All You Can Eat.
Oh yes. That’s right. Tonight was all you can eat Hy-Vee Soup & Salad Bar for dinner! Whee!
Ben and I were both driving home from work and decided…no. We just aren’t in the cooking mood tonight. Do you ever have those nights?
We almost sucked it up and went home to prepare dinner according to plan – you know me and my plans. Per usual, I did have a dinner that I was going to cook tonight. It was a good one too! Alas, it shall be saved to be prepared tomorrow as the call of a fresh, bright, glorious salad bar was just too loud to ignore.
So we didn’t!
Hy-Vee is my grocery store of choice and it’s just my luck that they have incredible ready-to-eat food options – at INCREDIBLE prices! $6.99 gave me my choice of unlimited fruits, berries, vegetables, salads, pasta salads, desserts, soups, tacos and more!
In an effort to stay on track, I surveyed the options and loaded my plate up with salad, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, berries, cottage cheese, and a dabble of pasta salad!
I dipped my salad in a side of balsamic dressing and savored each and every bite of my entire plate.
Throw out all your preconceived notions about all you can eat buffets – they can be as healthy, or unhealthy, as YOU make them!
Sure – I could have gone for the gobs of mayo-rich pasta salads, chocolate mousse, walking tacos and ranch dressing. Instead, I loaded up my plate with clean, fresh, healthy options!
Look!
Alright. You know me and soups. 
Of course I HAD to try a couple spoonfuls of Cheeseburger Soup. It was to die for – super smooth, creamy, warm and cheesy. It was also extremely rich, so I only needed a wee bit to feel satisfied.
Aaaand of course, I had to have dessert! Fresh Berries with Angel Food Cake and Granola.
Every good Iowan knows that fresh berries must be dearly cherished. They are a rare breed!
I definitely had my fair share…muwahahaha!
Ben’s plate was…well…slightly different than mine. 
For just $4.59 he got half a Rotisserie Chicken, Homestyle Mac & Cheese, Old Fashioned Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and a Roll!
I gawked, but that was the best macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted in my LIFE!
He even fashioned an “all carb” sandwich out of his roll, mashed potatoes and mac. Oh Ben – such a character.
I am planning and cooking at home’s #1 fan – but the prices, variety and convenience of Hy-Vee’s ready to eat foods are an extremely good option when cooking just isn’t in the cards. If you plan a night like this into your weekly budget – you really can’t beat what you get for the money. Ben and I are thinking about making this a weekly option, so expect to see more!!
After dinner, we digested with a little stroll through the health food section, where I found this…
THE BULK BIN AISLE!!!! I usually do my weekly grocery shopping at another local Hy-Vee, so I had no idea these were even here!
It was one delight after another. Granolas, quinoa, lentils, beans, oats, nuts, seeds…eeek!
I just may have to switch my grocery store location to this one…yikes. I’m definitely one for change in my life, but switching grocery stores is major. You know what I mean?
Oook. While my dinner options tonight were healthy – they were also filling! I’m off to digest and catch up with my favorite show, The Biggest Loser!
‘Night folks!
~~~~~
Where do you grocery shop? Do you ever eat meals there?
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Sometimes I buy meals at WF but it’s so expensive.
I think you struck the jackpot with that salad bar. I would’ve done just like you–go straight for the berries. Those are so expensive out of season.
All you can eat salad bars are the best! Sweet Tomatoes is probably my favorite restaurant!
Kristin, I loooved seeing the vast difference in yours and Ben’s plates. So funny. His looks like a big Thanksgiving feast and yours looks like a fresh and healthy salad bar. Gotta love those kind of options and that bargain of a deal!
Whole Foods!! It’s just 5 minutes from home
We live in TN now, so no Hy-Vee for us, but my husband really misses the Hy-Vee salad bar. I don’t even think I’ll show him this post, he’ll be jealous.
I had an enchilada pizza tonight! Thanks for the great (and easy) recipe!
I usually shop at Jewel, which is our local Albertson’s store, but when my timing is right, i go to the produce market, which is INSANE, but the prices are the best. There’s nowhere to eat meals there!
Ok, not to be creepy, but my husband and I saw you and Ben at “our” Hy-Vee last Sunday. Don’t know if that’s your “regular” stop, but it definitely has the “bulk bin” aisle! It’s in the health food section.
That’s a really great price for an “all you can eat”… I wish DC has prices that good!
Looking forward to see what tomorrow’s “Planned” dinner its
I love Lunds/Byerly’s salad bar. Or just any of the meals you can get and eat there. Amazing. Although my salad bar creations end up costing about $15, haha.
Hy-vee holds a special place in my heart, it reminds me of my gma. I have relatives in Worthington, MN, not sure if you know where that is, but it is close by the Iowa border. They have Hy-vee’s there
Ugh! Our Hyvee doesn’t have nearly the bulk or health food section. I’m a little jealous.
I usually shop at Fareway. I swing by Hy-Vee for anything they don’t carry. I also stop by Hy-Vee for dinner when I don’t want to cook.
Love the impromtu dinner dates. This definitely happens to me some nights driving home after a long day. But truly, cooking relaxes me and it actually helps me to unwind after a rough day. Like today was bad. Really bad! And around dinner time, the hubby said “lets get some take out tonight.” But I realized that cooking dinner would actually help me forget about the day. It really did too!
Great salad bar! I LOVE salad bars. Even when I was a little girl, I only wanted to go to restaraunts with big salad bars. I’m not sure if you remember this, but Wendy’s use to have a Super Bar and I would ask my mom to take me there every single day after school. I was an odd child and apprently you never grow out of your salad bar love. LoL
Yum! Good job staying healthy with an all you can eat bar in front of you. The only places like that near me seem to be chinese places
I wish there were more all you can eat HEALTHY places!!
I might eat where i buy my food if there was a salad bar like that!!
I just shop at Hanniford, Shaws, Wal mart Whole foods/Trader Joes about once ever 2 months.
I shop at Whole Foods, Stop & Stop and Market Basket.
I miss Hyvee so much! I loved their salad bars!! yum!
Maybe I’ll have to stop in a Hyvee when I’m at home for Thanksgiving. I will absolutely have to eat at Happy Joe’s Pizza and Whitey’s ice cream. Can’t wait to come back to IOWA!
I shop at 2 or 3 different groceries. I shop at Stop and Shop near my weight watchers meeting normally and then do specialty stuff at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Occassionally I get stuff at BJ’s we use often like broccoli. I just plan each trip for when I’ll be in that area. So saturday is usually my shopping day.
LOVE Hy Vee!! (Cedar Rapids). They have the best selection, and are SO friendly and helpful. Awhile back I was looking for spelt pretzels, and the mgr. of the health food section said they would order them…she called me a week later when they came in, and they’ve been carrying them ever since. LOVE the produce guy, too–if the bananas are all looking too ripe, he’ll go to the back and get me some green ones.
I *really* wish we had a Trader Joe’s here, though! Everytime I go to Minneapolis I have to stock up on TJs goodies!
Hello! I am a newer reader and I had to comment on this post because 1) I went to the University of Iowa…hence my girlfriends and I would make a trip to the hy-vee salad bar once/week, & 2) I now live in DC and we have no hy-vee here – sigh! Thanks for the trip down memory lane – I love your blog
Fareway girl here. . . though HyVee does have some things Fareway doesn’t offer, like the deli and bakery.
I second the opinion that I wish a Trader Joe’s was in Iowa–I’d make a special trip just to go there!!
WHAT did you think of Biggest Loser???? Oh my oh my!!! I was very unhappy with the ending!
I used to shop at Hy-Vee in Columbia, MO when I went to Mizzou. I miss it soooooo much.
Now I live in my (very small) hometown. I usually get groceries at one of the two local stores in my town, because it’s cheaper, but for specialty items and fresher produce, sometimes I shop at Schnuck’s in the next town over ~ 15 miles away. I’ll also pick up dry goods at Target in the same town. There are Whole Foods and Trader Joes locations in St. Louis, but I can’t justify driving over an hour to buy groceries!!
Hy-Vees salad bar is better that Cub Foods in Minneapolis which is saying alot about Iowa! And those berries look so amazing, still wishing for more summer to get those fresh berries all the time!
Oh my! Missing Hy-Vee hardcore right now! I’ve lived several places – many with great supermarkets and unique boutique food stores, but have never found something better than HyVee! I love the salad bar!
My, what a colorful plate!! That bulk section looks pretty awesome.
oh my gosh..that salad bar looks heavenly!! i love your blog-you are so cute!
I am so jealous of Hy-vee! I’ve been living overseas for the last 4 years and haven’t found anything that looks as good as that store. Even when I lived in Florida I don’t know that there were any stores that had that many good-looking bulk items! Also, living overseas my access to fruit sometimes gets limited – I would have eaten so much off that salad bar. Your pictures are great – they make the food look incredible!
I used to eat the salad bar almost EVERY day when I worked in West Des Moines. I LOVE it! (Did you know that they have a punch card and if you eat it like 6 times you get a free one?! Its amazing).
Thought of you last night too when they were showing Rebecca on BL in Des Moines. Made me miss it there!
Yay! You discovered bulk bins at Hy-Vee! The Mills Civic Hy-Vee will be a good source for bulk quinoa for your Greek Quinoa Salad. Yum!
Which Hy-Vee is this with the bulk bins? My Hy-Vee seems to be lacking in the health food section and I would totally drive a few extra miles to hit this one!
Fareway on the south side of Ankeny is my favorite. Hy Vee comes in 2nd. Laurens reply made me smile because when my neice (who is all grown up now) was a very small child the Wendys salad bar (she called it “Sala Bah”) was her absolute favorite! She has never liked sweets much which was something new in our family that we had to learn to work around. She would rather have birthday apple or pumpkin pie instead of birthday cake, easter baskets were an effort , also halloween trick-or-treat candy. Of course her younger brothers loved it cuz they would get most all of her candy!
Do you shop at many stores depending on sales or do you mainly shop at the one local store that’s your favorite despite the sales? I was so sad the other day when I went shopping. I didn’t need to buy any meat b/c I had it all. The sad thing was I went in thinking I wouldn’t spend much money since there was no meat on my list and my list still cost me $60. I was so sad. It seemed like nothing was on sale that day
. That would be the one day that I choose to shop at one place only. Bummer, maybe I will have better luck next week.
Oh and I usually shop at King Soopers (Kroger), Wal-mart, Farmer’s Market. I would love to shop at Whole Foods (there is one right down the street) but I feel like it’s too expensive. Not sure what to do with that and I would love to eat all natural and organic too. It’s just difficult on a budget.
holy cow! my eyes are a mile wide because i’m in awe! this looks wonderful! i love that you have so many options in your grocery store and such a low price. everything looks soooo fresh! yummm!!!!!
Hey, that’s MY Hy-Vee!
That bulk-bin section was a recent addition. They used to have a little mini version of it but this is quite the improvement! I asked for some black lentils to be added to the bins but haven’t checked to see if they have been yet. And yes, I do take advantage of the ready-to-eat stuff there from time to time. Better than getting pizza delivered when I’m feeling less than ambitious!
I love HYVEE!!! It is the greatest grocery store on the planet. I am super jealous. I wish they would come to Idaho. Love your photos and your upbeat personality!
hey! i just found your blog recently and i just HAD to comment on this post. seeing that Hy-Vee mac n cheese really brought back the memories! when I was in high school my friends and I would eat it ALL the time. I can’t imagine doing that now but with the metabolism of a 17 year old things were a bit different.
This past week we shopped at FOUR different grocery stores: I work right across the street from the Hy-Vee on the corner of JC Pkwy and Univeristy and I also stopped at Super Target to pick up some on sale stuffing mix (I’m like you – I don’t like homemade, just Stovetop!) and Mr. Hubby stopped at Fareway in town and at ALDIs for some canned goods! Way too many grocery stores for a family of two!
[...] I are apparently 70 years old, because tonight we sat down to dinner at precisely 5:00pm. Hy-vee all you can eat salad bar [...]
The metro HyVees are great! I hit Ankeny Blvd every Sunday pre-dawn and Mills Civic Monday afternoons after I realize what I forgot the day before.