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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I’ll need to add the lentil soup to my must-trys this fall. I’ve been trying to make a different soup recipe each Sunday. Let’s see how long it lasts…
I love finding things like Spaghetti Squash, Beyond Meat, and Stevia Strawberry Soda
I love Whole Foods, but sometimes find I don’t go because it can get pricey, so I love this post. My favorite things to pick up when I’m there are their organic eggs, they really are a pretty good deal compared to other grocery stores. We also love their Four-Cheese Ravioli and the fresh fish department!
I love buying Lavash bread from Whole Foods! I use it to make flat bread pizza!
I like to use the bulk bins to make my own trail mix- so much cheaper this way!
I love Whole as an experience in itself, and their hot foods bar is my favorite for weekday lunches!
Thankfully, there is a Whole Foods downtown Austin (where it all began!) so it’s close for me to go grab items from their hot food bar at lunch. I love their salad bars, stir fry, and juice bars!
Love the salad bar!!!
I love their 365 brand trail mixes and really any of the 365 brand items. Their produce is also awesome, and I love how they have samples.
I love the coffee beans!
i don’t get to go that often since it’s about a 45 minute drive from my home. but they have a fantastic selection of peanut butters and i always check out the hot foods! I get to have a great meal after the drive & cooked by them is even better 🙂 i don’t think you can go wrong with any of their selections!!
Definitely the grind-your-own peanut butter! So fun 😛
The bulk bins and their giant jars of pb! I’ve actually done my weekly shopping for cheaper at WFM.
1. Because I’m more concious of what I’m spending bc it’s WFM, and
2. Because the expansion of the 365 brand has been amazing over the past few years – just as good or better than brand name for a fraction of the price.
That is awesome! I think we have all walked out of whole foods having spent a little more than bargained for, so it’s nice to know you can still stick to a budget in there! I love the fresh ground nut butters, and I love some of there super fresh in season produce. Always a go to place for a good salad bar for me too.
I just bought their 365 whole wheat penne last night for the first time and loved it. I’ll definitely be getting it again
I like the wine bar upstairs! But, also enjoy the bulk bins!
I love that whole foods has organic dried mangos. Without sugar!
I love the salad/hot bar. Whole foods has great produce and flowers, as well 🙂
I always thought Whole Foods was really, really pricey for some reason so I never go. I’d love to try it!
Great giveaway! I love their cereals, pasta, and yummy fresh vegetables!
I’ve always wanted to try some of the food from the hot bar. Would love to win! 🙂
Oh how I love the Whole Foods Bakery! Everyhting there is delicious!!
I love stocking up on my favorite vegetables at Whole Foods- broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, avocado…so good!
I love their curry chicken salad. So Good!
I love the grind your own Peanut Butter
I love the bulk bins at Whole Foods. They have delicious trail mixes to choose from as well as all the random flours I can’t find anywhere else!
Coconut Aminos! No, seriously though, it’s the best thing to happen to our love of Asian food in our house! Same flavor as soy sauce, without the crazy sodium (it’s also gluten free!). The best part, it’s cheaper at Whole Foods than on Amazon! I swear, we go through a bottle a month!!
I love Whole Foods – they have the most amazing guacamole ever! They also have a great sample selection 😉
I love their salad bar! I think I could eat there everyday!
I love the bulk bins at Whole Foods…and the hot bar!
I love their cheese selection and olive bar. Along with everything else…..
I love the bulk bins and may go a little overboard on them every time. 😉
I love the selection of healthy organic snacks you can’t find at your regular grocery store.
i love the salad bar @ whole foods!
I love Power O’s cereal, made with bean flour! It is easier on my stomach than regular cereal, and way more filling!
I’m a sucker for the fresh ground nut butters, almond being my favorite!
My favorite things at whole foods are the fresh fish, trail mix and green juices!
Love all the yummy finds in the bulk bins – making my own trail mix is always fun
I love their variety of cheeses and wines!
I love the honey roasted peanut butter, and the bulk bins. I always save so much money buying chia seeds and flaxseed this way!
I love their granola and variety of nut butters!
love the fresh peanut butter from the grinder!
love the Avocado dressing they have!
anything from the Seafood department that it is always fresh!
I love their selection of broth. I’ve found mushroom broth that is a fantastic sub for beef broth in French onion soup.
I’m so impressed that you guys stayed under $125 at whole foods! I typically stray away from pre-made food (sauce, frozen foods like waffles, etc) so I think my bill would have been a bit higher than yours but completely doable. I lov the bulk dried fruit bins-especially the mangos since there is no sugar added. I do want to explore the other bulk bin finds that I’ve never had before (99% of the stuff is new to me).
What an awesome post! I don’t usually go into Whole Foods because I’m afraid I’ll spend too much. Occasionally I get fresh coffee beans there and it’s always a treat.
I love the salad bar and getting great organic fruit especially big seeded grapes and apples!
To be honest, I’ve never shopped at Whole Foods b/c I’m afraid I can’t afford to, but I would love to try it out.
I love the cold brew coffee!
So many good things at whole foods! My favorites are their self grind honey roasted pb, almond milk lattes from their in-store coffee bar, and the 365 brand frozen fruit. The cherries are my favorite!
I really love the fresh pizzas. They are perfect for a quick dinner when we’re really busy!