Whole Foods is killing my budget

[Anonymous]

$700-800 a month on food and related hygiene/dry goods products at Whole Foods.
Family of 4 (preschooler and elementary schooler).

I have discussed this many times with my friends and on DCUM: the price you spend on groceries really boils down to meal planning and not wasting food.
You can eat organic and fresh for a very reasonable sum, provided that you utilize left-overs, and know exactly what to buy for what you plan on cooking. Usually that also means not buying too much too far in advance, since it is difficult to evaluate how fast produce will ripen. If that happens, you then need to be creative to incorporate that food in your next meal.

Many years ago, I did an Excel spreadsheet comparing grocery costs at Whole Foods and Giant's. At the time we lived smack in front of a Giant and it was most convenient, but I wanted to switch to fresher produce and more unprocessed choice. Now we live closer to the WF and it's a no-brainer because it turns out food is less expensive at Whole Foods, for the following reasons:

1. I buy cheap but quality organic bulk grains from the bins and many organic 365 items.
2. The produce on sale is fresh so I take advantage of the sale, whereas the sales at Giant's are mostly on wilted produce, and practically never the organic versions.
3. I usually never get carried away by the expensive luxury items. I do buy expensive tea and my children's favorite French kid cheese, Laughing Cow - it reminds them of when we lived in Paris. However, I buy these at the bulk price and even with that my monthly total is between $700 and $800.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really like the Washington Green Grocer, I get a weekly delivery from them and I think they are good value compared to WF. I shop around too, some stuff from Safeway (loo roll, water, tinned tomatoes etc) some from TJs (seeds, nuts, olive oil) mainly meat and fish from Wholefoods.

It's CANNED tomatoes, good god you are in AMERICA so get with the program already you fish n chips eating Brit!!

You missed loo rolls. Do your job thoroughly if you're going to take it on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What bugs me about WF these days is that the tags for "local" and the tags for "organic" look very similar. But local is not the same as organic. While I'd like to buy local, buying organic is more important.
Also, sometimes the grocer stocks non-organic produce in the space with an organic sign, so you have to check the label of the produce itself.

Most of their produce is not organic. Beautiful but not organic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to recent data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control CDC), people who eat organic and “natural” foods are eight times as likely as the rest of the population to be attacked by a deadly new strain of E. coli bacteria (0157: H7). This new E. coli is attacking tens of thousands of people per year, all over the world. It is causing permanent liver and kidney damage in many of its victims. The CDC recorded 2,471 confirmed cases of E. coli 0157: H7 in 1996 and estimated that it is causing at least 250 deaths per year in the United States alone.

Consumers of organic food are also more likely to be attacked by a relatively new, more virulent strain of the infamous salmonella bacteria. Salmonella was America’s biggest food-borne death risk until the new E. coli O157 came along.

Organic food is more dangerous than conventionally grown produce because organic farmers use animal manure as the major source of fertilizer for their food crops. Animal manure is the biggest reservoir of these nasty bacteria that are afflicting and killing so many people.

Organic farmers compound the contamination problem through their reluctance to use antimicrobial preservatives, chemical washes, pasteurization, or even chlorinated water to rid their products of dangerous bacteria. One organic grower summed up the community’s attitude as follows: “Pasteurization has only been around a hundred years or so; what do they think people did before that?”

The answer is simple. They died young.


http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/articles/...20Organic%20Food.htm

Probably because they eat more fresh fruits and vegetables in general, therefore have a greater chance of being exposed to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
$700-800 a month on food and related hygiene/dry goods products at Whole Foods.
Family of 4 (preschooler and elementary schooler).

I have discussed this many times with my friends and on DCUM: the price you spend on groceries really boils down to meal planning and not wasting food.
You can eat organic and fresh for a very reasonable sum, provided that you utilize left-overs, and know exactly what to buy for what you plan on cooking. Usually that also means not buying too much too far in advance, since it is difficult to evaluate how fast produce will ripen. If that happens, you then need to be creative to incorporate that food in your next meal.

Many years ago, I did an Excel spreadsheet comparing grocery costs at Whole Foods and Giant's. At the time we lived smack in front of a Giant and it was most convenient, but I wanted to switch to fresher produce and more unprocessed choice. Now we live closer to the WF and it's a no-brainer because it turns out food is less expensive at Whole Foods, for the following reasons:

1. I buy cheap but quality organic bulk grains from the bins and many organic 365 items.
2. The produce on sale is fresh so I take advantage of the sale, whereas the sales at Giant's are mostly on wilted produce, and practically never the organic versions.
3. I usually never get carried away by the expensive luxury items. I do buy expensive tea and my children's favorite French kid cheese, Laughing Cow - it reminds them of when we lived in Paris. However, I buy these at the bulk price and even with that my monthly total is between $700 and $800.

What are some of your typical weekly meals?

[Anonymous]

it's not whole foods, it's your shopping habits. buy bananas instead of blueberries. buy tofu instead of beef. buy bulk beans instead of eden organic bps free cans of beans. and stay away from the damn tea cookies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What bugs me about WF these days is that the tags for "local" and the tags for "organic" look very similar. But local is not the same as organic. While I'd like to buy local, buying organic is more important.
Also, sometimes the grocer stocks non-organic produce in the space with an organic sign, so you have to check the label of the produce itself.

+1!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Organic is a scam. Scientifically, there are no benefits over non-organic. It can even be worse for the environment because of additional resources needed to produce it.

We use as much organic as possible because it tastes better and has a more pleasing texture.

I like knowing we aren't eating poison.

You are eating poison, just "organic" approved poison.

--farmer

Farmer, please explain.

[Anonymous]

From what I understand, organic fruits/veggies have less pesticides, so they don't last as long on the shelves (or at home). The fungus is mold you are seeing starting to develop. I am finding that for berries that I buy at TJ, if I don't eat them in 2 days, they will start to get moldy, even if I put them in the fridge.

Find out when the TJ store changes out their fruits/veggies, then go on that day (a few hours later to give them a chance to finish stocking) or the day after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's not whole foods, it's your shopping habits. buy bananas instead of blueberries. buy tofu instead of beef. buy bulk beans instead of eden organic bps free cans of beans. and stay away from the damn tea cookies.

ITA. We buy most stuff at WF but we're able to keep our spending at a very reasonable level because we rarely eat meat, buy beans and grains in bulk, don't get expensive/exotic produce, and resist the pull of the very tempting but totally overpriced single-serving/convenience/snack foods. Someday when I've got tons of money I'll come back and buy all those chocolate-covered, goat-cheese-stuffed dates

[Anonymous]

I don't buy organic because I'm not a dirty dreadlock wearing hippy. I go straight to the Giant and buy conventional everything, like God intended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:it's not whole foods, it's your shopping habits. buy bananas instead of blueberries. buy tofu instead of beef. buy bulk beans instead of eden organic bps free cans of beans. and stay away from the damn tea cookies.

This. Rib-eye ( as an example) is a special great. Choose a less expensive cut of meat, etcz

[Anonymous]

OMG, ditto. We spend 1200/mo at WF at least for 2 adults and one baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy organic because I'm not a dirty dreadlock wearing hippy. I go straight to the Giant and buy conventional everything, like God intended.

oh lord

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy organic because I'm not a dirty dreadlock wearing hippy. I go straight to the Giant and buy conventional everything, like God intended.