When I moved to Portland, Oregon, 14 years ago, I desperately missed Hy-Vee. While living there, I found several wonderful local stores that I grew quite fond of, but when I moved 6 blocks away from a Whole Foods, it became MY store, proximity being my weakness.
Now that I live back in the land of plenty (hello Hy-Vee!), I still venture to Whole Foods every couple weeks. Why? Well, I’ve always been obsessed with food. I try to eat fairly healthy, but honestly, I have some from food snob tendencies. My husband and I cook from scratch most of the time and quality and variety are important to us. Hy-Vee ticks a lot of the boxes but there are some specialty items and even some things that are cheaper at Whole Foods. 
Why I Love Shopping at Whole Foods
Their 365 brand has great organic and non-organic options at a very competitive price. I always pick up some bags of 365 frozen veggies and frozen organic mini waffles.
Their seafood counter has more variety (hello octopus and head-on shrimp!). Their meat counter is smaller than most, but they have a nice selection of lamb, which I consider an underutilized meat. Their produce is more varied as well. If I need broccoli raab, I know where I have to go. And a lot of organic veggies are usually cheaper.
Whole Foods Tips, Tricks, and Mom-Hacks
With the buyout by Amazon, there are some discounts to be had by Prime members. I bought Annie’s’ bunny crackers for $2 a box the other day thanks to Prime.
I am a big fan of bulk sections. Theirs is bountiful and again competitively priced. I buy most grains in bulk, such as oats, rice, wheat berry, etc. Also, spices. If you are not buying spices in bulk, do it now. I go through a lot of bay leaves and they are literally pennies when bought in bulk.
When I shop at Whole Foods I plan to pick up lunch from the salad and/or hot bars. They do a nice job offering unique prepared foods. Often times having a multi-culture offering on the hot bar and tons of yummy superfood salads. But I am someone who gets excited about things described as earthy and/or funky, so you might not be as jazzed about the chlorophyll salad as I am.
Why I recommend shopping at Whole Foods
I love the atmosphere. I am generally a chatty person, but don’t feel the need to be so in every aisle, if you catch my drift. Don’t get me wrong, the staff is friendly, but not overly so. If you need help, someone is there, but not asking how you are and if you need help for the 20th time whilst you wrangle your multiple kids, trying to get out of there.
Obviously you are not going there to buy Doritos and save big bucks, but when you need mango Waterloo sparkling water and self-serve mochi, head to Whole Foods!
Location:
4100 University Ave, West Des Moines, IA 50266
This post is part of Des Moines Moms Blog’s Ultimate Guide to Grocery Shopping. This is not a sponsored post, all opinions are our own.
