We all know the famous nickname for Whole Foods – Whole Paycheck. I do not get my staples from Whole Foods, but there are a number of speciality items that regularly make my list. I will also make recommendations about what type of produce and vegetables to buy at WF.

1. Miracle Noodles

The best substitute noodles for Asian or Italian dresses ever. These are available Fettucine or Angel Hair style, and you can also get the pre-mixed flavored packets, like Pad Thai. I stock up on the plain kind and have it featured in this week’s Meal Plan and Recipes.

2. 365 Greek Yogurt

I am like the Goldilocks of Greek Yogurt. It’s either too sour, or too tart, or not tart enough, or too watery. The best I have found in my Greek Yogurt quest besides in actual Greece is the 365 Greek Yogurt (with 3.5% milkfat. This is a perfect balance of natural sweetness, with no added sugar, and a little bit tart. Note: this is the Plain Greek Yogurt, not the non-fat yogurt and not the plain yogurt. The containers all look really similar, so read them carefully!

3. 365 Asian Chopped Salad mix

This “Asian inspired” Salad Mix is a perfect companion to the miracle noodles. It’s pre-shredded cabbage, green onions, carrots and celery. The latter are two items I do not have time to chop! You can use this to make my Larb Gai recipe (see under recipes updated for April 20th).

4. Saffron Road Flavor Packets

In my DAO of meal planning post, I have favored these as a low cal, low carb way to add instant Thai, Vietnamese or Indian Flavor to your food. These are available in Coconut and Thai Curry, Indian Masala, Lemon Grass, and Pad Thai flavor. I love making varietes of my own Pad Thai and curries but I do NOT like the bajillion ingredients that I have to buy or how long it takes to chop.

5. Vanilla Supercreamer

So I have endorsed this super creamer in many of my posts, most recently my one on liquid calories, but it’s not becuase anyone is paying me but because I don’t know where else to find an amazing creamer that is only 40 calories for a qaurter of a cup, plant based, really creamy without being gloppy, and has MCT oil, a known brain booster.

6. Proteins

365 Wild Caught Salmon Filets

I love salmon and each one of these is vacuum sealed and has a very fresh taste (they are NOT farm raised) and nice fleshy color. If you like making salmon with cripsy skin, this is also a great brand to buy and at about 30 bucks a package it’s much cheaper than buying the fish at the seafood counter. Maybe not as cheap as Costco, but good buy for the quality (by the way, a Costco list is def in my future. I just need to make the pilgrimage from DC).

Kevin’s Paleo Chicken (Cilantro and Korean BBQ)

I happened to make this discovery jus this week. Thin cut, airchilled and fully cooked chicken breast in a low sugar yummy sauce. And I can make each one last for three lunches.

7. Chompers seaweed snacks

OMG, get these when you seriously want chips. They are explosive and crunchy and have a natural oil from the seaweed that makes them so much better than getting the low-fat or “healthy” verison of chips. They also come in Jalapeno and BBQ flavor, which is good if you want less seaweedy aftertaste. At 4.99 for a bag that’s about half the size of a bag of chips, it’s definitely something that I don’t get every day, but my go-to as an emergency provision for those times that I want something salty and crunchy.

8. 365 Greek Yogurt and Avocado dressing

Another winning dressing to have on hand when I don’t have my own DIY supply. Two tablespoons are only 70 calories and more than enough to give your salad a creamy, ranchy taste.

9. 365 Frozen Avocados

This was a life changing discovery for me in the frozen foods aisle. I love avocados, but I HATE peeling them and I HATE trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the avocado. No matterwhat type of lemon juice or other stuff I put in it it goes brown. Also, it’s really annoying waiting for them to ripen. One time I followed some advice on the IoT and put it in flour with a banana but in between checking it every few hours and getting flour everywhere I was like, I don’t have time for this.

So these swooped in and changed my life. All you have to do is let them thaw at room temp for a few hours, or thaw overnight in the fridge if you want to use them the next morning. They are also great to throw in smoothies, if that is your thing. And you are probably more likey to be able to portion it out better because it is really hard to just use a 1/4th of a fresh avocado.

10. Honeycrisp Apples

Remember in my stress eating post I recommended the Apple test – so, you should have apples on hand! I love the WF Honeycrisp apples, because they are big, juicy and can tide me over if I get hungry and I don’t have 3 hours until a meal. You know that can happen when you are busy – I keep these and nuts on hand at all times!

Fruit and produce to buy at WF

I just made this a catch-all category, because I know that not all of us want to pay for stuff that we can get cheaper in other places. And produce is a big deal, right? So here’s the produce that I would buy at WF, and the ones that I would skip:

Buy – Strawberries, apple, blueberries

Skip – Any fruit that you peel, like banana, avocado, or pineapple (well you don’t really peel a pineapple but you get my point.

I also think that the quality of the fresh greens at Whole Foods cannot be matched. So I buy my kale and spinach here. I am also a big fan of Supergreens, which is a mix of greens like swiss chard, tat soi, arugula and spinach (they also have a protein green variety, with sweet pe leaves.

For veggies, WF has some great frozen vegetable options, like broccoli. If you like to buy broccoli fresh, for that and other cruciferous and root veggies, like cauliflower, carrots, and sweet potato, I am not married to whole foods. Baby carrots are basically the same brand everywhere.

That’s it! If you guys have faves I left out, DM me and I will update the post!