Whole Foods aka Whole Paycheck

Have you ever walked into a Whole Foods and instantly felt healthier? Strolling through those beautifully laid out aisles with endless amounts of healthy options and mountains of brilliant looking produce just makes your body feel leaner. All is good in the world of Whole Foods until you check out and realize you just spent $200 dollars on 15 items. An immediate feeling of buyers remorse takes over as you saunter back to your car….but hey, at least you’ll be eating healthy for the next two days right?

This has happened to me more than once. Every time I walk out of Whole Foods…I feel like a sucker (not that that’s their fault..I’m a big girl who makes big girl decisions..sometimes). They do such an amazing job of making people want to shop there…want to spend their money…and their afternoon at the grocery store.

Not too long after moving to Chicago 2 years ago, a Whole Foods opened near our apartment. It was amazing. After walking through the front doors, your nose picks up an incredible aroma of freshly ground coffee from the coffee bar ….walk a little farther and things start to smell fishy…An impressive display of exotic fresh fish and seafood…keep going and you start to notice shoppers walking around with wine glasses or beers. That is truly amazing! You can get drunk while you’re shopping for groceries….I’m sure that wouldn’t cause you to buy items you don’t need (oh yes I definitely need this 10 lb. block of Grana Padano cheese). The wine and beer bar is usually where you find the guys hanging out waiting for their wives…or maybe it’s a good pickup spot.  As you make your way to the back of the store…you find any and every type of pre-made food you could ever want. They have a gelato bar, sushi bar, pizza station, indian food, vegan food, hamburgers, mexican food…you name it.

My basic point is, Whole Foods has got it figured out. I know this because I want to shop there even though it is way out of my league. I also know this because I have seen numerous other grocery store chains change the layout of their stores to look remarkably like that of Whole Foods.

Although I enjoy Whole Foods…I also hate it. It is just too expensive for me. I was in a different grocery store the other day (a Trader Joe’s-like store) searching for healthy finds and became frustrated by the price tags. It is definitely not easy to shop healthy on a budget. So, I tried to come up with some ways to keep food healthy…and not break the bank.

First and foremost…stay away from Whole Foods if you’re on a budget. That’s probably a given…but for those of you who can’t pull yourself away from those seductive stores…here’s some tips for you:

1. Buy their brand. Whole Foods has a brand called 365 Everyday Value which you’ll find to be cheaper than other brands. This goes for any store you shop at whether Whole Foods or Wal-Mart (which is Great Value).
2. Clip coupons- That’s right..coupons. All grocery stores usually offer them even Whole Foods. They offer a guide called The Whole Deal which gives you dates on sales as well as coupons.
3. Check out their website- Whole Food’s website and other stores offer recipes online. They have plenty of “budget friendly” recipes up and you can even narrow it down if you have specific diet needs.

If you’re shopping for groceries anywhere and want to keep it healthy…here are some general tips:

1. Have a list and stick to it! This can be really hard sometimes…I know! Especially if you walk into a store starving..don’t ever do that either or you will come out with that 10lb. block of cheese.  Sticking to your list will prevent you from going overboard and bringing home food you don’t need as well as spending all that extra money.
2. Buy organic when necessary. There are plenty of fruits and veggies that you don’t need to buy organic. For example, bananas. I don’t really care if my banana is organic or not because I’m peeling that skin off regardless. On the other hand, some produce is worth buying organic. Here is a list of the “dirty dozen.”
3. Eat produce that’s in season. If you buy strawberries year round…you might notice they are significantly cheaper in July versus December. It can be frustrating in the winter time since your fruits and veggies are somewhat limited to squash, squash, and more squash. But there are other options out there I promise! Here’s a list of winter fruits and veggies.
4. Buy frozen! If you simply cannot live without strawberries, buy them frozen! Frozen fruits and veggies (given there is no added sugar) are just as healthy for you as fresh.  If you’re not a fan of frozen, you can always can the produce. I have yet to try this but one of these days I will!
5. Try to stay away from “diet foods.” Diet foods tend to cost a pretty penny and when it comes down to it…I’m not sure anyone really knows how good they are for you. If you read the labels…usually you can find all kinda of words you can’t pronounce. It’s probably best to stick to whole foods with ingredients that are short and sweet. Usually this can be done by shopping on the outside of the middle of the grocery store (hope that made sense). Most “whole” products like produce, milk, eggs, etc. are not found in the middle of a grocery store. That’s usually where you find pre-made, processed goods. So, stick to the outside of the middle!

Also, don’t forget to use what you have! If you have a bag of spinach in the fridge that is going to go back in a few days….freeze it! We actually have a bunch of bananas that are pretty brown at this point so today I’m going to make some banana bread with them (be back with recipe and pics later!). So, take a look around and use what you got.

Although I try and follow a budget…there are some items I will continue to splurge on. Here’s the list of goodies:

1. Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut bars. They are sooo good and pretty healthy. If I’m craving something sweet..which happens often…I’ll pick up one of these!
2. Nonfat Greek Yogurt. It’s really high in protein and no fat. It can be a little harsh sometimes so I usually mix in fruits, spices, or honey. I also use it to substitute sour cream when I need to! You can find non-fat, 2%, and full fat in most grocery stores these days.
3. Protein Powder- I use GNC Pro Performance chocolate whey protein powder. It was reasonably priced and tastes pretty good.
4. Kashi GoLean Berry Crunch Cereal- This stuff is pretty good! It’s high in protein and fiber and tastes delicious. Actually, I can find it at WalMart which is great!

That was quite a rant! Hopefully some of these budget tips will help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and a fat wallet!