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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After going vegan, I started regularly visiting Whole Foods. I have to say, their selection of vegan proteins is my favorite by far and never fails me. They also tend to have to best price on Earth Balance butter. The bulk bins are my lifeblood.
Random, but I love the orange ginger beets on the salad bar, the eye masks in the health section, and their old fashioned rolled oats!
I love WF Sushi! Such a great deal for lunch or dinner!
I love Whole Foods and wished I lived closer to one! My favorites are the hot bar and salad bar plus their wonderful fresh produce. I love finding healthier options that you cannot find at a regular grocery store.
Their salmon and the salad bar, but I love it all!
Love the bulk bins for trying new flours, granola, and spices!
The variety of products is amazing! I love browsing the aisles to get inspired, especially all the soups!
The salad bar!
I love the pizza dough balls and the 365 brand almond milk!
I love that they have harder to find item such as whole wheat couscous.
I live within a five-minute walk from Whole Foods, which is glorious! I always grab chia seeds and quinoa from their bulk bins – it is SO much cheaper. Thanks for the giveaway!
I always shop their produce sales and can’t leave without picking up a new kind of cheese!
Easy question – 365 brand Dark Chocolate covered Pretzels. YUM! I don’t even like pretzels but when that sweet tooth hits these are the perfect little salty/chocolatey treat.
I LOVE all of their hot bar stuff, and pizza, and sushi haha Also, they have a great variety of gluten-free snack bars that make snacking easy.
I love whole foods and I’m there several times a week. I spend wayyyy too much money so this is helpful! On have found that some of there nut butters are cheaper.
Love the bagged trail mixes
The 365 Naan is the best Naan I have ever had. I also really love the vegan chicken salad.
I love the bulk bins! It’s also the only place I know of that sells unsweetened coconut. I also always go there if I’m making fish for dinner because I can get good quality seafood and all the ingredients i need in one place!
We recently just got a Whole Foods closer to home and I love it! I have digestive issues and just started making trips to Whole Foods to find items that I can’t find in the supermarket such as gluten free items. The salmon and tuna are amazing and I love all the different bars they have like the salad, olive and even cookie bar!
The salad bar for me too!
I love whole foods! The lemon rosemary turkey (applegate brand) and fresh harvest bread make an amazing and healthy lunch.
I love the wonderful fresh produce at whole foods and their salad bar!
I always buy their almond butter, Organic Almond Milk and Organic Girl super greens salad. The list could go on and on!
I have actually never been to a Whole Foods but one just opened down the street from me so I would love to get a gift certificate to start off what I assume will be a Whole Foods addiction!
I love Whole Foods prepared foods section
I love the bulk bins and the salad bar.
Sweet potato chips!
I love the bulk bins!! Especially the granolas!
I love the bulk bins and the prepackaged 365 trail mixes!
We love buying nutritional yeast from the bulk bin at Whole Foods. It adds a ton of flavor to soups and dressings and has a crazy amount of protein and other nutrients per serving!
Absolute best find = Tasty Brand Chocolate Layer Cake Cookie! I’m a chocolate-hound and tried these samples – hands down the best dark chocolate cookie I’ve ever had!
I love the bulk bins!!!
Despite what a lot of people say, I find Whole Foods affordable. I love their local produce, bulk bins (including the spices in bulk!) and the 365 products are high quality.
Despite what a lot of people say, I find Whole Foods affordable. I love their local produce, bulk bins (including the spices in bulk!) and the 365 products are high quality.
I love buying the homemade guacamole! Also can’t resist the salad bar and hot food bar!
I love their fresh almond butter!
I love the fresh produce and their huge selection of snack bars!
Rick bayless marinades!!! Ohh and their pizzas!
After interning in Austin, Texas (where the flagship Whole Foods is located) I quickly adopted a cold brew coffee addiction. I absolutely LOVE Whole Food’s coffee bar and coffee selection and always make sure to keep a stock of the Allegro Mocha Java on hand!
I love the organic Coconut oil because it’s very versatile and can be used for multiple purposes from cooking to hair care to skin care. I also love the bees knees peanut butter the name speaks for it self..lol and lastly I love the liquid African soap as it is also very versatile an is price at a very reasonable price point at WF.
Whole Foods is a lifesaver in nyc! I usually pop in when walking home from work to get either food from the hot bar or some pre-made burger patties. It’s the best!
I love their cheese and pretzels
coconut water, greek yogurt, bulk bins and bulk chicken packs!
I love the Olive Bar and the organic milk!
Aside from their awesome salad/food bar (I love having friend lunch dates there- there’s so much to choose from!) I love their selection of chia seeds, hemp seeds, and other yummy health foods that are hard to find at major grocery stores.
I adore the pretzel rolls my Whole Foods carries via a local bakery!! And their bulk section–I always go to stock up on farro, black rice, and raw almonds. So much yum!
their salad bar gets me every time!!
I love the bulk bins and the whole service meat and fish departments. You can buy just what you need. Plus in the meat and fish departments they’ll portion the meat for you, debone fish and more. I love too that you can buy say 2 slices of bacon for a dish without having to buy a whole package.
I think the gluten free bread is the best I’ve eaten, and my husband likes the 365 Chianti. I also got a great deal just recently on a fig tree as a treat for my husband. Love your store!
I’ve never shopped at Whole Foods, but I’d like to try out some of your tips and see what type of deals I can find!
You have to try their bulk section. All of the bulk items are great quality. I love that place.