A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend a Health Starts Here tour at Whole Foods and my interest was immediately piqued.
Since I no longer live near a Whole Foods, I figured I wouldn’t be able to attend and was quite bummed since Ryan and I used to love Whole Foods events when we lived in Orlando. (We attended a number of restaurant cooking demonstrations and had a great time at a Greek cooking class! I know I’ve mentioned Whole Foods events on the blog before, but I highly recommend them for fun, inexpensive date nights!)
When I responded to the invitation, I happened to mention my travels to Jacksonville for my sister’s bridal shower last weekend and we were able to set something up since there is a Whole Foods in the area. Woo!
The Health Starts Here tour is free to everyone and I met up with Heather Olsen, the Jacksonville Whole Foods healthy eating specialist, for my tour in the late afternoon. Heather gave me a ton of information about the Health Starts Here program, which I never knew existed at Whole Foods until our tour began!
Health Starts Here is a mindful approach to healthy eating that’s rooted in simple ways to build better meals. The program is essentially an in-store guide that you can use to choose the healthiest foods.
Fun fact I learned from Heather: The average American cycles through the same 10 fruits and vegetables!
The Health Starts Here program includes the following Four Pillars of Healthy Eating:
- Whole foods: Health Starts Here foods only use recognizable ingredients in their purest, unprocessed forms.
- Plant-strong: Plant-based foods are the foundation of Health Starts Here.
- Healthy fats: Health Starts here foods does not use any extracted oils or processed fats but included healthy fats from natural sources including nuts, seeds and avocados.
- Nutrient dense: Health Starts Here meals contain a rainbow of nutritious whole plant foods with high Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) scores.
As Heather escorted me around the store, she pointed out Health Starts Here logo stickers that can be found on a number of food items within the store that follow the four pillars of health.
If you’re visiting the Whole Foods salad bar, hot bar or prepared foods section and noticed the Health Starts Here logo, you can be sure that the food you are eating is a healthy choice. It’s a great way to take some of the guess work out of healthy eating!
The program also offers a grocery list for stocking your pantry the healthy way and tips and tricks for cooking fast and healthy meals using quick-cooking whole grains, canned no-salt-added beans and frozen vegetables and fruit.
I left very impressed with the Health Starts Here program and know I’ll be looking for the logo as I select foods from the hot bar and salad bar during my next trip to Whole Foods!
Whole Foods Giveaway
When I said I’d be writing about this tour on my blog, Whole Foods was kind enough to offer a giveaway to one reader for a $50 gift certificate to Whole Foods. Since I know you guys get just as excited about food as I do, I have a feeling this one may interest quite a few of you!
To enter this giveaway, simply comment below and tell me about one healthy food you’ve recently started incorporating into your diet or a favorite healthy food that has been a staple in your diet for quite a while.
I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
Good luck!
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Good morning!! I just actually printed the ANDI chart of foods from the Whole Foods website and have been bringing it grocery shopping with me! Small world 🙂
Lately I have been eating a LOT more kale. Putting it in my smoothies, soup, and making salads with it. And I have always made kale chips as a little treat 🙂
Thanks for the contest! Have a great day!
lately ive been incorporating raw honey onto my peanut butter/banana toast and it is DELISH.
I love me some egg whites!! 🙂
Not one specific food, but lately I’ve been into soup and stir-fries that incorporate lots of different veggies!
I’ve recently started eating squash, all kinds! I am loving spaghetti squash and substituting it for pasta!
I’ve started eating quinoa and love it.
Avocados have been a staple in my diet for awhile, but I’ve recently started incorporating them in new ways like to make my smoothies extra creamy or mashed with hard-boiled eggs for a quick breakfast. Yum!
I’ve recently started putting chia seeds in my food – smoothies, baked goods, yogurt. So yummy!
I have been adding avocado to things I would never have tried it with before, like a smoothie.
I recently started eating more blueberries. They’re perfect for a healthy snack!
I am obsessed with roasted brussel sprouts lately, sooo good and they have now become a staple for me!
I’ve been trying to incorporate healthy fats into my diet and have been loving adding avocado to my meals!
I recently started incorporating chia seeds into my overnight oats and yogurt!
I have started to eat avocados more often.
I have been using avocado’s for a while now, they are def one of my favorites! A new food that I have tried using more is mango’s – I’ve been adding them to smoothies for a few weeks now, delish!
Quinoa!!! I love it and I use it in place of rice! It is so versatile. I also love avocados I eat at least half of one everyday!
Kale is our “thang”! I don’t love it on its own, but you can literally blend it up and throw it in anything, so we do!
Sweet potatoes are a healthy food staple!
Coconut oil – It’s amazing!! 🙂
I know it sounds boring and not that special, but I’m trying to eat more spinach. I’m single & live alone, so buying fresh produce can be tricky because it doesn’t tend to last very long. I eat yogurt everyday for a more filling snack too. Ps. We’re finally getting a Whole Foods near me, literally 5 minutes away! I’m pretty sure Wisconsin has 1, yes 1, Whole Foods in the entire state!
I’ve recently started incorporating Maca powder into my diet. It’s great in smoothies or even mixed in pancake batter.
I have been incorporating steel cut oats in my diet and have loved have versatile they are! Their texture is so gooey and they take on whatever flavors you put with them. Yum.
I’ve recently started to finally like carrots (of every color!), and now I can’t get enough!
Maca Powder! I’ve been putting it on smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal and it gives me so much energy! Love it
I love sweet potatoes! I healthy carb and tastes so sweet !
I’ve recently been incorporating Tofu!
I am a long time lover of almond butter and almond milk. I recently started using pea protein, and adding the almond milk and butter to my smoothies is AMAZING!
Beets! I’ve recently discovered how delicious and healthy they are!
I’ve recently discovered kabocha squash. I’m not a huge squash person, but it tastes like candy to me! 🙂
I only recently discovered spaghetti squash and have since found a bunch of ways to prepare it.. slightly obsessed 🙂
Just started using cold-pressed coconut to cook my morning eggs (instead of butter)
I have been on a sweet potato kick lately! baked, roasted,you name it. I also recently learned that SPs help prevent the flu 🙂
I have been putting chia seeds on my yogurt every morning and in the smoothies that I make!
Coconut oil, quinoa, and chia seeds! Need some help on the veggie front 😉
AVOCADO! I used to fear it because it was “fat” but after educating myself, I cannot go a day without it! It’s so versatile as well! Have you ever tried avocado chocolate mousse? holy yum!
I’m having overnight oats today for the first time!
Ground flax seed in smoothies, oatmeal, etc.
My favourite healthy staples are greek yogurt, dark chocolate, and quinoa. I have recently been incorporating brussel sprouts into my diet though.
I’m going with my staple: broccoli – great raw or cooked of course!
Love the (not so) new blog layout 🙂
What a fun giveaway! I have been incorporating Chia Seeds into my diet for awhile. I put them in oatmeal, make chia seed pudding…basically wherever I can!
A new food for me has been quinoa, and I love it! I like the nutrition and flavor so much better than other grains.
i recently jumped on the kale band wagon. i love making kale chips and there is a kale and brussel sprouts salad from Costco that is to die for. my whole foods has an amazing salad bar/food court and i love going there for lunch!
i’ve always used spinach for salads, but after finally getting a blender i’m officially on the green smoothie kick!
Love the whole foods in Chicago! I would love to try to incorporate healthy alternatives to what my
Boyfriend calls his “man food” (basically anything hearty with meat)
I’ve been a huge fan of almond butter for a while, but I recently started making my own with yummy additions like cinnamon, honey, and vanilla bean.
I’ve started using coconut oil as a healthy fat and I love it!
I’ve started adding spinach to ALL of my smoothies. You really can’t taste it at all!
homemade almond butter!! Almonds are my ish! And they’re great on protein pancakes, celery, etc. !
I add chia seeds to everything! I love the little crunchy-ness they add, especially to oatmeal and yogurt. And I add spinach to smoothies to get those veggies in, you can’t even taste it!
I’ve been eating a ton of green peppers recently! I can take them cut up to class with me and munch between classes after lunch.
Dino Kale! I make a salad with it every day combined with avocado and chopped apples. I like the texture more than the curly kale. I also love Whole Foods “Green with Envy” juice, kind of obsessed with it!