Local products on sale

by raleigh, February 27, 2009 | Permalink

We are fortunate in Raleigh to have an amazing network of local producers in the area. North Carolina is known for its crops and we have great relationships with many local farmers. However, there are also a great number of small businesses, families, and individuals that are producing items that are sold in the store beyond Produce. Most of these will have a LOCAL tag on the shelf and these great producers provide us with another opportunity to support those in our local community.

There are two local products on sale right now that deserve some attention! The first is Pepperdog Salsa. Pepperdog was born from Tom and Ginger Molthen’s love of hot peppers. They grew a big crop of peppers in their garden, turned it into salsa in their home kitchen, and shared it with their family and friends. Everyone loved it and they began to make bigger quantities and perfecting the taste and texture. They love to come to the store and have visited many times to share their passion for their products, which also include a great dry rub that is located in the spice aisle. They are located in Apex and are one of our favorite local producers. They also have a great chili recipe on their website (www.pepperdogsalsa.com) for warming up the soul on the colder days ahead!  Their salsas are on sale right now, so it is a perfect time to give them a try.

Another one of our favorites, Raleigh’s Bella Monica flatbread pizzas, are also on sale. These are great to have on hand (and great to stock up on when they are on sale) for an easy and delicious dinner. They are on sale for $9.99, which makes them cheaper than any pizza you can pick up or have delivered. They are superb and made with love locally. Bella Monica also has an exciting new line of pizzas- Gluten Free! Trevor Chambers from Bella Monica has been anxiously awaiting the launch of these new pizzas, in a manner not unlike a beaming expectant father. These are the best Gluten Free pizzas that you will ever taste and they are made locally! It doesn’t get any better than that. Check them out at http://www.bellamonica.com/.

Whole Planet Foundation

by raleigh, February 26, 2009 | Permalink

As you walk into the store right now, you will notice that the Whole Planet Foundation Prosperity Campaign is in full swing. This is one of the things that our store in Raleigh is most passionate about and this time of year provides a great opportunity to truly change lives.

You may notice signs indicating that donating $2 makes a difference and it is absolutely true.

The Whole Planet Foundation was established in 2005 from Whole Foods Market’s desire to give back to the global community. In an effort to make strides towards alleviating global poverty, the Whole Planet Foundation works in developing areas of the world where Whole Foods Market sources product. They work with existing microcredit lending agencies to extend loans to people (mostly women) who would not be able to access normal avenues of credit. The typical loan is between only $100 to $200 and is paid back in small weekly installments. By having access to this money, the women are able to buy supplies for their home-based businesses in a cost effective manner. Instead of living day to day, the women are able to build a surplus and help lift themselves and their families from the grip of poverty. The women are also supported by each other and held accountable for each other’s loans in their group, creating a cohesive community enviroment geared towards collective empowerment.

There are numerous businesses that the women have come up with in order to support their families. Frequently it involves raising livestock, growing food, sewing, or providing a service or product for their community. The creativity and inguenuity of these women is inspiring and their dedication to caring for their families is evident in their efforts. They are so proud to be able to support their families and make a better life for themselves.

Currently, the Foundation is working in Central America, Asia, and Africa with more countries being added all the time. The repayment rate for these microcredit loans is virtually 100%. One hundred percent. In what other system of banking and finance could you ever find a repayment rate this high? When you donate $2 at the register, not only are you directly contributing to a loan that will change someone’s life, but those same two dollars will continue to be recycled through the system and given out multiple times in different loans.

It is simple, powerful, and it works. Want to learn more? www.wholeplanetfoundation.org

Flaming Bananas Foster

by raleigh, February 22, 2009 | Permalink

One of the best Mardi Gras traditions that occurs every year in the store is Roddey’s Bananas Foster.

Have you met Roddey? He spends every Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 10-1 in Produce, whipping up any number of seasonal fantastic treats to share with everyone. He often focuses on the vegetables that are in season and has very creative, delicious, and easy ideas for their preparation. He has his own following and many people come in on those days to catch up with him and taste his treat for the day. He always does something creative and tasty for holidays, from chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine’s Day to tangerine mimosas for Thanksgiving. He is probably best known for the interesting combination of ingredients that he will frequently put together that come out amazing every time. If you haven’t tried his corn, dried cranberry, and sliced almond stir fry complemented by tamari ginger sauce, you should!

I can’t think of anything that he does that is as dramatic as the show he puts on for Mardi Gras. Look for him this Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, where he will be putting on his annual bananas foster show. The seared sugar that covers each bite of banana is perfectly complemented by the scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream that he lovingly places to its side. The best part of the whole dish is that he dramatically lights it on fire to finish it off. Pure delight in every bite.

Mardi Gras!

by raleigh, February 20, 2009 | Permalink

This is the weekend to celebrate upcoming Mardi Gras! You will find beads hanging around the store and around Team Members’ necks paying homage to the celebration and specials throughout the store to make your own party a great one.

Seafood has some great sales this week with a great variety of wild caught fish on sale including mahi, flounder, dover sole, amberjack, and pollock. Grab some blackening spices from the spice aisle and you are well on your way to creating a New Orleans style dinner.

If you want a little change from the traditional, try making something traditional with something new. There are great vegetarian sausages that are on sale right now in the dairy aisle that will rock the socks off of any gumbo or jambalaya that you conjure up. Both the Tofurky and Field Roast lines are on sale and either would be an excellent choice.

Grab a bit of Lousiana itself with some Abita Beer! Abita Springs is a small beautiful town to the north of New Orleans that has been long thought to have healing waters. The people are quite friendly and the town exudes pure Southern charm. Three varities of Abita are on sale right now: Amber, Turbodog, and Purple Haze which is every bit as fun as it sounds.

Make your way over to the Bakery where you will find King Cakes. They are powdered with the traditional colored sugar with green (for faith), purple (justice), and gold (power).  Cafe Du Monde coffee from the famed New Orleans cafe is the perfect compliment to this cake that is eaten during the season leading up to Mardi Gras. There is a little plastic baby with the King Cake and traditionally it is placed underneath before cutting to serve. Whoever ends up with the baby in their slice has to provide the next King Cake!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Eastern Carolina Organics

by raleigh, February 18, 2009 | Permalink

At this time of the year, it can be more challenging to eat locally. There are several excellent choices that you will find in Produce, including sweet potatoes. Whether you choose the Beauregard or the Carolina Ruby sweet potato, it can’t get sweeter than a local potato.

The store has a strong commitment to supporting our local growers and a partner in this endeavor is ECO. Eastern Carolina Organics is located in Pittsboro, a community well known for its commitment to supporting local. They work with small North Carolina farmers who may not grow enough to sell to the store on their own. ECO brings together a bunch of these farms and provides it to the five Whole Foods Markets in North Carolina. They make it possible to support our local farmers and at the same time provide a product that is consistent and delicious. Todd or Sandi from ECO will call farmers as the orders come in, so that the product that arrives at the store has just been picked to be brought to you.

ECO has a great chart that shows the seasonal availability of many produce items that are grown in North Carolina. Check it out here: http://www.easterncarolinaorganics.com/season.html. This is a great tool and can help you to eat in season. Another way to eat in season is to just look at the signs in Produce. Whenever you see that something is from North Carolina, it usually means that it is in season. Watch out for the ECO sticker on these, and know that you are supporting your local farmers.

EARTH Bananas

by raleigh, February 15, 2009 | Permalink

The very first product to become certified as Whole Trade was EARTH bananas. EARTH University is located in central Costa Rica and is an amazing place. Young people from all over the world, with an emphasis on Central America, come here and learn about sustainable agriculture and business practices. Many of these students come to the University and do not have the luxury of going home to visit their families until their education is finished. It is an incredible community within itself filled with people that are excited about making a difference in their world and home communities.

It is a sprawling campus and as lush and green as you could imagine Costa Rica to be. Everyone is friendly and eager to learn. They love visitors and students and professors alike are more than happy to talk to you about any aspect of the University that you want to know about. Each student has to create their own project related to sustainable practices before they can graduate, so there are a number of amazing projects going on in every corner of the campus at all times. One of my favorites was the Biodigester, which takes runoff from animal waste and turns it into gas that can be used for cooking in homes. They work to eliminate waste and also to help create options for making life better.

At the end of a student’s education at EARTH, they return to their homes in countries all over the world and share with their villages what they have learned.

EARTH University students also frequently come to the United States and intern with Whole Foods Market, providing an invaluable experience for both the intern and Team Members.

EARTH bananas have a delicious creaminess that is superior to other bananas. Standing in the neverending banana fields at EARTH provide a lesson in the ways of the industry that are rarely talked about. There are many things that are different about EARTH and how they operate. For example, if you travel to any banana plantation, you will see plastic bags hanging over the huge bunches of the fruit to protect the developing bananas as they grow. These bags are frequently filled with pesticides that will protect the bananas from intruding damage from insects. As a student project, many of the bags in the EARTH fields are filled with garlic and cayenne pepper, which do the same insect repelling job without the chemicals.

Another impressive aspect of the banana field production is their overhead rail system that brings the bananas from the field to the packaging warehouse. In many other fields, it is typical for the worker to load very heavy bunches of bananas from the trees onto their backs. They walk very long distances through pesticide and herbicide laden fields to bring them to be packaged, exposing them to dangers with every step. At EARTH, workers harvest bananas from the trees and then hook them onto an overhead rail. When there are enough loaded, the “banana train” is driven in where the fruit is separated, washed, arranged in the box, and put on a truck to be shipped to the stores. Whole Foods Market is the only company that buys EARTH bananas, making this a very special connection.

The differences that EARTH creates are in line with what the Whole Trade standards aim to do: create small changes that result in big changes in the lives of those involved with creating the product. By purchasing these bananas, your money goes to maintaining and building upon the strengths of this amazing place.

Want to know more about the fascinating and inspiring place called EARTH University? Visit them here: http://www.earth-usa.org/ or go visit them in person! They will be happy to see you!

Whole Trade

by raleigh, February 13, 2009 | Permalink

Amid this time of so much love and adoration for those around us, Whole Foods Market is doing their part to share the love. Perhaps you have noticed signs in the store that indicate that a product is “Whole Trade Certified,” but what does that mean?

The standards of Fair Trade have been around for several years and were established to ensure that producers around the world were treated and paid fairly for their work. Taking this a step further, Whole Foods Market developed their own standards, the Whole Trade standards, to ensure that their producers get everything that they deserve while providing the highest quality product for their customers. The Whole Trade program makes it easy for us to make the best choices possible when deciding which products to bring home. There is a short video here that shows John Mackey talking about the program: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/whole-trade.php

Valentine’s Day provides a perfect opportunity to indulge in all things Whole Trade, starting with your roses. There is a beautiful array of bouquets in a special section in Floral that are all Whole Trade certified. These flowers come from farms that have worked closely with Whole Foods Market and are committed to providing a quality product while at the same time taking care of its workers and the environment. In addition to getting paid a fair wage for the product, Whole Foods Market also pays a “social premium” to each farm. This money is used to improve the health care, education, and nutrition of the farm workers’ children.  

Want to make your whole Valentine’s Day Whole Trade? Check out the selection of Theo chocolates in Grocery. Pick up some select Allego coffee. Pick up some Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps in Whole Body, possibly the rose scent for this weekend?

The Whole Trade program helps create better working and living conditions for workers, ensures a high quality product that will delight Whole Foods Market customers, and even helps to fight against global poverty. How does it fight global poverty? One percent of the sale of each Whole Trade item goes to the Whole Planet Foundation, a non-profit foundation established by Whole Foods Market in 2005 to alleviate poverty in the areas of the world where they source product.

Look for the logo on the roses and throughout the store. You can not go wrong when choosing Whole Trade. Everyone wins!

As an awesome added bonus, you can enter to win Whole Trade roses for an entire year! Check it out: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/floralsweepstakes/index.php

Happy Valentine’s Day! Share the love!

Three days and counting…

by raleigh, February 11, 2009 | Permalink

As you walk into the store today, you can see the tables set up creating a new subsection in Produce. This can mean only one thing: it is time for the Valentine’s Day flowers!

This is such a joyful time in the store. You can not help but smile as you see the many people walking around thinking of their sweetie while holding flowers, chocolates, and any other love-themed goodies. This is one of my favorite times to be in the store and to feel the electricity that love creates.

The store again has its fantastic deal on roses- two dozen for $19.99. There are roses to suit everyone’s taste! There are roses of every color, including the traditional red, and also double dozens that are mixed with all sorts of colors. If roses are not your sweetie’s flower of choice, perhaps 20 Virginia tulips would be a better fit. They are also $19.99 and are a great alternative to the traditional choice. It is fun and uplifting to scope out the huge selection and pick the ones that look and smell like what you are looking for.

The great Team Members in Floral will always wrap your flowers for you, but for Valentine’s Day they take it a few steps further. They set up the aforementioned subsection in Produce that is devoted to wrapping flowers, making bouquets, and arranging vases. The closer we get to Valentine’s Day, the busier it will be. It is a nice scene, watching all the activity and happiness that happens here. They work quickly and beautifully and send each person off with a bundle of floral happiness to help make the day special. If you have not taken advantage of these great prices and extra attention before, give it a try this year.

It is easy to picture that perfect meal (or a few perfect meals) in celebration of this holiday of love. Wander over to Seafood and check out their Wild Caught Lobster tails with garlic parsley butter. They are on sale this week for $9.99 each. You can just pop these in the oven, bake and take out a succulent lobster tail topped with cascading melted butter. In the Meat department, they are giving you a number of choices for your Valentine’s day selection. For $19.99, you can choose from two 8oz tenderloins, two 8oz Chateaubriand, or two 8oz filet mignon. Pick up some of the aparagus in Produce (on sale for $2.99 a pound) and serve alongside the lobster or meat for an impressive dinner to go with your perfect flowers.

Stock your pantry

by raleigh, February 6, 2009 | Permalink

There is a great pamphlet that is available at the Customer Service desk right now that is labeled “Stock your Pantry.” It is a simple flip-to-open card with a checklist of all the staples that you might keep in your pantry. It is nicely organized and divided into the Basics (eggs, flour, frozen vegetables), Dried Herbs and Spices, Grains and Pastas, and Key Flavors (extras that are essential to creating your favorite dishes). If you can’t get your hands on the checklist that is available at the store, you can create your own pantry list. I have found that this is one of the best ways to save money while shopping here and helps to make sure that I get everything that I need for the week in one trip. I have my own list of the items that I only want to buy from Whole Foods Market and each time I come to shop, I just check my list against my pantry to make sure that I pick something up when I need it.

In the bulk aisle this week, 365 Organic fruit strips are on sale for only 37 cents (from 59 cents) and this is such a great time to buy a bunch of them. They will stay fresh in the pantry for months and are great for lunchboxes, road trips, or a sweet snack. If you haven’t tried one of these, you really should! There are a few different flavors including strawberry, cherry, mixed berry, and peach. They are made from real organic fruit and they are delicious. Kids love them.

Another great treat on sale right now are Newman’s cookies. Not only does this company do good works all over, but they also make some great snacks! If you are looking for a traditional chocolate cookie with creme filling, there is a great one here for you. There is also a gluten and dairy free version! They also come with mint filling, chocolate filling, and one other with ginger cookies and creme filling. If you haven’t tried this last option, the Ginger-oh’s, you really should. They are normally $4.69 a box, but are only $3.69 right now.

With the weather being so cold this week (and so many people sniffling right now), it is a good time for soup. There are two great soups on sale right now and both of them are organic. Amy’s Organic soups are on sale and with at least a dozen options to choose from, there are plenty of flavors to suit every palate. They are normally $2.29, but are on sale for $1.50 a can. Muir Glen Organic soups are also on sale and they never disappoint. Normally $2.99, they are on sale for $2.39 a can.

Another great addition to the store is the arrival of new recycled bags! Check out the rack near the customer service desk with the bag selection. The new designs are a dramatic change from the previous style and are still made from recycled soda bottles. They are soft and a shorter and more functional size. There is one with giraffes, one with hibiscus flowers, one with trees, and a few more. For only $1.99, you couldn’t be hip for cheaper. Always remember your bags when you come and shop! You save 10 cents for each one and you also help create a happier planet.

Chocolate Season

by raleigh, February 5, 2009 | Permalink

It is always a great reminder that Valentine’s Day is near when the front window of the store fills with hearts. These hearts are a cheerful greeting as you approach the store and are all filled with “I love you” in different languages. Te Amo!

As soon as the hearts are in the window, it becomes chocolate season. The season has begun. Valentine’s Day is next Saturday and there are plenty of great seasonal options to choose from, with many being on sale! Over in specialty, all the Team Members are raving about the Piedras de Chocolate, some really wonderful chocolate covered almonds. They are normally $19.99 a pound, but are on sale for $12.99, making a big indulgence an affordable one. You can find these on the chocolate shelf facing the cheese case. Ask them if you can try one and see for yourself.

There are a number of excellent chocolate bars that are in sale in grocery, as well. I have always been a huge fan of Chocolove Organic chocolate bars and it is also a perfect Valentine’s Day gift. There is a great selection, with different selections in milk and dark chocolate with yummy additions like orange peel, cherries and chili, crystallized ginger, and hazelnut. The best part is that there is a love poem on the inside of each wrapper! Your sweetie can eat his or her chocolate and you can read them a love poem. That is priceless.

The Chocolove bars are normally $2.99 each, but are on sale for 2/$4. The Endangered Species line of chocolates is also on sale for 2/$6 (normally $3.99) with a great assortment of cocoa percentages and delicious flavors. Green and Black’s Organic chocolates are also on sale for 2/$5 (normally $3.49), including the Maya Gold variety if you want to spice things up.

There are not many things that get better than chocolate. But some things go really well with chocolate, like strawberries. There are local strawberries in the store right now! They are normally $3.99 for a one pound package, but are on sale for $3.49. They are from Rocky Point, North Carolina are are just bursting with berry goodness.

What else could be better than chocolate and local strawberries? A little bubbly! Specialty has a Jules Bertier Brut on sale right now for only $8.99, a two dollar savings for a sparkling that is already worth every penny. This would be absolutely wonderful with some aforementioned chocolate or local strawberries, and would be quite tasty mixed with some tangerine juice for a mimosa.

In case you wanted to consume anything other than these wonderful treats, there are a couple of quick and easy items on sale that can help you get dinner done fast. Bella Monica’s flatbread pizzas are on sale right now for $9.99 (normally $12.99) and the Gorgonzola and Sundried Tomato is out of this world! Prepared Foods also has their rotisserie chickens on sale right now for $6.99, a savings of a dollar. Pick up a salad to go and you have a quick meal on the table, which means you get to the chocolate sooner.