Ever wander by the front of the grocery store or health food store and see bins filled with small shovel like utensils…..Well if so, then you have arrived in the stores bulk section.  There are many great things about buying bulk you should know.  First wonderful thing is you are the boss of how much or little you and your family needs.  You determine that by the weight of product you bag.  Buying bulk allows you to save while getting more.  You also get on average fresher foods as they are replenished more often then pre-packaged items.  In a months time you could generate large savings on your families food simply by buying bulk.

When you buy bulk you are reducing unnecessary packaging which results in unbearable waste that our planet cannot bear.  Begin buying bulk for everyone’s sake and you will see you have fresher options, contributing to saving resources, with the opportunity to buy as little or much as you want or need and save while doing so.  Where typically you would have to buy a full box or several pounds of something you can afford it now with the flexibility of buying what you need without surplus force.

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**Whole Foods Bulk section is almost all organically grown, using paper and plastic recyclables for the packaging.   Always inquire on the processing method whether it be organic or conventional methods so that you can make the most responsible choices for you and your families food supply.**

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What you can expect to find when you are buying bulk:

Most standardly you will find the following below.  Consult with your health food store near you for rates, seasonality of store, availability as well as types of bulk they carry.  This listing is what is most standardly seen or found in most stores:

BEANS: (adzuki, Black Turtle, Black Eyed Peas, Chickpeas (Garbanzos), Dahl, Great Northern, Green Lentils, Green Split Pea, Lima (baby), Navy, Pinto, Red Kidney, Red Lentils, Soy, and Yellow Split Peas).

DRIED FRUITS: (Apple Rings, Coconut chips and shredded, Currants, Dates (Deglet Noor, Medjool), Organic date pieces with oat flour, Dried Apricots, Dried Bananas, Dried Peaches, Dried Pears, Dried Pineapple, Figs (Black Mission, Calimyrna, or Turkish), Mango, Prunes (pitted and unpitted), Raisins (Organic Thompson), and Sun-Dried Tomatoes).

FLOURS: (Amaranth, Arrowroot Powder, Buckwheat Flour, Blue Cornmeal, Yellow Cornmeal, Garbanzo, Gluten Flour, Oat Bran, Rye, Soy, Spelt Flour, Teff Flour, Unbleached White Flour, Unprocessed Wheat Bran, Wheat Germ (toasted), Whole Durum Wheat Flour (pasta flour), Whole Wheat Bread Flour, and Whole Wheat Pastry Flour).

GRAINS: (7 Grain Cereal, Amaranth, Bulgur (quick cooking), Cracked Wheat, Hard Red Winter Wheat Berries, Kamut, Millet (Gluten Free), Organic Whole Wheat Flakes, Pearled Barley (pot), Popcorn, Quinoa (white and red), Rolled Oats, Rye Flakes, Bye Berries, Spelt Berries, Steel-Cut Oats, Teff Berries, Whole Roasted Buckwheat Groats (Kasha), and Whole-Wheat and Semolina Couscous).

NUTS & SEEDS: Alfalfa Seeds (for sprouting), Almonds (Raw, Roasted and tamari), Buckwheat Seeds (for sprouting), Cashews (Raw, Roasted, salted, unsalted and pieces), Hazelnuts, Mixed Nuts, Filberts, Peanuts (Raw, roasted, salted and unsalted), Peanut Butter (crunchy or smooth), Pecans, Pine Nuts (raw), pistachios (raw and roasted, salted and unsalted), Pumpkin seeds, Sesame Seeds, Sesame Tahini, Soy Nuts, Sunflower Seeds (for sprouting, raw, roasted, hulled and unhulled), and walnuts (raw, roasted, salted and unsalted).

PASTA: (Soba, corn pasta, Quinoa Elbows, Semolina Pasta, Sesame Rice Spirals, Spinach Flats, Whole Wheat Shells, Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Whole Wheat Udon Noodles, Whole Wheat Veggie Spirals, Whole Wheat Veggie Elbows, and Whole Wheat Ziti).

RICE: (Basmati white or brown rice, Brown Rice of short grain, sweet, Long grain, Jasmine rice both white or brown, Texmati Rice in both white or brown, Wehani (red) rice, Wild & Brown Rice Mix, Wild Rice, and Wild Rice blends).

SEA VEGETABLES: (Arame, Hijiki, Kombu, and Wakame).

LIQUID BULK ITEMS: (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Honey Clover, Honey Wildflower, Maple Syrup (dark), Maple Syrup (B Grade for cooking), Safflower Oil, Sesame Oil, and Shoyu (Tamari).

MIXES: (Vegetarian Based chicken broth, Falafel Mix, Five Grain Pancake Mix, Hummus, Instant Black Beans, Multigrain Pancake & Waffle Mix, Natures’ Burger Mix, Organic Multigrain Pancake Mix, Tabouli Salad, and Vegetarian Chili).

*Be sure to check your local healthy food store for what bulk items they carry all are different and some locations have really special items that only they have.  Be sure to ask as you will be happy to know what possibilities your store brings.*