This weekend I am going to go to Whole Foods Market for the first time ever, in my never-ending quest for carrageenen-free dairy products and soy-free mayonnaise. (My Trader Joe's let me down in both those categories )

What else is there I don't want to miss? What do you buy at Whole Foods Market?

Not sure if you do the "oils" but they usually have a great selection. The veggies can be to die for, but expect to pay more than you're used to.

Hi MizKitty. I have loved Whole Foods for years. They are sometimes on the pricey side, so you have to compare items. The fresh veggies are AWESOME and I always get my lettuce from there. The fish counter, although expensive, is awesome because of wild caught varieties of fish. In the meat section, there is tons of sausages, chickens, meats etc. Some is organic, some is Natural. I also like their salad dressing isle where I get my vinegar, and SF ketchup. You will love Whole Foods!! Have fun. Oh, by the way, if you go on the weekends, there is a lot of taste counters out to sample things. Enjoy!

I too have shopped at WFM for years and years and have developed a love/hate relationship. You will probably be amazed and the abundance of junk food, clothed in the mantle of healthy and organic (I am - who needs organic gummy bears?) In general, they do not seem to have embraced the low carb movement.

As for cream, Whofan posted on another thread today that both WF brand and TJ brand of organic cream are free of carrageenan. I've never noticed that but will check the next time I'm in either store. I also don't know if either store has the same supplier nationwide and am hoping that is not just a regional phenomenon. I'd be interested in what you find at your WFM.

I love their bulk applewood smoked bacon (Wellshire Farms is their source). It is cured with brown sugar and celery salt (like so many other "natural" souces) but it has no overt sweet taste and leaves no burned sugar residue in the pan so I assume it has less than other brands. I've been eating it daily for 2+ years and I'm doing OK. I only visit Whole Foods once every couple of weeks and am getting a reputation at the meat counter for buying large volumes of this bacon.

Have fun!

I love whole foods.

no sugar added so delicious coconut milk "icecream"

i love the chicken hotdogs/ sausages- they have several brands- love them all
the store brand tahini dressing in the deli area

frozen premade mahi mahi or salmon burgers are so convenient for busy days! just throw in the oven!

ridiculously overpriced- but love the kale chips

shirataki noodles

seaweed chips

the olive bar, dark chcolate, and cheese sections are amazing

check out the 8 million veggies! they always have fun stuff- from pre-cut jicama to shelled edamame, etc....

I'd get kelp noodles, they're in the dairy case near the sirataki, providing they have them.

They have the best variety of meat from animals that are not just organically fed, but also allowed to graze on grass and spend their whole lives on one farm. I realize many people could care less how animals are raised, but my instinct is that such meat is healthier for human consumption. The prices are prohibitive. But grass-fed chopped meat is often on sale and I'm pretty sure it's the real thing....no pink slime.

I used to always get wild caught cod there, until I discovered that the A&P sell it at half the price. Tip: A fishmonger told me that all cod is wild because it is too large to grow on a farm economically.

As Liz said, store brand cream minus the carageenan. But it doesn't have the longest shelf-life. My last purchase went sour just before I'd finished it. But I only use it in my morning coffee, real cooks would use it quicker.

Their fruits and veg are spectacular. I just gaze at them longingly and buy slightly less gorgeous stuff at much lower prices elsewhere.

Thanks for all the input, I hope more chime in, too.

My TJ's regular heavy cream has carageenan, and the do not carry the organic version at this particular location.

I avoid "Whole Paycheck." Their prices, as Whofan notes, are prohibitive, they are vehemently anti-union, they promote vegetarianism, and they are tacitly in bed with Monsanto.

Oh boy, I didn't know anything about that, AJ. Thanks for the enlightening post. I also didn't know that 'natural' could mean genetically modified. Who's re-writing the freakin' dictionary to allow that? Well, I pretty much could only afford WF for the chopped grass-fed meat when it went on sale and for the non-carageenan cream, anyway. Now I no longer feel deprived that I couldn't afford their natural-yet-genetically-modified fruits and vegetables that apparently they sell at 'certified organic' prices, jeesh!

I don't go often but I do like to shop there because of their access to grassfed meat. Also, my WF has a Brazillian restaurant inside...At least they used to. They're more expensive but I don't think that should bother anyone interested in their health. I would much rather spend money on healthy food than doctors visits, hospitalizations and insurance forms. It is a better trade off. BUt still be careful, if they are not labeling their GMO foods, I would wonder why.

The term organic is fading in importance because of genetic drift. And if Monsanto finds that an organic producer's crop contains some of their patented genes, they can sue that producer for theft of intellectual property.

I don't like the store brand cream. But the pasture fed cream at whole foods is GREAT, and about the same price. It's in a white and purple container,... natural by nature brand, or something like that.

The bagged natural raw nuts are also MUCH fresher, sweeter, and higher quality than trader joes - and the same price or cheaper. In fact, many of the nuts at whole foods are amongst the cheapest price per pound, that I have found anywhere in the US - including buying online.

Country Hen brand eggs at whole foods are the tastiest eggs in America, and they are WELL worth the $3 per half-dozen price.

Only Country Hen and the ONE pasture fed brand of eggs that they sell at whole foods, are the ONLY 2 brands of eggs that come from chickens that have NOT been raised or finished on a diet of soy.

The store brand butter (hormone free) is also very cheap (I use it for baking), and kerrygold butter (for eating) is either the same price as trader joe's, or .50 less, I can't remember now.

They also carry a brand of ice cream called Artic Zero. It's basically protein powder and inulin, so it's only 20g carbs and 150 kcal, for the entire pint. But it's not very good, for anything other than novelty factor. I prefer to make my own ice cream at home.

If you like sparkling water, Italian sparkling water by the case comes out to about $1 per 1 litre bottle (compared to for example Perrier - the cheapest I've ever seen it anywhere is about $1.80 per bottle, and it's only 750 ml to boot)

The chocolate section is good - lots of different kinds of dark European high quality bars to choose from.

And the pasture-fed buttermilk they sell in glass bottles is to die for.

Overall though... I would definitely stock up on their raw walnuts and raw almonds. The prices and freshness can't be beat.

Oh... and coconut butter is a great price at Whole Foods, - as are most Bob's Red Mill products.

Chia seeds at $8 lb are an absolute steal. Coconut Flour is cheap too.

But yeah,... as anywhere else - you pretty much just skip all the middle aisles in the store.

Oh,.. the fresh sausages at from the meat counter are very good, btw. As are their bone-in pork chops. You will REALLY be able to tell a difference in taste with those, compared to say, whatever pork chops they sell at a regular supermarket.

I had the "Mom's Chicken Soup" for lunch several times a week this winter. It is fantastic. No noodles or rice.

Love the antipasto bar too!

In DC, lots of cab drivers eat lunch there, especially those from the Middle East, so it's not that overpriced! I love their salmon patties, only $2.99 for a fist sized patty that makes a meal. I agree that their meat is excellent. Alas, so is their bakery, which is a good part of the reason I'm here. . No longer stop there, of course.