Come on a trip through the bulk section! Blogger and author Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story opens in a new tab shares one easy strategy for keeping dinner with family filled with love and affordable.
Her mission is to help parents learn to cook from scratch — and replace the tempting urge to grab take-out with a habit of making dinner together at home. Using the bulk section as the starting point, she shares how parent-kid bonds are nurtured and her budget is kept to the bottom line.
Every Whole Foods Market has a bulk section opens in a new tab — where the colorful beauty of raw grains, beans, pastas, spices, nuts and more are on display in big, enticing see-thru bins.
You can use the containers provided or bring your own from home. If you bring your own, stop by the customer service desk to get them weighed first; the cashier will take the weight off the total when you check out.
Kids love helping pour, scoop and bag the goods (just keep make sure they use a scoop and not their fingers!) You save money on packaging and get the exact amount you need — plus the freshest whole foods around.
Jenny suggests:
Buying a big bag of bulk grain like quinoa or barley
Making a batch at the beginning of the week
Using it all week long as the base for sides, in soups, and as cereal
Here are four recipes that can get you started with quinoa and barley.
Our Learn to Cook Quinoa opens in a new tab recipe is a great place to embark upon a love story with this fluffy little ingredient — a complete protein and storehouse of nutrients. Once you have a batch of cooked quinoa in the fridge, you have a foundation for many meals, like Quinoa Vegetable Soup opens in a new tab.
Barley is another filling whole grain that can show up effortlessly to breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Learn to cook a plain batch with our Simple Barley opens in a new tab recipe, then expand your repertoire. Heat it up in a pan with almondmilk and cranberries for a breakfast, or make a light Barley Salad with Fresh Min opens in a new tabt for a cooling side dish.
Do you love the bulk section? Are you a grains and beans devotee? Do you aim to get home-cooked food on the table? Share your tips in the comments below!
