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!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I love their peanut butter and also that they carry grass fed organic butter.
I love this!! Whole Foods is my favorite and now that I work across the street its all I can do not to go multiple times a week (or multiple times a day). And I’m always trying to convince other people that Whole Foods doesn’t have to be expensive, it just depends on what you get. My favorite thing that I get from Whole Foods is their 365 brand coconut water because its only $2.99 for the big cartons of it. I use it in my smoothies almost everyday and I use it with fresh lime juice to kick dehydration headaches. I’m also obsessed with their hot bar and veggie burgers and pizza. And of course their huge craft beer selection.
I love getting fresh produce! It is such a fun way to spruce up any meal 🙂
I love their hot bar! I also love their bulk cereals and grains!
Love their produce department. Love the bulk bins. Love the almond milk and the fact that they sell organic whole milk in a gallon size for my son. Ohh also, their block cheeses! I love the whole 365 organic line. Honestly, most of their organics are way cheaper than my other nearby stores.
Their vegan pizza at the cafe is delicious!! I also love their coffee selection and 365 products!!
I love the Whole Foods hot bar and all of the nut butters!
I’ve always thought Whole Foods was pricey so I almost never shop there except to buy obscure things that Publix doesn’t stock (like chia seeds). And I’ve also had lunch from their salad bar a few times. Now seeing how much you were able to get there, I may have to do some grocery shopping there! 🙂
I love their selection of cheeses! My favorite snack is cheese, crackers and a specialty meat like salami or soppressata.
I love Whole Food’s brand almond butter
i love, love, their fresh ground almond butter, their organic light roast coffee (great price), their hot bar seafood capalini, their organic Denver milk (I go every week, just for that!), and their three sisters cereals. So yummy. 🙂 just to name a few.
I love their fresh produce and my husband exclusively gets meat from their meat counters – he says it’s the best meat around. I also love how they sometimes have little events/activities in their parking lot. A couple of weekends ago our local Whole Foods hosted a ‘fall sample fest’ with local pizza, chips, icecream, and cake samples. There are also always samples to be found inside the store, many of which have prompted us to purchase an item we wouldn’t have otherwise. And their breakfast hot bar is great too! And i don’t think Whole Foods is expensive either, for example, the milk at our local store is cheaper than what we would pay at other stores.
Thank you for hosting this giveaway!
I also usually go there for harder to find items. I also always end up picking something up in the bakery section
I love their produce it’s always so fresh.
I love the bulk section at Whole Foods! It really is so much cheaper!
La Croix! They usually have one of the best prices around on the soda water, and the biggest selection.
A couple of my favorite finds are buying oat bran in the bulk bins (so cheap!!) and frozen veggies (organic spinach and bell pepper strips). When these veggies are out of season or if I’m using them for a smoothie or fajitas, why buy fresh when its so much cheaper??
I love so many things at Whole Foods but one thing I especially love is the nut milk cheese they sell! I miss cheese so much after going DF but this is a clean ingredient list cheese that is great for special occasions!
I love buying my fish from Whole Foods! No other supermarket compares!
I live at Whiole Foods, loving to eat lunch there and pick up coffee while I’m out. My fav finds are in the prepared foods section- the cooked chicken breasts (easy and simple for dinners) and sweet summer kale salad (YUM!) and the bulk foods section where I stock up on chocolate chips to snack on right out of the bag 🙂
Whole Foods has the best price for Ezekial cereals and carries my favorite high protein snack… Ella Quark!
I love the breakfast taco bar at the Austin store… wish it was offered everywhere!
I love finding deals at Whole Foods – I am always surprised by how affordable some of the 365 items are. Plus they change their inventory and get new items regularly. I really love the new deodorant I found there, by Earth Science (herbal scent). It smells great and really works!
Their almond butter and zesty tahini dressing is the best!
this is probably not the answer you are looking for but I always find some great seasonal beers at Whole Foods.
I love the grind your own cashew butter at my local whole foods!!
I love their hot bar when I don’t feel like packing a work lunch and their bulk bin chia seeds (cheapest around)! Also their 365 brand powerhouse dressing (sort of like a zesty jalapeno ranch).
I love their bulk bins of granola. My husband and I can each get the kind that we like!
Whole Foods dark chocolate covered saleted caramels are SO good. A treat staple in our house 🙂
I need to win a gift card so I can report back with my favorite WF items! 😉
Their cranberry goat cheese salad opened up a world of salad possibilities for me.
I love Whole Foods Mint Mineral Water…..so good! I also love their pre-made chicken salad & the hot bar is always good! I also love the bulk bins!!!
I love Whole Foods!!! Just picked up a new brand of granola simply because a) they were giving free samples and b) it had my name! Jessica’s Gluten Free Vanilla Maple Granola—if anyone’s store has it-you should try it!
I’m addicted to their hot bar! And to all the stuff in the bulk bins 🙂
Marcona almonds and PB puffins cereal! Yum n
I love their natural peanut butter, cheeses and baked goods.
I shop the 365 brand all the time and get great deals. I also love to get almonds and pistachios from the bulk bins.
I love their bulk section – shredded coconut and quinoa are some of my stables. Also the individual Justin’s Almond butter packets!
Their amazing vegan scone made in store and all of their fruit produce!
I love Whole Foods’ Wheatberry Salad, their Hot Bar (of course!!), and their ceviche with their (made in-house) tortilla chips!
I absolutely love Whole Foods! Especially the hot bar- its so nice if you want a quick side for a meal!
I love, love, love the bulk bins aisle. It’s my happy place for sure.
The Whole Food fresh peanut butter is divine. My fave!
I love the variety at the whole foods hot bar!
I love making my own peanut butter at WF!
I love Whole Foods! I have a few food allergies so I love their selection of lactose free products in both the frozen aisle and in terms of almond milks. I’ve also recently become obsessed with their local products like Buddha’s Brew kombucha and Bearded Brothers bars!
My favorite product that Whole Foods sells has to be Nuttzo–I don’t think you can buy it anywhere else and I am obsessed with it!! My current obsession is topping my banana/pumpkin pancake with it.
I love the meat that Whole Foods carries! It is so much better quality than other grocery stores, and I like that I am able to get only a small amount of meat for a recipe.
I love so many Whole Foods items! I love their selection of teas, and I really love how many protein/meal bars they have available. I’m also a sucker for their hot lunch bar 🙂
I am a really big fan of their 365 products! Two in particular that I love are their marina sauce and bread crumbs!