Why You Should Go to Whole Foods Market for Your Next Take-Out Meal

Let's put aside the fact that Whole Foods Market has a great selection of all-natural and organic foods. Let's put aside the fact that their meat section has more chicken, pork, beef, and lamb options that most other grocers combined. Let's even put aside the fact that this is one of the only stores I know of that has its own section dedicated to cheeses. Above all of that, let's put aside that it's a grocery store. Let's put all of that aside just for a minute... and consider that it doubles as a place that offers great food that you can take out.

You know you get upset that you've spent $50, $75, even $100 going to the grocery store and then you're trying to figure out what to eat when you get home! You feel like you've done all of this grocery shopping and then you beat yourself up for calling the local Chinese food place to order that vegetable fried rice and orange chicken that you often talk about. So that's what... $20 out the door for one meal? Let's consider the alternative - better yet, consider going to Whole Foods Market for take-out. You know you're probably going to eat out at some point between paychecks anyway so you might as well do it at a place that offers healthy take-out.

Now, let me clarify something. Healthy here doesn't mean it is void of fat and calories. Healthy here means it uses quality unprocessed foods. Remember the premise of the grocery store - they offer foods that are good for you including all-natural and organic fare. So if you get a slice of pepperoni pizza here, yes the pepperoni will still have grease, but you should feel better knowing that the pepperoni is at least all-natural. If you get a Panini here, you know you're eating good bread with good cheese and good condiments. If you order sushi (and yes some Whole Foods have sushi bars) then you're getting good seafood and good rice and good vegetables. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Whole Foods offers an awesome variety of hot foods including chili, brick-oven roasted pizzas, grilled Panini sandwiches, and more. There are also cold options such as seafood salad, pasta salads, and a salad bar with dressings and additions to leave you wanting salad the next day and the next day. It seems that the latest Whole Foods Markets that are opening up are considering the fact that a good grocery store also serves as a place to get good take-out food. Most people don't want to wait to get home to eat something. Most people will go to a grocery store for take-out because it's either cheaper than restaurants, or they can buy two or three ingredients and make a meal out it. So why not take the labor portion out of it and buy directly from a vendor inside the grocery store.

You can also forget about getting a diet Coke to go with that take-out meal. Some Whole Foods Markets offer juice bars where you can get customized or pre-packaged beverages. If none of those suit you, remember, you are in a grocery store - you can go to the drink aisle and get whatever beverage you want; it might even be cold already. If you want dessert, they have pastries already made, or you can go to their bakery section and purchase baked goods that taste homemade. I've had many a day where the cream cheese Danish was just enough to get me home, or that chocolate-chip cookie hit that sweet tooth, or that croissant was great to go with the soup I got for my wife.

My advice: if you need good take-out and you need to grocery shopping at the same time, go to Whole Foods Market where you can get both done and feel good about what you're eating at the same time. Their prices are reasonable, the selections are impeccable, and you have to love anywhere that has food available in bulk without being a wholesaler.