Whole Foods is a Whole Value? Who would have thought....
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I made two exciting discoveries today. One: 21 Jump Street is available on Netflix "Watch It Now". (Johnny Depp before his Tim Burton days. Ahhhhh.)
Two: Whole Foods is the cheapest game in town. Serious. My hair stylist told me this a couple years ago and I refused to believe him. I may love my Basis deliveries, but the service still lack meat and fish and some staples, so I need to rely on a grocery. I live a block and a half from Whole Foods Tribeca but am known to frequent Fresh Direct for the convenience alone. I just finished a really great book on food and mood, Elizabeth Somer's "Eat Your Way To Happiness", so I was inspired to do a little experiment today. After reading the weekly and weekend specials from Whole Foods (only taking into consideration foods that I would normally buy), I wrote out a grocery list and entered it into Fresh Direct - total $96.64 including delivery, $90.34 without. Then, I walked myself to Whole Foods and bought the same - total $67.05. Not even kidding.
The biggest savings came from buying items that were on special as well as sticking to 365 brand when possible. For example, a single serving of grey sole from Fresh Direct was $7.50. The same from Whole Foods was $3.30. The organic celery example is equally extreme - $3.99 from Fresh Direct, $1.99 from Whole Foods. Also, I used the bulk bins at Whole Foods to buy only enough for my needs, whereas I'd have to buy a box of something from Fresh Direct (which would likely sit around half-used for months). Where a canister of oats from Fresh Direct costs $5.19 but the three cups I need cost $1.46 from Whole Foods.
Perhaps Fresh Direct should have the Whole Paycheck reputation that Whole Foods has now?
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Wow, I've noticed Fairway, FD's precursor, isn't always all that cheap either. Trader Joe's is the closest grocery store to me so I try to go there off-hours. WF 365 pretty much matches TJ prices; too bad there aren't more 365 options v. brand names. WF is my go-to butcher, fresh, reasonably priced, hopefully organic. Made the turkey burgers the other day w/ WF ground turkey (not organic but "local"). Delish! Thanks again!
Submitted by spindig on 03.27.10 at 07:29.
Funny - in my mind, Fairway is cheaper than Whole Foods, but it is so far from me that I always wrote it off as an option. I used to live close to the TJ in Union Square but never got into using it because of the ridiculous crowds and the produce that never looked as good as WF.
I'm glad you liked the turkey burgers! I wish I had something new to share but I haven't loved the new meal recipes I've tried recently. I made a chard recipe out of Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets" last night that was really disappointing - the cheese and bread crumbs totally overshadowed the chard, which seems to me to defeat the purpose of the cookbook. Just saying. :)
I have a pound of sunchokes from Basis this week that I'm either going to puree or make into a veggie dinner with lentils and artichokes.
Submitted by gotigers2003 on 03.28.10 at 11:48.