Whole Foods Market once earned itself a joking but arguably accurate nickname: Whole Paycheck.
Although its reputation for high prices started to change when Amazon took over, that still
doesn't mean everything is a good deal. Here are the top things you shouldn't buy at Whole
Foods.
It can be tempting to end your Whole Foods trip with a quick stop at the salad bar or
hot bar. The vast selection of fresh fruits, veggies, and hot entrees make for an easy
on-the-go lunch or take-home dinner. But these buffets can also harbor illness-causing bacteria
such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria. One of the worst offenders is pre-cut fruit.
According to a BabyCenter article by dietitian and nutritionist Naras Lapsys, Listeria "thrives"
on the skin of cantaloupes.
Serving yourself a ready-made meal at Whole Foods can also be extremely expensive. If
you do decide to splurge, Cooking Light has some tips to keep the cost factor down: Limit
yourself to one tong-full of lighter veggies. Squeeze or shake excess water from items before
placing them in your container. Avoid heavy items like grilled veggies, and keep your
dressing on the side.
Treating yourself to a bright and cheerful bouquet of flowers can be a sort of victory
lap after a successful grocery store trip. Whole Foods does a great job of luring shoppers
in with beautiful bouquets and colorful blooms. But if you find yourself tempted by the botanical
displays, you may want to stop and reconsider before shelling out the extra cash.
"Yes! The most beautiful and shockingly expensive of all the flowers."
The Kitchn notes that Whole Foods generally charges about $9.99 for a modest bunch of
mixed flowers. You can get a very similar curated creation at Trader Joe's for nearly
half that: $5.99. A dozen roses at Whole Foods will cost you around $12.99 as opposed to
$6.99 at Trader Joe's.
But those more expensive flowers must be better quality, right? Not necessarily. One Kitchn
writer revealed that she repeatedly found that the flowers she bought at Whole Foods
barely lasted a few days.
According to CNBC, Morgan Stanley determined that the price of meat at Whole Foods is generally
34 percent higher than that of other large grocery chains. And even with that higher
price, you're not always getting a cut above the competition. Bloomberg reported that the
Open Prairie Natural Angus Beef sold at Whole Foods is actually produced by the same food
giant that makes Tyson, a brand you can find in almost any grocery store. Meanwhile, the
Meyer Natural Angus Beef on Whole Foods shelves comes from a Cargill processing facility.
This doesn't mean that the meat isn't of good quality; it just shows that you can get a
similar caliber item at another store for a whole lot less money.
"They just seem that interested in it. They said well we can get this pork cheaper somewhere
else."
It's worth noting, in fairness, that you can get more than a piece of meat for your money
at Whole Foods. According to the chain's website, the butchers at each store will tie your roast
by hand, cut steaks to order, and even marinate your meat selection. So some of what you pay
is for those services.
Second verse, same as the first: You might think that you're getting a better-quality
chicken when you shop at Whole Foods, but, many times, the store's poultry selection
is on a level with that of its more mainstream competitors. Brand perception could have you
paying significantly more for essentially the same product. Bloomberg found that many
of Whole Foods 365 brand chickens were raised by Perdue farmers and processed in the same
facility used by the poultry giant. David Sprinkle, a researcher at Packaged Facts,
said,
"What used to be more unique...has now become really par for the course, certainly among
your larger chains and your progressive grocers."
Whole Foods and stores like it have essentially raised the standards for everyone with stringent
meat standards calling for cage- and hormone-free regulations. Bloomberg reports:
"The gulf has narrowed, and sometimes has even closed, between what's sold at Whole
Foods and what's produced by industrial food giants such as Perdue Farms Inc. and sold
at lower-cost supermarkets."
Sorry to break it to you, but those french fry-shaped veggie straws and 365 brand multi-colored
chips you've been happily munching on are in no way a substitute for vegetables. They're,
quite frankly, not that much better than regular old potato chips.
"When you read the ingredient list on most of these packages, the first ingredient is
potato. So you can read that as potato chips!"
Business Insider reports that 40 of those veggie chips will add up to 130 calories.
And since they are not particularly nutritious or even moderately filling, you're not fueling
your body with the energy it needs.
To put it bluntly, the word "veggie" on the label is very misleading. Time notes that
many of these types of chips, not just the ones at Whole Foods, have a "health halo effect."
In other words, they trick us into thinking we're eating something relatively harmless
or even good for us. The packaging is deceptive and can lead people to believe they are getting
health benefits, but they're not. In this instance, there is a negligible amount of
real veggies in your veggie chips.
The aroma of the coffee section of Whole Foods can be especially alluring to java fans. But
don't give in to temptation unless you really want to spend big on your beans. According
to CBS News, you and your wallet are better off bagging beans and grinds somewhere like
Trader Joe's. The price difference for a similar selection can be quite significant.
High-end super markets, Whole Foods and otherwise, are not the ideal place to buy coffee. Beans
and ground coffee often sit on the shelves for longer than intended. Ric Rhinehart, executive
director of the Specialty Coffee Association, told The Washington Post.
"If you really want to enjoy the coffee, buy it within a week of the roast, buy it locally
and drink it within a week of purchasing it."
The Post found that many boutique brand coffee roasters found their bags of beans sitting
stagnant at Whole Foods long after their listed best-buy dates. And while that doesn't make
the coffee unsafe to drink, it's certainly not ideal in terms of taste and quality.
Not everything at Whole Foods is a bad deal, though. Here are a few things you should definitely
look for next time you find yourself in one:
There are tons of yogurt brands on the market. Many varieties are healthy and nutritious,
but quite a few others are deceptively loaded with sugar and preservatives. Fortunately,
if you shop at Whole Foods, you can feel confident that you're getting a more thoughtfully curated
selection. According to the grocery chain's website, all the yogurts on their shelves
contain "no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives."
The refrigerated section at Whole Foods is chock full of delicious and creamy yogurts.
The expert testers at Spoon University tasted their way through every blueberry yogurt they
could find at one Whole Foods and created a ranked list, with their absolute favorite
being Wallaby Organic Lowfat Greek yogurt.
There are also plenty of picks for those on a dairy-free diet. As VegNews revealed in
2019, Whole Foods launched its own 365 line of vegan yogurts made with almond milk. The
store also carries the highly-rated Kite Hill dairy-free yogurts and Forager cashew-milk
yogurts.
If you have thus far avoided the potentially overwhelming bulk department of Whole Foods
Market, take another look. There are loads of tasty morsels, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices,
beans, pasta, oats and more, to enjoy in excess or in moderation. As noted by Cooking Light,
you can buy as much or as little of an item as you want, so it is a great place to discover
new and exciting flavors without making a big commitment.
You can purchase the exact amount needed for a specific recipe, making it is a less wasteful,
more sustainable way to shop. Best of all, purchasing an ingredient from this help-yourself
section of Whole Foods is usually less expensive than buying the same pre-packaged item. Cooking
Light sums it up:
"Take fancy marketing and labels out of the equation, the prices drop like magic."
"I don't spend extra on packaging. I buy only what I need and my kids love it here."
Stocking up on fresh fruits and veggies at Whole Foods can add up quickly. While some
items are worth the splurge, you may be better off scooping up much of your bounty elsewhere:
The frozen section, where you can pick up a bulk bag of store-brand organic frozen berries
or vegetables.
As noted by The Kitchn, these items are generally well priced, between $3 and $5. And frozen
fruit won't spoil, at least, nowhere near as quickly, so you can whip up a delicious
smoothie or dessert any day, yearound, regardless of what's currently in season. Fruits that
are going to be frozen are often picked when they're perfectly ripe, since they're frozen
soon after being harvested. They retain their nutritional value, and, unlike fresh fruit,
they aren't often treated with chemicals, Healthline reports.
One area you won't want to pass up at Whole Foods is the bakery. According to The Kitchn,
most of the baked goods are baked right on site. This is not your regular old grocery
store's collection of stale breads and generic sponge cakes.
Are Whole Foods' baked goods more expensive? Yes, but in this case it's worth it. You can
see and taste the difference. Whole Foods confirms on its website that their...
"Breads, cakes, cookies, pies and more are made with unbleached, unbromated flour [and
do not include] hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners."
According to Progressive Grocer, the test kitchen at Whole Foods' mid-Atlantic regional
headquarters in Maryland was recently equipped with a New York WaterMaker, which replicates
the taste and specific conditions of New York water for optimal baking of items like pizza,
bagels, and other bread and pastry items.
You can skip the perfume-heavy beauty counters at overcrowded mall department stores. Next
time you need haircare products, makeup, or skincare products, try the personal-care section
of your local Whole Foods. There's a wide array of options for your unique needs and,
while the company's own 365 line of basic products are well regarded, especially the
coconut oil, there are other amazing brands to be discovered as well. According to Self,
some of the must-try, best-selling products include Dr. Hauschka Translucent Body Tint,
Trilogy Rosehip Oil, and Weleda Skin Food, all of which range between $9 and $30.
Amy Jargo, a global senior category merchant for Whole Body at Whole Foods, told Mindbodygreen
that the store's loyal customers like to buy both their food and their cosmetics there
since they are not only cognizant of the food they consume, but also concerned with the
ingredients in their personal care items. She said:
"Our goal is to provide the highest quality natural and organic beauty and body care products
for our customers and do the research so they don't have to."
She further explained that Whole Foods has banned over 100 common, potentially harmful
ingredients present in many of the everyday beauty items widely sold at other stores.
Whole Foods has a vast array of fresh fish on display. It can be an intimidating part
of the store at first glance, but, luckily, you don't have to be a seafood connoisseur
to get quality selections. And the experts at Whole Foods are more than willing to help
you select the fish that's just right for you. The store's website boasts the amazing
things their fishmongers can do for you, and it's a whole lot more than wrapping up a piece
of salmon. They'll tell you where your pick is from, how it was raised and caught, and
even suggest the best ways to prepare it. Plus, they'll debone fish for fillets, peel
and devein shrimp, and crack crab shells for you. They'll season or marinate your selection
too.
"Hey, this is real smoked salmon from Nova Scotia, Canada, $24.95 a pound! It only cost
me $14.12 after tax, though."
According to Business Insider, Whole Foods
"[Exceeds the strictest] quality standards for fish of any grocery store and is committed
to sustainable seafood and responsible farming."
So while the beef and chicken might come from where all the other stores' meat comes from,
the fish is something special. Choose the fish.
"What was it we had for dinner tonight?"
"Well, we had a choice. Steak or fish."
"Yes, yes. I remember. I had lasagna."
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