The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes

by Steven Petusevsky, Whole Foods Market Team Members

Who else but Whole Foods Market could create a cookbook so fresh, so appealing, so full of valuable information, and so perfect for the way we are all cooking and eating today? Bursting with winning recipes, healthful cooking advice, cheerful guidance through the new language of natural foods, wine and cheese information, and a comprehensive glossary, this is a “thank goodness it’s here” kind of cookbook.

The world’s largest natural and organic supermarket has created 350 contemporary recipes that are destined to become new classics. Whole Foods Market presents the most popular dishes from their prepared foods section, combined with brand-new recipes that showcase the wide variety of delicious ingredients available today. Far from “crunchy granola” fare, sophisticated recipes include Shrimp and Scallop Chalupas, Hazelnut Crusted Pork Loin, Thai-Style Green Curry Chicken, Griddled Sesame and Garlic Tofu with Wilted Bok Choy, Honey Jalapeño Barbecue Sauce, and Maple Butterscotch Macadamia Blondies. From meat and fish to tofu and vegetables, kid-friendly dishes to one-pot meals, the choices are dazzling, and with more than 200 of the recipes either vegetarian or vegan, the options are diverse.

But the recipes are just the beginning. Steve Petusevsky and Whole Foods Market Team Members shed light on the confusing world of natural foods, presenting interesting, accessible information and all kinds of helpful cooking advice. The Whole Foods Market Cookbook is as welcoming and fun as a trip to one of their stores. Find out the answers to questions such

How do I cook quinoa?
What are the different kinds of tofu, and how do I know which to buy?
How should I stock a great natural foods pantry?
What are good alternatives to wheat pasta?
What does “organic” mean?

A glossary with more than 150 definitions provides a great reference for all of the terms and ingredients that have been edging their way into our vocabularies and kitchens. With recipe bonuses, tips from the team, variations, sidebars, and 30 menu suggestions, this is the natural foods guide that so many of us have been waiting for.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

464 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2002

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this cookbook 09/06/02 and I have just now decided to read it and cook from it. It's a very good cookbook. Good glossary and helpful hints. I'm not sure, though, that cooking with oat milk is preferable to cooking with soy milk.

The authors describe these luscious recipes in mouthwatering detail so that compensates for the lack of pictures. Tonight I made White Bean and Kale Gratin with English Farmhouse Cheddar and it was delectable. (Okay, I used Mexican Taco Cheese, but that's okay!)

As the author said ". . . .The almonds roast onto the surface of the cheddar cheese, forming a crispy, aromatic mantle, which is easily cracked open to expose the bubbling beans. . . ."

Now to find another recipe in here to use up the rest of the kale. . . .

Update 09/21/16 - The Picadillo recipe is awesome! Very tangy, delicious on tortillas!

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

EVery recipe made so far has had the right balance of flavors and is easy enough to prepare. No complaints from the kids and ingredients are not too obscure to find. Real ingredients: no velveeta or jello required.

[Kellea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a great concept for the Whole Foods Market to create it's own cookbook. It makes going into the store less overwhelming and the recipes give you a goal to strive for in your quest to pursue a better eating lifestyle using healthier ingredients. The only downfall of this book is that there are too many words. I need pictures of the food. Otherwise, as I move towards shopping more at supermarkets like Whole Foods, I hope to add this cookbook to my bookshelf soon.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Use this book all the time ~ love to look through it Saturday AM's w/ a cup of java :)

[Mark Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave a copy of this book to my dear friend, Liz, for her birthday a few years ago. Liz, who is vegetarian, and her husband, who is not, could read this cookbook and find recipes both can enjoy to make and to eat.
I'll compare reading the recipes to visiting a Whole Foods deli counter. There is a nice variety within each chapter ranging from the down home to the down home gone slightly upscale that you can feel like you're in the Whole Foods kitchen.
Note: I have friends who don't like Whole Foods who would probably object to my owning the cookbook and liking it as much as I do. My answer is, and remains, I am a foodie who loves to cook. My once in a great while shopping at Whole Foods helped cement that. However, anyone can shop at their favorite grocery store or grocery co-op (I like going to Willy St or Basics in Janesville) to purchase all the ingredients and make the recipes.
One small, annoying drawback...quite a few recipes use 1/8 Cup as the measurement. 1/8 Cup equals 1 ounce equals 2 Tablespoons. If you can remember those equivalents, you'll be fine.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally awesome, fantastic cookbook! I check out a lot of cookbooks from the library, copy a few recipes and then return them. But, if the entire cookbook is fantastic and full of wonderful recipes like this one is, then I buy it. I don't own many cookbooks, but this one is now part of my collection. The recipes are totally delicious! Some of them require more work than I had anticipated, but the food gets rave reviews from whoever I serve it to. For example - the Savory Tomato Pesto Polenta really was a lot more work than I had anticipated it being. However - it was totally awesome and fantastic and everyone loved it. I am making the Carrot Ginger Soup tonight, which is very simple to make. Every single thing I have made from this cookbook has turned out well and tasted fantastic. That is not something that I can say about some cookbooks. I totally love this cookbook and highly recommend it!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I've had this cookbook for a while...maybe 8 years? But in my attempt to broaden my cooking skills and menus, I looked at this book again recently and found a few really good recipes that I hadn't used before! This book helped convince my bacon-loving husband that there are really good vegetarian recipes in the word which are satisfying and filling! The event that really prompted looking closely at this book was a free, garden-grown butternut squash offered by a volunteer who helps each week at the library where I work. I was really amazed at how very yummy the recipe turned out to be. (But since the book is at home and I am not, I cannot tell you the exact name but I can say that it was roasted butternut squash with pasta!)

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book sitting around for awhile. So far the things I have made from it have been good. I just pulled it out to see if my favorite WF prepared soup (Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder) was in it and found it.

Here's a post with the recipe: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/20...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite cookbooks. I do 90% of my food shopping at Whole Foods Market and this book is a great compliment to their wonderful products.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this cookbook because it has all the recipes for the yummy dishes in the Whole Food deli. Plus it is pretty straight forward and involves a good amount of cheese.

[LMIX · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally borrowed this from our library just to see what was in it, having lived in Austin when Whole Foods Market was just our local health food store. We've made a lot of the recipes, with items that are already in the fridge and pantry. Favs are : White Bean and Kale gratin with sharp cheddar - it's like a really really good bean dip / side dish, Turkey Burgers with Asian inspired flavors plus we add some diced mushrooms to keep them moist, Baked pears with maple syrup - substitute apples, made this so many times I can't even count, Lemon-Lime bars are the best lemon bar version I've ever had and how I've made lemon bars ever since, Sonoma Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed dressing is just like from the market. I was hoping to find out the secret to their cold cooked kale dish, it was very garlicky with soy sauce and sesame seeds, but alas it wasn't in here. This has turned out to be one of our better cookbook finds. The recipes are made from real food , not diet or processed or non-fat etc I've been cooking for awhile and the recipes seem easy to understand and follow. I'd use Diamond Crystal sea salt, in the red box, as it is a lighter fluffy shape than regular salt and is about half as salty per teaspoon measure.

[Johanna Haas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whole Foods doesn't have the best reputation these days, but don't let that keep you from this cookbook. It is full of great recipes and tons of how-to's. It's going on my permanent cookbook shelf.

[Reen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am newly plant based and I worried this cookbook wouldn't be for me. Boy was I wrong. Lots of great recipes making me glad that I didn't pass it up. I really enjoyed the variety of recipes and the helpful information included with each one.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed. I was really hoping for more recipes from the deli that I recognized, but really only the sonoma chicken salad and the smoked mozerella penne salad were the only recipes I found that I actually wanted. And the vinegar for the penne salad needed to be cut more than half. With so many specialized ingredients, this cookbook is not very practical. The recipes you really want are probably already available online, as mine were.

[Mrs. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was really disappointing. I was expecting the recipes for some of my favorite dishes at Whole Foods, but no dice. Zip. The recipes I did try ended up rather tasteless and I had to doctor the dishes up a lot.

[Lesleyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natural foods, healthful cooking advice.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of helpful tips and the recipes were excellent. I have made several of the recipes for potlucks and people raved about them, especially the lemon-lime bars.

[Jessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really good recipes and fairly simple to make. But I felt that the recipes were poorly written and sometimes hard to follow.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the references for grains.

[Aili · Rating 3 out of 5]

good recipes, the one for spinach artichoke dip is my favorite.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

the "labor of love" cheesecake is amazing! note: i used vegan sour cream.

[M.tirshman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wide range of great recipes and new ideas on how to prepare many different dishes

[Elizabeth Coble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend the cilantro lime rice.

[Sher❤ The Fabulous BookLover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful insight on how to cook grains, beans etc. The recipes are also easy to follow although I haven't tried any yet.

[mad]

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[Beka · Rating 2 out of 5]

No pictures and lots of ingredients I can't easily get a hold of.