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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I’ve been making various spelt salads! They are delicious, healthy, and filling.
Avocados are a new staple for me. On my grocery list every week!!
I’ve been trying to eat a lot less dairy so I often use nutritional yeast in place of cheese. It gives a strong cheese-like flavor!
Hummus has been a staple of mine for a while! I eat it everyday!
This program sounds great! We have one whole foods a couple miles from our house, but it’s so busy I almost never go. I just found out they are opening one less than a mile from our house which will be at easier to visit and I’m so excited to do more shopping there.
i’ve been having greek yogurt and granola every morning!
I finally started incorporating kale into a few meals and I am loving it.
I love cruciferous vegetables and try to eat them frequently.
I love the idea of this program and can’t wait to check it out at Whole Foods this weekend!
I’m trying quinoa in place of white rice
Any roasted vegetables! I can’t get enough.
Quinoa is a staple in my house…I’ve found so many different ways to prepare it over the past couple of years.
Greek yogurt is my staple!
I’ve recently gotten hooked on plain greek yogurt (Fage is my favorite) with fruit. It’s so refreshing!
I’m trying new veggies! Fruits are always easy for me to incorporate!
Ahh I love whole foods! It makes it very easy and fun to get gluten free food and tons of samples! I have been trying to get more healthy fats in my diet so I have been hitting up their bulk nuts section, but on a grad student budget whole foods is a treat.
I’ve started drinking green smoothies in the mornings! So yummy and healthy!
The new health food I have incorporated into my diet is water kefir for probiotics. I have never felt better since I started making and drinking this amazing elixir
I’ve been eating kohl rabi lately and LOVING IT!
I have recently been adding chia seeds to my smoothies. Also, I love it whenever my sister makes quinoa. Yum yum!
I absolutely love steamed veggies! Broccoli, carrots and Brussels sprouts are my favorites!
Hi! I’ve recently started added 1 serving of avocados to my protein shakes. It makes them so creamy, and I know that I’m getting all the added nutrients that come with it.
Something else that I LOVE is greek yogurt. I eat plain greek yogurt because I don’t like all the artificial stuff that goes into a fruit filled cup… but something that I have added to the mix is 1 Tbsp of almond butter, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 Tbsp Flaxseeds, and 1 tsp of local honey. Talk about delicious! Its soooo good for you too. 😀 Yum!
Thanks!!
Sweet potatoes!!! Baked in the oven with coconut oil and then topped with cinnamon, apple butter, and vanilla greek frozen yogurt! Dinner that tastes like dessert 🙂
I’ve always loved veggies so I try and incorporate them in every meal, but recently I have been LOVING avocado! This gift card would be great for a poor college student:)
Chia seeds!
We try to incorporate fresher foods into our diet. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies instead of frozen ones. It really brings more zest into our nightly meals and my husband even likes the meals!
Hi Julie,
I know Kale has been around forever but I am a bit slow joining it’s fan club. However I have recently started experimenting with different kale salads. My new fave is roasted kale (tossed in apple cider vinegar and olive oil), roasted sweet potatoes, toasted walnuts and feta cheese. YUMMMM. I would love to win the gift certificate so that I can try out other “new” to me veggies and products from whole foods. Thanks! Dana
I started adding spinach to my fruit smoothies! I’m obsessed now with my green smoothies!
I’ve been loving oatmeal with peanut butter lately!
I recently started making my own granola with steel-cut and old-fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, dried cherries, and dark-chocolate bits. I love granola, but I can go a little crazy on the portions, and sometime it isn’t the healthiest medley to begin with. The house smells SO good while its baking and it turns out tasty, so making my own has been great!
I just recently discovered lentils! I love that they’re so healthy but also not that expensive. Great for grad students on a budget!
I’ve been putting edamame in my trail mix recently and it’s been a nice addition.
i loooove whole foods! the prepared foods/hot bar is a BIG weakness of mine. i have been eating nutritional yeast, too a lot more frequently. i put it on salads, yogurt, and popcorn or even just eat it plain!
I saw two cans of organic soy beans on sale the other day and I used them to make a great Shepherd’s Pie! They filled my never full husband right up!
I have been obsessed with avocados lately! Plain, in guacamole, on sandwiches, it doesn’t matter! It’s so delicious!
I started making Kale chips and I love them!
I absolutely love eating a vegetable at every meal. It makes me feel healthy and like I’m doing something good for my body. My favorites lately have been squash and sweet potatoes!
Avocadoes on sandwiches, pasta, anything! So filling & feel good eating them!
Quinoa for sure! I’m attempting to go gluten free for the entire month of February and Quinoa is a great new food I’ve started cooking on my own. I was always a little intimidated to cook it, but it really is super easy!
I am currently obsessed with acaí and try to incorporate it in as many meals as possible.
Lots of veggies and started using Chia seeds. I have been putting them in everything!
Not sure if I can enter (I’m in Canada) but I recently started adding chia seeds & maca powder to my morning breakfast!
I have been adding more and more greens. I have been eating oatmeal for quite a while.
Roasted veggies! Especially sweet potatoes….delicious!
I love baby bok choy! Anytime my local Natural Grocers has it in stock I buy tons! It’s been especially good in soups and stews lately.
I’m starting to eat bison now instead of grass fed beef, so much better for you!
Been loving greek yogurt lately!
We love kale, quinoa and greek yogurt!
I’ve been adding quinoa.
I found Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Hot Cereal which is just full of fiber and whole grains. It is great as a substitute for oatmeal, or in cooking (I just made healthier Valentine’s cookies with it)!