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I
love Whole Foods with a PASSION!!  There is literally no other store (of any kind) that makes me feel soooo chilled out and happy to be there.  Yeah, I'm cheesy.  But good food comes with a pricetag, so there is no way we can make this our primary grocer for everything that fills our pantry and bellies. 

We get pretty creative in finding the affordable must-haves at Whole Foods and shopping elsewhere for the rest.  Here are some tips on how to navigate the Whole Foods awesomeness without breaking the bank — and after the jump you can check out our Whole Foods product must-haves.

1. Be part of the Whole Foods Community – sign up for your local store's newsletter to stay updated on their specific sales and specials. Plan your weekly menus (in conjunction with other stores' specials) to incorporate more discounted and seasonal ingredients. Also check out their Whole Deals brochure in stores and visit their Sure Deals page for other ideas.
2. Read the Whole Story blog – this is really super Blog for food geeks and Whole Foods fans alike.  Keep an eye on their fun contests (this week their giving away free tickets to Bonaroo – woot!!!) for chances to win free gift cards and such, learn about their newest products (which are sometimes on sale) and jot down their yummy recipes that typically use very seasonal (read:  often cheaper) products. 
3. Take a tour – you can request a tour (typically in advance by phone or email – details on your local store's info page) to get the lowdown on Whole Foods and often some coupons and an extra discount after the fact too!  Rock.
4. Attend a class – Many Whole Foods have really great (and pretty cheap) cooking classes to attend.  It's a fun activity to do in a group and will teach you new dishes and techniques to incorporate in your kitchen magic.  And really, the more you know how to cook from scratch or prepare yourself the less you'll need to spend on food (and the better you'll eat).
5. Sign up for Mambo Sprouts - this is a great health food coupon site that offers coupons for products you're probably already buying at Whole Foods.  Used in conjunction with in-store sales and you've got one heck of a deal.
6. Prioritize your purchasing – pick out the items that are most important to you.  Organic dairy products?  All organic veggies?  Grassfed beef?  Local products?  Select what you care about the most and those will probably guide you in what to buy and NOT to buy at Whole Foods.

Read on for our Whole Foods staple purchases:

I love the produce at Whole Foods, but rarely buy with any regularity due to the
hefty pricetag.  Yes, for some the organic quality makes it hugely
worth it – but our food budget doesn't have the wiggle room for it.  We
stick to other grocers and farmer's markets for produce, unless their
luscious heirloom tomatoes prove too tempting

These are the staples that we go to Whole Foods
for – occasionally we'll pick up some extra snackies if they are on
particularly good sale (and it CAN happen, you just have to be
diligent):

• Ciabatta bread — 4 mini loaves of fresh baked awesomeness,
  perfect for
  cutting in half and making homemade pizza (DELISH).  We love their
  other fresh baked breads too, but you have to eyeball the price before
  making the purchase, they vary widely.
• Sprout salad — a huge container of awesome mixed
  sprouts.  This
  is kind of a splurge some
  months (at about $7), but will last for almost 2 weeks-worth of
  generous salad and sandwich topping.  It's fresh, tasty and worth it if
  you don't do your own sprouting.
• Dr. Bronner's soap – nowadays this soap is becoming easier
  to find in other grocers, but some Whole Foods still have the soap
  refill stations that you can bring your old containers and fill them
  up.  Cheaper and more environmentally friendly, plus Whole Foods'
  selection is usually the best.
• Raw food bars — definitely the best and biggest selection
  around of raw food bars (if you get tired of eating LARA Bars -
  typically the only all-raw bars you can find at other grocers).  Again,
  another shop-only-on-sale item (no WAY I'd pay $4 for one bar) but with
  enough variety to make it worth checking up on every couple of weeks. 
• Bulk items — nuts, vital wheat gluten, TVP and *some*
  granola and trail mixes are typically cheaper when you grab a pound or
  so.  We stopped buying nutritional yeast here though, as their bulk
  prices are ridiculously high. 
• 365 Everyday Value Brand anything – LOVE Whole Foods' house
  brand.  The prices are great (usually way cheaper than regular grocer's
  organic brands) and the quality of high.  I look for canned goods on
  sale, love their cereal bars for Ella and like their chips and salsa
  too.
• Vegannaise – we have a hard time finding this anywhere else (particularly the organic label), so this is where we stock up.
• Rice and soy cheese – we flip flop between soy-based and
  rice-based cheese.  Whole Foods lets us do so with ease.  I've been
  seeing a lot more normal grocers carry *some* non-dairy cheeses, but
  their prices are similar or higher than Whole Foods with less
  selection.
• Specialty vegan products – Whole Foods carries a good
  selection of tempeh, eggless salads, hemp products, coconut oil and
  other vegan essentials that are tough to find in regular stores.  I
  can't speak for the prices as we just can't find them elsewhere, but we
  love knowing we can pick up a crucial ingredient for Sunday brunch at a
  moment's notice, so it's worth it regardless. 
• Natural hair dye – I can't remember the name of the hair
  coloring product I adore from Whole Foods, but it's a Spanish brand and
  costs about $15.  Hands down the best at-home coloring (and natural
  too!) I have ever used – I get compliments about my coloring even from
  my hairdresser

Photo thanks to Flickr user Whole Foods Market