My First Trip To A Health Food Store

[strawberrygm]

We were in Nashville TN (franklin greenhills area).

Was looking for the Whole Foods Store, but it turned out to be a Trader Joe's.

It was really great....but....there were things I was looking for that I couldnt find, not as much gluten-free choices as I had hoped.

Is there a difference in Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wild Oats??

[lizard00]

We don't have a wild oats around here, but we do have Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Trader Joe's is much less expensive, but I find that I cannot do all my shopping there. Whole Foods is definitely a one stop shop for me, besides which they have about the best gluten-free selection around. Trader Joe's carries very minimal name brand stuff (that's how they keep their costs down), which cuts down their selection.

And... Whole Foods is closer to me.

[Mango04]

Trader Joe's isn't actually a health food store, though they do carry some "organic" products. They have many great gluten-free options though. Check out their website for a good list of stuff you can buy there.

Whole Foods is a lot bigger, more expensive - a health food supermarket I guess you could call it. Trader Joe's is like a specialty food store that has some gluten-free stuff.

[DarkIvy]

Wild Oats was started in Colorado. They used to just be a small(ish) independent chain but were bought out by Whole Foods about two years ago. I'm in Colorado, and the Wild Oats that stayed open often have both Wild Oats and Whole Foods brand stuff. It's basically just like a Whole Foods these days, so you could certianly try them.

I don't often go, as their prices are high, even compared to Whole Foods (and we refer to Whole Foods as "Whole Paycheck" around here) and they are small and have limited selection. They do have some gluten-free options, though. it's definitely worth a shot.

Do you have a King Sooper's near you? It's a regular grocery chain, but the ones in Colorado have large gluten-free selections. I go there first before the health food stores.

Do you have any small, local health food stores or chains? I find that usually those are the best, have fair prices, and are able to special order food that you want.

[ShayFL]

I dream of "one stop shopping".

Here in Tampa FL: I go to Publix Supermarket once a week (they have a lot and even carry a good selection of gluten-free foods and Health foods). I go to

Abby's Health Food store once a month (they have some things that the others dont) and Whole Foods once a month. And there are a handful of things I order online.

Sigh...

[lizard00]

I'm sure I'm the only one who feels this way, but I don't really find Whole Foods to be that much more expensive. On some things, they are actually a few bucks cheaper. But our "cheaper" grocery stores are pretty gross. And the nicer ones are around the same price as Whole Foods, so I'd rather go buy better quality stuff.

Just me and my surroundings...