Some Whole Foods selections can be expensive, (I laughed out loud when I heard someone on NPR radio referring to Whole Foods as "otherwise known as 'Whole Paycheck.' "). But Whole Foods offers great value and quality. In our experience Whole Foods typically has among the best selections of organic fruits and vegetables, including numerous locally grown & produced options, and we are just GLAD to have a Whole Foods so conveniently located in Chapel Hill (at 81 S Elliott Rd.)

Here are some of our favorite Whole Foods finds:

Wonderful™ Pistachios

4-10-2009 Update:  As of today, April 10, 2009, the Wonderful Pistachios brand website states that their pistachios are NOT subject to the pistachio recall.  Per the website at www.wonderfulpistachios.com:  "Wonderful Pistachios (brand) Are Not Involved in FDA Recall"  See the website for more details.

For a list of more pistachio brands NOT subject to the Setton Farms/Terra Bella pistachio recall, visit http://www.pistachiorecall.org/

For a list of pistachio products affected by the recall, www.fda.gov/pistachios/. Consumers should go to company and brand websites for further information about specific products.

3-8-2009
We just enjoyed another bag of Wonderful™ Pistachios featured at Whole Foods.  They are aptly named - yummy and wonderful!  On the back of the bag we learned that Pistachios are a great healthy snack because they are (to quote Wonderful Pistachios) "the most nutrient dense nut, one of the lowest calorie and lowest fat nuts, one of the highest fiber nuts, one of the highest antioxidant nuts."    On the Wonderful™ Pistachios website we learned that pistachios also are a good source of lutein - more lutein than any other nut (lutein is important for eye health), and is also a good source of Vitamin B6, among other good stuff.  

Kerrygold Cheddar Dubliner with Irish Stout
Imported from Ireland

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day celebrations!

Our kids never ceased to be amazed at their good fortune when they spy a Whole Foods sample, especially the gold standard of Free Samples: gourmet cheese.  Cheese, Gromit!  (If you have seen a Wallace & Gromit animated film you will understand a bit of the joy of cheese in the World According to Wallace.) 

Today Whole Foods was offering samples of Kerrygold Dubliner Cheddar with Irish Stout; we tried it, liked it, bought some!  I have returned to the refrigerator at least three times while writing this paragraph for just another wee little slice of this delicious Irish cheese.  A nice, white sharp cheddar; tangy, smooth, creamy.  I have Irish roots and am particularly fond of Irish cheeses, (and Irish beer!).  This cheese offers the perfect combination.

Kerrygold's description (from the Kerrygold website): "A Classic Combination from the capital city of Ireland, Kerrygold's original Dubliner Irish Cheese and its perfect pair, an Irish Stout, are now together in a new unique cheese. The classic flavor combination brings out the sweet, nutty, rich flavor of Dubliner and swirls and tumbles it together with the malty, caramel, bitter flavor of a perfect pint of Irish Stout. Serving this cheese to your guests will have them toasting for more!"

I am looking forward to making my traditional Vegetarian Irish Stew (made with dark Irish Guiness Stout beer) on St. Patrick's Day.  My daughter (now 7 years old) has been Irish dancing since she was four years old, and she has marched/danced in the Raleigh St. Patrick's Day parade for the past three years.  The little Irish Dancing girls are adorable!  (I loved Irish Dancing as a child, and I also had the amazing privilege to stay with a family in Wexford, Ireland, and played the flute with a Wind Ensemble in castles and churches in many different Irish provinces, but haven't been back to Ireland for years.)  Whole Foods has great seasonal Irish Import options; it's about the closest I'll get to Ireland for the moment (especially since the WB Yeats Irish Pub on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill seems to have closed at some point in the past year or so?)  How can a town NOT have an Irish Pub?  Murphy's Grand Irish Pub on King St. in Alexandria, Virginia is my all-time favorite; impossible to even get in the door on St. Patrick's Day unless you get there before noon!  Ah, well.  Since it's unlikely I will make the trek to an Irish Pub in Raleigh to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I'll make a great St. Patrick's Day dinner with some wonderful Whole Foods Irish imports, we'll play some Irish music and get dancing with all the kids.  (It is worth the trip to Raleigh for the St. Patrick's Day Parade for fun, festive St. Paddy's cheer!  Also I have heard that the Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in Raleigh is the real thing; located at 218 S. Blount St. in Downtown Raleigh.  Tir Na Nog sponsors wonderful Irish and Celtic events throughout the year.)

On the topic of the best of Celtic, I hope that our favorite Celtic (Scottish) group Albannach will be back in town again soon!  (I had better not even get started writing about Jamesie, the bass drummer.  The first time I caught a glimpse of Jamesie, he was striding across the lawn at a Fall Celtic Festival at the Cary Koka Booth Amphitheater.  He was wearing an authentic Celtic kilt, flat-soled leather boots laced up to the knee, a sleeveless tank shirt, his long hair flowing . . . handsome and strong, Braveheart-esque, as he strode across the lawn (he didn't walk; he strode).  I didn't know he was a member of the Celtic group Albannach until he strode past us and then up onto the stage . . . and then WOWIE ... the Albannach drums and bagpipes exploded, knocking the entire crowd onto their feet until everyone, young and old, were jumping to the beat of the ancestral drums along with Albannach.  If you ever have the opportunity to see Albannach on one of their brief USA tours, this is an experience not to be missed!  The music is fantastic, life-affirming; the Albannach members have a great vibe (and great wit) on stage.  (They will be playing at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Celtic Festival in July 2009).

More about Albannach (from the www.albannachmusic.com website): 

"Albannach is Scots-Gaelic for "Scottish" or "Scotsman". That's exactly what we are. Albannach are all born and bred in Scotland and our purpose in life is to share our intriguing culture, history and heritage with you by means of our music.  Albannach are not just another Scottish 'Pipes & Drums' band, indeed we bring a new and exciting form of music to your living room. A championship winning piper, an extremely talented main drummer, bass drummers and bodhran musicians bring you a brand new approach to percussion and Celtic music. Our style of music is exciting, energetic and enchanting and we promise to leave you begging for more."  

You can listen to Albannach's music (and check out their concert schedule) when you visit the Albannach website.  And then have some Kerrygold Dubliner cheese and a Stout beer.  In celebration of all things Celtic.  Irish, Scottish, . . . it's all good.  

(p.s.  This stream of consciousness from Irish cheese and beer to Celtic music is a bit stranger given the completely coincidental phrasing at the end of each of the quotes above: "toasting for more" (the cheese), and "begging for more" (the Albannach tribe).

Rachel's^® Wickedly Delicious Yogurt

Rachel's Yogurt is tangy and yummy; smooth and creamy; more like a desert than a yogurt, but also free of high fructose corn syrup and rbST-Free.  My children love it.  (My husband doesn't love it, though.  Not really sure why.  Maybe because it is tangy and different.)  Rachel's Yogurt is available in lots of exotic flavors; Pomegranate Blueberry is one of my favorites.  Also, Rachel is not only Real, but she is, along with the Beatles and Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver, a MBE (Member of the British Empire), an honor bestowed by the Queen of England.  Cool.  I'd like to be in the same club as the Beatles.

From the Rachel's Wickedly Delicious website: 

"Rachel’s^® seeks out interesting ingredients from all across the globe and puts them together in fresh, unexpected ways. Always natural, Rachel’s products are free of artificial flavors, preservatives or sweeteners including no high fructose corn syrup and are made using milk from cows not given artificial growth hormones (rbST-free). . . .  Rachel's yogurt is made with milk that is rbST-free, which means the cows that provide Rachel's milk are not given any artificial growth hormones. What is rbST? Also known as recombinant bovine somatotropin, it's a genetically engineered copy of a naturally occurring hormone produced by cows. You'll also find it called rBGH. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and several European countries have already banned these hormones because of health concerns."

We also learned on the website that "Rachel is Real!"

"Rachel Rowlands founded the Rachel's® brand in the UK in 1984 together with her husband and business partner, Gareth. Under the pair's visionary direction, the brand quickly skyrocketed to success.

In 1997, Rachel was honored with a Member of the British Empire (MBE) Award from the Queen for Services to Agriculture. This coveted prize is recognized in Britain as a sign of highest excellence in one's field. In 2003, Rachel was named Wales' first True Taste Ambassador for her outstanding role in promoting the Welsh food and beverage industry. Rachel is also Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the Welsh county of Cardiganshire; a position in which she serves as the Queen's deputy.

Rachel and Gareth are now semi-retired, acting as consultants to the company they founded. Explore our history to learn more about the three generations of women behind Rachel's and their pioneering achievements in dairy science, the culinary arts and business."

See www.rachelsdairy.com for more information.  Clicking on the link and seeing the cool revolving flower display of yogurts makes me want to have one as I write this!

Whole Foods Chapel Hill, NC

Voted Best Place to Buy Produce (Chapel Hill News Rose Award).  National chain offers great produce, European cheeses, wines, deli and prepared food (great for a quick picnic/take-out), organic foods, and much more!  Also try the in-store cafe.

The Whole Foods Market in Cary, NC offers fun, free kids' programs from time to time throughout the year.  (For example, Back to School events in August.)  Check the Cary Whole Foods' calendar.
Whole Foods Market in Cary, NC
102B New Waverly Place, Cary, NC 27511 (Store Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.)
(919) 816-8830

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