After nearly two years of planning and implementation, we are excited to announce that, beginning in January, our Whole Foods Market commissary kitchen in Massachusetts will get 100% of its electricity from recycled cooking oil.  Yeah!

The waste vegetable oil used for frying food at the commissary kitchen facility as well as from 21 Whole Foods Market stores across the Northeast region, will be used as a biofuel in a cogeneration module using an internal combustion engine to generate electricity and usable heat.  We expect to repurpose over 1,200 gallons of cooking oil a week, which was previously considered a waste product, to fuel a system that reduces our dependency on conventional fossil fuel sources and results in less harmful emissions — helping us move one step closer to our goal of becoming a zero waste company. The generator will have the capacity to meet the electricity needs of the entire commissary, just over 2,000,000 kWh’s per year.  Producing electricity with waste biomass avoids new carbon dioxide emissions attributed to electricity generated using fossil fuels. Vegetable oil exhaust emissions that are produced contain virtually zero sulfur oxides and sulfates, major contributors to acid rain.

The Boston Globe ran a great in-depth story on the new generator.  Lifecycle Renewables will be installing and operating the system as well as coordinating and managing the logistics involved with weekly waste cooking oil collections and fuel delivery.

A huge thank you to everyone who has worked on bringing this great project to fruition.

 Holiday Giving Guide: Play Now | Download (476)

You may not think gift shopping when you go to the grocery store, but Whole Foods Market is known for offering unique, interesting, exclusive treats for those who care about quality, social responsibility and the environment.  Check out this video where we share with you some of our favorite ideas for holiday gift giving!

For more info, check out our Holiday Giving Guide.

Gifts

Season’s Greetings!
Welcome to holidays with heart.
Joyous gifting and feasting
while doing our part.

Empowering, inspiring
sharing our treasures.
Satisfying, delighting
and taking great measures.

Here’s the best, you can choose
from far or from near.
Ever green are our values.
Ever bright our good cheer!

I think one of the best things about hosting the Thanksgiving feast is having days of leftovers! Of course, I like leftovers; some people don’t. The trick can be taking the leftover ingredients and turning them into a new dish. In this podcast, we talk with nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar about using up all of that valuable food in new and interesting ways.

 Standard Podcast [5:14m]: Play Now | Download (81)

Make sure to check out our holiday pages for great turkey leftover recipes. What’s your favorite way to eat up all that great food?

Sometimes I find gift giving especially challenging. With all the need in the world, why the heck should I get Aunt Mary Lou a new apron? She has 10 already! What I really want to do is make a donation or give a charitable gift in her honor. But then there’s nothing tangible to unwrap and somehow the family turns me into the Scrooge of the season. “Why can’t Paige give normal gifts like everyone else?”

If a version of this story plays out for you, the Feed 100 Bag just might be the perfect option. Here’s the deal: you buy the Feed 100 stylish reusable shopping bag to give as a tangible gift and part of the proceeds go to providing 100 meals to hungry Rwandan school children.  Win-win, right?

Read the rest of this entry »

 Holiday Entertaining Guide [3:53m]: Play Now | Download (336)

Welcome to the Holidays at Whole Foods Market!  We’ve put together this little video guide to help you plan your holiday party or gathering.  It highlights some of our favorite holiday tips including easy and elegant decor and how to pair our Top Ten Wines with the right cheese.

For more info, check out our Holiday Entertaining Guide.  Enjoy!

Entertaining

As you make your merry way
Through this season of giving,
Don’t get so wrapped up
That you skip joyous living.

Indulge! We’ve tasted and tested
With care just for you.
We’re loaded with goodies,
Gifts, tips and recipes, too.

Let your mantra be “Lovely,
Delicious and fine.”
We offer delight
And our gift…peace of mind.

Good food brings family and friends together — especially at Thanksgiving. Are you thinking about how to share your table this year while not blowing your budget? In this podcast we talk to nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar to get ideas for feasting well without breaking the bank (‘cause those banks don’t need any help breaking about now!).

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Download (3165)

Don’t forget to check out our huge collection of holiday recipes. Whether you are planning a traditional feast or want to venture outside the norm this Thanksgiving, we’ve got you covered. What dish do you absolutely have to have for it to be a perfect Thanksgiving? Let us know!

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!

• Italian Wedding Soup with Vegan Meatballs
• Slow Cooker Chickpea and Lentil Stew
• Vegetarian Chipotle Chili
• Cheddar, Corn and Potato Chowder
• Mexican-Style Chicken Lime Stew
• More Soups and Stews

 Standard Podcast [5:02m]: Play Now | Download (2909)

 Pasta [4:53m]: Play Now | Download (3162)

One of the simplest meals to prepare is pasta. For novices as well as experienced cooks, pasta opens the door to many value-focused meals. Listen in as nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar shares her tips for enjoying pasta on a budget. Here are a few of our favorite pasta recipes. What are yours?

• Spaghetti with Pecorino and Black Pepper
• Penne and Broccoli with Zesty Gorgonzola Sauce
• Spinach and Cheese Lasagna
• Spaghetti with Garlic and Olive Oil
• Capellini Pomodoro

Also, check out our Guide to Pasta for more information.

One of our vendors was featured on Oprah today for their innovative calf raising practices. Inspired by their concern for animal welfare, the Strauss family spent years researching alternative veal raising systems. Ultimately, they say the most humane and compassionate system is the one Mother Nature provides.

For anyone who wants to eat veal, this is the way to go —pasture-raised with exceptional quality and flavor, while raised in a healthy, humane and sustainable way. They promise their calves are:

• Free to Roam – never tethered, raised in confinement
• Raised on natural open pastures alongside mother & herd
• Never raised in feedlots
• Unlimited access to mother’s milk
• Strictly vegetarian fed – never receiving animal by-products
• Never ever administered growth hormones
• Never ever administered antibiotics
• Never experience the stress of industrialized farming
• Traceable to place of birth
• Agriculturally sustainable & environmentally friendly

If you want to know more, check out this video on their website. Strauss Free Raised™ Veal is available in our stores in the Southwest, Southeast, Florida and Rocky Mountain regions. It’s coming soon to stores in other parts of the country.

Everyone talks about beans being a great value source of protein, but not everyone knows how to get them on the table easily. In this podcast, we asked nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar to demystify the process of cooking dried beans. Listen in to find out how and if you want more details, check out our Beans 101.  Once your beans are cooked, you can freeze them and use in any recipe calling for canned beans.

Here are a few of our favorite bean-based recipes. What are yours?

• Refried Beans with Roasted Salsa and Monterey Jack
• Bread Salad with Pinto Beans and Queso Fresco
• White Bean Soup

 Beans [5:26m]: Play Now | Download (3335)