San Marzano canned tomato products (whole tomatoes, diced, sauce, crushed). Some Harris Teeters sell them too, but not the whole line like Whole Foods. They taste so much better and fresher than other canned tomatoes. Really worth it.

11:20 here. We also buy meat there, forgot that. It's more humanely produced and high quality. I buy sliced sandwich meat at Trader Joes but other meat at WF. DH loves the turkey ham log from WF.

Olive bar is just an olive buffet where you put the olives you like in a container.

I try to buy paraben-free personal care products. Not all but most of the WF products are. DH has eczema so I buy fragrance-free items for him (shave gel, shampoo, etc.). For the floss, I don't care about it being "natural" but the BEST floss I have ever used is the Desert Essence dental TAPE (they have floss and tape, go for the tape). It has tea tree oil on it which is also supposed to be beneficial. Whatever, I just think it's the most effective floss there is--the shape/texture does a great job. Hence floss from WF. I buy a dozen floss packages at a time, any time it's on sale (for the case discount + sale price).

Personally, I buy 80% of my groceries between WF and Trader Joes. I'd say 15% from Costco and the rest from other sources (HMart, Giant, Safeway). When I go to Giant or Safeway, I find their prices expensive for what it is, especially. I buy seasonally (and thus on sale) from WF and I get much higher quality produce for less! WF is not cheap but buying on sale is great (and healthy--we eat a lot of cool produce). When I go to WF and need very specific items for a recipe, say for a dinner party because I've set my heart on it, then it can be expensive. But I love WF quality and customer service.

Meat, fish, prepared side dishes.

Meat and veggies. And gluten free items. We often get milk, cheese, and eggs and other items too. If you go for their 365 brand and avoid the expensive stuff, the cost isn't much different then Giant.

Shampoo and other items we get at Target.

Anonymous wrote:Everything other than cleaning and paper products and diapers/wipes. Those I get online ( Amazon, Soap and Diapers.com).

I just do not have the time to run around town buying stuff at multiple places and there are 2 WFs within a 5 minute drive of my house.

Wow...how many people are you feeding and what is your weekly WF bill like? Seriously, does anyone have a link that compares WF to other grocery chains for like items (obviously there are items that are unique to each store).

Everything other than cleaning and paper products and diapers/wipes. Those I get online ( Amazon, Soap and Diapers.com).

I just do not have the time to run around town buying stuff at multiple places and there are 2 WFs within a 5 minute drive of my house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milk (their 365, organic or non-organic option, is not from factory farms)
Produce (buy whatever is on sale, as well as my favorites)
Cases of water (I love sparkling water, they have the best price because of the case discount)
Canned dog food (better price than the local pet food stores, high end brand)
Cereal (WF's 365 brand)
Dried bulk goods (lentils, quinoa, beans, barley, etc.) Organic, good quality
Frozen foods (Annie's, Dr. Praeger, etc.)
Bread (packed and sliced, I buy good organic whole wheat bread on sale and freeze several)
olive bar
yogurt (Wallaby)
most of my family's personal care products (shampoo, cond., gel, deodorant, toothpaste, floss, etc.)

You get 10% off any case you buy. It doesn't have to be pre-packaged as a case, you can take individual things and build a case up (you have to buy it all at once). Especially great deal when something is already on sale--you get the sale price and the 10% off. I do this for tea (usually a case is 6 boxes), dog food, water, floss, etc.

Thank you for explaining why you choose WF for what you listed...that's exactly what I need to know. What is your favorite brand of bread? Also, Why do you buy floss, shampoo, conditioner, gel, etc at WF vs CVS or Walgreens? I am guessing the shampoo and condition is free of something, but why floss? And what is an "olive bar"? Thanks!

She means olive bar as in a buffet of olives where you choose the olives you want.

Everything!! that I don't buy at Costo or Trader Joes.

I try mightily to find suitable organic things at Costco and TJs, because it usually costs less than WF per grocery bag.

But Costco's organic produce offerings positively blow. Trader Joes has a lot of niche items that meet my standards, like Organic Lemon Curd. But then they lack the other 50 things I need.

Like certified eggs that can be traced back to the farm, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Milk (their 365, organic or non-organic option, is not from factory farms)
Produce (buy whatever is on sale, as well as my favorites)
Cases of water (I love sparkling water, they have the best price because of the case discount)
Canned dog food (better price than the local pet food stores, high end brand)
Cereal (WF's 365 brand)
Dried bulk goods (lentils, quinoa, beans, barley, etc.) Organic, good quality
Frozen foods (Annie's, Dr. Praeger, etc.)
Bread (packed and sliced, I buy good organic whole wheat bread on sale and freeze several)
olive bar
yogurt (Wallaby)
most of my family's personal care products (shampoo, cond., gel, deodorant, toothpaste, floss, etc.)

You get 10% off any case you buy. It doesn't have to be pre-packaged as a case, you can take individual things and build a case up (you have to buy it all at once). Especially great deal when something is already on sale--you get the sale price and the 10% off. I do this for tea (usually a case is 6 boxes), dog food, water, floss, etc.

Thank you for explaining why you choose WF for what you listed...that's exactly what I need to know. What is your favorite brand of bread? Also, Why do you buy floss, shampoo, conditioner, gel, etc at WF vs CVS or Walgreens? I am guessing the shampoo and condition is free of something, but why floss? And what is an "olive bar"? Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:San Marzano spaghetti
Yogurt
Produce
Cases of Vanilla Milk
Milk
Cheese
Pasta

what's great about san marzano spaghetti and why do you choose WF pasta vs other?

Olive oil
Gluten Free items
Fresh fish
Produce

San Marzano spaghetti
Yogurt
Produce
Cases of Vanilla Milk
Milk
Cheese
Pasta

Milk (their 365, organic or non-organic option, is not from factory farms)
Produce (buy whatever is on sale, as well as my favorites)
Cases of water (I love sparkling water, they have the best price because of the case discount)
Canned dog food (better price than the local pet food stores, high end brand)
Cereal (WF's 365 brand)
Dried bulk goods (lentils, quinoa, beans, barley, etc.) Organic, good quality
Frozen foods (Annie's, Dr. Praeger, etc.)
Bread (packed and sliced, I buy good organic whole wheat bread on sale and freeze several)
olive bar
yogurt (Wallaby)
most of my family's personal care products (shampoo, cond., gel, deodorant, toothpaste, floss, etc.)

You get 10% off any case you buy. It doesn't have to be pre-packaged as a case, you can take individual things and build a case up (you have to buy it all at once). Especially great deal when something is already on sale--you get the sale price and the 10% off. I do this for tea (usually a case is 6 boxes), dog food, water, floss, etc.

EVERYTHING. I'm too lazy to go elsewhere. Though sometimes I do make it to TJ.

The best stuff to buy there is the fruit/veg (organic and they know the source should there be a salmonella outbreak). Non-hydrogenated processed food. It's much cheaper to buy it there than Giant, since Giant marks that stuff up, since it's only specialty to them. That's why I don't shop at Giant because I want non-h stuff, and it's cheaper at WF and TJs.

What are the best things to buy at Whole Foods? What are your favorites? What would you buy at Whole Foods that you wouldn't or couldn't buy anywhere else? Is there anything you get there that's a better deal than elsewhere?