…With these recipes inspired by Whole Planet Foundation microcredit clients.

Whole Planet Foundation empowers entrepreneurs in our global communities through microcredit, and this month marks the beginning of Whole Planet Foundation’s Annual Prosperity Campaign. Now through March 31st, please join fellow Whole Foods Market shoppers, team members, Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partners and online donors to help raise $1.5 million for 40,000 impoverished people living in communities around the globe where Whole Foods Market sources products. These people, places and products have inspired us to create recipes honoring them.

To get in the spirit, check out these recipes inspired by Whole Planet Foundation microcredit clients from around the world:

Vegetable Biryani with Cashews

This satisfying vegetarian recipe was inspired by microcredit clients in India, where Whole Foods Market sources cashews.

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What a thrill to see that so many of you share our passion for perfectly aged Parmigiano Reggiano!  You can bet that it was not an easy task to narrow down the six finalists from the more than 1,000 mouth-watering recipes entered in our contest.

We hope you’ll agree that our top picks showcase the versatility of Parmigiano Reggiano and how creative you can be with this amazing cheese. Without further ado…congratulations to our winners:

Grand Prize:  Parmigiano Reggiano Crisps with Chocolate and Sea Salt

B. Estabrook of Rhinelander, WI

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano and chopped almonds are combined and baked to make round crisps, then dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt for an incredible sweet-savory combo made from just five ingredients. This innovative recipe can be served as an appetizer or dessert with a glass of red wine or maybe even prosecco. Either way, your guests will be impressed! And we bet you can’t eat just one.

First Place: Savory Parmigiano Reggiano Loaf with Pancetta, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Basil

J. Baron of Livonia, NY.

Second Place: Parmigiano Reggiano Ramekin Cheese Puffs

C. Kumpe of El Dorado, CA.

Third Place: Savory Cannoli con Parmigiano Reggiano

M. Anderson of Eagle, ID.

Fourth Place: Parmigiano Reggiano Blondies

T. Traynor of Winston-Salem, NC.

Fifth Place: Parmigiano Reggiano Grits with Corn and Vidalia Onion

K. Keegan of Memphis, TN.

Scroll through the other 1,000+ recipes and you’ll be amazed at all of the wonderful ways to eat Parmigiano Reggiano.

Many thanks go to our panel of judges for taking time out of their busy schedules to sample the top Parmigiano Reggiano dishes and make the tough decisions. Some people have all the luck!

Company-wide Wheel Cracking Event–February 27th, 3 p.m. EST

You can be just as lucky. On February 27th we’ll cap off our month-long celebration of the “King of Cheese” with a company-wide Parmigiano Reggiano wheel cracking event. At exactly 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) cheesemongers in all of our stores will crack open wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano at the same time . We’re hoping to outdo our 2008 record of 300 Parmigiano Reggiano wheels opened simultaneously. Be there to witness the event and try Parmigiano Reggiano samples, recipe demonstrations, food pairings, wine tastings (where allowed) and more.

In the meantime, go Behind the Rind and get to know more about the magnificent Parmigiano Reggiano with videos, recipes, cheese plate ideas and more.

Rice is rice, right? (Hmmm…say that three times fast!) Well, maybe not – at least not when it comes to wild rice. Contrary to the name, wild rice is not a member of the rice family at all. It belongs to a group of grasses that are native to North America. But, like rice, it grows in water; specifically, the shallow waters and gentle streams of fresh-water lakes found mainly around the Great Lakes. Much of the wild rice available these days is actually cultivated rather than harvested from growing wild. Read the rest of this entry »

Right around the middle of February we reach a point in the hard fruit season that often goes unnoticed in grocery stores throughout the country. This is the time of year when we find out if we have enough domestically produced, organically grown apples and pears in storage to make it until the fruit from the southern hemisphere starts to arrive. In the last few years this has not been a problem. Increased acreage in the U.S. Pacific Northwest has provided more than enough overlap for a seamless transition from the fall/winter domestic crop to the offshore imports of the spring and summer. This year is no different, but there are still some changes I make in how I buy (and store) apples. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t remember eating a lot of fresh herbs when I was a kid. In fact, I don’t remember anybody eating them, but what I do remember was the “little green tree” that would come as a garnish on my restaurant plate. And I also remember pushing that odd little tree to the side of the plate, never to be eaten. Then one day, I decided to venture into the land of mystery. What was this thing? What would happen to me if I ate it? I reasoned that if it was on my plate and touching my food then, by golly, I ought to be able to eat it and live to tell the tale, right? To be on the safe side, I checked with mom, who gave the go-ahead, and I dug in. Not bad, and even better when dipped into my Thousand Island salad dressing! Read the rest of this entry »

Last year around this time I posted a short piece titled “It’s Summer in February” about peak of summer fruit from Chile. I wrote that some of our favorite deals on the produce team are those where we know the grower and have seen the fruit in production across multiple seasons.

Time flies, it’s a whole year later and it’s summer in February once again. It may be winter in the States, but we’ll soon be enjoying a taste of summer from a grower that we love. Read the rest of this entry »

The cold weather hasn’t subsided yet, and neither has our craving for hot chocolate. Gina wrote in with a request to make a natural version of hot chocolate mix that her son can enjoy on Cub Scout outings, and we thought this would be the perfect time of year for such a recipe.
We made a new version of this seasonal favorite by making it from scratch. There are no artificial ingredients or flavors in our homemade hot chocolate recipe. And, this homemade treat makes a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift! Check out the recipe we developed for Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix.

Conventional hot chocolate mixes may be highly processed. For some of the brands we checked out, the lists of ingredients included things like corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil (a trans fat) and artificial flavors. Our simple mix contains only five ingredients, and you’ll immediately recognize all of them. And of course our version doesn’t include any artificial ingredients.  For flavor and aroma, we blended a vanilla bean with natural cane sugar to make aromatic vanilla sugar, and we used this to complement the cocoa in our mix.

Got a recipe that needs a natural makeover? Post it in the comments section below! If we select your recipe and publish the improved version on our website, we’ll send you a $25 Whole Foods Market gift card.

I’m a chocolate lover; you know that already. And I’m sensitive to caffeine; you know that, too. So, let’s be frank: When you love chocolate, it’s hard to find a replacement with the same flavor and mouth-feel, right? Enter carob. Not chocolate, not really. But a good place to start. In fact, there are plenty of times when I choose carob instead. Why? Unlike chocolate, carob is naturally sweet, low in fat, high in fiber, has calcium, and most importantly to me, no caffeine. And because chocolate is linked to migraines and caffeine-sensitivity for some people, carob definitely has its advantages.

Carob comes from the pod of a tree that grows along the Mediterranean Sea. The pod contains a sweet, edible pulp. Once dried and roasted, the pulp is ground into a powder called carob flour (but more commonly referred to as “carob powder”). It’s similar to cocoa powder in color and can be substituted one-for-one in recipes, but carob is unique with its own special flavor and texture. Read the rest of this entry »

Get cozy with a home-cooked meal this Valentine’s Day. You’ll avoid the crowds, save some money, and make exactly what you want! Here are some ideas to help you plan a top-notch homemade Valentine’s dinner.

Easy No-Cook Appetizers

Seafood Cucumber Stacks

Make these pretty little seafood bites, then take a break and enjoy them with a glass of sparkling wine before you tackle the rest of the meal.

Herb Crusted Goat Cheese

Prosciutto, Brie and Apricot Roll-Ups

Simple White Bean Spread

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Sure two’s company but coming up with ideas for feeding two on a budget every day may turn the best of us into someone it’s best to avoid. That’s where The Whole Deal meal planners come in. Our week long meal plan for two paves the way for delicious, affordable meals and takes the pressure off of you. Sit back and enjoy:

MONDAY: Veggie Monday

Try our Winter Greens with Carrots, Feta Cheese and Brown Rice recipe. And then have sliced organic navel oranges with honey and nuts. Leftovers are great for lunch. Read the rest of this entry »