Celebrating the Holidays with Whole Foods

Growing up, my family would always get together for the holidays and celebrate with big meals. I’d drink apple cider and try and steal some pumpkin pie while getting shooed from the kitchen and told to go help set the table. I look back on all those memories fondly, even the year my dad tried to cook the turkey, but forgot to defrost it so we ended up ordering Chinese for Thanksgiving dinner. Now that I’m an adult, I have more of a role in planning holiday celebrations than just worrying about picking out the right party poppers that have good prizes and nice crowns. (Does anyone else do those at the holidays? I still love them!) I long to create that same atmosphere around the holidays as I start to host celebrations and Josh and I begin to make new memories as a family. All the things that go into holiday celebrations can be stressful at times, especially when you are new to doing it. I don’t know about you, but I want to spend my holidays enjoying my time with loved ones, not feeling stressed. Thankfully, I have some help.

Enter: Whole Foods. You guys know I love Whole Foods. Josh and I shop there every week. They sell delicious, nutritious food and make the shopping experience fun. They’re constantly sampling new things in the store and their friendly employees are eager to share their knowledge and tips on the various products.

Whole Foods Omaha reached out to a handful of Omaha bloggers and invited us to their Blogsgiving. We were given the opportunity to try out dishes from their Holiday Menu and learn more about how we could cater our holiday events with Whole Foods.

Before we even got to the food, Joanna, Trisha, and I stopped by the wine demo going on in the store. Whole Foods was showcasing some different beverage pairings perfect for your Thanksgiving feast. Josh and I have found out about so many different drinks through Whole Foods wine sampling events. They’re the ones who introduced me to Moscato, my absolute favorite wine.

When I saw the list of food Whole Foods had prepared for us, I was blown away. I am a frequent shopper there and had no idea how extensive their catering menu was. The crazy thing is that this isn’t even half of it. Some of the items on their menu that we didn’t try but I am now drooling over include: whipped sweet potatoes with pecan streusel topping, creamed corn with brussels sprouts, roasted beet skewers with goat cheese, and gruyere and spinach stuffed mushrooms. I’m thinking Josh and I may have to have a feast for two one day and just go crazy with side dishes.

Their catering is super convenient. All their food is pre-cooked and can be ordered individually or as a meal. If you want to cook the turkey yourself, you can do that too and reserve an uncooked turkey. It’s a great way to ensure all your holiday food meets the strict quality standards Whole Foods enforces on their store products 365 days a year.

Orders can be placed online, in stores at the Holiday Order Table, or over the phone. If you are an Omaha local you can call 402-393-1200, or visit Whole Foods at 10020 Regency Circle (Dodge and Regency Parkway).

Whole Foods didn’t just prepare a delicious spread of food for us, they also decorated beautifully. It really got us into the holiday spirit. Bloggers from left to right are Jess, me, Hannah, Trisha, and Joanna. I feel so lucky to consider these girls my friends. We had such a fun time chatting and eating the night away. It was the perfect wind down for me after a week of travel.

An inside look at what it’s really like at a blogger meetup. 😀

Whole Foods included a bunch of yummy drinks with our meal. I’m not an eggnog fan although some of the other girls raved about it. I went straight for the honeycrisp and loved it. I took the rest home and Josh made us hot toddies while we watched Shark Tank. (Is anyone else obsessed with that show?) Jess said the blood orange soda was delicious so I tried some, prepared not to like it, and ended up being pleasantly surprised. It was really good!

All of our delicious appetizers. Hannah had the quinoa cranberry roast for her main entree and I could totally see Josh and myself doing that as well. It’s a great vegetarian option.

Of course now that I’m eating chicken and turkey again I had to make sure I tried some Thanksgiving turkey. It was so incredibly moist and flavorful. I lack the culinary skills to cook a turkey, and the desire to want to stick my hand up its butt, so I will leave all future turkey meals to the pros and order one from Whole Foods. Major kudos to Trisha for carving this one up.

My favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal is the sides. I was all over the green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. And the stuffing is better than Stovetop! That may sound like an insult, but Stovetop is the pinnacle of stuffing to which I judge all others against. What can I say, it’s good. But Stovetop has finally met its match.

No Thanksgiving is complete without dessert. And what delicious desserts Whole Foods has! We passed that tin of cookies around the table more times than I care to admit. I also fell in love with Whole Foods whipped cream. It’s made fresh in store and is the best whipped cream I’ve ever had. Eating it on top of a piece of yummy pumpkin pie was the perfect way to end the evening.

It was such a fun night with the best of company. I want to give Whole Foods a huge thank you for putting on such a wonderful event for us. If you want to have Whole Foods cater your holiday celebrations make sure you keep in mind the deadline for each particular holiday:

Thanksgiving orders can be placed through Monday, November 25. (Today!)

Hanukkah orders are due 48 hours before desired pick-up. (Josh and I plan on ordering some latkes and sweet potato tzimmes!)

Christmas orders can be placed through Sunday, December 22, 5 pm

New Year’s orders are due 48 hours before desired pick-up

Question of the Day: Are you a Whole Foods fan? Do you cater your holiday celebrations?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Whole Foods. All opinions are my own. Please check the availability of the items mentioned here at your particular Whole Foods as each stores offerings may vary slightly.