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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Whole Foods recently opened next to my office so I find myself there for lunch a few times a week!
Whole Foods is amazing! I recently started eating more butternut squash, any way I can get it! I’m gluten free and sometimes it’s hard to find a carb (other than potatoes!) to satisfy that craving. I especially love it in soups, or just pureed!
Amazing giveaway!!!! My favorite healthy food I started eating is greek yogurt and chia seeds – delish!
I recently recieved kale in a farmers market “surprise” box I got. I’d never rated or cooked with it, but this was a great opportunity to give it a try. We loved kale chips, and also enjoyed it sautéed with onion and red wine vinegar!!
Lots of fruit, but that has always been a staple. I’ve started incorporating more but butters into my snacks rather than having more processed food.
I love perusing Whole Foods’ produce section. My current fave is collard greens. My husband and I make them once a week – just blanch and then mix them with garlic and lemon juice on the stove. Delicious!
I bought goji berries on a whim from the bulk bins and they are delicious! They’re pretty pricey but they are a nice treat and incorporate the perfect amount of sweetness and chew into my homemade trail mix! Great giveaway!
I have been eating more kale this year than I ever have in the past! It’s so quick and easy to make as a side to a meal.
I love to have coconut. Milk, shredded, oil. So good to cook with, great with oats for breakfast. And it has Medium Chan Fatty Acids which are great for quick energy! Love those good fats!
I have been using more coconut oil.
I have incorporated more veggies, like sweet potatoes and spinach. Awesome giveaway.
We’ve started using kale… In practically everything!
I have just started encore pirating cauliflower into my diet, I used to love it covered with cheese sauce when I was kid and used to think that was the only way it was good. Now I’m trying out new recipes and eating it all the time! I love it roasted with garlic and dill!
I love hummus – just basic hummus with carrots is great!
All types of squashes are something that I just started incorporating into my diet this year. I love everyone I have tried so far!
Thanks for the awesome giveaway, Whole Foods is my favorite store, their salad bar gets me every time. I’ve been trying to stick to a whole food diet, lately I haven’t been able to get enough brussel sprouts.
i love chia seeds!!
I got spaghetti squash and red swiss chard this week to try!
This is great!! Obsessed with Whole Foods.
To my surprise, I have been absolutely loving roasted brussels lately. Can’t get enough! I’ve been trying to cook Kale different ways so I warm up to that too 🙂
I have always used quick-cook oats and old fashioned oats but have recently discovered steel-cut oats. AMAZING texture and an even healthier healthy choice, is that even possible? I will still use old fashioned oats but to have several options especially during mornings I’m not rushing out the door makes breakfast such an exciting part of the day.
I absolutely LOVE Whole Foods! It’s a little out of the way so I make it my special Sunday trip once a month 🙂 I have recently started using Nancy’s low fat cottage cheese that I buy from there. It’s all natural plus it has live active cultures, so my tummy is happy too!
Alfalfa Sprouts! All day, everyday 😉
This program sounds awesome — I’ll keep my eyes peeled for the logos.
I’ve been incorporating a lot of spaghetti squash into my diet. It’s a great way to bulk up my pasta while satisfying my comfort food cravings.
I love ginger! I have had tummy trouble for years and ginger works like a charm!
I love adding veggies to just about everything…like dicing up some onions, mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini to add to lean ground turkey for chili!!!
Chia seeds – I discovered them through one of your recipes about a year ago and now I use them quite often!
I’ve been loving kale lately and find you can add it to lots of dishes and smoothies!
Greek yougurt with some fresh fruit and but butter mixed in!
I added humus. I use it as a spread on sandwiches or mixed with some vinegar for a salad dressing…
I love adding chia seeds to everything!
I have recently been diagnosed with IBD so going to Whole Foods more frequently has definitely been happening since I am able to find more interesting, unique, and diverse foods and produce that help me not get too bored with my food since I had to cut out so many of my favorites. But going more often also means a bigger dent in my wallet…oops:) I would absolutely love to win this! so exciting!
I just tried spaghetti squash a few months ago for the 1st time & loved it!!! I bake one every Sunday now & make different recipes throughout the week with it!
Honestly? A healthy food I’ve started incorporating is meat! I was vegan for 2+ years, but recently started eating meat again. My body is thriving again!
Edamame is one of my favorite healthy foods, as well as peanut butter!! I eat peanut butter every single day to help give me healthy fats and keep me full through my long busy morning as a medical student.
I’ve just started eating spaghetti squash. It’s so versatile and way easier to prepare than I expected! Love it!
One healthy food I’ve recently incorporated into my diet is grapefruit! So yummy!
I have been adding more Chia Seeds to my diet
Sweet potatoes are on the top of must have daily list! I just can’t get enough of them!
A favorite healthy staple would have to be my Fage Total 0% yogurt! High protein and all natural, easily sweetened with just a wee bit of fruit!
I have been a lover of green smoothies for two years now (since I started reading your blog). I have been using spinach for a while, but I recently switched it up to kale. I still cannot taste it, and I love starting my mornings with a leafy green vegetable. 🙂
As I was just extolling my love of mushrooms to my mom earlier today, I probably have to go with that!
There is something about veggies like eggplants and that have mushrooms a major umami factor that I adore!
I’ve been adding in more green smoothies into my diet!
I love Whole Foods and all of their healthy pre-made food options. Recently I started incorporating sweet potatoes into more dishes as a healthier alternative to more carby/starchy foods.
I have been loving chia seeds lately! I put them in smoothies, yogurt and so much more!
I have incorporate quinoa into my diet for the past year or so, and I absolutely love it! I will never not eat it 🙂
I’ve started eating chia seeds in my yogurt. Love the crunch!
I love whole foods! I really love to eat lots of new things and probably started adding lots of new things 3 years ago. I’m trying to think what the most recent new food I’ve added….not sure.
I have been loving chia seeds lately! I make some form of oats for breakfast everyday, and I ALWAYS make sure to put those, ground flax seed, and hemp seeds in there. Always fills me up and prevents mindless snacking while at work.
I’ve started trying new whole grains like farro and wheat berries!
Whole Foods is the best! I’m currently in my dietetic internship, so eating healthy is what I live for, but one healthy food I cannot live without is apples! Any variety, prepared any way, apples are at the top of my list.