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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My favorite healthy food is actually one that I’m only able to find at Whole Foods… Japanese Sweet Potatoes! I’m addicted.
lots of spinach salads!
green smoothies with flax!
I’ve always been one to eat veggies but i’m starting to incorporate new ones into mine and my bf’s lives, kale or spinach in smoothies, Brussel sprouts (which i would never try as a kid) as a side, cauliflower as mashed potatoes or even a superbowl side (buffalo cauliflower bites)
whole foods is such an awesome place!!!
one thing i started incorporating in my diet is flax and chai seeds!!!!! they are amazing!!!
happy healthy living! 🙂
Squash! Especially this time of year!
Oats, lots of fruit, and veggies have always been staples in my diet. I’ve gotten back into incorporating chia seeds into my diet, as well.
I’ve been incorporating quinoa into many of my meals, to replace pasta and rice when I can. Love that stuff!
I just started eating asparagus and bananas. I use to hate both as a kid but recently have acquired the taste for them.
For me, it would have to be spinach. Just plain baby spinach leaves. Sadly, it was hard to let go of ordinary salads. I have used this in a number of ways and I truly love it. It’s a go-to staple for me now. I’m even slowly convincing my fiancé that it’s worth a try. 🙂
I have started to really love kale! I am incorporating it into everything lately!
How cool! The closest Whole Foods to me is about 30+ minutes away so it’s not my regular grocery store but I love making special trips out that way for some other healthy items I can’t get around here. I love incorporating avocados into my diet and finding delicious ways to eat them aside from just throwing some on top of a salad. It’s definitely been a staple in my diet the last few years.
Smoothies! I’ve been trying to get more fruit into my diet and this has been a yummy way to do it!
Spinach and kale salads have become my new favorite.
I’ve used chia seeds sporadically for awhile but just recently started eating them daily. I’m 7 months pregnant with my 2nd son and the extra boost of omega 3s are definitely important for both me and my growing baby boys brain.
I also do not live close to Whole Foods but definitely go out of my way to make a trip there about once a month. I’m a vegan and have always ate pretty healthy, but my new healthy food obsession is coconut oil! I substitute it for any and all oil or butter and LOVE IT!
I’ve recently joined the smoothie movement! Loving my morning kale smoothie.
Since it is so easy, I have started to eat more cauliflower- I have pinned enough recipes to make a cauliflower board!
I’ve started using kale in green smoothies recently and love it. Spaghetti squash is also one of my go to meals each week.
We’ve been loving Siggi’s shots for probiotics!
Leafy Greens! I put kale and spinach in everything!
I love Quinoa and I try to incorporate that into several meals!
Fennel! I never used to like it but I’ve found it is delicious when roasted!
I don’t buy groceries anywhere else!!
I’ve been reading about how good coconut oil is for you (on your site as well), so I started putting a tablespoon in my coffee every morning!! 🙂
hemp hearts
I am a huge fan of plant based protein powders like Sunwarrior!
Love Whole Foods! I am trying to incorporate Kale more into my diet and experimenting with different ways to do that.
Love Whole Foods!! And I think it’s great what they are trying to do! My staple is my salad, I love it, it always leaves me feeling great. New veggie I’ve added in is Broccoli. I love my green beans and could eat those all day, but am trying to find a love for broccoli as well haha
Kale! I can’t believe I hadn’t tried it before this year!
I recently hopped on board the brussel sprouts trains, and now cannot get enough of them!
Spaghetti squash! Such a great alternative to pasta. I love Whole Foods. I wish I could afford to shop there more!
I am so old school and I love the crunch of carrots and apples!
Ground flax seeds in my oatmeal and on my toast!
I started using chia seeds recently and love them!
Spinach in smoothies!
I am moving to the states in a few weeks and would love the gift card to help stock my pantry of healthy food options! We dont have a store like this in Canada and this would be amazing to take the time to shop around and learn!!!
I’m getting super into using more healthy fats. Avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds!
I started to eat quinoa…didn’t know if I would like it but I love it now!!
As a busy college student, I love making a big batch of bulgar on weekends and eating it throughout the week!
Mustard Greens! I’ve started adding them to my smoothies and green juices.
I’ve recently started incorporating more wild salmon into my diet. Yay for omega-3s!
I recently started incorporating vegetables with every snack and meal I eat! 🙂 I LOVE cucumbers and bell peppers!
I LOVE Whole Foods! The nearest one is about an hours drive, so I have to stock up when I go! I have started eating kale and really love it!!
I am loving my daily green drinks with kale, almond milk, banana and chia!
Spinach salads with lots of veggies on top!
I’ve just started incorporating beets into my diet! I’ve always known they have wonderful nutritional benefits, but I’ve been reading a lot more lately about how they support women’s health. Since it’s a fall/winter vegetable that you can find all over the place now, I’ve started adding them into smoothies and juices – love it!
Turnips! I rely have never had them before and tried making them like ‘French fries’. They were delicious!
I LOVE whole foods!!!!! Sometimes my friend and I will go and literally just walk around haha! I am starting to incorporate way more protein in my diet, and I am starting to really notice a difference!
I’ve started adding beans/legumes to my salads lately. I don’t know why I had only reserved them for burritos or chili! My faves for salad are: garbanzos, great northern, and dark red kidney. It’s a great way to add protein and substance since I don’t like meat on my salads.