You know what’s sweet? Giving a Whole Foods Market gift card. You know what’s even sweeter, giving a gift card and then getting a little something special for yourself.

Here’s the deal. Right now, and until supplies last, with a Whole Foods Market gift card purchase of $100 or more (whether you purchase one $100 gift card, five $20 gift cards or any other combination), you’ll receive a free The Perfect Sip gift box to treat yourself.**

The Perfect Sip contains three thoughtfully selected bags of whole beans from Allegro® Coffee. Besides being great beans, these roasts also help coffee-growing communities thrive. Here’s how:

• Allegro® African Blend: These beans are sourced from African coffee co-ops that are recognized as Good for All by the Jane Goodall Institute. The Jane Goodall Institute seeks to contribute to the preservation of great apes and their habitats by combining conservation with sustainable livelihoods in local communities.
• Allegro® Costa Rican Dota: This coffee is grown in a high mountain valley region of Costa Rica, of which 87% is a forest preserve. Our nonprofit partner, EARTH University, is dedicated to education in the agricultural sciences and natural resources in order to contribute to sustainable development in the tropics.
• Allegro® Rainforest Blend: This coffee is grown on Rainforest Alliance-certified farms in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Rainforest Alliance farms meet standards for environmental protection, social equity and economic viability.

The Perfect Sip as well as our Snack Express gift boxes are also available to order online, so you can send a treat to your loved ones across the miles. Waking up to a really nice cup of coffee, now that’s a thoughtful Valentine’s gift and a sweet way to treat yourself.

** Receive a free The Perfect Sip gift box with every gift card purchase of $100 or more. Online, new cards only (does not apply to gift card reloads). Offer is only available in the US, while supplies last. Free gift box will be shipped to the billing address of gift card purchaser.

Do you know a kid who speaks for the trees? Tell us your eco-hero’s story in our Kids for Our Planet contest. You just might win a screening of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in your hometown theatre for 200 friends and family on March 1^st, the night before the movie opens to the public. Read on to find out how to enter our Facebook contest.

Curious about Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax? Here’s how Universal Pictures describes the movie:

From the creators of Despicable Me and the imagination of Dr. Seuss comes the 3D-CG feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, an adaptation of the classic tale of a forest creature who shares the enduring power of hope.  The animated adventure follows the journey of a 12-year-old as he searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams.  To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

In hopes of spreading the eco-message of the film, we’ve partnered with Universal Pictures on our Kids for Our Planet contest as well as on pre-screening events and ticket giveaways in some of our stores. (Check here to see if your store’s included.)

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Are you familiar with the Martha Stewart Living Daily Giveaway? Each day visitors to their site can enter to win some great stuff. This month, the daily prize is a $50 Whole Foods Market Pantry Staples Stock Up. Yeah!

Awarded as a $50 Whole Foods Market gift card, winners can stock their pantries with our list of staples to keep on hand for healthier meals and a healthier budget. Running the gamut from beans, grains and oats to broths, diced tomatoes and pasta sauce, you’ll be fully stocked and prepared to drive past that drive thru in favor of healthy meals at home. Just add some fresh ingredients and spices and you’ll have everything you need to cook 14 of our favorite recipes.

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To celebrate the New Year, we want to show you that eating healthy can be affordable. Make your choices count by picking up our list of pantry staples — that rings up at about 50 bucks — and you’ll be set for healthier meals and a healthier budget. Running the gamut from beans, grains and oats to broth, diced tomatoes and pasta sauce, you’ll be prepared to drive past that drive thru in favor of healthy meals at home. Just add fresh ingredients and spices to have everything you need to cook 14 of our favorite recipes (we’ve listed them below).

To get the party started, we’re giving stuff away! All you need to do is send an email to pantrycontest@wholefoods.com by January 31st telling us what healthy foods are “must haves” for your pantry. We’ll select random emails in February for our pantry-focused giveaway. You might win:

$50 Pantry Staples Stock Up – We’re giving away 31 stock ups. Winners will receive a $50 Whole Foods Market® gift card along with a list of suggested pantry staples needed to make 14 of our healthy recipes.

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No other time of year is so richly steeped in tradition than the holiday season, and lucky for us, lots of those traditions involve cooking, eating and sharing great food.

We’ve all got memorable dishes and must-make recipes connected to this time of year. Maybe it’s Uncle Charlie’s extra-strong eggnog or Grandma Ruth’s red cabbage sauté. How about your own famous scalloped potatoes or a special-batch baklava you make every New Year’s Eve?

We want to know about your treasured holiday food tradition. Tell us about it in the comments section below by December 21 and we’ll pick a winner at random to receive a $50 Whole Foods Market® gift card.

To get in the spirit, we asked some Team Members to share their favorite food traditions.
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We love sharing the flavor of satsumas! In some cultures, it’s traditional to give citrus to friends and relatives for good wishes and we couldn’t agree more — satsumas make a perfect gift for the holiday season.

Bring a bright spot of citrusy sunshine to your holiday season with a box of satsumas and gift one to a friend — on us! Leave a comment below by December 13th telling us who you would share satsumas with and why. We’ll pick 10 winners at random to receive a 13-pound box of satsumas along with another box for the giftee of their choice.

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Read on for a chance to win a 5-CD set of Putumayo’s Christmas music. Dan Storper is the CEO and Founder of Putumayo World Music.

Looking for some new family Christmas music this holiday season?  We are excited to bring you our latest release, Celtic Christmas, an enchanting collection of Celtic music from Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada and United States. Celtic Christmas joins our other Christmas CDs: A Jazz & Blues Christmas, New Orleans Christmas, Christmas Around the World and World Christmas Party, which are sold at most Whole Foods Market stores.

Celtic Christmas offers Celtic interpretations of Christmas classics along with an original recording. The collection begins with the joyful singing of The Albion Christmas Band on “Here We Come A-Wassalling” and moves into Charles T. Cozen’s instrumental version of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.’” The Gothard Sisters update the classic “Little Drummer Girl” with fiddle and guitar, while DruidStones’ rendition of the French carol “Noel Nouvelet” features harp and harmonious vocals.

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CONGRATULATION TO OUR WINNER YESSENIA FROM CLERMONT, FL. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GREAT COMMENTS!

Wow! What an overwhelming response! We were moved (moved to tears in some cases) by your heartfelt stories. Congratulations to Yessenia T. from Florida who was randomly selected to win a $50 gift card. There certainly is so much to be thankful for and we hope that everyone had a memorable Thanksgiving.

Several years ago, I set myself the November challenge of posting on my Facebook page one thing I was thankful for every single day of the month. It surprised me how simply focusing on gratitude shifted my perspective and lightened my mood. And sharing that gratitude was uplifting to my friends and family, too!

In honor of thankfulness, we’re holding a contest. For a chance to win a $50 Whole Foods Market gift card, all you have to do is respond in the comments section below by November 24 (which just so happens to be Thanksgiving!) with a few sentences describing “The Thanksgiving I’m Most Thankful For.” The winner will be chosen at random so you don’t have to be an English major, just willing to share your story of gratitude with the rest of us.

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YumSugar and Whole Foods Market have teamed up this holiday season to give one lucky YumSugar newsletter subscriber a chance to win a $1,000 Whole Foods Market gift card and to help raise money for Whole Kids Foundation. During each week leading up to Thanksgiving, YumSugar will launch a new recipe slideshow — featuring Whole Foods Market’s fabulous recipes — focusing on a different part of the big meal (main dish, side dish, desserts). At the end of each slideshow you can vote for your favorite dish and sign up for their newsletter for a chance to win. For every vote cast, YumSugar will donate 25 cents (up to $5000) to the Whole Kids Foundation. Read the rest of this entry »

Our grocery team is always working to bring innovative and great-tasting natural and organic products to our stores. Lucky for me, I get a sneak peek of what’s made the cut, and this stuff is too good to keep to myself!

Each month, I share a few of the products we’re most excited about so you can try something new, too. A lot of these products are only available in our stores, and you’ll be the first on the block to try them. Take a minute to tell us and other shoppers what you think by rating and reviewing them on our product pages.

Without further ado, here’s what’s on our list for November. Add them to your online shopping list with a few clicks of the mouse.

Harmless Harvest Organic 100% Raw Coconut Water

• Nothing is added (or subtracted!) from this pure and organic raw coconut water
• Made from a responsibly harvested, exceptionally sweet and fragrant coconut variety native to Thailand
• A cutting-edge, heatless, high-pressure process guarantees it is truly raw while ensuring food safety

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