So Full & So 'Whole.' Thanks to Whole Foods.

For a long time I never knew about the other side of Whole Foods. I enjoyed mindlessly wandering the section of bountiful, plentiful produce, admiring the dazzling, popping rainbow of colors and variety of shapes, sizes and textures. I've moseyed up and down the aisles of organic cereals and granola, drooled quite embarrassingly over the pastries behind the glass case and stared longingly at the meat I wish I could afford, let alone prepare at home to meet its quality. But I, for some inexplicable reason, had never stumbled upon the prominently and appetizingly displayed salad bar and freshly prepared food section. The discovery was a glorious one. Since that day, I find every excuse to go have dinner at Whole Foods. It is just too good not to. Every vegetable you could want or imagine is cut up and arranged in metal containers side by side at the cold salad bar. The orange carrots, the yellow corn, the green peas, the purple beets: a tantalizing, edible rainbow right at my finger tips. The tofu, one of my favorite items to pile up in my cardboard to-go box, is prepared an assortment of ways, from Chinese orange glazed to Cajun seasoned to simply grilled. Another bar contains different prepared salads: potato, broccoli, tofu, green bean, pasta, couscous, wheat tabbouleh, etc., etc. All have distinctive flavor combinations that I would never think to try at home and so I load up my box in hopes of also loading up my palette with delightful tastes. The third bar has the hot, prepared food and is usually a surprising international cuisine. Thai, Mediterranean, Indian, Cajun are just a few of the options I have encountered, and scarfed down. Like the other prepared salads, they offer items that I would not normally make at home. The food is usually fresh with a hint of steam slowly rising from the metal containers, wafting the distinctive aromas toward my curious nose. The names of the items are placed above them, with vivid, accurate descriptions of exactly what is in each dish, another feature I adore. I love to know what I am eating...who doesn't? The last bar is the soup bar which, as you can probably guess, features a variety of soups - from classic tomato basil and chicken noodle to more exotic squash medleys and vegetable chowders. They're hot, they're comforting, they're everything you want a soup to be. The combination of these four bars at Whole Foods makes it the ultimate dining experience, for me anyway. I can pick and choose what I want to eat, and how much of it I want to eat. There is no menu dictating limited meal options and no chef deciding the right portion size. I enjoy the freedom of choice and use it accordingly. Although the $7.99 per pound can add up and causes complaints, I have found that as long as you keep your eyes in check with your stomach and your head in check with your wallet, you can walk out with a scrumptious smorgasbord of food packed in your Eco-friendly cardboard container.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/