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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Everyday I have a big salad made up of mixed organic greens, avocado, tomatoes and olive oil! So easy and healthy!
I started making quinoa dishes for dinner – my husband and I love them!!!
In the past, I always steamed vegetables. I just started roasting them with a little olive oil and don’t know why I waited so long! This has definitely gotten my to add more veggies to my diet.
I’ve been including avocados and Greek yogurt as substitutes for mayo and I love it!
Salads are a big health staple for me. It’s an easy way to get a ton of veggies into my diet.
I have been loving roasted Brussels sprouts recently! Can’t get enough of them
Chia seeds are a staple for me. So good for you!
One new food I been trying is quinoa! A staple in our home is cauliflower.
I’ve been eating overnight oats recently, and I love it! I love eating all natural oats with fruit and protein powder — it keeps me full and I know I’m doing good things for my body 🙂
Avocados! I just recently started eating them and now I put them in salads, on omelets and on toast. Love them!
Chia seeds! I love to put them on cereal and in homemade granola.
Avocados are a staple for me!! Also, I’ve recently been eating a lot more cauliflower and can’t get enough
I jumped on the Brussels bandwagon and have been eating way more veggies over all lately! I never knew about this tour, but I’m going to check it out- thanks!
Hard boiled eggs are a staple in my diet. Love them!!!
Just brought my blender and protein to work so I can make smoothies from the office. Its so cold in Michigan, I often work straight through lunch to avoid going out and grabbing something (way to disorganized to pack anything – it just doesn’t work for me). But, when I do that… I end up so hungry around dinner that I choose quick, unhealthy foods. Hopefully, this solution will work!
My newest healthy obsession is spaghetti squash…I eat it several times a week!
I’ve started adding ground flaxseed to all kinds of things — smoothies, muffins…it’s been a great addition. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
i love finding new ways to incorporate quinoa into my diet…sometimes i need to mix it up because I get bored with the same old way that I prepare it!
Sweet potatoes have always been a staple of my diet (sometimes I think I will turn into a sweet potato lol). After finding your blog last year I started using chia seeds, and now overnight oats are a frequent breakfast choice!
I have always been a big fan of chia seeds and yogurt. Recently, thanks to you :), I have started eating protein pancakes! Being a full time student with rehearsal until 10pm can be hard on the healthy eating, but as long as I have a good breakfast, I usually do all right.
Apples! I know, I know…but I have always been much more of a veggie person than a fruit person so now I’m trying to remedy that a little bit.
Spinach has been a staple in my breakfast smoothies for over a year-I recently started to add Kale to the mix to change it up. It’s delicious!
Kale! I have recently been on a kale streak and love incorporating it into my diet. A Whole Foods just opened up in my hometown so I’d love to be able to test some new foods!
greek yogurt has become a big staple for an extra protein boost…now regular yogurt doesn’t seem worth eating- unless it’s fro-yo, which also does not count ha 🙂
Chia seeds in my overnight oats!
Eggs! I’ve never really enjoyed them before and felt like they were too much work. Thanks to some Pinterest recipes I’ve discovered new ways to incorporate them into my lifestyle.
Farro! We recently picked up a bag at Costco and it’s a great alternative to rice and quinoa.
I’ve been eating more spinach in smoothies!
What a wonderful giveaway! I’ve recently been incorporating Quinoa into more of my dishes as a substitute for rice and have been LOVING it!
I’ve started making fritattas for dinner. Maybe not the healthiest ever, but they’re a great way to use up bits of leftover veggies.
Can’t think of something new, but spinach is always a staple of my diet but the form changes depending on my mood-blended in a smoothie, raw in a big salad, or sauteed with other vegetables.
I’ve been using cauliflower lately to make “faux-tatoes” and cauliflower “rice.” Love them both! And I love Whole Foods.
lots and lots of juices! while I don`t own a juicer yet, I love buying suja juice whenever I`m at whole foods.
Yay for whole foods! Confession…. I have never been to whole foods, but I really want to go to one soon! I have heard so many good things and I have one not to far away from me.
A healthy staple for me is hard boiled eggs. I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! LOVE THEM!!
I’ve started incorporating more spinach into my recipes. And baby carrots are my go-to snack.
Flax seed meal and coconut oil! I even use the coconut oil as a night time moisturizer for my face. 🙂
I’ve started adding chia seeds to my morning smoothies!
Can’t get enough flax seed in everything!
Salads are my go to for getting in enough veggies!
I have been incorporating Goji berries into my diet- adding them to yogurts, muffins, pancakes, everything!
I would say that wheatberry is a pretty common staple in our kitchen.
Brocolli! I know this isn’t something new, but for me it is big. I am 32 and have never liked brocolli! I know how great it is for me, though, so I’ve challenged myself to find new ways to eat it that I enjoy. I am encouraged! Roasting Brocolli actually tastes good! Who knew!
I’ve always eaten yogurt, but recently started eating it on a daily basis. I definitely see an improvement in my digestive health.
I’ve recently been added beans and grains on my salads to get a complete protein!
I love Whole Foods! I’ve always incorporated red peppers in my diet but have recently incorporated more yellow and orange ones.
I try to make sure I pack raw veggies and fresh fruit for snacks at work! If I don’t have junk available, I can’t eat it. 🙂
I always carry around a small container of nuts (usually almonds) in my purse in case I get hungry, which helps me to not get too ravenous and inevitably snack on something not-so-healthy. I’ve also started making my own “Larabars” and protein bars/ energy bites recently.
I recently started eating avacados!
I live in Baltimore and shop at the Whole Foods all the time!
I have recently started eating chia seeds in my steel cut oats every morning and they definitely help fill me up.
I also made a Farro risotto last night and it was delicious – I found the recipe on the Whole Foods website.
Everytime its my husband turn to make dinner, its always includes Quinoa. Be it for the main dish or a side. Its pretty tasty!
I’ve recently included Chia Seeds into my diet and smoothies because I saw it on your blog! Would love to try almond butter next and flax seed.