Oops. "I still head for a Latin grocery to seek out certain items ...."

We love MOMs too, but can't afford to shop there too often. It's less expensive than Whole Foods, locally owned, and has some very nice meats, but they are sky high, way too expensive for us. We shop mostly at Trader Joe's and make almost everything from scratch. If you can afford it, Whole Foods has some nice baked goods, some organic meats, some decent fish from time to time, and lots of nice prepared foods. I go there only to get specific foods I can't get at Trader Joe's or on the organic/natural aisle at Giant, but otherwise I avoid it. I feel it's a huge rip off. I also shop on Amazon, which sells a lot of organic stuff for much less than Whole Foods, but you have to buy in larger amounts. Costco occasionally has some decent stuff, organic, etc.

Yep, on a budget, Trader Joe's is hard to beat. I wish they were bigger and had more stuff. We love them but we got tired of having to make two different stops.

On a serious budget, the Hispanic grocery stores in the area are real bargain centers. You're not going to find much organic but you're going to save a LOT of money. The IGA south of Ballston, back in the day (before grad school) was my go-to place. I still seek head for a Latin grocery for certain butcher needs or specialty Mexican ingredients.

The committee that is redeveloping Walter Reed has been in negotiations with Wegman's.

Anonymous wrote:If you're looking for organic stuff, try MOM's. Locally owned, great organic selection, not hideously priced, and no detectable patchouli or Birkenstocks.

It's our regular place.

We love MOMs too, but can't afford to shop there too often. It's less expensive than Whole Foods, locally owned, and has some very nice meats, but they are sky high, way too expensive for us. We shop mostly at Trader Joe's and make almost everything from scratch. If you can afford it, Whole Foods has some nice baked goods, some organic meats, some decent fish from time to time, and lots of nice prepared foods. I go there only to get specific foods I can't get at Trader Joe's or on the organic/natural aisle at Giant, but otherwise I avoid it. I feel it's a huge rip off. I also shop on Amazon, which sells a lot of organic stuff for much less than Whole Foods, but you have to buy in larger amounts. Costco occasionally has some decent stuff, organic, etc.

MOMs is a much better place than Whole Foods, but it doesn't have all the prepared stuff. It does have a lot of brands Whole Foods doesn't. I buy natural flea collars there for my dog.

for my kids it's great - they have things you just can't find anywhere else. i don't like the price, i don't always like the produce and it is often all over priced. BUT i can't find certain things anywhere else:

- they have this brand of frozen waffles that come in either wildberry or fig. where the hell do you find such stuff? they are delicious and totally healthy without all the sugar and are just so nutritious for my kids
- elmo's mac and cheese frozen - again very very healthy and frozen for my convenience
- they have this quiche or something that's frozen - i can't find this stuff anywhere else - but it's like a cross between real/baby food and my 1 yr old loves it too much for me to give up
- blueberry quinoa with vanilla
- their house brand 365 cinnamon apple sauce - my kids won't eat any other brand
- they carry this snack mix i can't find anywhere else - it's got pretzles, fritos, tostidos like chips, cheetos - it's awesome
- naked popcorn - less salt all olive oil for us and the kiddies
- gelato selection is crazy huge
- their new house brand frozen stir fry is actually pretty good
- they have a soy pudding product that tastes similiar to real chocolate pudding but 1/2 the sugar and much more healthy
- the brand of frozen veggies they carry i just really like - peas/carrots mix is great. they have the white corn too
- fried tofu in their prepared foods section which i love

like i said - there's certain things they carry that i like a lot. am i a fan? no. but i have to get at least 1/2 my shopping list there weekly..
i love wegmans for me but for my kids, i have to go whole foods.

Anonymous wrote:Super H Mart has great produce.

And fresh seafood at great prices.

Super H Mart has great produce.

Have you tried amazon?

School-Safe brownies, cupcakes, mini-loaves etc.
EnjoyLife brand
NoNuts! golden pea butter
Erewhon brand cereals
Individual containers of RiceDream milks

WF is the only place I can get these items and many more.

Most of the shoppers are rich and entitled. I will not go again. A new line was forming and I only had 5 items and another shopper claimed I was pushing in front of her.
I will not go there again

....Whole Paycheck because so damn expensive.

But I still go there occassionally for produce or flowers...and they have these waffle cookies with frosting inside.

Anonymous wrote:We have a child with multiple food allergies and WF is the only place we can get certain items.

We also have a child with multiple food allergies and have no problem shopping in Giant, Safeway, etc. Curious, what kinds of products do you buy at WF you can't get anywhere else? I need to try to get my kid to eat more things.