Paleo Shitlist #2: Whole Foods Hot Bar

Posted Sat, 10/16/2010 - 20:16 by Melissa

This gross pic on Gothamist of Whole Foods hot bar food transported alongside of garbage got me thinking that maybe the two really do belong together.

Whole Foods, despite being a source of decent grass-fed meat and seafood, was already kinda in paleo hot water because of their promotion of a low-fat vegan nutrition plan in store literature and signage. I took this pic in the produce section last month:

Isn't "low fat" and "nutrient dense" an oxymoron? Well, if Whole Foods is the only place you can find good food, I recommend you make a beeline for the meat counter and then hightail out of that place. Do not pass the fruit juice section, do not collect organic low-fat chocolate cookies. And especially skip the hot foods bar. In NYC a good quick cheap meal is hard to come by. On the surface the hot bar looks like a good choice, but look at the ingredient lists and you'll find canola oil and other questionable ingredients in EVERYTHING. Ugh. Why ruin a perfectly good chicken by drenching it in that dreck? It's just WRONG! 

Fairway, a major Whole Foods rival, uses olive oil in its hot bar. Thank goodness there is one next to my office.

Comments

Hi Melissa, Just a small

by Stephanie (not verified) - 10/26/2010 - 16:14

Hi Melissa,
Just a small correction for you- 'nutrient dense' would most likely be the correct wordage in that case on the sign, as it means high amount of nutrients in a minimal amount of calories. Fat would be calorically dense, but not nutrient dense. Meat would be both :)

Do you have any experience

by David Csonka (not verified) - 10/18/2010 - 12:39

Do you have any experience with EarthFare? It's some kind of competitor to WholeFoods I believe. Tallahassee will be getting one shortly- I was wondering if it's any good.

All Whole Foods markets are

by GiGi (not verified) - 10/17/2010 - 22:00

All Whole Foods markets are different. The one that I frequent is ridiculously ANAL about how the food is made/treated/transported/etc so I trust it 100%!

This picture makes me mad because it makes people GENERALIZE too much about Whole Foods, but not every place is PERFECT.

So their hot bar doesn't have

by Melissa - 10/17/2010 - 22:34

So their hot bar doesn't have canola oil? I still shop at Whole Foods, but I've been to several in several states and all use canola.

Whole Foods in Washington

by Michael Miles (not verified) - 10/17/2010 - 04:48

Whole Foods in Washington state loves canola oil. It is in nearly everything. I go there now because I can buy a steak (or other food) and have them grill it for me. Still, I have to watch that because they spray the grill/coat the steak with...you guessed it - canola oil!

They are good for some things but fortunately one of the nation's top farmer markets is just a few minutes away.

I eat at the WF hot bar quite

by Keith (not verified) - 10/16/2010 - 22:40

I eat at the WF hot bar quite a bit, and I can usually find some good stuff: spinach in olive oil and beef with bell peppers and onions, with no oil at all, are pretty common; along with some other olive oil or oil free stuff. Maybe, its just luck here in the Midwest?

Hmm, I wonder if different

by Melissa - 10/16/2010 - 22:46

Hmm, I wonder if different stores use different recipes? In NYC I haven't found much without oil. I guess if the low fat stuff Mackey is pulling has an upside it might be entirely oil-free dishes in the future.

Now that Chipotle Union

by Zev Averbach (not verified) - 10/16/2010 - 21:38

Now that Chipotle Union Square seems to have brought the hammer down on the $6 "steak bowls" I was ordering, Whole Foods rotisserie chickens ($8 = 2.5 meals for me) are my go-to if I haven't packed lunch. They're raised "naturally" which of course means nothing at all, but most of them are prepared without canola (or any) oil.

Ha, you should put your

by Melissa - 10/16/2010 - 22:07

Ha, you should put your office uptown. Guess what we have at Fairway? Friggin half a roast duck with olive oil and fresh sliced oranges for $6.

Good to hear that most of the chickens at Whole Foods aren't completely ruined.

I'm so tired of all the

by Erin (not verified) - 10/16/2010 - 20:39

I'm so tired of all the canola oil at Whole Foods.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of canola-free salad dressings on the salad bar today (which I nearly never go to!) so I was able to make a decent salad. Nothing on the hot bar for me, though.

I was just commenting to a former coworker in the "Whole Body" dept. of the Whole Foods I used to work in, that I regret having sold so many copies of Joel Furhman's "Eat To Live" back when I worked there. I *almost* wish I could get a do-over and sell "The Paleo Solution" instead;-)

Both this and the cost of

by stephthegeek (not verified) - 10/16/2010 - 20:19

Both this and the cost of their hot bar bum me out... I want to like it! But it's really a last resort, and I never get out of there for less than ~$12 anyway :(