A few months ago, my brother BBM’d the following picture:
…That’s right, Whole Foods was opening up in my hood in London i.e. Piccadily. In other words, my favorite place was soon going to be a 10-minute walk away as opposed to a bus ride to Kensington High Street…or a 45-minute walk on those rare days when I decide to leg it (i.e. when it’s not raining).
More than the actual grocery store section of Whole Foods, I love the restaurant section. Between the brown rice sushi and hot/cold bars, eating there is always a treat. Some people may find the food relatively pricey considering its essentially a supermarket. In my opinion, the taste & quality of ingredients used are both more than worth it. The creativity of each item is also pretty mind-blowing. I like veggies but rarely does the sight of kale or cucumbers make me “oooh” & “aahh”.
Although I have another 2 months before I can get my WF fix, there’s no reason why I can’t attempt to make my own WF-kinda meals. If you’re looking for some fun ways to eat your veggies or new flavor combos, try these out. I didn’t really measure as I went along so consider this a rough guide. Just taste/adjust accordingly.
- Truffle Mediterranean Veggies
Slice & grill peppers, zucchini & aubergine. Once cooled, toss with truffle oil & salt.
- Basil Tomatoes & Beans
Chop up your tomatoes in chunks and mix with kidney beans, fresh basil, olive oil, salt & black pepper.
- Beetroot, Orange & Dill
Cube up the beetroot (pre-boil if you’re using raw). Combine with fresh orange slices, olive oil, generous handful of dill, & salt to taste.
- Bruschetta Mushrooms
Not my best photo clearly
In a heated pan, sauté some minced garlic. As the garlic becomes translucent, throw in the diced mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are almost ready, mix in some olive oil and chopped parsley. Refrigerate till cool & prior to serving, add a generous squeeze of lemon juice.
Got any yum veggie recipes? I’m all ears eyes 🙂
Ahhh that’s so exciting that a WF is opening close to you! I bet you’re going to be there everyday once it opens haha. 😉
I love these ideas for WF inspired veggie dishes. Don’t get me wrong, I love my veggies raw too, but dressing them up with other flavours always makes me want to eat them even more!
Ahh I wish…if only I still lived in London! I def will be going regularly when I’m there over the summer though!
Homaguhhhh I am whoa jealous!! I want one of these near me, but the closest one is over an hour away..booo!
Don’t be too jealous..it still several thousand miles away from me…this 10-minute walk away only applies when I’m in London !
Yay yay!!! AHH I cannot wait to see the noms you load up on 🙂
Haha and you know I will LOAD up :)!
Whoa, some great eats there!
They were yum!
Wahoo!! You must be so incredibly excited to finally have it near you, I know I would be out of my mind happy 🙂
Yesss, I am all the more excited about my trip back to London this summer!
Whole Foods and places like that are always a good 30 min away from me. How awesome it will be a 10 min walk away! I’ve never done the hot bar though. i need to try eating from it. So great to catch up with your blog post vacay!
Oh you really NEED to try it, I just know you would love it! Hope you had a great vacation :)!
hmm the basil & tomato & kidney bean mix looks like something I would love!
I’ve been putting mushroom in everything these days.. it’s so good when you saute it with some balsamic vinegar!
I love whole foods, but I rarely shop there.. I know you’d be paying for quality, but I just can’t afford to shop there all the time! Maybe after I graduate 😛
Agreed about mushrooms- it’s a staple at home…seems to go well with just about anything!
i really love whole foods, especially the INDIAN food there. DAMN it’s good, i think they do a better job than some of the indian restaurants. I love the Chicken Saag. I need to eat there more, there is one about 12 blocks away so I can’t trek there during my lunch hour and back, but on the way home. I can’t wait for WF to come to Mumbai = CHAOS! 🙂
Ahh I WISH it was coming to Mumbai…the excitement in my post would multiply by 100! This branch is opening near my place in London, so will definitely be exciting when I”m there over the summer!
I’ve only been to whole foods once in New York and I was amazed! Everything from the sushi to the cupcakes looked top notch 🙂 The tomatoe and kidney bean dish is making my mouth water.
I would love to go to the one in NY, if it’s anything like London I am not surprised that everything was top notch :)!
I went past the new WF on Saturday. One word – Ridonkulous. It is so big. Definitely going to check it out this weekend. I’ll let them know you are on the way…
So glad it’s not like the puny branch in Soho…buy me some goodies! I’ve gone off Nanas so those are vetoes….thaaaanks and no pressure 🙂
I love WF! There’s one opening in my town and even though it’s still about a 20 minute drive away (30 with traffic) at least there will be one in my town now and not just the one an hour and a half away!
30 minutes definitely beats the 90 minute drive :)!
I used to be walking distance from WF–I miss the hot/cold bars so much! I now live on the other side of town (40 min without traffic), so yeah, I should definitely be trying some at-home recreations to get my WF fix!
For what it’s worth, I’m sure your wallet appreciates the lack of WF action in your life ;)!
Haha, that is most definitely true! Although I also moved closer to a great froyo place…so the money part might have balanced out ;D
I’ve not as yet had the pleasure of visiting a WF, can’t wait to though! Your truffle mediterranean veggies looks scrumptious! My fav veg meal is spinach and chickpeas – it’s a Spanish inspired dish (Garbanzos con espinacas) that I put an Indian twist on! Fry up the spinach with some spices -your choice…I always go Indian inspired with some garam masala, cumin, corriander powder, chillies and garlic, remove…then add about 1 cup breadcrumbs to the pan…let it cook for a little while, add chickpeas and spinach back and you’re good to go! Delish!
Oh wow, thanks for sharing this recipe- I am going through a phase of loving chickpeas so will definitely try it out!
Nice post! Am not much a salad person, but I think am definitely going to try out adding basil to my version of tomato and beans! 🙂 Love the photos! Maybe they inspire me try out these combos 😉
I love adding basil to my salads- makes it so much more flavorful! Hope you give these a try :)!
ooooh those mediteranean veggies look RIGHT up my alley!
I bet you were sold at truffle :)!
My work is 5 mins from Kensington High Street, and I don’t know whether it is a blessing or a curse at this point haha. I’d only been to the one in Clapham, which is TINY and I wasn’t really impressed…until I went to the Kensington one. Wow. I am addicted to these salads already!
Haha oh it’s definitely both a blessing and a curse…good luck to your wallet is all I’m saying ;)!
That’s exciting about WF in London!!
A WF is opening up near my campus come fall…so I can’t wait for lunch breaks :D!
Whaaat! I’m so jealous! The options near my campus when I was in college were pretty pathetic!
I always make bruschetta mushrooms. Love love love them. So Chicago has a new chain of supermarkets called Mariano’s. They’re a more reasonable version of Whole foods complete with salad bar and bakery. Will miss them once we move.
More reasonable than Whole Foods? I like the sound of this chain already!