Something happened on the roll-up to the month of March. Maybe it was the unusual weather extremes that plagued all parts of the country. Maybe it was the bad economic news and the long list of woes affecting the general population. Whatever the exact cause, one fact is clear: All the healthy eating kick-off promotions that are normally part of the January lifestyle alerts went nowhere. February was a long month of a blur, and now look where we are.
Whole Foods has decided to take its healthy message up a notch. Not that this is the first time this year they have focused their staff and customers on strategies to improve their healthy lifestyle, but this time the emphasis is on the Whole Body section of the store (and online) withe the emphasis on edfucating customers with lectures and podcasts to promote healthy energy. The philosophy focuses on an energy boost with good nutrition and smart shopping. BTW, whatever Whole Foods has done recently has positively improved their bottom line: They are a healthier company.
Fresh Direct is making it easier for NY shoppers who are already time-stressed to get on the health bandwagon. The online grocer with its commitment to farm-fresh foods just introduced a free app that’s compatible with the iPhone and the iPod touch to let customers create new orders or modify current ones. New customers will love this incentive as they’ll receive a 15% savings on their first two orders by signing up with the company and then using the app. That works.
Wegmans continues to expand its healthy eating selections under the category of “Food You Feel Good About.” Sub-categories include meals under 500 calories. There are various commonsense tips and strategies (that are worth reminding us) such as fill up half your plate with fruit and vegetables.
Spring’s official start is still 3 weeks away and swimsuit parading is months from then. Take advantage of the promotions, shop smart and join the health brigade. No matter the grocer or the chain, the emphasis is the same: We can all take advantage of strategies to improve our shopping experience and improve our overall health.
The advice is readily available and free. Now it’s up to us to follow it and eat healthy.


. Another positive besides price, storage, and variety, they were smaller apples: Perfect lunch box or brown bag size. Hey, someone has figured this out.



It wasn’t that long ago that newspaper inserts were thin and anemic; they had no meat, nothing for enticement. I’m not talking about ads for electronics or drugs, but those for foods and general merchandise. These reduced-price enticements literally disappeared into a wall of complacency. Then, all of a sudden, the coupon books of ads started multiplying as weekly and sometimes semi-weekly deductions for a broad range of products. Just this past weekend, the newspaper had three different insert booklets for food and non-food general merchandise.
We’ve talked a lot about restaurants lately, but the food world has plenty of supermarket news worth noting, too. As more people eat at home, which explains the difficulty restaurants face, grocers have found inventive ways to pick up the slack. Last week