I've NEVER been to a Whole Foods in my life, but I'll be shopping there later this week. I'm 1 month out and can tolerate most foods, so far. I'm sure it's going to be a little overwhelming, so I plan to make a little grocery list before I go... I need a little help.

What are your must-haves from Whole Foods??

I love Whole Foods, but there is a reason it has been given the nickname "Whole Paycheck"...what is your main reason for wanting to go? Organic produce? Personally, I love their prepared foods and used to head in there to grab lunch or dinner often per-surgery...this reminds me that I haven't been in quite a while...time to add back to the rotation.

They have everything (at least at the ones here in CA)...something to try would be to grind your own nut butter...I also like the antipasto bar, and I like the bulk nuts/grains section

Whole Foods is wonderful, but their prices are, in general, crazy. I love, love, love their prepared food. Their salad / prepared food bar is heaven... Could have the various things in there every day for lunch. Ideal for people like us.

I can't think of any product at WF, though, that I wouldn't be able to get elsewhere, etc. But it sounds like you're more limited in your store choices.

Buy things you can freeze/store in pantry since this is a stock up trip. My must haves at Whole Foods include: Brat Hans Chicken Meatballs, Applegate Farms organic sliced chicken or turkey breast, Alive & Radiant Kale chips or their other raw veggie chips. Actually, I am so addicted to kale chips that any brand on sale ends up in the cart. I also always pick up a small container of their fresh fruit salad. Their deli selection is great but since we eat so little, I don't get much there. The curry chicken and vegan curry "chicken" salad in the deli is good. Haven't bought it in awhile but I love Primal's vegan "jerky" as well. Their organic bulk section is good too. Just getting back into sprouting my own grains and they have the best prices on organic dried grains and beans. I get Think Thin bars their as well. I also love their natural hair care products too. I'm lucky, we have lots of Whole Foods stores in the area.

Buy things you can freeze/store in pantry since this is a stock up trip. My must haves at Whole Foods include: Brat Hans chicken Meatballs' date=' Applegate Farms organic sliced chicken or turkey breast, Alive & Radiant Kale chips or their other raw veggie chips. Actually, I am so addicted to kale chips that any brand on sale ends up in the cart. I also always pick up a small container of their fresh fruit salad. Their deli selection is great but since we eat so little, I don't get much there. The curry chicken and vegan curry "chicken" salad in the deli is good. Haven't bought it in awhile but I love Primal's vegan "jerky" as well. Their organic bulk section is good too. Just getting back into sprouting my own grains and they have the best prices on organic dried grains and Beans. I get Think Thin bars their as well. I also love their natural hair care products too. I'm lucky, we have lots of Whole Foods stores in the area.[/quote']

Mmm kale chips, gonna have to give those a try. I love love love AppleGate products. Chicken Breakfast sausages are delicious (good Protein too).

Am I the only one who thinks the cooked food on their prepared food bar is incredibly fattening? I am sure there are some exceptions but I consider that like restaurant food and would approach with caution!

Am I the only one who thinks the cooked food on their prepared food bar is incredibly fattening? I am sure there are some exceptions but I consider that like restaurant food and would approach with caution!

Good point! I didn't think of that-- you're probably right, high calories!

Oh - one thing I always get at our local Whole Paycheck is PB2 - powdered peanut butter. Comes in regular and chocolate. It is in the isle with the nut butters. I mix in 2T of this stuff with my vanilla NF Greek Yogurt and add a few blueberries - delicious and super high protein!!

Whole Foods is actually right down the street from my house, so I go there a lot. It is my go to place when I am having a party -- their prepared foods are healthy and always unique. They have wonderful deviled eggs!

The hot foods bar is always full of good things for soft foods phase. Try the turkey meatballs and mashed potatoes. If yours has a barbecued meats area, the pulled chicken is soft and moist with just a touch of mild barbecue sauce.

I don't eat sugar, so I find prepared yogurts way too sweet. WF carries sugar-free preserves called St Dalfour -- the wild blueberry is my favorite -- that I mix with plain 0% Greek yogurt and some Splenda for a nice treat.

I am 9 weeks out from surgery, so I'm not up to fresh fruit and veggies. But when I get back to them, I always buy them at WF. I did take a WF fruit tray to a BBQ last night for a healthy dessert, and everyone pounced on it!

Finally, my doctor recommends their Vitamins and supplements. He feels that WF cares more about the quality and efficacy of their vitamins than other stores.

Have fun!

My fiance actually works at Whole Foods, so I'm there all the time (since we get a decent employee discount). However, I shopped there even before he worked there, and use the following rules to keep the prices down:

1) I only buy fresh organic veggies IF they don't have the frozen organic equivalent (or if I'm making a recipe that calls for fresh). Their organic frozen 365 (their store brand) stuff is great quality and comparable in price to regular supermarket brands. I'll usually get my spinach, kale, collards, berries, and a few other frozen fruits and veggies this way.

2) Stick with the 365 store brand on everything you can - dairy (the usually have both regular and organic in store brand), meats, etc. It's important to know your prices because sometimes the store brand will be comparable to supermarket prices and sometimes it won't. Then it becomes a decision of how much is organic, etc. really worth to you.

3) Be sure to check out coupons on the Whole Foods website and the flyers in store (usually near customer service). Also, if you check the website for your store before you go and can go on a Friday, you can find out what the Friday One Day Deal is (usually it's for something good, like salmon fillets, beef, or chicken...i.e. things that are normally very pricey).

3) Try and stay away from the middle aisles of the store (where most of the expensive, specialty stuff is); personally I think the hot bar and salad bars are overpriced, but ok in a pinch if you need Protein quickly (especially since you're eating so little of it). Prior to surgery, I could easily eat a giant plate of food from the hot bar that would run $15-17! (at $8.99 lb!) Now, I can barely eat enough for $3, if that.

Hope you enjoy your trip and good luck!!

Where is this whole food store? I'm in the Deep South, right on the LA/MS state line

Whole foods? Meh... A formulated chain store hopping on the health food craze.

In the 80's the store was decent but these days? The fresh fruits and veg are good but over priced. Oh and the Ezekiel bread is a good price there (but I don't buy bread anymore )

I'd rather go to the local farmers markets and buy my specialty items.

Yes, Laura...we spent a lot of time at the farmers market, too, when we lived in NorCal, but sadly not everywhere has accessible markets. Hoping that changes now that more folks are looking into markets and CSA

Yes' date=' Laura...we spent a lot of time at the farmers market, too, when we lived in NorCal, but sadly not everywhere has accessible markets. Hoping that changes now that more folks are looking into markets and CSA[/quote']

Yeah I guess living in Northern California I get spoiled. I assume everyone has access to locally grown fruits and veggies

Haha...we actually have been talking about trying to move back to NorCal someday. Mike's family is in Redding, and our friends are in Davis/Sac. One of my reasons for wanting to go back is farmers markets all year round!!