Keeping your gray matter gorgeous is really a no-brainer, isn’t it? A healthy brain can mean proper mental development, good learning skills, strong cognitive function and a high quality of life. Who doesn’t want that?! I know I do. Here are some simple steps to boost brain power – great for adults and kids alike.

A healthy brain depends on:

Essential fatty acids

Topping the list are EFAs, also called Essential Fatty Acids, because they support a healthy brain and nervous system. Since your body doesn’t make these nutrients, you need to get them from food sources. These days, many people get too much omega-6 fatty acids from processed foods so healthcare providers suggest adding sources of omega-3 fatty acids to our diets in order to create balance. Omega-3s are crucial for the development of the brain as well as the heart, nervous system, tissues, skin and the immune system. These important fatty acids make up much of our brain cells. Children can especially benefit from an added focus on omega-3s since the sources (salmon, sardines, walnuts, hemp and flax) are not generally eaten by little ones. Deficiencies may be present in kids with focus and learning problems. For more information, check out our podcast on Back to School Brain Power. You may want to try this delicious Flax and Pumpkin Seed Cornbread for a boost in omega-3s. Read the rest of this entry »

Packing a delicious, healthy lunch is easier than you might think! Check out Chef Ann’s favorite lunch box choices for healthy kids and a healthy planet.

For more great recipes ideas from Chef Ann Cooper and Whole Foods Market, check out our Back to School recipes!

Shawn Thackeray – Thackeray Farms – Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina

Shawn Thackeray began farming this 200 acres of land located a mere mile from the Atlantic Ocean many years ago with his father-in-law when it was all planted in tomatoes. Today Shawn owns this land, where he dedicates 20 acres to grow heirloom tomatoes and has expanded the rest to grow a diverse roster of specialty vegetables and several varieties of wildflowers. Thackeray Farms is currently transitioning their sustainable farming practices to organic in order to improve the condition of the soil and the surrounding water and to provide the healthiest working environment for his employees.

We’ve partnered with Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. “The Renegade Lunch Lady,” to help schools make a change. Chef Ann has already transformed the school lunch experience for tens of thousands of children across America by helping their schools switch from processed foods to fresh, natural ingredients and scratch-made meals.

Today – Friday, August 28 at 1 p.m. PST/4 p.m. EST, Ann Cooper will be answering YOUR questions about school lunch reform and what you can do to help make simple, yet revolutionary changes to school lunch programs in your area.

Note: You must have a Facebook or Twitter account in order to submit questions, but anyone can watch the live chat video on Facebook.  Check out the link below for more information on how to participate.

Participate in the live chat on Facebook

Our Team Members love opening new stores – it gives them a blank canvas to try out all of their cool ideas. At our new SouthGlenn store in Colorado, you can plug in your electric car, park your dog at its own safe place outside, sip some on-tap kombucha, shop from more than 1,200 local products and 1,500 private label products, get your wild-caught salmon filleted and seasoned for free while strolling the largest prepared foods section in Colorado. Pretty cool, huh? But that’s not all.

Read the rest of this entry »

In her seven years with Whole Foods Market, Kristina has focused on community relations – spending the last three years immersed in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas and loving the region’s culture and incredible people who make these cities unique.

For the third year in a row, Whole Foods Market proudly sponsored the Great American Seafood Cook-Off (GASCO) and we had a fantastic time doing it. We set up an information table on our unprecedented aquaculture standards, Whole Trade products, and Whole Deal booklets full of coupons and recipes along with a mini-store where the chefs shopped for extra ingredients. Of course, we provided special treats and samples for the attendees, chefs, judges and emcees.

Chef John Folse, who is often recognized as Louisiana’s Culinary Ambassador to the world, co-emceed GASCO with Sig Hansen from “Deadliest Catch”! Many fans were thrilled to meet him in person and hear his comments throughout the competition, which you may be able to watch on your public television station in the near future. The whole event stresses sustainable fisheries and local products – both are very near and dear to our hearts. Read the rest of this entry »

We are proud to introduce an exclusive new product to our stores* that just came in earlier this month. Clementine Art is a Boulder, CO based company that has created the first all natural line of children’s art supplies that include crayons, markers, paint, play dough, and glue. Check out this video for more insights into their high quality, eco-friendly, 100% non-toxic products – perfect for your little one’s burgeoning art career.

* These products are available at most Whole Foods Market locations in the Whole Body department.

Americans love to eat! Well, at least they do for lunch, dinner and snacks! Breakfast, however, can be a different story. Whatever happened to that age-old advice to “start the day with a hearty breakfast?” These days, many of us either don’t eat at all or we grab ‘n’ go: a bagel, donut or a muffin and wash it all down with a hit of caffeine. If we have the time, we may swing by the local fast food joint for a breakfast “whatever.” Is this what our bodies really need to get us going in the morning?

Breakfast is really just that: breaking – the – fast. When you wake up, you’ve been without food for 10-12 hours so you need to power up your body to meet the day. Tempted to skip breakfast? Don’t! You’ll miss out on important nutrients that your body needs to keep you healthy and maintain steady energy and blood sugar. That means you may be setting yourself up for a crash by mid-morning and even late afternoon. And without breakfast, you may be depending on caffeine to fuel your body, which just doesn’t do it! You’ll be running off adrenaline – not the sustained nutrition of a balanced breakfast – and that puts stress on your body. Want one more good reason? Studies have shown that if you skip breakfast, you may be more likely to make up those missed calories by over-eating later in the day. Not very desirable, right? Read the rest of this entry »

Life lessons about nutrition start at home. Chef Ann Cooper shares ideas for turning leftovers from some of her dinner recipes into healthy lunches for the next day.

For more great recipes ideas from Chef Ann Cooper and Whole Foods Market, check out our Back to School recipes!

Picture this: it’s a hot August afternoon. You just ran a few miles and you are in need of some replenishment. You swing by your friendly, neighborhood Whole Foods Market to re-fuel. In front of the beverage cooler, you pause for a moment to consider the myriad items we carry. Like many of our customers, you might reach for one of our familiar brands that you know and trust – Naked Juice.

And that is a good choice. Naked Juice has taken a lead in the food industry in terms of scrutinizing their carbon footprint. They are making some cool choices to improve the sustainability of their production facility, their juice bottles and even the tasty stuff inside the bottles. Here’s how.

Their first big move will actually be that: a relocation into a brand new LEED certified production facility. This means they have met some pretty stringent criteria for water and energy efficiency, use of recycled building materials and waste reduction. Whole Foods Market has also gone through this certification with some of our new stores and it’s quite an accomplishment! Read the rest of this entry »