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New to Dunedin? Find out where you can buy whole foods in Dunedin to improve your health, support local producers, consume sustainably and help our planet. Look no further than the Otago Farmer's market, Bin Inn, Taste Nature, Indian Food Mart and Harbour fish for an excellent selection of whole foods.
What are Whole Foods?
Whole Foods are natural foods that come straight from the source - the Earth. They generally come in a peel not a packet. Whole foods typically do not need a list of ingredients containing words not recognisable as foods.
They include fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, nuts, grains, legumes, fish and meat; all of which are free from major processing and addition of sugars, processed oils, and chemical additives. They also include recipes and meals created using whole food ingredients.
Why eat whole foods?
For Health
Whole Foods provide us with the essential nutrients we need to maintain our health and vitality. They are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that reduce inflammation and help our bodies function optimally. Eating a balanced diet full of whole Foods helps reduce the risk for chronic diseases, boosts immunity, and even aids in weight loss.
Seasonal
Eating seasonal fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to ensure you are getting the freshest produce available. Seasonal produce is more nutritious since it hasn’t had time to lose its nutritional content while in transit or storage. It also contributes to variety in the diet as your follow seasonal flavours. Such as increased berries in summer, pumpkin and squash in fall, cabbage and broccoli in winter and asparagus and salads greens in spring.
For the planet
Eating whole Foods is also beneficial for the environment if they are grown and harvested in a sustainable manner such as organic, biodynamic or permaculture methods.
Consuming locally-sourced items also helps reduce your carbon footprint, supports local farmers and businesses, and build community connections.
Where to find Whole Foods in Dunedin?
For Dunedin residents, there are several options to sourcing whole foods. For fresh produce you cannot beat the Otago Farmer's market. You can also purchase dried whole foods in bulk from Bin Inn.
For those looking for organic whole foods Taste Nature provides a diverse range of food products from fresh to dried goods. They also sell seeds and seedlings so you can grow your own plant foods. They also have an in-store cafe if you want a whole food meal after you shop.
Most supermarkets such as Countdown, New World and Pack N Save also supply fresh produce, rice, seeds and nuts, but the variety of dried produce is limited compared with those found at Bin Inn and Taste Nature.
Otago Farmers Market
The Otago Farmers Market is the best place to find fresh, local, seasonal produce grown by Dunedin and Otago farmers. It is located on Anzac Ave, at the northern carpark for the Dunedin Railway Station. The produce is reasonably priced, usually cheaper and fresher than produce found in the supermarket.
The Otago Farmers Market is open every Saturday 8am to 12.30pm. Get there early to make sure you get the in-season produce you are after, as fruit like strawberries and cherries can run out! They also often have additional market days on Christmas Eve.
You can find a variety of seasonal fruit from apples and pears, to stonefruit and berries, and vegetables such as collard greens, spring onions, beetroot, courgettes (zucchini) along with organic products such as nuts.
A number of the growers use organic or biodynamic farming practices, meaning your food is not only free from pesticides and other chemicals, but also is produced in methods that are more sustainable and takes care of the earth.
The Otago Farmers Market also has suppliers of meats, fish, eggs and milk as well as a wide range of different products such as flowers, delicious artisanal breads, cheeses, chutneys, pickles and jams, herbal medicines and local honey.
Saturday mornings at the Otago Farmers market is an enjoyable social event where shoppers get to chat with growers and producers, catch up with friends, and listen to buskers.
Some of my favourite locally owned vendors include: Waewae permaculture, Agreeable Nature free range eggs and Rosedale orchard, but there are so many, many great producers and growers to chose from. You really should check it out.
Bin Inn
Bin Inn is a great place to buy bulk whole foods and is located at 126 Crawford St, Dunedin.
They supply a variety of whole foods such as:
grains (rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oats, rye),
nuts (almonds, Brazil, cashews, peanuts, walnuts)
seeds (chia, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame) and
legumes (kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, lentils).
They offer a variety of options for those who want to eat healthier and you can purchase as little or as much as you need. This is often a great place to shop if you are after dried whole foods in bulk.
Produce is collected from bins into paper bags or you can supply your own containers from home, which gives you a small discount and also saves on paper bags.
Bin in supply a variety of non-organic and organic produce to suit your requirements and your budget.
Taste Nature: Organic supermarket and cafe
Taste Nature is an organic supermarket and cafe located at 131 High Street, in central Dunedin. Taste Nature is the perfect place for those looking for organic and sustainable food products.
This store has a huge selection of wholefoods including: fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, grain products, legumes, baking ingredients and snacks. Most of their produce is sourced locally or from NZ where possible.
For those looking for organic whole foods Taste Nature provides a diverse range of food products from fresh to dried goods including gluten-free products. They also sell seeds and seedlings so you can grow your own plant foods. They also have an in-store cafe if you want a whole food meal after you shop.
Taste Nature offer online shopping and in-store pick-up or delivery options for your convenience.
Indian Food Mart
My favourite place in Dunedin to buy bulk spices is Indian Food Mart. They are a great supplier for spices such as:
cinnamon,
ginger,
turmeric and
cumin.
They also sell have a variety of beans and rices and dried fruit such as figs and dates.
Harbour Fish
Harbour Fish is the place to purchase freshly caught fish. They have an extensive selection of seafood such as:
snapper,
tuna,
blue-cod
salmon and
paua.
All their fish are sustainably sourced fresh wild-caught South Island fish. They also offer other locally sourced seafood such as mussels, oysters and scallops.
Additionally they sell Tītī also known as Muttonbird bird harvested annually by Rakiura Māori, between April and May. Purchasing supports local Maori to derive an economic base from their ancestral harvesting practices.
Blacks Road Grocer
If you live down the north end of Dunedin, you can visit Blacks Road Grocer. This is a cute community vintage grocer combined with a coffee shop. They supply seasonal fruit and vegetables, free range eggs and fresh bread. They also sell whole milk like the good old days in a glass bottle as well as cheeses, honey and homemade preserves.
They are located on North Road at the intersection with Blacks Road in North East Valley, Dunedin and are open Tuesday - Saturday 9am-4pm.
Supermarkets
Supermarkets can also provide some key whole food ingredients and variety is slowly increasing with many supermarkets now stocking foods such as quinoa, buckwheat, steel-cut oats and flax seeds.
The key to purchasing whole foods in supermarkets is to shop around the edges. These are the areas where whole produce, meat, poultry and milk is found. Also check out the freezer section for snap frozen vegetables and fruit.
Accessibility of whole foods
Eating whole foods may require learning new cooking skills, trying new recipes, textures and tastes to the foods you have been brought up on or are used to. It can take time to acquire these skills and also to prepare whole foods as these are not ready-made foods.
However, there are many online resources available such as: recipe books, cooking classes and food blogs that can help you to prepare whole foods quickly and easily. There are also a number of ready-made options available in many supermarkets and health food stores that make eating whole foods more convenient.
The Cost of whole foods
Purchasing and eating a whole food diet does not have to be more expensive than eating processed and packaged foods.
For example:
Lentils and beans are a cheap, but healthy protein alternative to red meats, fish and poultry.
Buying in season fruit and vegetables.
Buying frozen berries and vegetables is a cheaper way to purchase nutrient rich berries and vegetables especially if there tends to be wastage in your household when fresh vegetables are not used before they go off.
Recipes ideas for whole foods
There are plenty of recipes for eating whole foods. Here are a few ideas:
• Steel-cut oats and buckwheat and flax seeds or chia seeds soaked overnight in whole soybean milk topped with stewed apple, cinnamon, and walnuts (or any fruit you have handy).
• Large salad topped with fresh vegetables, chickpeas, avocado, pumpkin seeds and goat cheese.
• Chickpea falafel with salad tzatziki (can be made from coconut/vegan yogurt if fully plant-based).
• Baked potatoes topped with meatless chili.
• Grilled fish with roast kumara, carrot, parsnip & broccoli.
This is not a comprehensive list of all of the whole food providers in Dunedin, but is a snapshot of some of a number of excellent places where you can find whole foods. Dunedin has an number of amazing wholefood stores to choose from.
Whether you are after fresh produce from the farmers market, bulk wholefoods from Bin Inn, organic groceries from Taste Nature or spices and flavors from Indian Food Mart– you can find what you need in Dunedin.
Enjoy whole foods as a healthier way to fuel your body and take care of our amazing planet.
Happy grocery shopping!
Dr Deb Brunt @ Ōtepoti Integrative Health would love to support you to incorporate more whole foods into your diet.
She practices Lifestyle Medicine and Integrative Medicine in New Zealand and Health coaching internationally. She has a passion for supporting women adapt to their changing female physiology for optimum health and wellbeing.
Schedule a free health discovery call with her to learn more.
Dr Deb Brunt | Ōtepoti Integrative Health | www.otepotiintegrativehealth.co.nz/book-now