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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Love my daily dose of Greek Yogurt!! Eating more kale lately too!
I’ve been making a kale salad that is delish!!
I love mostly all plant-based foods, but I consistently eat flax seeds on a daily basis, and I love them! I am all about those healthy fats 🙂 thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I’m late to the game but I just started adding kale salads to my lunches! I love how kale holds up better than spinach or other leafy greens which tend to get soggy
I’ve become obsessed with the Nutty Monkey smoothie from Whole Foods. I’d love the opportunity to buy them more regularly!
We have recently fallen in love with millet and amaranth!
I’ve been getting creative with different quinoa salads for awhile now. Lately I’ve been incorporating spinach into my smoothies thanks to your suggestion! I love how it’s sneaking in nutrition and you can’t even taste it.
Goji berries!! I love adding the to yogurt, cereal, and use them to bake.
I have been eating a lot more raw Kale in my diet!
I have been incooperating Quinao in my diet and meals. its so easy and so many possiblitys and i hear very healthy. i have made 2 different recipets. one i found here
When I started making healthier food choices/swaps, Kale was one thing I was always hesitant on trying. I finally gave the leafy green a go a couple years ago and now it is a staple that I use in my salads, to make kale chips, to add some green to my smoothies, etc. Love it!
Wheat Germ! on morning yogurt bowls
I just recently let tried parsnips and now I can’t believe I ever went without them! I’m obsessed! Steam them and add some coconut oil or ghee, a sprinkle of cinnamon. Mmmmm.
I have been adding chia seeds into yogurt and smoothies!
I have recently added asparagus to my healthy eating rotation, despite a previous twenty years of finding it intolerable.
I am head over heals in love with the Core Warrior Meal bars. They taste amazing and are great for when I am working long hours for the Duke men’s basketball team! $50 would be a great help to a totally broke college student with an addiction the the Whole Foods next to campus 🙂
I have started putting cauliflower in everything!! I put it in my Meatball, used as crust for pizza, and I use it in stead of rice, but the best part about it is it is so darn good by its self!
I’ve putting chia seeds and almond butter in everything! Oatmeal, smoothies, baking, etc..
Green smoothies have become my favorite morning tradition! I love how many veggies I can “sneak” in my early morning breakfast 🙂
I’ve been eating quinoa lately plus beans for protein.
Spinach! Throw it on sandwiches, salads, in smoothies… I go through a lot of it!
I’ve been eating a lot of peppers and broccoli lately :))
I am loving KALE! in my smoothies or stirfry’s, salad! So yummy
I’ve just started eating quinoa and want to incorporate it into my meals more 🙂
I love Whole Foods!! Such a great selection of wonderful foods! I am a hugeeee fan of sweet potatoes, quinoa, and spaghetti squash! (Along with basically every other healthy food…can’t pick just one, love em all!) 🙂 Glad you got to visit Whole Foods while in Jax!
I used to think I disliked squash, but recently, I’ve fallen in love with spaghetti squash! Yum!
I have recently been adding wheatgrass powder to my smoothies- no taste difference but added nutrients!!
Recently I have been obsessed with brussels sprouts. I like to steam and then brown them with olive oil. Add homemade Sriracha sauce on them and they are perfect. Yum!
Spaghetti squash instead of noodles, cauliflower instead of potatoes or rice, and most recently napa cabbage sauteed on the stove drizzled with olive oil and garlic all have become a few of our new favorites.
I finally got on the quinoa train! We always have some sort of prepared quinoa on hand and just throw diced chicken in it for some extra protein. Love it!
I have recently started to incorporate kale into my smoothies in the morning!
I am adding chia seeds to my oatmeal and pb sandwiches….yum!
Whole Foods is the BEST!!!!! I have been adding spinach to all of my dishes–and to my husband’s meals!!!
my favorite healthy food is chia seeds!
I love adding Kale to my smoothies!!
We are loving Kale!
Every Sunday my sister and I take whole foods hot/cold bar date! I am in love with the detox salad and actually made it as a side dish over the holidays. One item that has been a staple in my diet for a while now is raw, unsalted, roasted cashews! they seem to always boost my energy 🙂
I’ve started adding spinach or kale to my smoothies in the morning thanks to inspiration from your green smoothie. I have also been trying to think of other ways to incorporate (sneak) spinach into more recipes. I tried adding some to homemade tomato sauce and it was a hit!
Spaghetti squash instead of pasta!!!
I recently started incorporating eggplant into my meals! why hadn’t i tried eggplant sooner!?
Raspberries are my go to snack or dessert! Love them 🙂
I’ve recently started eating a lot of frozen broccoli. I’ve never been a fan before, but if you cook it the right way, it makes for a tasty (and easy!) side dish.
I recently started adding in sardines! Haha I know it sounds so gross, but they are an amazing source of protein and once you get past how they look, they’re pretty tasty 🙂
I recently bought my first bag of chia seeds and am enjoying adding them to different snacks.
Something that I’m craving all the time is grapefruit – I love having this citrus as a dessert this time of year.
I recently started using spinach as a base for my salads instead of romaine!
Avocados! They’re so versatile and have lots of protein and healthy fats to keep you full and satisfied for hours! I love avocado on whole wheat toast with cream cheese, over eggs, in tacos, burritos, salads, I even made a walnut, raspberry avocado cheesecake! Yum!!!
After years of going “fat-free” I’m trying to incorporate more healthy fats in my diet like olive oil, avocados, and nuts!
I’ve recently started incorporating in flax seeds into my diet!
I adore whole foods! I have recently added avocado into my food repertoire for a boost of healthy fats.