whole foods vs. whole food market

what's the difference, you may ask. Whole foods are considered those foods which are mostly unprocessed or refined prior to eating. I'm taking about fruit, vegetables, some whole grains and even meats and seafood. It is not necessary for a food to be organic for it to be a whole food, and conversely, organic food is not necessarily whole food. Now that I've thoroughly confused you.... let me tell you what my beef is (or umm, vegetable since I don't eat beef). Trust me, I like Whole Foods Market, most of the time, but you really need to pay attention in order to not get hosed by the man.

Top Ten Tips for Shopping at Whole Foods to Salvage your Wallet

10. Buy local! not only is it cheaper, it's probably fresher and definitely has a smaller carbon footprint.

9. Know when organic is good. Bananas, avocados, mangoes - organic doesn't matter that much. They don't use that many pesticides and you don't eat the skin (where most of the pesticides reside). Apples, strawberries, lettuce historically have higher amounts of pesticides. Your choice, but your wallet will pay.

8. Watch the register! Half the time I'm in there, the produce isn't marked with a code, the sign says one price and when you get to the register, the cashier automatically thinks it's the more expensive organic variety. This has happened to me on many occasions, most of the time resulting in $5 or more dollars in additional cost on my tab. Yes, that means you have to remember how much your stuff costs - you might want to write it down.

7. Forget the veggie wash. At $4 a bottle, it's just another gimmick in my book. Plain old soap and water will do the trick.

6. Bring your own bags. You get $0.10 per bag off your receipt, if you have 10 bags... well you can do the math. The better part of the equation is reduce-recycle-reuse.

5. Avoid the organic, $5 per bag, potato chips (includes veggie crisps, terra chips, any kind of pirates booty, etc.). They are potato chips, they aren't any more nutritious for you than Herrs. If you wouldn't buy them at the Piggly Wiggly, why buy them at Whole Foods? Just because you buy them at Whole Foods does not make them a whole food. Plus, they are ridiculously expensive.

4. Even though the prepared foods are seemingly healthy because they are made at Whole Foods - watch out for the extra fat, sugar, sodium, etc. If you must buy prepared, stick with foods that aren't fried and are laden in sauces.

3. Use coupons. You might not realize, but every now and again there are coupon books at the registers. They have some coupons in there for every day food items. Might as well - better in my pocket than theirs.

2. Buy Bulk! Not only do you reduce packaging, but you save a few bucks too. At $0.75 per lb., bulk oatmeal is about 4 times less than buying the box with individual packets. Use your own flavoring (a little sugar or splenda, maybe a little honey) in place of the processed brand names. The same is true for rice, flour, nuts, beans, cereal and the rest of the bulk offerings.

And the number one tip for shopping at Whole Foods Market....

1. Don't get caught up in the hype. At the end of the day, do you really want your food bill to double with these new gourmet food stores? Shop smart and it won't.

*k*