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 have recently started getting back into making green smoothies!!
I’ve been loving some green smoothies & plain greek yogurt for awhile now, but have recently started using chia seeds to add healthy fats to my diet! awesome giveaway!
I love Sunwarrior Protein, and I usually buy it from Wholefoods 🙂
I have started eating sugar snow peas as a crunchy snack.
Ooh I would love this! Whole Foods is so expensive. I’ve recently been putting greens (spinach/kale) in my smoothies.
I’ve recently gotten into Kale! Can’t get enough 🙂
I have recently been eating a lot more beans again with my diet, and I’m loving it as a meat substitution!
I’ve been enjoying your egg white protein pancake nearly every morning. I can’t get enough.
Spinach! Spinach smoothies, salads, soups- you name it! I’m obsessed!
I’m a big fan of oats and low fat greek yogurt!
I love starting my morning with an egg white scramble packed with whatever veggies I have in the fridge. It’s such a delicious and healthy way to start the day.
I have been making kale chips and they are delicious and healthy!
I’ve recently discovered parsnips. I make parsnip fries or roast them with carrots and dill. So yummy! Even the husband will eat them! 🙂
One of my favorite healthy food staples is kale. I try and have a handful every morning in my smoothie and/or add it to my soups and stir fries!
Flax seed! I don’t know what took me so long to start incorporating it into my diet. I do grind it up in my coffee grinder so it has a slight coffee flavor sometimes-not bad!
I’ve been incorporating a green veggie into each meal of the day.
I recently started eating sweet potatoes because I know they are so good for you! I used to hate them, but forced myself to mentally get over it!
i do a green drink each morning using Green Vibrance powder (it includes spirulina, and other green deliciousness). I love juice and smoothies, but it’s hard to stomach them when its freezing cold in Connecticut — so this makes me feel like i’m getting those nutrients in first thing in the am!
I have recently added steel cut oats to my breakfast routine. Love the nutty flavor and how filling they are!
I’ve been adding ground flax to my overnight oats. Gives it a good taste and doesn’t really mess with the texture at all (which is a big thing for me).
I have been adding more interesting vegetables to my diet- beets, swiss chard, collards, and artichokes!
I love Whole Foods! I would say the newest healthy addition to my diet is drinking raw coconut water after long runs or crossfit! I never used to like the taste of it, but now I love it! And it’s such a natural and healthy way to replace lost electrytes.
I love steel cut oatmeal and greek yogurt.
I’ve pretty much swapped all other salad greens out for kale + spinach — soo much goodness!
I”ve been incorporating chia seeds into everything I can (smoothies, oatmeal, baking) – I love that I am always satisfied after eating something with them!
I try and find creative way to use spinach. Like on top of a baked sweet potato and topped with salsa.
Sliced cucumber with redwine vinegar and a little salt and pepper has become by go to “I want a salty crunchy snack” snack!
I can’t get enough parsnips this winter! Roasted in coconut oil – always the best part of my dinner when I make it!
I’ve been incorporating chia seeds and flax seeds into my morning breakfast- overnight oats! Topped with some fresh fruit. Yum
I love cottage cheese! I add it to everything-oatmeal, shakes, eggs. It adds creaminess and protein!
I try to incorporate broccoli or some other green veggie into every dinner!
I’ve recently purchased some coconut water to incorporate into smoothies, I’m not big on coconut flavor but I like the ones mixed with other fruit juices.
Green smothies even through the dead of winter are one healthy thing I haven’t given up. I just had one this morning and then took the dog to the park in 9 degree weather!!!
I love healthy fats! I used to be afraid of them but now I know the importance of avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.
I’ve been drinking more green juice lately- great way to get some more fruits and veggies!
Ive been incorporating Quinoa into my meals
I’ve always liked spinach, but lately I’ve been on a real kick – I add it to every meal I can!
I have been loving steel cut oats this winter!! Keeps my belly full and warm. 🙂
KALE! It’s become a staple in my diet. Kale chips, soup, in smoothies 😀
I love Whole Foods! I’ve been adding more vegetables to my diet, asparagus and brussel sprouts in particular. They are so yummy!
I’ve been trying to incorporate more healthy foods into my diet, I’ve recently grown to love quinoa and I’m trying to start incorporating green smoothies into my diet!
I have been using ground flax seed for some extra healthy fats!
I’ve been a soy milk fan for a few years but I’ve recently started using almond milk instead and I love it so far!
I’m definitely one of the people who usually cycles through the same fruits and veggies. My newest thing has been to make sure I try to pick up something seasonal or new to me at the store to at least make sure I’m rotating my choices a bit.
I LOVE the Health Starts Here program at Whole Foods! Recently I’ve been eating parsnips like crazy! New favorite roasted veggie! Hope i win!
My favorites are spinach, apples, nuts, and sweet potatoes.
I just bought bulgur this week to try and make some different types of meals!
New healthy food farro… Everyday healthy food, coconut oil (in moderation).
Trying to eat as many green leafy veggies as possible!
Green Juice from Whole Foods rocks! & I’ve recently tried oatmeal, I’ve always thought I hated it but now I can’t live without it! 🙂
I haven’t recently introduced any new foods, but I’m making a much stronger effort to eat more vegetables in general. I got lazy awhile back and stopped preparing them, and I’m working to get out of that rut. Frozen vegetables are really helping in terms of time and convenience!