Whole Foods Fireworks Picnic Menu Review

A few days ago, we announced our Whole Foods Fireworks Picnic Menu giveaway. On Friday, I picked up the girls from daycare early and we headed out to our local outdoor pool, two Whole Foods picnic bags in hand.

I had picked them up just after 3:00. Made earlier that day, the picnic bags are available in the cold section of the store and attractively packaged in green Whole Foods reusable bags. Since your choice might not be readily available, the Whole Foods prepared foods staff recommended calling ahead and asking them to set your bags aside for you to pick up. We chose the crunchy chicken menu as well as the quesadillas.

First off, I apologize or not having taken any photos of the picnics. We were, well, starving and eager to get into the pool, so we tore into the meals before I had a chance to snap a few photos.

First impressions: the meals themselves are huge. Two people can easily share one bag of food, which comes with a main dish, starter, dessert and beverage. Three portions would have been ample for our family, which has two kids under five.

Be sure to pack utensils, plates and napkins with your meals. For some reason, I had assumed that the meals would have been packaged in a way to make it easy to just open and eat; but things like macaroni salad obviously require a fork and if you’re not sharing with people who are close to you, you’ll also need plates to dish it onto.

It may have been the excitement of jumping of the pool or my choice of menu items, but my kids had mixed responses to the food. They loved the taco chips and were happy with the crispy chicken once the spicy coating was removed. My younger pasta-loving child enjoyed the macaroni salad and both were curious about the chicken quesadillas. I was surprised that they weren’t more enthusiastic about the juice. And of course, the chocolate chip cookies were a huge success.

Going to the pool on Friday evenings has become a Friday night ritual for us. We tend to order fries and burgers from the concession stand, but when I compare the prices (the Whole Foods meal costs $10 less), the variety of menu options and the healthy nature of the meals themselves, it’s no contest: the Whole Foods meal wins hands down. It just requires a tiny bit planning and foresight – a small price if you’re hell bent on not making dinner.

It’s not too late to enter our Whole Foods Fireworks Picnic Menu giveaway!