Feeling lost trying to reconcile delicious good-for-you food with affordability? Here’s your guide for how to squeeze the most value from the season’s superstars (think berries, veggies and herbs) without leaving your values behind.

Try ten of our favorite ways to celebrate the true tastes of summer without a real burden on your budget.

1. Envision “whirled peas.” Make simple chickpea hummus and get creative with flavor using what you have on hand — herbs, spices, grilled veggies, artichoke hearts.

2. Budget aid. Homemade lemonade won’t squeeze your savings. Homemade limeade or a combination of the two is easy on your budget, too.

3. Tea time. Making large batches of iced tea at home is easy and an indisputable money-saver. Add fresh fruit and mint . . . perhaps from your garden.

4. Pesto change-o! Make your own pesto with raw herbs or greens, nuts from the bulk section, a hard cheese, lemon juice and olive oil. Try it with pasta or steamed vegetables, use it as a spread on sandwiches and wraps, or serve as a dip with raw veggies or pita chips.

5. Lick overspending. No need to spring for store-bought ice pops. Homemade is a great use for juices, yogurt or berries in your fridge.

6. Budget barista. Save some bucks by making your own iced coffee. Use leftover a.m. coffee to make coffee ice cubes to avoid dilution.

7. Give up the bottle. DIY vinaigrette is easy to tinker with and customize. Beyond salad, use it as a marinade or veggie dip. (Chef’s tip: you can make sherry-walnut vinaigrette with: shallot + whole grain mustard + walnut oil + sherry vinegar + chervil + finely chopped toasted walnuts.)

8. Morning DJ. Mix up smooth-ie hits and juicy tunes at home for just a song. Try this Blueberry Muffin Smoothie for a fresh and filling breakfast shake. Mango fans will love this decedent vegan lassi.

9. Why scream? Make ice cream sandwiches with 365 Everyday Value® cookies and ice cream. Bonus: drizzle with melted Whole Trade® chocolate before freezing.

10. Raise the bar. To make granola bars, shop our bulk aisle for what you need and nothing else — no hydrogenated fats or artificial colors, flavors,

Like these money-saving tips? The current issue of The Whole Deal with $55+ in coupons, more than a dozen Sure Deals, 10 new budget recipes and lots more tips and tricks to save this season.

How do you enjoy the flavors of late spring and early summer without burning a hole in your wallet?

Grilling season is here! Before you go running for those long-handled tongs, we’ve got five things every grilling guy and gal needs to make the most of an afternoon over the coals.

1. Fire – A heat technique reminder for those of us who haven’t started a fire since the last big snowfall: Charcoal grills provide a more distinctive “grilled” flavor and backyard smell, but can be messy and sometimes difficult to ignite. Gas grills ignite easily and maintain an even temperature from start to finish, but they’re more expensive and aren’t suited to burning wood chips. Choose which is best suited for you.

2. Quality protein – No doubt about it, the better the meat you start with, the better your grilled result.  Our high standards ensure great-tasting meat from healthy animals, and our partnerships with farmers and ranchers means there’s likely a local, grass-fed or organic cut at your neighborhood Whole Foods Market. Plus, we’ve got butchers in the house! Ask your butcher for advice and tips on the best cuts for grilling.

If your preferred protein is of the meatless variety, we’ve got you covered there too: from tofu to tempeh, veggie dogs to veggie burgers. There’s room on our grill for everyone!

3. A beverage – Standing over a hot, smoky grill can work up a serious thirst. Our Summer Lemonade or Limeade recipe ensures tasty, organic refreshment for just 44 cents a serving! And check out the May/June issue of The Whole Deal value guide for quenching coupons.

4. Tasty sides – Don’t forget all the yummy side-dishes that complement (and sometimes outshine!) the main event. From potato salads to deviled eggs, bodacious bean salads and fun fruit salads, there’s plenty of room on that plate for a little variety. Love a good side dish but prefer to focus on the grilling? Use the coupon for Black Bean Quinoa Salad in the May/June issue of The Whole Deal and let our prepared foods chefs do the work for you.

5. Bug and sun care – One of the joys of grilling is being in the great outdoors! But while tender grilled meat is a goal, tender sunburned and bug-bitten skin is not. Choose bug and sun care with high standards and safe, effective ingredients. (Psst, there’s a great coupon for sun care in the May/June issue of The Whole Deal!)

For more tips and ideas, our Guide to Grilling is an endless source of sizzling inspiration (seriously, this thing’s got everything: prepping and heating tips, green grilling ideas, food safety reminders, recipes, special methods and techniques … marinate in it!).

What are your grilling must-haves?

I grew up thinking eggs came from those baby blue and pink Styrofoam packages that lined the refrigerated shelves at the supermarket. Thankfully, I’ve learned a lot since then! Much of my recent schooling came from local companies who sell high-quality eggs from free-range hens. Companies like Phoenix’s Egg Farm, our Local Producer Loan Program’s most recent loan recipient.

Phoenix’s Eggs is the only licensed egg farm within the Portland, Oregon city limits. The husband and wife team, Souriya and Sophin Khamvongsa, did not set out to become chicken farmers. It all began when they started eating free-range chicken eggs fresh from a farm.  The difference in taste was remarkable. They made a pact with each other that from that moment on they would only eat farm-fresh eggs. Eventually, they began raising a few chickens of their own to provide eggs for their family, including their son, Phoenix! Word spread, as often happens when you start producing delicious fresh food, and the Khamvongsa’s extended family, friends and neighbors started requesting some fresh eggs, too. Eventually, in 2010 they decided to expand their operation and go into business.

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Originally grown around Malaysia, bananas made their way to India and eventually to the West, but it was not until 1876 that Americans first tasted the banana. They were served in Pennsylvania at a celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. And we’ve been finding innovative ways to eat and serve them ever since!

Luckily, bananas are available year round. Although they may be green or greenish yellow in the store, they are ripe when they are fully yellow. Never ripen in the refrigerator, only at room temperature. If not using right away once they are ripe, you can store in the refrigerator, but know that even though the skin will turn black, the flesh of the banana is fine underneath. Another option is to peel and freeze until ready to use.

Look for Whole Trade bananas, available only in Whole Foods Market® stores. Our Whole Trade® Guarantee ensures fair prices are paid for products, better wages and working conditions and sound environmental practices. We’ve built relationships with some of the world’s best and most socially and environmentally innovative banana growers. Considering the social and environmental problems that have resulted from large-scale banana production in many Latin American countries, we are proud to offer this excellent fruit from growers that are truly part of the solution.

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Sometimes there’s just no getting around the craving for a freshly grilled, juicy hamburger. If you’re a burger fan, make sure you stop by one of our continental US stores this Friday, May 18^th to pick up ready-to-cook beef burgers for $1 each!

Availability, limits and burger size may vary by region, so you can contact your store for details. While supplies last. Most of our stores do not provide rain checks for sales like this. This sale is applicable to our continental US stores only.

A buck a burger is far less than you’d pay at restaurants or even fast-food burger joints — and unlike most of those places, our burgers are made from beef that is Global Animal Partnership 5-Step™ Welfare rated. Plus, our beef comes from cows that were given no animal by-products in their feed, no supplemental growth hormones and no antibiotics, ever. Even better, the burger patties from our meat counter are chef-prepared and made from beef that our butchers grind fresh daily. For all of that, this sale seems like a steal!

If you’re planning on picking up some burgers from this Friday’s sale, here are some tips to make your burgers the best:

• Try whole-grain buns with no artificial preservatives.
• Bring the flavor up a notch with a great melting cheese, such as aged Grafton classic reserve Cheddar, Havarti with dill or a Brie-style cheese. (If you’re grilling your burger, try throwing halloumi cheese onto the grill too — it’s a cheese made for grilling.)
• Dress it up with condiments — we only sell those that meet our Quality Standards for no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

Whether I’m grilling burgers or cooking them on the stove or in the oven, I’m always on the ultimate burger quest. Burgers are so versatile that it seems like you can put just about anything on them and they’d taste good.  Here are a few burger ideas that are tops!

• Perfect Burgers
• Cheddar-Stuffed Horseradish Burgers
• Mediterranean-Style Burgers with Rosemary Mayo
• Banh Mi Grass-Fed Beef Burgers
• Apple and Cheddar Grass-Fed Beef Burgers
• The New Englandah Burgah

What are your favorite things to put on a hamburger? Remember, our “Buck a Burger” sale is one day only, so don’t forget to stop by our continental US stores this Friday, May 18^th!

In support of Pregnancy Awareness Month this May, tune in to learn from the founder herself as she shares her diet and lifestyle suggestions for couples preparing to conceive. Anna Getty is a busy mother of two, an author, blogger and founder of Pregnancy Awareness Month.

Podcast: Download

May is Pregnancy Awareness Month:

• Created to provide an educational platform that supports pregnant women and new moms with information and a supportive community.
• Motherhood is celebrated with four key initiatives: education, exercise, nutrition and wellness, and nurturing the mother.
• Events are held around the country and more information can be found at www.pregnancyawareness.com

Did you know May is Celiac Awareness Month? I don’t have to eat gluten free, but I have lots of friends who do. When I’m entertaining or attending a potluck, I like to be able to bring something that the entire group can enjoy. It not only helps ensure my friends have something tasty to nibble on, but can also expand the food horizons of the other guests!

Whether you’re living gluten free, are grain conscious or you simply like tasty eats, then these recipes are sure to please.

 
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Happy World Fair Trade Day! To mark this annual global celebration, I want to take a few minutes to spotlight one of our partners, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap.

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap was one of the first Whole Body™ products offered at our original Whole Foods Market® store in Austin, Texas, in 1980. Over the years, Dr. Bronner’s has both gained a strong following of dedicated shoppers and shown a steadfast commitment to caring for the communities and environment around them. The two achievements aren’t mutually exclusive, of course.

Read on to find out how you could win a Fair Trade adventure for two to Sri Lanka.

As a company offer fair trade products, Dr. Bronner’s extends that philosophy to the farmers and workers around the world who produce their major raw materials. In shifting their supply chains to Fair Trade ingredients, the company made a big difference in the lives of several thousand farmers and workers who, along with their families and communities, benefit from fair prices, living wages and funding for local development projects. Take a closer look at one Fair Trade ingredient and its impact on one man and his community.

When they couldn’t find a suitable supply of fair trade organic coconut oil for their products, Dr. Bonner’s founded Serendipol (Pvt) Ltd., a Sri Lankan subsidiary, in 2007. Serendipol’s first task was to recruit coconut growers and convert them to organic and fair trade practices. They hired Dhanoj Meegahapola to manage the Fair Trade programs and purchasing of coconuts.

After Dhanoj’s own small coconut fiber business failed due to a drop in the market, the offer to set up Serendipol’s organic and fair trade structure changed his life and eventually those around him. Dhanoj trained a team of five extension officers, who then identified and converted some 400 growers with a combined 6,300 acres to organic practices. The team now handles the purchasing of some 15 million coconuts per year.

Thanks to Dhanoj and others like him, Serendipol is now the world’s foremost source of organic and Fair Trade virgin coconut oil. They supply cosmetics-grade coconut oil for Dr. Bronner’s soaps and premium-quality, food-grade coconut oil, as well as organic coconut oil, to other like-minded companies.

Notably, fair trade certification mandates a 10% margin be put into a fund to pay for community projects. Serendipol’s Fair Trade Fund collects more than $150,000 per year from its customers for community development projects. Funded projects include procuring critical medical equipment for several local hospitals and providing schools with toilets and books, as well as projects for Serendipol’s workers, such as home improvement funds and school supplies. Their committee is also working to help disadvantaged rural communities connect to the grid and have their own water supply at a low cost.

Learn more about Serendipol’s efforts in this video:

Win a Trip to Sri Lanka

Interested in visiting Serendipol’s coconut oil mill and meeting their team? Fair World Project is celebrating World Fair Trade Day by offering you a chance to win a 17-day Fair Trade Adventure for two to Sri Lanka provided by Intrepid Travel. Visit with local coconut farmers supplying the coconuts for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, bliss out beachside, witness elephants bathing, feast on the local cuisine and much more.

Make sure to enter the contest through the Fair World Project website.

Choices count

Small choices you make every day really make a difference in the world. When you choose products like Dr. Bronner’s Magic “All-One!” Soaps or their Fair Trade & Organic Fresh-Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil, you are actively using your buying power to create new economic opportunities for workers in the developing world. Imagine the possibilities.

We love our producers, suppliers and vendors and we think most of them have some pretty interesting stories behind their products too. We’re sharing some of our favorites here in an ongoing series.

Alter Eco was started by a group of friends who share a passion for economic and social justice and food.

From the start, their mission was to work with small-scale farms in the developing world and also to share foods that celebrate specific regions and their traditions. All Alter Eco products are sourced directly from farmer-owned cooperatives and certified Fair Trade by Trans Fair USA.

Products include Royal red, white or rainbow quinoa from Bolivia, heirloom Jasmine rice from Thailand, unprocessed Mascobado cane sugar from the Philippines and dark chocolate bars made with organic cacao from Ecuador and Peru. Each has the highest possible quality with distinct flavor profiles that result from native soils, climate and farming techniques.

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It started out as just another quiet day at the office. By the end of the day we were muddy, sweaty, covered with debris, itchy — and happy. This was the third Earth Day (since 2010) that a group of Whole Foods Market® Green Mission enthusiasts gathered on the banks of the Colorado River in east Austin for a volunteer project. We were sensibly dressed, with long-sleeved shirts, long pants, work gloves and sturdy shoes. Most of us had hats. One of us had purple hair.

We concentrated on planting trees and removing invasive species like bamboo, with a bit of trash and debris removal tossed in for good measure. All the while, we kept an eye out for the poison ivy that sprawled throughout the underbrush.

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