Whole Foods: How to shop smart!
When shopping at Whole Foods I try to find the best deals and sales. I use the Whole Foods app along with the Ibotta app to save money. Both are great ways to shop smart and save!! Download Ibotta here https://ibotta.com/r/kxxqlxi Many people are scared of Whole Foods due to the prices, and yes some items are on the pricier side. I also may be a little impartial to Whole Foods, since I have photographed several and know my way around them very well. So I am here to change your mind about shopping at your local WF, and each teach you smarter ways to shop at Whole Foods. By all means still shop at other grocery stores, I do, but give Whole Foods a shot too!
If you walk into a Whole Foods blindly you are going to spend way too much money and have buyers remorse- we don't want that! A few things to to keep in mind while browsing the aisles- 365 brand is Whole Food's own brand like Great Value at Wal-Mart. I always choose 365 products and the prices are similar to Great Value. The hot bar, cookie island, and the bbq hot bar (each store varies) will get you in trouble really fast. Each of those stations are weighted and you are charged by the pound, and yes you are going to fill that box with WAY more food than you need and there's no turning back. Another pay by the pound option is the prepared food case, just be conscience of what you're buying. Sometimes it is ok to be lazy, but you can make those dishes at home and spend way less.
This Sunday I went to get a few groceries for the week and ran across some items on sale that I wanted to try. Rice cauliflower was on sale for $3.99 and yes I have tried to grate a cauliflower before to make mashed cauliflower. Let's just say it didn't turn out that well! I wanted to go the fried rice route this time. Cece's Veggie Noodle Co. also offers other great veggie alternatives to several carbs. Check them out!
Seriously, Try some!
I like to grab several veggies for the week and my go to veggies are peppers, avocados, broccoli, and brussel sprouts. Most of those veggies tend to be on sale several times throughout the month. This week yellow, green, and red peppers were on sale and they had avocados 5 for $5 and they are GOOD! Super fresh and full of flavor!
Next stop was the meat case- not only was I out of meat, but there is a cute butcher so it is a win win! I like to see what is on sale to make my menu for the week. Sirloin was on sale this week at $7.99/lb, so I decided to go for steak fried rice as one dish. I explained to the butcher how I wanted to use the sirloin, so he trimmed the fat and sliced it up for me! I was able to get more bang for my buck by trimming the fat. I would not want that for the fried rice, so it did not make sense to pay for it. I also got some thick cut pork chops on sale for $3.99/lb. The meat is always fresh and never frozen, and you can tell the difference!
This was taken at the Fayetteville, AR store opening- March 2, 2016.
Fried rice calls for sesame seed oil, so I ventured off down that aisle. I found the sesame oil and other deals! Saffron Road has simmer sauce packets in 4 different flavors- they were 2 for $5! Why not add something else new to my delicious meal? Steak fried rice quickly turned into a Korean Stir Fry/Fried Rice fusion. If you're wondering, these sauce packets are $2.69 at Wal-Mart, so it was a good buy.
Click for more options!
Last stops were some essentials, Milk-365 brand milk, my favorite cold brew coffee-High Brew Cold Brew 4 Packs @ $7.99 which is cheaper than Wal-Mart at $2.19/can or WF often sells them 2 for $4, and my go to breakfast sandwiches- Evol. I can only find these at WF's and they are often 2 for $4 too. I was spending way too much money and calories on a coffee and breakfast pastry every morning, so I have my morning routine down to half the cost and calories.
I am excited to help you learn, while I learn, how to shop smart! Each week I will blog my tips and what is on sale! I'll be posting the Korean Stir Fry/Fried Rice fusion recipe soon!
Images Credit:
Evol https://www.evolfoods.com/our-food/breakfast/breakfast-sandwiches
High Brew https://www.highbrewcoffee.com/collections/coffee
Cece's Veggie Noodle Co. https://www.cecesveggieco.com/products/
Saffron Road https://saffronroad.com/our-products/
All other images were taken by Kerri McMahon Photo for Whole Foods Market.