlier this week, I preheated the oven (about 400°F but can be easily adjusted if you are cooking something else at the same time), lightly buttered a pie plate and got started. I arranged leftover cooked whole wheat pasta elbows, leftover sautéed kale and broccoli rabe, and a few chopped sundried tomatoes (a staple I keep on hand) in the bottom of the dish. Then I whisked together eggs with a handful of grated Parmesan and plenty of cracked black pepper and poured it over the pasta and greens. While the frittata baked in the oven, I tossed a quick salad. As soon as the eggs set (about 15 to 20 minutes), I pulled the frittata out of the oven, cut it into wedges and served with the salad and some rustic bread. A delicious dinner that was quick to assemble, easy on the budget, and used up odds and ends from the fridge. Leftover frittata is great for lunch the next day, too.

Lunch from Susannah:
My best meal of the week was loading a whole wheat pita with leftover roast turkey breast slices, avocado, romaine lettuce, thin-sliced red onion, a few blue cheese crumbles and a thin spread of canola mayo. I wrapped it up tight in the pita bread bag (since it was the last one in the bag) and took it with me to work. I could hardly wait for lunch time!

Breakfast from Paige:

My best meal this week has been a protein smoothie for breakfast. Anyone out there have kids? Then you know how hard it is to get them to eat a good breakfast in the morning. But you also know that it is really, really important for their brain function to get a solid protein boost before heading off to school. Drinking breakfast turns out to be a super winner in our house.  For one serving, I combine a banana, about 1/4 cup assorted frozen berries, about 1/2 cup apple juice, and a scoop of whey protein powder. I also add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Blend well (in a blender) and drink. NO complaints from the pre-teen in my house…and no arguments about fitting in breakfast!

There you go…our “best” breakfast, lunch and dinner of the week. What’s yours??

Carol Medeiros joined Whole Foods Market in 2001 at our Cherry Creek store in Denver and has been working on our produce and floral team ever since.

You may remember Karen’s Whole Trade roses post from last summer, sharing the story of the Ecuadorian Fair Trade certified flower farms that supply our Whole Trade Guarantee roses. Well, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, what better time to share an update on Whole Trade flowers with you?

I was one of the Team Members to visit the Ecuadorian farms. I look back on these trips & consider myself lucky to have been a part of them – such a beautiful country, incredible product, wonderful people and inspiring stories. Read the rest of this entry »

This past Christmas, I decided to thrill my friends with the gift of “a little bit of heaven.” I wanted to savor the Christmas spirit, especially since last year was so hurried. And I wanted my friends to have something special to savor as well. So, I mixed a cup of chopped, roasted almonds and pecans with a half cup of dried cherries and blueberries. Then, I melted 3 ounces of dark chocolate pieces over a very, very low flame. I added the nuts and fruit along with another 3 ounces of the same chocolate, broken into pieces. I stirred it until it was all melted and clumpy together, then I scooped out tablespoonfuls onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and I stuck it in my refrigerator. I had made chocolate candy!

Although I felt for a split second like I had mastered the art of fine chocolate, I soon came to my senses and just decided to get more creative with that simple little recipe. So, I continued to experiment, and each time I made it, I found another delicious way to experience “chocolate” – different nuts, adding spices, coconut, and even some small pieces of candied ginger and unsweetened cocoa nibs (roasted pieces of cocoa beans). For Valentine’s Day, I plan to continue my chocolate experience. I am not eating a lot of flour containing foods these days, so I am excited to try our glazed, flourless chocolate cake. It gets so many luscious comments. Read the rest of this entry »