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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More Protein!! 🙂
I’ve been eating more oatmeal lately.
I have a few healthier food items that we have been trying to use more frequently, as my hubby was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about a year ago–almond milk, quinoa, and butternut squash! All three are much better food choices for his new, healthier lifestyle. Even my 8 year old daughter likes all three! I need to continue the bribes with my 4 year old, though. She’s not having it, and even knows when I’ve used it in the scrambled eggs!
seasame seeds!
A healthy food staple I always have is oatmeal..my fav breakfast! Especially with this BRUTAL weather we’re experiencing here in Philadelphia. A new healthy food for me- avocado 🙂 yumm!!
One of my favorite healthy foods is the sprinkle jar of chia seeds I keep on the counter. Hailey loves putting them on everything and we call them sprinkles. Hooray for extra healthy omegas!
I recently started eating flaxseed again for some healthy fats and fiber!
I’m all about gelatin these days. Making fruit snacks out of juice and gelatin is super fun. I have to fight my daughter for them, but I can reach the highest shelf in the fridge and she can’t, so it’s not a fair fight…
coconut oil!
I’ve been lactose intolerant my entire life but just tried ignored the (sometimes terrible) side effects of keeping dairy in my diet (cause who doesn’t love some milk in things like coffee, smoothies, and cereal?!) A few months ago, I switched over to soy and almond milk and did my best to ditch dairy for good. Ever since, I’ve felt a million times better and the two have become a staple in my diet!
I’ve started eating beets recently, their deep color caught my eye!
I’ve started trying to add more protein into my diet by eating lean meats, especially chicken breasts!
the green lemonade from WF is my favorite! we just got one in my hometown and I am hooked! Would love 50.00 to try a few new things, too 🙂
Oatmeal! I eat OIAJ every morning for breakfast. It is so easy to add fruits. nut butters, pumpkin puree or other yummy things I have in the fridge and pantry. It fills me up for hours in the morning and it is healthy!
Flax seed! In my shakes, homemade protein bars and oatmeal! I would love to win the gift certificate to Whole Foods!
I incorporate kale and antioxidant rich raw cacao powder into my smoothies almost everyday!! What an awesome giveaway!
I started putting Chia Seeds in my smoothies for extra fiber and texture!
my husband and i challenged ourselves to have a salad as one of our meals during Feb…so either a salad as our meal for lunch or dinner. i’ve always loved my veggies, but loving this so far!
I have started juicing!! yum!!
Curry is my magic! It makes already healthy dishes even better. I eat at least one curry-based meal on most days of the week… quick, easy, healthy, and MEGA flavorful =] My two favorites are curry roasted cauliflower, and any form of red/green curry paste, light coconut milk, a protein, and a TON of veggies tossed together in a pan.
I have recently been adding more avocado into my daily meals… its a healthy fat that can be incorporated into every meal!
I love Whole Foods! I drive 90 minutes just to get to one 🙁 I’ve been trying to find new ways to incorporate veggies into my diet. Last night I made “mashed potatoes” with cauliflower, tonight I’ll use avocados for taco salad topping (instead of sour cream and cheese), and I’ve been using a lot of spaghetti squash instead of noodles!
I recently discovered Spaghetti Squash and absolute love it! I’ve already made 2 different meals out of one Squash. So yummy and so healthy! I absolute LOVE Whole Foods but it is expensive and on this teacher’s salary, a Whole Foods grocery trip is about a once a month treat for me! I would LOVE a giftcard! 🙂
-Kathleen
Chia seeds!
My favorite healthy food is spinach – I incorporate it into just about everything from soups to sandwiches.
I’ve recently become more aware of post workout nutrition. I CrossFit and lift heavy and never truly understood the importance of refueling. I make sure to have a whey protein shake and some sort of carb after working out now. Brown rice is the newest carb source I have been incorporating into my diet. I love sticky brown rice! With doing this post workout, I’ve noticed that recovery time is cut in half. 🙂
Chia seeds! Love them in yogurts. 🙂
Whole Foods just opened in my city and we are loving it! I’ve added whole flax seed and kale into my diet.
One healthy food I’ve been incorporating a lot recently is kale! It’s the ultimate superfood and with a good dressing it’s delicious and super energizing!
I know this is super weird but for the first 26 years of my life, I swore I didn’t like avocados. Now I cannot get enough of them!!!
I’ve been eating lentils recently and loving them
I have recently started buying kale to make kale chips – so delicious and healthy!
It is not new, but I sure love sweet potatoes. I have been gobbling them up lately!
I have started adding chia seeds to my cereal bowls and to smoothies. I love the little crunch and you can’t even taste it!
Chia seeds just became a regular part of my diet. I had tried them before, but I’m increasing my healthy fat intake and that means more coconut butter and more chia seed pudding! Yum!
i would definitely have to say oatmeal with berries and chia seeds!
Growing up, I never tried Brussels sprouts. Now, I love them and eat them almost every week!
I’ve added beans to my diet!
I’ve been incorporating flax seed and kale into my smoothies! Amazing what you can hide in there. 🙂
I am crushing on beets lately! Juiced, Salads, etc.. can’t get enough!
We don’t live near a Whole Foods anymore either, so whenever I am in a town with one, I literally go for every meal. I love the salad bar and all the odd healthy foods, like faux meats, tofus and prepared salads. Remaking the avocado kale salad is very high on my to-do list!
Spinach!!! I put it in smoothies all the time and always use it for salads and side dishes!
Flax seeds! Great in smoothies!
I’ve been incorporating spinach and kale into our meals lately!! I’ve always loved spinach salads, but adding it into dinners and smoothies have been my new crave!
I have been keeping nuts and dried fruit at my desk for when I need a little bite of something.
Recently I’ve started eating greens, and having fun with it too! I would never get enough vegetables and just blame it on me not being a ‘salad person’, but i’ve been having a lot of fun juicing vegetables and putting them in brownies (secretly! Don’t tell my family :D) and making some great vegetable wraps! YUM! I have always made sure to have a cup of tea in the morning, which I believe is pretty healthy :).
Kale is a staple – adding more buckwheat into my diet!
Definitely trying to eat more whole grains like kamut
I have stared using coconut oil in our cooking since I have been reading so many great things about it. I love it so far!
Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
fairyfractal at gmail dot com
Ever since winter started, I’ve been eating a ton of citrus