What to Buy 9 Whole Foods Products You Have to Try This May Adventurous ice cream, rice, and sodas are on the menu this month. By Sam Gutierrez Sam Gutierrez Title: Senior Social Media Editor, Food & WineLocation: Brooklyn, New YorkEducation: Sam graduated from New York University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and psychology after meeting requirements for both majors. She also graduated with honors in journalism upon her completion of a senior year thesis which merged both her majors and culminated in a long-form journalistic look at the effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) on developing teenage bodies. In addition to finishing with journalism honors, Sam also graduated cum laude and was a member of the Dean's Presidential Honor Scholars throughout her time as an undergrad. While at New York University, Sam began her career in media with an internship at FoodGem her junior year and an internship at Delish her senior year. Her internship at Delish led to a promotion to assistant social media editor, a position that she held while finishing her last year of undergrad and conducting research for and writing her thesis.Expertise: social media, fast food.Sam Gutierrez is the senior social media editor at Food & Wine. She is a visual storyteller and social whiz who has produced viral and captivating content on everything from health and entertainment to food and travel.Experience: Sam Gutierrez began her career while attending New York University as a social media editor at Delish. She then shifted her focus to freelance writing, continuing to contribute to Delish and others. She pursued her passion for food, celebrity news, and culture as a video producer and writer for Insider, and her fascination with beauty and health with social media positions at Stila Cosmetics, Allure, and Oprah Daily. After two years of freelancing, Sam became a full-time social media editor at Robb Report. There, she reconnected with her appreciation for food, working closely with the restaurants, wine, and spirits editor to translate coverage of chefs and high-end restaurants into successful social content. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 8, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Food & Wine / Courtesy of Whole Foods If you're anything like me, you could easily spend hours perusing Whole Foods for new products, but you've got neither the time nor the cash to spend assessing everything that catches your attention. That's where Food & Wine comes in. Every month, I try out Whole Foods' latest products — including their own 365 brand items and any other exciting releases — to see which items are actually worth your money. This month, as the weather warms up outside, the freezer aisles are getting stocked with new exciting ice cream flavors to get you in the summer mood, as well as fun rice options and other exciting snacks. These are my picks for May. 01 of 09 KIND Chocolate Cherry Almond Frozen Treat Bars Courtesy of Whole Foods If you love a KIND bar like I do because it feels “healthy” but still indulgent, you’ll be a big fan of their new frozen treat bars, but made with ice cream. Built exactly like the classics — chocolate base, nuts on top, and chocolate drizzled all over — they’re a great way to do a single serving of ice cream on the go since they have a pretty firm structure. (Just don’t take too long eating them or pop them in your bag for later.) The bars come in four flavors: Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt & Nut, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Nut, Mint Chocolate Almond Nut, and a Chocolate Cherry Almond which is exclusive to Whole Foods and is the best one. Filled with actual pieces of cherry, it’s got the perfect balance of fruitiness and richness from dark chocolate and just feels a bit more fun than the other more standard flavors. Pick up a couple of boxes because at least in my house, they disappear quickly. 02 of 09 Alter Eco Crème Brûlée Truffle Thin Courtesy of Whole Foods I love a chocolate bar with a little something special and this Crème Brûlée offering from Alter Eco delivers. In this gussied-up chocolate bar, two thin, rich layers of dark chocolate sandwich a layer of crème brûlée filling with the perfect amount of sweetness to balance it all. Somehow, the crème brûlée layer delivers a crispness that captures the feeling of tapping your spoon on the classic dessert and hearing that gorgeous sugar layer crack. Add one to your cart and have your favorite fancy dessert no matter where you are. 03 of 09 Alec’s Ice Creams Courtesy of Whole Foods New on my radar, and in the freezer aisle at Whole Foods are Alec’s Ice Creams. The brand is super exciting because it’s the first — and only — ice cream that is regenerative farming verified. It's also packaged sustainably, and has tons of unique flavor combinations (in addition to classics like vanilla, chocolate, and mint chip) like Peanut Butter Fudge Honeycomb, Honey Blueberry Lavender, and Matcha Chocolate Chip. Creamy, earthy, and studded with little bits of chocolate, the matcha was the first to go, but I was particularly into the flavor-packed peanut butter pint, which had actual chunks of honeycomb in it. 04 of 09 Culture Pop Strawberry and Rhubarb Soda Courtesy of Whole Foods Strawberries and rhubarb are making their grand return to farmers markets across the country as Culture Pop is also bringing them to the grocery store aisles. This fun probiotic soda is exactly as the can says: fizzy and gutsy. It’s got a lot more depth than your average can (cardamom is one of the ingredients) and feels more like a fancy carbonated juice than a sugary soda which makes it totally acceptable that I’m drinking one at 8 a.m., right? 05 of 09 SOMOS Mexican Street Corn White Rice Courtesy of Whole Foods Controversial but, I am a big fan of those pouches that you pop into the microwave and 90 seconds later, you’ve got rice. So when I saw that SOMOS was launching a microwaveable Mexican Street Corn White Rice I was stoked, luckily, it lived up to my self-imposed hype. I will say it doesn’t taste exactly like Mexican street corn — the mayo, tajin, and lime squeeze would have to be a lot more present for that — but thanks to the bits of roasted corn the rice has a nice roasted quality. Add to that a perfect amount of seasoning (none of the usual cumin overkill, as far as I could tell) and it almost tasted homemade. 06 of 09 Van Leeuwen Black Cherry Chip and Lemon Poppyseed Ice Creams Courtesy of Whole Foods I’ve yet to try a Van Leeuwen flavor I don’t like but their new Black Cherry Chip rates pretty high on my list of favorite ice creams. Like Cherry Garcia but more premium, it’s made up of an impossibly creamy cherry base and dotted with huge chunks of dark chocolate and bits of black cherry that make it really hard not to eat the whole pint in one sitting. Also delicious and a bit lighter than the cherry chip is their new Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin flavor which has a great crunchy texture from the poppy seeds as well as a tangy lemon curd and pieces of cornbread muffin. 07 of 09 LesserEvil Celebration Popcorn Courtesy of Whole Foods In honor of Disney’s 100 Years of Wonder, LesserEvil created a celebration popcorn that’s worthy of serving at your own events. Dusted with raw cane sugar and then tumbled in olive oil, the popcorn is a sweet and salty combo that satisfies on both fronts. Because it’s all mixed in together you’ll never know what you’re going to get and you'll be surprised with every handful. 08 of 09 Jeni’s Maple Soaked Pancakes Ice Cream Courtesy of Whole Foods If your ice cream has pancakes in it can you count it as breakfast? That’s the essential question as you dig into this pint from Jeni’s which, yes, does have actual chunks of pancake in it. The ice cream tasted a little more butterscotch than maple to me, but it ended up on my list so clearly I see that as a good thing. 09 of 09 Ocean’s Halo Organic Short Grain Purple Sticky Rice and Seggiano Organic Carnaroli Risotto Rice Courtesy of Whole Foods There is a lot of ice cream on this list (it is May after all), but Whole Foods is also shaking up the rice aisle. If you’ve been eyeing our recent risotto recipes, Seggiano’s Organic Carnaroli Risotto Rice is certainly worth adding to your shopping list to impress at your next dinner party. If you’re feeling more like sushi or a poke bowl, Ocean’s Halo Organic Short Grain Purple Sticky Rice lends itself perfectly to the task and adds a bit of fun to meal time thanks to its unique hue. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit