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 like to sneak spinach into all of my smoothies! I’m also realizing how many baking items can be subbed for bananas, apple sauce or greek yogurt!
I DEFINITELY fall into the category of cycling through the same 10 fruits and vegetables constantly. Orange bell peppers are at the very top of that list and I eat at least one per day.
Loved this post. I went directly to the Whole Foods website and started looking for fun “date night” cooking events for my husband and I. We love fruits and veggies and try to incorporate “new” items into our current rotations each week. I want to eat more than the same 10 items all the time. Lately we are loving acorn squash and halos. So good!
I started adding ground flax seeds to my salads and baked goods for an extra nutritional boost!
I love whole foods!
I’ve cut out soda in 2014! Only drinking water and natural drinks…no more diet coke for me!
I’ve recently become addicted to coconut chips! The Dang brand is a personal favorite – their caramel sea salt chips are to die for!
I’ve added kale to my grocery trips. It’s so good! Love this blog!!
I love Whole Foods and am such a fan of all the healthy options I can find there! In the past six months I’ve tried to incorporate spinach into my meals more often with some salads but mostly “green” smoothies and have to admit it’s not as bad as I feared. Such a great way to sneak in greens and vitamins!
I’m trying to incorporate quinoa into my diet!
I’ve added quinoa into my diet. It’s delicious!
Avocados! I’ve never liked them, now all of the sudden I am obsessed with Guacamole. People keep asking me if I’m pregnant, nope, just a change in taste I guess 😉
I’ve started incorporating more smoothies into my meals and really enjoy the jolt of energy I get from the fresh fruit!
This is such a cool thing they do! I have started incorporating oats into a lot of different types of foods – from breakfast to baking cookies, or making granola energy balls that are a tasty snack for my whole family! I actually started using more oats after I tried your overnight oats recipe – I am hooked on it! After that I try to find a place for oats in anything and everything that I can!
I’ve been using a lot of nutritional yeast lately!
My staple is Greek yogurt. So good!
I’ve been loving the recent addition of kale into my smoothies. It can be masked by fruits and bananas. Simple way to pack my morning with greens!
I’ve recently added bell peppers into my diet. I never liked them in the past, but am warming up to them since they are healthy and so versatile. I specifically like the orange, yellow and red ones – no green bell peppers for me! There is a new Whole Foods by our house so this would be a fun treat to win!
I’ve just started my love affair with kale. Kale chips rock! No more potato chips or crackers for me……….
Cool! I started eating more regularly and I love it!
Eating KALE more regularly.. ha!
I haven’t incorporated anything new, but I love Almond Milk and avocados are always on my weekly menu (and shopping list!).
Spinach instead of regular lettuce!
I’m giving up diet soda and replacing it with flavored seltzer. Still good but no bad chemicals!
I’ve had chia pudding with almond milk and strawberries almost every day lately!
I’ve recently started incorporating kale and Brussel sprouts and my favorite almond butter is there! I would love this!
I love using quinoa in chili as a filler! I make it a few times a month and use it in different dishes. So far my favorites have been turkey meatballs, chili, and on salad!
I’ve really been incorporating a lot more fruit into my diet, especially bananas and apples because they are great on the go!
I LOVE WHOLE FOODS!! I have been incorporating kale into my smoothies and am loving it– such an easy way to get good nutrients without compromising the taste. 🙂
I’ve recently started eating a lot healthier. I usually have a smoothie for breakfast with a banana 🙂 also made muffins the other week with only healthy ingredients, so good.
Been loving grapefruit lately. Hated them as a child
Adding greens into my morning smoothie daily!
I recently had a kohlrabi salad at a restaurant and loved it, so I’ve been using it at home now too.
I have been trying to incorporate more leafy greens in my diet.
One of my favorite healthy foods is avocado – I eat at least a half of one every day!
I’m a die hard Whole Foods shopper and I love how they take the guess work out of eating healthy! This month I’ve challenged myself to get more adventurous at the bulk bins by choosing a new grain every week. This week I chose millet and it’s been an awesome addition to salads, soups, and on its own topped with veggies and protein!
Love WF! My family and I often pick their bakery for breakfast or a treat or their deli for lunch or dinner. Love their selection of grocery items, vitamins, skin and body care, even clothing and jewelry!
I’ve begun to add Chia to just about everything I eat AND I’ve been filling my grocery cart with as much organic as possible!
Coconut everything. Coconut flour, coconut oil, unsweetened shredded coconut, coconut butter (which is the bomb) and last but not least coconut milk.
Greek Yogurt, I use it to make Tuna or Chicken Salad, on top of tacos instead of sour cream and my fave mix it with Peanut butter as a dip for fruit.
A little bit goes a long way and adds extra protein.
What fun! My husband and I have started mixing up green smoothies in the morning. Our fridge is always stocked with spinach … had you told me that a year ago, I would have laughed!
Roasted brussel sprouts are my new favorite veggie! I don’t know where they have been all my life
Ive been on a green juice kick to start my day
I’ve been eating a lot more Brussels sprouts lately! I don’t know why I never ate them before because they’re delicious! I eat them roasted, grilled, or just chopped up in salads. So delicious!
Spinach! I recently started adding it to things like eggs or chicken. It’s so fast & easy! I was missing out.
Spinach!!! I craved it and ate it every day while pregnant. I still love it!!!
Whole wheat flour instead of white and eggless spinach pie – a recipe my friend sent me. Spinach, onions, peppers, whole wheat flour, almond milk. SO yummy and filling.
We love brussels sprouts at out house and recently started broiling them with a coconut ginger sauce! They are awesome!
I have started juicing in the mornings.
I love chia seeds! I incorporate them into oatmeal, smoothies, refrigerator oats and even sprinkle them on pb english muffins!
I have been adding maca powder to my smoothies and have found it to really help with my energy levels!!
I just discovered kale chips, SO good
Chia seeds!!!