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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The salad bar is my go-to! Grind your own nut butter is a close second though 🙂
I love Whole Foods kombucha on tap and beauty section; oh, and the chocolate!
the gluten free frozen pizzas! mm
I love their bulk chia seeds, their food bar, and selection of vegan cheeses. So so good.
Love all the wonderful hot bar selections!
I made my first trip to Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it! Their cheese and wine selections are amazing! I never realized brussel sprouts grew on this cool looking branch thing until I saw it in the produce section…….the littlest things make me happy 🙂
I really like Whole Foods’ 365 brand and buy the soy and almond milks pretty often! I also use the whole flyer when I’m in the store too to save money as well. Great tips!
To be honest, I’ve heard all the hype about whole foods but I’ve never shopped there! I’m usually a Publix girl! 🙂 I would love to try it out and try the hot food bar.
The various trail mixes and snacks in the bulk bins are by far my favorite.
I love the bulk bins and of course making my own trail mix! I also have a habit of buying a coffee to shop with
I love their soups and breads, plus the cheese selection, the hot bar…so much goodness there! But the one thing it’s almost impossible for me to leave without is a package of their two-bite brownies. Yum. Thanks for the great giveaway!
My favorite find at Whole Foods is their homemade granola bars! Been eating them for years! 🙂
I love the hot food and salad bar, seafood selection, and bulk bins!
I love the hot bar food area! But I also love the bulk bins.
califia almond milk!!! yum
I love the bulk bins and the food bar!
I love all the grains … farro, wheat berries and legumes … so easy to make meals that work for a Canadian winter!
I basically love the whole bulk bin section. So many cool things!
My favorite whole foods find is their hot bar and salad bar. I’ve gotten very good at even guessing the weight of my meals!
I love their lemon hummus!
I’m a big fan of the hot bar- I love getting to try items with new to me flavors!
Everything in those bins. I usually have bags on bags of snacks. Perfect portioning and good prices$$
I loooove so many things about Whole Foods! I love their coffee bar that offers unsweetened almond milk! I can’t go there without getting their “Greens with Envy” juice and a slice of their Tre Leche cake. Also, their own brand of grated parmesan cheese is my favorite.
i love their pasture raised eggs.
That lentil soup looks perfect for Fall weather. I must try that this weekend. I’m a fan of bulk foods. They have the best selection in town!
i love the cava hummus and the meat selection is awesome!
I love the wide variety of gluten-free foods Whole Foods offers!
I love the bulk bins sections! I can get the amount i need and think it is often cheaper than other options!
They have the best spicy pimento cheese spread. It’s to die for if you like that sort of thing!
The salad bar. I could eat lunch there everyday and never get bored.
Everything at Whole Foods is amazing but who am I kidding…Id use the GC at the hot bar 🙂
I love the bulk bins! Also I love how I can get ingredients here that just aren’t found at other stores. Specifically, ingredients like tahini and nutritional yeast are staples in my weekly recipes- luckily I use small portions at a time so I don’t feel like I’m breaking the bank.
Well of course I love almost anything in their hot bar. They also have amazing curry cashews in their bulk bins, and a delicious curry chicken salad in the deli.
Looks like you made some delicious meals in a budget, very impressive!
I LOVE trying their smoothies and then recreating them at home.
The first Whole Foods in MS recently opened within walking distance from our house! One of my favorite things to do is to walk there and eat lunch! I love their prepared foods! I also like their daily deals.
I love the hot bar/salad bar! Their chicken tikka masala is INCREDIBLE
I recently discovered the double espresso iced coffee with almond milk at whole foods and LOVE IT!!!
I looove Whole Foods PB!
I love the selection of fresh fish at Wholefoods!
I love the make your own nut butters!
I love the variety of cheeses that they have. 🙂
Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!! Oh and Whole Foods has the BEST fresh made tortilla chips, guacamole and spicy salsa. Yep, finding the unhealthy treats at Whole Foods is kinda my jam! 🙂
love to pop in there for their sandwich bar over lunch. Yummy!
One of the best things I ever had from Whole Foods was Love Crunch in the chocolate strawberry flavor. This granola was out of this world. I can’t buy it too often because I can crush the bag so quickly! Yum 🙂 Also love Whole Foods salad and hot bar of course
I love the hot bar. I don’t go to whole foods that often but when I do I always make sure to treat myself to a good lunch!
Love their 360 line! I would probably try some of their meat!
I love using the bulk bins. It ends up being the greatest deal!
I always buy wild caught fish at Whole Foods. Usually there is at least one wild caught variety on sale too! I also love buying new cheeses from the little buckets filled with smaller portions of cheese.
Wow! What’s NOT to love at Whole Foods?!?! When I was pregnant their hot bar and pastries were a weekly treat/must but I have always loved their fresh produce, in house made juice and awesome selection of non GMO products. BTW the fresh pre-cut fruit is amazing when you’re attempting to eat healthy with an impatient toddler around. 🙂 Gotta check out the crock pot recipe you provided.
I don’t always go to Whole Foods but I love their Rustic Salad and did find a good deal on their Honest Limeade.