Don’t forget: Our 30^th birthday is coming up and we’re giving away 30 trips-for-two to help us celebrate in our birthplace: Austin, Texas! To thank you for your long-term support and tremendous loyalty, we are inviting our shoppers to enter our “A Heart as Big as Texas” contest.

Thirty winners will receive trips for two in September to our world headquarters in Austin. The winners will be treated to a VIP culinary weekend event provided by Whole Foods Market and our anniversary partners, Texas Tourism, JetBlue Airways and the Radisson Austin. To enter, visit our 30^th Birthday contest page and share your special stories, inspirations and memories on why you love Whole Foods Market in 300 words or less. Submissions must be received by June 30. Entries will be judged on their originality, creativity and passion for Whole Foods Market.

Bringing “A Heart as Big as Texas” to life are Texas Tourism, the state’s marketing entity which promotes the Lone Star State’s seven diverse regions, bold experiences and flavors to travelers nation- and worldwide; JetBlue Airways, which will offset the travel emissions from the 60 flights awarded in the contest through donations to its carbon-offset partner Carbonfund.org; and Radisson Austin, which offers upscale accommodations on Lady Bird Lake, just blocks away from Austin’s entertainment district and from Whole Foods Market’s landmark store and global headquarters.

It’s going to be a LOT of fun so get those creative juices flowing and be sure to enter by June 30^th.

By the way, we officially turn 30 on Monday, September 20. We’ll host “30 Years Fresh” festivities during the weekend of September 17 at our world headquarters in Austin and at all of our 295 stores across North America and the U.K. So, even if you don’t win a trip to Austin, you can still join the party!

Enter the contest here.

Even though I’ve worked at Whole Foods Market for over a decade, and been a loyal shopper for even longer, I am still constantly impressed with and amazed by the consistently stellar quality of our produce. Nowhere is that quality more apparent than with those tasty summer jewels: cherries. Right now, cherries are at their absolute peak of deliciousness (trust me: I can’t stop eating them), so you should DEFINITELY pick some up to enjoy the next time you’re in the store. But we thought you might also enjoy knowing just how much care and effort goes into sourcing and selecting our cherries before they make it into your (reusable) shopping bag.

Lentils are so nutritionally rich that I think they should be eaten way more often – in fact, I just wrote a whole blog post about Loading Up on Lentils. So we were thrilled to read a request from Sarah, a Whole Story reader, who was looking for a creative way to prepare tasty and enticing lentils. We took her up on the challenge and developed a flavorful and nutritious lentil burger just in time for summer.

This meatless patty is packed with vegetables and fiber-containing brown rice and walnuts. Ounce for ounce, it has fewer calories, saturated fat and cholesterol than a traditional burger. So the next time you’re craving a burger, think about trying a lentil burger! You can check out our complete recipe, as well as leave comments and ratings, on our Lentil Walnut Burgers recipe page.

Here’s how we chose the ingredients for our makeover:

• Lentils are a nutrition powerhouse! They have the ability to absorb flavors from other foods, and they are an excellent source of folate, a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese, and a good source of iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, thiamin and potassium. In addition to providing slow burning complex carbohydrates, lentils are a concentrated source of iron – an attribute this legume shares with red meat but without the added fat and extra calories.
• Carrots are full of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber and potassium. They also add sweet flavor and bright color.
• Mushrooms give a boost of potassium, phosphorus, zinc,  B vitamins and protein. They also contribute robust flavor and add moisture.
• Brown rice naturally contains fiber, B vitamins, manganese, phosphorus and iron.  We use this whole grain as a binder in place of breadcrumbs to make these burgers gluten-free.
• Walnuts are packed with omega-3 essential fatty acids, important for supporting cardiovascular health. They also provide dietary fiber, manganese and copper, not to mention texture and rich flavor.

Compared to a standard 7-ounce 85% lean ground beef patty, this lentil burger contains ½ the calories, 1/3 of the fat, 1/8 of the saturated fat, ¼ of the cholesterol and 6 times the fiber. Make the switch more often than not! Did you miss the recipe link above? Here is the complete Lentil Walnut Burgers recipe.

Give them a try and don’t forget to come back and rate the recipe. Thanks!

By mid-June we reach the approximate center point of the domestic cherry season where production transitions from California to the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington. It is a time of long hours and high anxiety where you are either riding a wave of cherry sales bliss or sitting at your desk wondering what possessed you to go into the perishable fruit business in the first place.

By now we generally have the lay of the land for the season and this year has been equal parts bliss and career choice soul searching. The fruit we’ve managed to secure this season has been exceptional — thanks to Bryan, our global cherry buyer, and Randy, Adam and Josiah (our field inspectors). But getting the fruit to market this year has not been easy (thank you El Niño) and the efforts of our grower partners have been truly heroic. The cherry season is chock full of incredible growers, and here are a few of the faces and stories behind this remarkable fruit. Read the rest of this entry »

This week in our series tracking down the “Best Ever” classic summer dishes (see Best Ever Pasta Salad and Best Ever Baked Beans) we’re focusing on potato salad.

Ever wonder why potato salad is ubiquitous at summer gatherings? It can be made ahead of time, it travels well, it’s inexpensive to make, it’s easy to prepare a large batch for a crowd, and it goes well with all manner of grilled foods. So if the invitations to summer get-togethers are starting to roll in, what better time to make sure you know how to whip up a top-notch potato salad?

Our recipe for The Best Basic Potato Salad is a great approach.

One of our website visitors gives it the thumbs up. Jojoguerr wrote:

“I made this recipe yesterday and everyone in the family loved it. The great thing about it, besides the flavor, is that it is so easy to prepare. I recommend it!”

Here’s why we’re big fans of this basic potato salad:

• Sour cream and mayonnaise combine to make a tangy, creamy base that goes well with potatoes.
• Fresh herbs are a welcome addition to any salad. Try a mix of basil, parsley, thyme and/or dill.
• Celery and onion add crunch and flavor, and lemon juice contributes brightness.
• This recipe is ready for your own special twist. Once you’ve learned to make this one, try a few inspired touches–maybe curry powder, chopped hard-cooked eggs, black olives or roasted red peppers? For a mayo-and-mustard version, omit the lemon juice and add 2 tablespoons mustard and 1/3 cup chopped pickles.

We want to know: what’s your best ever recipe for potato salad? Share your recipes and suggestions for what makes a great potato salad in the comments below. Let’s see who has the best idea!

Happy summer cooking!

It’s week three of our collaborative 8-Week Recipe Contest with food52, an online community for home cooks. If you have a great recipe starring fresh cherries, go to the food52 contest page to submit your recipe for a chance to win a $100 gift card from Whole Foods Market.

All recipe submissions must meet Whole Foods Market’s Quality Standards, which means that they must be free of hydrogenated fats, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.

To enter, go to the food52 contest page, create a login account, and then follow their instructions for entering. (While we love seeing your recipes, entering one in the comments section of this blog post will not get you entered into the contest.)

Food52 is accepting cherry recipes starting today, June 21^st and ending on June 25^th (corrected from earlier version that erroneously listed 6/27 as the end date—sorry!), so make sure to get your recipe in quickly. Winners of the eight weekly contests will be eligible to win a grand prize of a $1,000 Whole Foods Market gift card!

Want to get a head start on the remaining contests? Here’s what is coming up next:

• June 28                   Summer squash
• July 5                      Basil
• July 12                    Swordfish
• July 19                    Ground beef burgers
• July 26                    Heirloom tomatoes

Good luck!

The Francis mango from Haiti has a special place in my heart. My very first job in the produce industry was unloading a truckload of watermelons by hand, and at the end of a long, hard day, my new employers gave me a case of organic Haitian Francis mangoes to take home and enjoy. Not only did I enjoy that case of mangoes (my first mango ever,) but also I fell in love – with mangoes, with organics and with my new job in the produce industry.

Now, 20 years later, I finally had the opportunity to visit Francis mangoes at the source in Haiti. In May of 2010 a team of partners from Whole Foods Market, Tropic Trade LLC, and TransFair USA traveled to Haiti to meet our growers, field agent and exporter face to face. The mango export season is coming late to Haiti this year, due to drought and other complications. We’re very excited that our first containers are beginning to arrive in stores! If you don’t already know the Francis mango, (AKA Francique or Fransik) it’s known for its light green skin and kidney shape, turning a deep yellow as it ripens. The Francis is known for its low fiber, richly flavored flesh.

Don’t miss this opportunity to support Haiti’s development of a sustainable industry – it’s as simple as enjoying a Francis mango from Whole Foods!

I was a youngster the first time I had lentil soup – I’m guessing maybe 11 or 12 years old. I liked it a lot, and after that I always associated lentils with soup. Until one day I was “enlightened” by a younger (oh, horrors!) girl working at a health food store in Honolulu who declared: “Lentils aren’t just for soup.” Wow. My mom never made lentils, so how was I supposed to know? Once grown and on my own, I began experimenting and discovered one of my very favorite meals was a simple, yet hearty lentil loaf with a fresh green salad.

Lentils are the world’s oldest cultivated legume, appearing on the scene somewhere in the neighborhood of 7000 BCE! The name comes from the fact that the shape of a “len”til looks like the “len”s of an eye. And, like eyes, lentils vary in color ranging from black to brown to reddish orange, coral, gold and slate green. They’re easy to prepare and cook more quickly than many other legumes. Different varieties have different textures and are generally used in different types of recipes. For example, brown and green lentils hold their shape well and are great for casseroles, salad, or to ladle over grains or potatoes, whereas split red or yellow lentils disintegrate easily when cooking and are perfect for soups and stews. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re going cherry crazy around here! A few Whole Foods Market team members got together to give you some quick tips on making the cherry pitting process a little easier. You can try these methods in some of our great cherry recipes like these:

• Salmon with Caramelized Cherries
• Sangria Coolers
• Cherry-Arugula Salad

Got a favorite way to pit cherries? Let us know!

When it comes to food, the definition of “organic” is extremely clear, thanks to the USDA’s National Organic Program standards, the Federal regulation that defines just how organic food is grown, raised, processed and sold. When it comes to shampoo, soap and make-up, however, the definitions are not so clear, since the USDA doesn’t have the same control over personal care products as it does over food. While many personal care products are certified under the USDA standards and many display the USDA Organic Seal, the USDA doesn’t currently have the authority to police organic claims on personal care products that aren’t certified. In other words, any food with “organic” on the label is subject to strict standards and enforcement by the Federal government, but personal care products are not.

In our own stores, however, we’ve taken a giant leap toward ensuring our shoppers that the word “organic” has the same strong meaning in every department of the store. Last week, we announced that as of June 1, 2011, all organic personal care products sold in our U.S. stores will have to be certified organic. These guidelines will require quite a few of our suppliers to become certified, change their labels, reformulate their products and take other measures to comply with our guidelines. We’re taking this huge step, and asking our suppliers to make these changes, because we believe very strongly that the meaning of the word “organic” shouldn’t change as you walk around the store. In the grocery aisles, an “organic” product is made of at least 95% organic agricultural materials grown using earth-friendly practices without toxic or persistent pesticides (and the remaining 5% can only contain carefully vetted substances from a short list of approved additives). Now, the word “organic” in our body care departments will signify that same set of ideals.

Here’s our guidelines in a nutshell:

• Products claiming to be “organic” – e.g. “Organic Shampoo” – must be certified to the USDA NOP standard, the same standard to which organic foods must be certified. This standard requires 95% organic ingredients and places strict restrictions on the substances that can be used in the remaining 5%.
• Products claiming to be “made with organic _____” – e.g. “Made with organic essential oils and extracts” – must be certified to the USDA NOP “made with organic” standard, which requires at least 70% organic ingredients and places strict restrictions on the substances that can be used in the remaining 30%.
• Products making the claim “contains organic _____” – e.g “Contains organic rosemary, clove and thyme oils” – must be certified to the NSF 305 Personal Care Standard. This consensus-based standard requires at least 70% organic ingredients, and like the USDA NOP standard, places strict restrictions on the substances that can be used in the remaining 30%. However, this standard allows for a small number of substances and processes that are not allowed in the USDA standard for food (since the standard as it exists now is aimed at food, not personal care), that have been carefully reviewed by the NSF International Joint Committee on Organic Personal Care (of which I’m a member), which is made up of manufacturers, retailers, regulators, certifiers, consumer groups and others stakeholders.

We’ve been very frustrated by years of confusion and misunderstanding in the marketplace about just what “organic” means in the body care aisles. We’ve seen all sorts of products with varying levels of organic content that claim to be organic, and it’s time to level the playing field. With this announcement, we’re ensuring that the organic label retains its strong meaning, and that organic personal care manufacturers have to go through the same level of oversight and practice the same level of integrity as food makers currently do. This will make it easier for shoppers to trust the organic label in our stores, and help the organic personal care products market evolve and grow.

Our hope is that someday the USDA will regulate organic personal care products just as it does food. In our testimony before the National Organic Standards Board last November, we expressed our strong support of the Board’s recommendation that the USDA regulate personal care products, and we commented that:

We and our shoppers expect a consistent definition of “organic” throughout the store, and the jurisdictional borders between Federal agencies should not ultimately derail this goal. The consistent regulation of the “organic” label across all product categories will increase consumer confidence, improve integrity, curtail deceptive labeling claims, and substantially increase the use of USDA Organic agricultural ingredients in personal care products.

In January, the FDA indicated that it was considering the issue, and in April, the USDA announced that it was pursuing discussions with the FDA. We are closely following the government’s work on this issue, and will continue to offer our perspective and guidance. We hope that the agencies work quickly to come up with a solution to this problem, but in the absence of government regulation, our new guidelines will ensure that our shoppers can trust the organic label no matter what department they’re shopping in.