Win a holiday dinner from Whole Foods Market
The Santa Cruz and Capitola branches of Whole Foods Market are offering lots of Thanksgiving options, and even have special staff on-site that will help you with specific holiday needs. Make your Thanksgiving orders in person or online by Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014.
If you have specific questions for your holiday meal planning, like you want to stay within a certain budget or you’re hosting a gluten-free Thanksgiving or you’d like wine pairing suggestions, each store has holiday specialists available. You can make an appointment or stop by, and it’s a free service. Specialist Erica Stevenson, who works at the Capitola store, truly enjoys providing this service. “Every year, I look forward to working the holiday table. I get to know our regular customers better while getting to meet so many more,” says Stevenson. “And these days so many people have special diets. I get to use my creativity to better suit their needs while still helping them create their perfect holiday dinner.”
Another interesting holiday highlight is a “golden ticket” contest with free ham dinners as prizes! When a customer orders a Thanksgiving meal (only IN STORE, not online) at either location, they will automatically be entered in the Golden ticket promotion. One person from each store will receive a Golden ticket in their pickup meal. This ticket is valid for a “honeyed ham dinner for 8” that can be used for a future holiday meal.
If you want to go outside the traditional Thanksgiving box, how about taking advantage of Whole Foods Market’s sustainable seafood appetizers? Some examples are shrimp & Dungeness crabmeat platter (serves 6-8, $39.99) and shrimp platter with assorted seasonings (serves 4-8, $24.99).
A ready-to-eat heirloom turkey dinner for 12 costs $289.99 (serves 12) and includes an oven-roasted organic 16-18 lb. turkey from Sonora-based family-owned Diestel, herb stuffing (7.5 lbs.), mashed potatoes (4 lbs.), turkey gravy, cranberry relish, green beans with roasted shallots, dinner rolls (24), and two pies: pumpkin and cranberry apple. Other selections include an “intimate organic turkey dinner for 4” ($99.99) and a “traditional ready to cook turkey dinner (turkey is raw) for 8” ($129.99).
Whole Foods Market features several different types of turkey a la carte including Diestel in heirloom ($4.99/lb.) and organic ($3.99/lb.) varieties. Other meat selections include sous vide leg of lamb or pork loin (serves 4, $49.99/lamb and $39.99/pork).
A la carte sides include brussels sprouts with shallots and pecans (serves 4, $17.99, and it’s vegan). Like a few other holiday items, this became available at the market’s Hot Bar earlier in November, and I got to sample it. It’s wonderful!
One dessert option is cranberry crumble pie. This was a popular holiday item in previous years, but in 2013 it wasn’t available. Many people asked for it last year, so they decided to bring it back. All holiday pies, including Brown Butter Walnut, Pumpkin, and Apple, come in 10-inch versions for $19.99 and include 100% all-butter crust.
If you end up needing last-minute Thanksgiving supplies, both stores are open on Thanksgiving from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day before, they’re open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz is located at 911 Soquel Ave. Call (831) 426-9901 for more information.
Whole Foods Market Capitola is located at 1710 41st Ave. Call (831) 464-2900 for more information.