You mean 'whole paycheque'? And that is why I don't shop there. We have one quite close to us but the prices are so ridiculous that they are laughable. Every once in a while I do go in just to wander and it amazes me when I see people doing their whole week's worth of shopping.

Sorry, guess I didn't answer your question. Some of the deli stuff and unique breads do look good.

blfenton, that's okay, that's why I wanted to know the 'must haves' because I don't want to waste my money. I don't mind spending money on really good things though.

I have to say, I will go there to buy produce whenever I can, it was marvelous!!

I was wanting to start drinking lowfat goat milk instead of cow's milk and they had it there also.

Besides that, it would be a specialty kind of store for me, unless I hear of some favorites from people on here.

If I am not mistaken, I think the reason why everything is so expensive is because they are organic products.
I do not have one convenient to me, but will be getting one close by next year.
I might get some of the vegetarian things for when my daughters visit. Also when I needed jicama for a recipe, I had to drive there because none of the local supermarkets had it.
I will also be watching this thread to see what is popular there.

olliesmom - I just bought a carton of goat's milk from Whole Foods, but I haven't opened it yet. Have you tried it?

I'm always looking for healthy recipes and I usually end up going to Whole Foods for one of the ingredients. I have a kale salad recipe that calls for black/dinosaur kale and I'm able to find it there. I usually pick up one or two bottles of Buddha's Brew Kombucha. It's a health drink that has a slight vinegar taste. I love walking down the aisle with the bins. I bought chocolate covered ginger the last time and these little energy snacks w/spirulina the time before. Just fun to try the different things. I love green olives, so I like to try the different varieties they have over in the salad bar area. I subscribe to Consumer Reports magazine and they rated olive oil brands in the last issue. Whole Food's brand (365) rated pretty high, so I was planning to pick up a bottle, but it doesn't come in a small size. I don't use olive oil that often, so I didn't get it. I don't shop there weekly. It's just a once in a while place for me.

I live less than 2miles from the Whole Foods I shop in 1-2 times a week depending on what I'm cooking. I'm sure I will forget something, but here are my favorite items from Whole Foods.

All produce but especially organic leaf lettuce, celery & avocados.

Flowers,Vitamins/Supplements.

Organic canned pinto beans.

Beef, pork, poultry.

Skim milk, canned whipped heavy cream, eggs, lemonade.

Frozen Baby Lima Beans, Frozen Fruit Bars.

Rye Bread, Challah Bread, Challah Rolls, Ciabatta Bread. Actually I've never had a bread they bake that I don't like.
Angel Food Cake, (as good as home made) & a nice treat with fresh fruit & the canned whipped heavy cream :-)

Fresh Roasted Turkey & Roast Beef in the deli.

Olives from the olive bar.

There are other items that I also purchase but they are not the 365 Brand.

Second the breads at Whole Foods.
Fish can be iffy. I've got 3 Whole Foods within reasonable driving distance. At one, I got spoiled fish twice. I don't buy there anymore. The other two stores are OK, but are not the best for fish in my area.
I like their house brand dried thyme.

Chicken. I no longer purchase Tyson or Purdue. Their chicken is from Bell and Evans. Family packs are less expensive. It's the best.
Ground Turkey

Rarely shop there because of price and a myriad of other choices near me but when I do it's for cheese or olives. They have the best olive bar and I don't even care for them generally. Their cheese selection is fabulous, although the things that can be found in other stores are always less elsewhere. Oddly, they have a marinated feta in a jar, from Australia that is out of this world.

Well, I have a lot of allergies, and mostly go to whole foods for health and beauty goods. I get shampoo, conditioner, anti frizz serum, styling wax, soap, lotion, toothpaste, and nail polish there.

My favorite thing to eat that mine sells is in the fresh bakery case. These chocolate brownie type of cookies with walnuts. They are gooey and really chocolately and $1.

Their coffee is great, and better priced than grabbing a Starbucks.

In their deli, pizza by the slice is good. Also their wraps and sandwiches. I will often go there for lunch when running errands as their food is very good and priced about the same as lunch at a place like Panera. Most stores have a table area where you can sit and eat your food.

Ehh, dh and I go grocery shopping at TJ's then drive the 1/3 mile to Whole Foods and have lunch. That's what I like best about that place! I had the best seafood stew last time and the people watching was really fun. Their pizzas are wonderful and you can buy the dough frozen to take home.
Ask for it.

Oh, I DO love their smoked brisket on the bbq bar. Here, sometimes, it's little pulled pieces, but sometimes (the best) it's beautiful big slices. I wipe them out then.

I suppose if money wasn't an issue I would shop there but Tj's has everything we eat regularly for less. There are a few things I buy at Whole Foods, rice paper, I can't find it anywhere else and they used to have rye flakes but don't anymore...

Never go in WF...tried it a couple times in Columbus Circle ,since it is so close to DB's and wasn't impressed. As to olive bars...hmm..how do you spell " contamination..." ? If you want wonderful olives in a clean jar go to World Market. They have jars of imported Greek and Italian olives that are fabulous and priced really reasonably.

I would never ever eat at an open food bar. All you have to do is stand there for 30 minutes and you will be so grossed out by the disgusting habits of those that DO eat there...oh well...rant over.

Get ye to a World Import...you will forever thank me :) c

We do not shop at Whole Foods often, the prices have just gotten too ridiculous for us. The produce is often lovely but remember, some of the produce is still conventionally grown, not everything is organic.

Some of things I do like to stock up on there:

The shelf stable tofu, they at least used to have the best price.

"Exotic" oils, their house brand walnut oil, avocado oil, etc are pretty good prices.

If you buy a case of something, you get a 10% discout (like a case of refrigerated soy milk which I think is either 3 or 6).

If I want a special cheese, sometimes I will check there. They often give samples so you can see if you like it.

In the deli area I have purchased parmesan rinds and pancetta end pieces.

Their desserts are generally phenomenal, but you will pay for it.

They do have a fairly good selection of gluten free beer.

I do love a lot of the recipes on their website.

Another vote for the roast turkey in the deli case. Yummy.

I bought a cake there once and didn't like it.

For me, their produce is fantastic. I can blindly grab a bunch of apples and know that all of them will be good, unbruised, etc. I like their selection of vitamins, soaps, lotions.

And they have a tomato/mozzarella sandwich that I almost always buy myself as a treat for lunch when I shop there -- which is usually only about once a month or so, even though it's only about a mile from my house.

Forgot one thing, they at least used to have an excellent price on their canned coconut milk, 365 brand. It generally beat the other prices I could get on canned coconut milk for the full fat and it was of excellent quality.

I don't shop at WF either because I think they are way too pricey. I've found that the locally grown produce at our farmers market is the best around. The store is gorgeous and well stocked with everything WF has and more, like a fresh deli, fresh bakery goods, a great wine and international department and produce that is out of this world. I buy all of our meat and home products in bulk at Costco or at a small local grocery store called Busches. I've concluded that no one in our area has meat or chicken as good as those two stores. We have a TJ's close by as well and I'll go there every once in a blue moon but it's been a while now since I have. I think prices of food have just gotten so ridiculously high in general and with all the competition for our grocery dollars, organic or not, WF is basically out pricing themselves.

Thank you all so much! I will definately keep my eye out for those!

We did get the pizza dough, but it wasn't frozen, so now I will look for the frozen. We tried the fresh whole wheat pizza dough last night for pizza on our Big Green Egg. It was really good!

msrose, I have tried the goat milk and it isn't bad, how do you like it? It taste like cow's milk to me, but with a bit of a twang, I'm sure I could get used to it. It is suppose to be SO MUCH better than cow's milk that has caseine, which can cause cancer. I know, can't just about everything?? Frustrating!

The WF lunchmeat deli did look really good, but we already had quite a bit left, so wanted to use that up first, The roast beef looked delish! Will definately be back for that! And the roast turkey, since you mentioned it!

I've been making smoothies for my DS with all the organic fruits (I sneak in a little spinach too). He loves them!

A few people were mentioning the pizza dough. If you don't have a Whole Foods close to you, Trader Joe's also sells fresh dough in white and wheat.

I was told that the Whole Foods we shop at is one of the biggest and best in the country. I don't recall who told me that and of course, I can't vouch for the accuracy of the statement.

Regardless, the store carries fantastic produce; we are especially impressed with the range and quality of the organic fruit. For example, where some stores might have one or two varieties of organic apples, WF will have many varieties. Ditto on organic pears.

It's the only store I'm aware of with a broad range of heirloom tomatoes, usually bought from local or farmers; a broad range of interesting potatoes; a variety of organic grapes. I can get organic daikon radishes, organic celery.

So many other things as well....

There will be interesting seasonal items or specialty produce. Last year, I was buying fresh organic cranberries.

The 365 store brand of organic fruits and veg are excellent.

The Trader Joe pizza doughs, unfortunately, don't compare to the Whole Foods dough. I don't know how something so simple can be great at one place and very average at another.
The mystery of flour, yeast and water....

Olliesmom - I used the goat's milk in my coffee this morning and I had a little bit of a hard time with the twang. Maybe by the end of the carton, I'll get used to it.

I put kale and spinach both in my smoothies. I thought the kale would be more noticeable than the spinach, but it's not.

CHICKEN!! The difference in taste is very obvious! The organic broccoli is also much better than that of most grocery stores. The produce as a whole tastes what I remember as a kid! ;o)

I love 365 brand unsalted butter. Delicious, light, clean, the best.

But I feel sad when I see the huge amount of space given to seafood and the huge variety of seafoods because even tho our neighborhood supports the grocer wholeheartedly, and with their pocketbook, there is way too much product and no way even a reasonable amount can be moved. To me it is planned excess-to a capital Degree.

We have other kind of luxury grocers who sell and order what seems to be reasonable amounts of food that will move out the door.

Whole Foods waste makes me cringe.

I love their seafood chowders, soups and turkey and beef chili. Yum. Nice splurgy cheeses Seafood stock, I think it's frozen.

Love their bulk baking goods with non gluten offerings. Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame crackers, gluten free crackers. like the $3 wine.

I don't shop there often for two reasons. First, it's way too expensive and second because it's nearly impossible to park at my store. Once you get in the lot you are trapped in a maze and if you don't get a spot you have to wait and wait to get a chance to exit.

Once I make it in, I like the produce, the chicken and the salad bar, including the soup.

We like WF produce section. I also like to buy salmon
burgers as I don't care for hamburgers. Like Trail, can't
get myself to buy anything from "open food bars"...