Earth Month offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate our planet and create awareness about how we can all help save it by protecting the environment. What better way to lead the way than throwing a kid-friendly party for the planet?

The March/April issue of The Whole Deal value guide is overflowing with spring savings, Earth-friendly ideas and party-perfect recipes that are festive as well as easy on the pocketbook. In addition, you can find plenty of money-saving tips for Spring celebrations including a kid-friendly salute to Mother Earth.

Earth Month encourages everyone to reduce, reuse, recycle and in this party plan, we’re adding two more elements: rethink and redesign.

Reduce waste by serving foods that don’t require plates and cutlery. Finger foods are fun and kid friendly and there’s just no need to provide disposables that could end up in the landfill. Besides, kids don’t want to sit still that long at a party anyway. Some of our favorites featured in the March/April issue of The Whole Deal include Irish Cheddar Potato Bites and Organic Strawberries and Cream Cookies.

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Spring is a time to celebrate! But no need to break the bank while entertaining friends and family for Easter, Passover or other spring festivities. The March/April issue of The Whole Deal value guide is overflowing with spring savings and fresh recipes that are festive as well as friendly on the pocketbook. Try these seasonal favorites!

Start the party with Lemon Tarragon Smoked Salmon Spread, a simple recipe that can be made up to two days ahead and is sure to impress your guests. The recipe serves 8 for $1.29 per serving* and uses our “Responsibly Farmed” salmon, which is raised to meet our strict standards for protecting the environment and is grown without antibiotics, added hormones or land-animal by products in their feed. Serve with 365 Everyday Value® Organic Water Crackers, priced under $3 as one of the Sure Deals for spring.

As an appetizer or occasion-worthy side dish, Irish Cheddar Potato Bites will have your guests and family coming back for more. If you’re serving a spiral-sliced ham as the main course, remove a little bit from it ahead of time for this recipe or feel free to use beef brisket or broccoli in place of the ham. Enjoy this recipe with an Irish flair by using two Sure Deal ingredients, Kerrygold Kilaree Cheddar and Kerrygold Unsalted Pure Irish Butter. Serves 8 at $1.40 per serving.*

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Enjoy the vibrant flavor of spring­­ – and savings – with one of the season’s favorite side dishes: roasted asparagus. When you buy asparagus in season and cook it at home, you’ll not only get a delicious springtime dish but you’ll save some green along with it.

Roasting is an easy technique that intensifies the flavors of vegetables. The super-simple Roasted Asparagus recipe, featured in the March/April issue of The Whole Deal value guide, is a great one to master because roasting not only works well with asparagus but it’s also tops for sliced root vegetables, onions, and even broccoli.

This basic recipe, serves four for about $1.26 per serving. You can easily double the recipe for company, so long as the asparagus isn’t crowded in the roasting pan. Substitute organic asparagus and citrus for only about 35¢ more per serving. Keep in mind, we do our best to estimate the cost of ingredients but slight variations are possible.

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Hooray for Spring! It’s the time of year when most of us feel the urge for fresh and new, from spring cleaning to new ideas for honoring Mother Earth (Earth Day is April 22^nd). In the March/April issue of The Whole Deal value guide we’re sowing the seeds of fresh, clean and green so you can reap the value.

Overflowing with spring savings, this issue of The Whole Deal value guide has $45+ in coupons online and in the in-store print guide. Plus, you can count on even more value with 12 new Sure Deals, nine fresh recipes, five simple skillet dinners and a weeklong budget meal plan for four.

Designed to make bargains easy to spot, The Whole Deal will have you saving on Spring, entertaining with eggcellence, sharing unleavened with levity and enjoying Earth Month with ease!

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Want health and value? Shop in our bulk department! Bulk bins at Whole Foods Market offer a great variety of pantry basics and staples to support your healthy-eating plan at substantial cost savings. By buying only the amounts you need, additional savings come from less waste. Plus, it’s a great way to help the environment.

For value, bulk buying simply can’t be beat. And there are additional benefits to taking advantage of the variety of ingredients in bulk bins:

• Bins are replenished often so ingredients are super fresh.
• Because you can buy as much or as little as you need, you can experiment with new products without getting stuck with a lot of something that doesn’t suit you.
• Many of the bulk offerings are organically grown.
• You save money by not paying for fancy labels.
• All bulk items are required to meet Whole Foods Market’s strict Quality Standards, so you’re still getting the highest-quality of products.

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As millions of football fans tune into the big game on February 6, party snacks will be as much a part of the playbook as first-run commercials, over-the-top halftime performances and gridiron gridlock. One of the most popular football-watching snacks is guacamole. Often made with avocados, onion, garlic, lime juice and spices, guacamole can be served on top of nachos or as a dip, usually accompanied with tortilla chips.

If you’re a fan of guacamole, we’ve got a game day strategy that adds nutrients and saves money. Substitute green peas for some of the avocado and you have a delicious, traditional-tasting guacamole that is healthier and less expensive – only about 45 cents* per serving. Our recipe featured in the January-February issue of The Whole Deal and online for Green Pea Guacamole serves 12 so it’s perfect for a crowd. And you can keep it even more on the healthy side by serving this smooth and tangy dip with fresh, crunchy crudités such as radishes, carrot sticks and sugar snap peas.

So what’s the deal with avocados? Although they are available year-round, avocados are a popular ingredient in recipes for game day. This nutrient-rich fruit (yes, it’s a fruit and not a vegetable!) is great in salads, on sandwiches or eaten by itself.

When selecting an avocado, color alone may not tell the whole story. Depending on the variety, avocados can turn dark green or black when ripe or some varieties keep their light-green skin when ripe. Avoid fruit with dark blemishes on the skin or those that are over soft. The best way to tell if an avocado is ready to eat is to gently squeeze the fruit in the palm of your hand. Ripe, ready-to-eat avocados will be firm yet will yield to gentle pressure.

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With many New Year’s resolutions centered on eating healthier and saving money, it’s easy to do both when you learn to cook or cook at home more often. Plus, you get the added benefit of sharing delicious meals with your family, cooked just the way you like them.

Why is cooking at home more affordable and healthy?

• Going out to eat costs both time and money. Whether you’re dining alone or with your family, it takes time to get to the restaurant, wait to be seated, order, wait for your meal to be served, eat and then drive home. In less time than it takes you to eat out, you can prepare a home-cooked meal.

• It’s no secret that it costs more to dine out than to cook at home. How much more? Of course it depends on where you are dining out but a family of four can easily spend $25 + for one meal whereas recipes such as Ancient Grain Stuffed Red Bell Peppers, featured in the latest issue of The Whole Deal costs approximately $3.86* per serving or less than $16 – and you don’t have to leave a tip!

• When cooking at home, you are in charge! In many cases, restaurants use salt, sugar and oil to enhance the flavor of their dishes and the ingredients can be over used. If you’re cooking, you can control how much of these ingredients are used as well as being able to customize the recipes to your taste and dietary needs. Reducing the amount of salt, sugar and oil in your meals can be a healthier option.

• Make more, eat less! When cooking at home, it’s easy to make additional quantities so you can have leftovers for lunch the next day or have dinner ready to go. And, you’re in charge of portion sizes so you don’t have to worry about eating that huge serving of fries that came with the burger you ordered. Most of us tend to eat what is served to us and what we pay for at a restaurant. By cooking for yourself, you control the portion sizes.

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Here’s a New Year’s resolution we can help you keep – eat healthier on a budget! We’re ready to help you save your way to a healthier you with the January/February issue of The Whole Deal value guide. Kick start the new year with over $50 in manufacturer coupons, recipes, and money-saving tips plus a 7-day Health Starts Here™ meal planner.

Coupons – print the coupons you want, when you want

Sure Deals! – high-quality products where you get more of the good stuff for less than you think

Three Under $3 – at $2.99 or less, you won’t find a better value than our selection of Three Under $3 items

Healthy Eating Meal Planner - offers a week’s worth of menu ideas (breakfast, lunch and dinner!), recipes and a shopping list for a fresh start to health

Budget-Friendly Recipes – recipes just right for you and your wallet

As always, The Whole Deal in-store value guide is packed with tips and ideas to get 2011 off to a healthy and budget-happy start. Check out these money-saving, time-saving and health-saving tips:

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Got a few more hurrahs in store for 2010 before welcoming the New Year? These top tips from The Whole Deal value guide will have you entertaining the idea of using high-quality ingredients without high costs when you entertain. Have a happy and affordable New Year celebration!

1. PLAN AND CALCULATE

Plan meals and make shopping lists (on paper, online or on your iphone), being mindful of how much to buy and serve for how many people. Use the servings calculator on our Holidays 2010 site.

2. CHOOSE CROWD-FRIENDLY RECIPES

Make hearty, satisfying, affordable recipes. Big-pot meals with self-serve condiments are ideal: chili, curry, red beans and rice, stew, etc. Your helper is wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes.

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December is a serious shopping month. Seriously. While we can’t provide any advice to help you with the craziness at the mall (other than avoiding them!), we do know the ins and outs of getting the most out of your shopping at Whole Foods Market. Here are our favorite tips for getting the good stuff — and the basics — at the best prices possible.

1. SHOP THE SALES

More than 1000 items are on sale in our store right now. Sign up for our e-newsletters for what’s on sale, and in the store look for the sale signs to save!

2. GET YOUR VOLUME DISCOUNTS

Get discounted pricing on many items when you buy a full case or more than a certain amount at once, including cases of party favorites like tonic water and our Top 10 Holiday Wines in most stores. Get the details at Customer Service.

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