Tips for Saving Money at Whole Foods
About a month or so ago, I received an email from Whole Foods asking me about partnering together to create a one-week meal plan for me and Ryan that included two meals each day for the two of us for $125. (Full disclosure: I was provided a $125 gift card.) Since getting a little creative in the kitchen is one of my favorite things, I was more than game and immediately started brainstorming ideas for a healthy and delicious meal plan.
The first step in my meal plan journey involved attending a value tour at my local Whole Foods led by Jennifer, the regional marketing specialist at Whole Foods in Charlotte. Jennifer and I walked around the store and chatted for about an hour while she pointed out lots of money-saving tips and tricks.
Some key takeaways:
- Check the bimonthly Whole Deal brochure which features more than $45 of savings per issue on average (you can also find these coupons at www.wholefoodsmarket.com/coupons) and check out weekly sales fliers, One Day Sales and sale items throughout the store.
- Sign up for your local store’s newsletter and follow them on Facebook and Twitter to receive bonus coupons, budget-friendly recipes, and notices of sales and more.
- Shop seasonally.
- Cut costs, literally. If you need only half a cabbage, sandwich, chunk of cheese, fish fillet, loaf of fresh bread, etc., simply ask a team member to help you get (and pay for) only the amount you need.
- Utilize the bulk bins to buy as much or as little as you need.
- Check out the 365 Everyday Value line for hundreds of affordable organics, including peanut butter, organic frozen veggies, pasta, sauce, canned tomatoes, soups and more.
- Consider purchasing Value Packs to help you get fish and meat at a better price, and allow you to use only what you need.
- Look for budget-friendly pricing on lesser-known cuts such as boneless sirloin, flat iron steak or skirt steak.
- Receive discounted pricing on most items when you buy a full case.
- Make the most of your leftovers with the Whole Foods Market recipes app, which allows you to save recipes, create meal plans and shopping lists, view sales items at your local store and more.
When it was time for me to create my two-meals-a-day meal plan, I opted for breakfast and dinner since breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and dinner is often the meal that requires the most planning in our house. When I set out to do shopping for our meals, there were a few hiccups in my plan. My father-in-law was in town, so our dinners needed to be able to feed three people and I knew we’d likely be going out to dinner once or twice. Whole Foods wanted the meal plan to include two meals each day, but food I bought did cover breakfast, lunch and dinner for me and breakfast and dinner for Ryan. (Ryan actually did bring his lunch to work using food from our grocery haul a couple of times, but he also ate at his workplace cafeteria or out with coworkers during the week as well, so I’m not counting his lunchtime meals.)
And a few important notes: We went out to dinner twice during the week because we wanted to take my father-in-law out to some of our favorite local hotspots, so we did not consume two of the planned dinners on the “correct” days (Tuesday and Friday) but we ate the “dinners” for lunch for two of the days during the week. I hope this makes sense! The meal plan is just a guideline for our breakfasts and dinners, but I wanted to be sure to actually make and eat everything, too, which we did!
As I shopped for our food, I did a lot of price comparisons (buying in bulk ended up being the cheapest every time!) and clipped coupons to save money, like I usually do each week.
I was truly surprised when I went through the checkout line and only spent $69.76! I ended up going through the line again and picking up more food to use to get closer to the $125 total.
Our total for the week ended up being $115.20, but it did not include the jar of peanut butter I also used in the meal plan that we already had at home. (I figured being $10 under budget made up for the peanut butter since that would be an easy purchase within the budget.)
Here is what our one-week meal plan looked like:
- Breakfast: Tortilla topped with banana, peanut butter and cinnamon
- Dinner: Fish tacos with (frozen) mahi mahi, black beans, chopped romaine lettuce and pico de gallo
- Breakfast: Overnight oats made with oatmeal, Greek yogurt, honey and raw almonds
- Dinner: Turkey and ham rollups with romaine, tomatoes and pumpkin seeds, served with apple slices
- Breakfast: Cottage cheese topped with a sliced apple, cinnamon, almonds and pumpkin seeds
- Dinner: 365 Everyday Value whole wheat linguine with steamed spinach and 365 Everyday Value marinara, served with roasted broccoli
- Breakfast: Two waffles topped with a dippy egg and tomato slices, served with a plum on the side
- Dinner: Chopped salad with romaine, ham, tomatoes, black beans, edamame, wheat berries and pumpkin seeds
- Breakfast: Two waffles served with a cup of Greek yogurt
- Dinner: Baked chicken breasts with sweet potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts
- Breakfast: Three-minute egg white oatmeal, topped with chopped almonds
- Dinner: Crockpot lentil wheat berry soup <—We loved this soup!!!
Crockpot Lentil Wheat Berry Soup
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups dry lentils
- 3/4 wheat berries
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (depending on taste)
- 1/2 – 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (depending on taste)
Directions
- Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours. Serve and enjoy!
- Breakfast: Strawberry, mango and spinach smoothie
- Dinner: Leftover lentil and wheat berry soup
Giveaway
Now Whole Foods Market wants to give you guys a chance to shop at their store and create some healthy budget-friendly recipes.
FIVE readers will win a $25 gift card to Whole Foods!
To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me about some of your favorite Whole Foods finds!
I will randomly select five winners on Friday.
Good luck!
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Whole foods is fabulous. I love going there after a long hike to sit and have lunch from the food bar! I suppose that makes it my favorite thing??
I love the bulk bins to try new stuff without buying a giant package!
This is great, Julie! I have found the bulk bins at Whole Foods to be a huge cost savings for me. I use them for nuts, grains and beans. It is also great for spice when you only require a small amount. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
breads! I love Whole Food’s breads. Also the bulk foods selection is amazing.
I love their fresh pressed juices! Their apple, lemon, ginger one is amazing!
All of their gluten free finds, it’s wonderful!
I love the fresh ground peanut butter!
I am having to follow a dairy free diet for my babies so Whole Foods is very helpful in finding products I can eat such as almond milk, soy yogurt, coconut ice cream! I am spending more time there than usual.
Hi! I love their sushi! I also love going for lunch and getting baked chicken and two sides. Their kale salad is amaze!
All of the locally grown fruits and vegetables!
I love making different homemade granolas with items from the bulk section. Also love their coffee!
Hi! I too am a whole foods bin shopper. I also like to just go and eat lunch. I love this post because I never walk out of there feeling like I got a deal. I LOVE Whole Foods though so I never walk out feeling guilty either. 🙂
Thanks for the tips!
Recently picked up fresh salmon and learned a easy new way to cook it from the fish man at whole foods! Has become a favorite meal. Also love WF cheese selection
I love the Whole Foods bulk bins– they have unsweetened shredded coconut that I add to everything! Also, their pre-made salsas are amazing!
I love whole foods 365 line and bulk bins! Great source for delicious, healthy food!
Best Whole Foods find are their selection of Amy’s Pizza and all their breads! I wish I could shop there all the time!
I love whole foods! My favorites are the fresh produce and the grind yourself almond butter and peanut butter!
I like this post overall, but $125 for 2 people for a week (for only 2 meals per day) really isn’t much of a challenge in my mind. While I could afford $125 per week, it seems unnecessary and I would much rather spend less (and save more!)
I love their burgers from the butcher area. The garden veggie and ultimate burger are so good. They are huge and tasty!
I love their juices and hot bar for sure!
I’m a big fan of Whole Foods. I absolutely love the hot bar, their selection of organic cereals, Greek yogurts and the fresh produce section!
Lunch from the food bar!
I found acorn squash last night on sale for .69/lb! I have been wanting to try a recipe with this for a while now!
Love their hot bar/salad bar and bulk bins.
I love their coffee. I used to do my grocery shopping at WF in college and stumbled upon their coffee bar one Sunday morning (much needed! 😉 ). I actually prefer it over Starbucks, but out of convenience tend to go to Starbucks more.
I am happy to see that I currently have EVERYTHING in my pantry for the Lentil Wheat Berry Soup!! Looks like that will be dinner tomorrow! 😉
I love our Whole Foods here in Tampa – it is such a well maintained store… if only parking/parking lot wasn’t such a disaster, I’d certainly go there more! (It also helps that it is in the same plaza as Target, Home Goods, & Nordstrom Rack!!). Most of my favorite finds come from the dessert section…. But I do love Whole Foods for their flowers too! Always so pretty and for a great, great price! And I can *always* find lilies!
I like the freshly-ground PB!
LOVE their salad bar for a healthy lunch or dinner. Their 365 products are also super affordable which I love! Can’t wait to try the slowcooked lentil soup recipe! Thanks 🙂
I love their nut butter selection and their prepared hot food section!
I LOVE the salad bar and of course their guacamole !
My favorite thing is finding gluten and dairy free items!
We are huge fans of the bulk bins! Sometimes it’s tough to cook for two and buying able to buy only what we need and can use before it spoils or goes stale is really helpful! Also, the veggie broth is our favorite for price and taste!
I would love to explore the bulk bins and see what they have to offer.
LOVE the salad and hot food bars (and recently we got a cookie bar too–super addictive!) 🙂
My husband and I love the fresh pre-made burgers. There are so many different flavors to choose from!
I love their granola in bulk! Their wild blueberry flax & strawberry vanilla hemp are both equally delicious. Lastly, their entire bakery section is my weakness.
I love the whole foods peanut butter and almond butter!
As a vegan and college student eating can get really pricey! You did a great job though I’m seriously impressed! My fav things there are the vegan dark chocolate bars I can always find the cashew and coconut butters, their 365 marinara (so cheap) and the beets in orange juice and ginger from their salad bar!
I love the hot food bar!
I love their bakery section! Folloed very closely by the hot bar
I love the bulk bins and all the specialty cheeses!
Love their salad bar!
Geez that’s a hard pick! I would say their brand of chocolate chunks and almond butter. It’s a winning combo and I love the 365 brand!
Herbed turkey from the WF deli counter = life changing. Also, I could eat off the salad bar for the rest of my life and be entirely content.
I love to buy the bulk nuts/trail mix! And Whole Foods 365 day brand almond milk! Love this giveaway BTW!!!!
The bulk bins at Whole Foods are my favorite!
I recently decided to try a more vegetarian lifestyle due to many stomach issues, and I am obsessed with Whole Foods’s mock chicken nuggets! So yummy, especially with a big salad from the salad bar and one of their many delicious smoothies!
I am obsessed with their cheese selection!!! They always have a different kind out to try, which almost always ends in us buying that one.
That lentil wheat berry soup looks incredible! Especially since the temperatures are dropping and fall is here!
I’ve actually never been to a Whole Foods. We have never lived near one and would definitely like to check it out someday! Thanks for sharing, Julie!
We recently moved to a new town and there is a Whole Foods down the street from us! My favorite meal I ever bought from Whole Foods is their: Pistachio crusted salmon with mustard. It is in the raw fish section, so all we had to do was bake it for a few minutes in our oven. Since I crave this dish at least once per week, we tried to think of a budget friendly way to make it. We learned that if we buy plain raw salmon and the pistachio mix separately it is cheaper than the pre-made version. It only takes an extra two minutes to put the mix and mustard on the salmon before popping it in the oven, but we save a few dollars each time!