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 am on the chia seed bandwagon!!
If we’re talking breakfast foods, chia seeds are a must for oatmeal! Any other meals I would literally eat asparagus for the entire meal if I could!
I’ve recently incorporated zucchini into my diet! yummm
I just recently have started adding chia seeds to my breakfast staples and am LOVING them.
I love avacados and cabbage!
Spinach! Although, I’m not sure I’m ready to add it to my pancakes yet!
I’ve recently been incorporating lots of fresh herbs – mint in smoothies, whole cilantro leaves in salads, dill snipped on top of soup. I LOVE shopping at Whole Foods!!
I’ve been sprinkling chia seeds on top of my oatmeal and yogurt. And eating avocados with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper for lunch!
I guess when I think about it, I probably buy the same 10 fruits and veggies over and over again–and I think of myself as a pretty adventurous eater! I’ve recently started trading the usual butternut squash for some of the different varieties. There’s some really tasty ones. Delicata is probably my new favorite!
I eat pretty well, including lots of vegetables & healthy fats! However, I always worry about my protein intake, so I’ve been adding raw hemp seeds to my diet! They’re so nutty & delicious 🙂
I recently started using quinoa when making dinner! So healthy and it takes on any flavor
I have been adding in a bigger variety of veggie each night to my meals!
I have been a ton of new to me veggies! Loving Brussel sprouts, beets and Kale!
I love Whole Foods, thanks for the giveaway! Recently added kale into the rotation, it took me a while to find a way to prepare it that I would like it, but now that I have, I love it!
I am loving Spaghetti squash these days! How I lived without knowing about this delicious vegetable substitute for noodles I don’t know! Even my fiance loves it which is a double win! I am a college student so I can’t always go to Whole foods for everything but when I do it is a treat! Love that place!
I’m loving my new snacks. I used to do the 100-calorie thing, but now I prefer fruits and nuts. They’re super handy, yummy, healthy and satisfy my sweet or crunchy cravings.
I have been trying to incorporate chia seeds into my diet on a regular basis!
I recently made the switch to almond milk. I cut out cow’s milk awhile ago and only drank soy milk but wanted a soy free alternative. It took me a bit to find an almond milk that I liked but I’m glad I did!
Avocado…including the pit! I use avocado in everything from drink to dessert recipes! All that good fat produces a perfect creamy texture to anything blended.
Every day begins with a green smoothie! I’m always changing up the ingredients and flavors, but it’s my favorite way to start my day off with tons of healthy energy! 🙂
I recently discovered chocolate chia seeds and have definitely been using those often! Delicious!
I added ground flax seed to my mashed banana + egg pancakes!
I have started cutting down on my artificial sugars and double checking sugar content on labels. Most recently it’s been power or nutrition bars but also other pre packages foods. Switching to more natural sugars has made all the difference.
I love drinking apple cider vinegar shots into my diet! The health benefits are endless and it gives me a natural boost of energy! 🙂
I have switched from regular milk to almos milk completely! My tummy is a lot happier as I had noticed that I am sensitive to dairy!
veggies for breakfast
I ate some of the Health Starts Here items from the Whole Foods prepared salad bar last night! They are all so delicious. I have been enjoying incorporating swiss chard into my meals lately.
With the brutal cold weather of Chicago, I’m craving any kind of squash (spaghetti, acorn, butternut…). Would love to find new ways to prepare it!
I have been obsessed with kale lately! I never knew it could be prepared in so many ways!
Roasted broccoli is my favorite!
I’m lovin’ flaxseeds. They add a little crunch to my breakfast and help fill me up! 🙂
Two of my favorites are quinoa and sweet potatoes…recently I’ve been making breakfast quinoa and love it!!
I love love love kale and spinach, I try to incorporate them into everything 🙂
I’ve started eating Brazil nuts!
Roasted broc!
I’ve been eating beans out the wahzoo! Especially hummus. I’ve been adding it to everything lately!
I do not have a Whole Foods near me but I have trip for work coming up at the end of the month in a city where there is one–Time to stock up! I so badly wish we had one in my hometown!
I have been obsessed with Kale lately–In my eggs, salads, and smoothies– I just cannot get enough of it 🙂
I have been adding kale to lots of things. I made a chicken sausage, white bean, kale soup last week!
I’m on a ginger kick! I slice some up to throw in my smoothies or veggie stir fry. So good!
I have started eating fruit at breakfast. I always used to be a big egg kinda girl, but by incorporating some fruit into my first meal of the day now I am able to sneak in those added nutrients!
I love Whole Foods and wish there were one closer to me!
We recently started eating butternut, spaghetti and acorn squash on a weekly basis! Quinoa has been in our diet for about a year now 🙂
I’ve recently started adding kale into my green smoothies instead of just spinach and I’m loving it!
I’ve been loving avocado and sweet potatoes lately!
I’ve been eating quinoa and avocados a lot!
As an Austinite, I LOVE going to Whole Foods… It’s pretty generic but I can never tire of avocados… I put them in just about everything!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ve seen those signs around our local Whole Foods, but never really knew what they meant. One things I’ve started incorporating into my diet is roasted veggies such as broccoli, squash, etc. It’s a nice alternative to grilling in the winter months.
I’ve been loving quinoa lately!
I have been adding spinach and chia seeds to my smoothies which I make about every other day.
I am loving green smoothies!
I’ve started using maca powder in my smoothies and love it! Two of my healthy staples are chia seeds and brussel sprouts!