Whole Foods Market recently launched a new program -- an approach to healthy, mindful eating that it wants to share with its customers.
Whole Foods Market has created a Health Starts Here initiative just in time for all of us who made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier and treat our bodies better. As part of this the market is offering customers across the country a 28-day Eat Right America challenge. Customers take a pledge to eat healthier (details below), and get free use of an online tool for 30 days that helps guide them (including an “easing into it” process where you do certain things in the first week, more in the second week, etc.).
There are four main elements to HSH (Health Starts Here):
- Whole Food
- Plant Strong™
- Nutrient Dense
- Healthy Fats
You can learn more about these basics at your local Whole Foods Market or at the HSH web site, but here are a couple facts to start: whole foods are not refined or highly processed; it’s fairly easy to eat nutrient-dense foods when you’re eating a plant-rich diet, and healthy fats include raw nuts and seeds, no-salt peanut and almond butters, and avocados. As Whole Foods states, this initiative and challenge are not about participating in a trendy diet or making unrealistic goals. Instead, you’re encouraged to make “healthy choices every day that will impact health, vitality, and well-being.”
The Eat Right America challenge asks participants to commit to these five cornerstones of healthy eating:
- One large salad daily
- At least a half-cup of beans or legumes daily
- At least 3 servings of fresh fruit daily
- At least one ounce (about a quarter-cup) of raw nuts and seeds daily
- At least one large (double-size) serving of steamed vegetables daily
Once you sign up, you complete a 15-minute survey and instantly receive a personalized nutrition report including recommendations. In addition, you receive a daily email for 28 days that includes recipes and tips. Plus, you can access the Eat Right America Members Center where you can track your nutrition plan, read health articles, watch videos, and communicate with other members.
To get your free online code, visit your local Whole Foods Market in person or find your local market’s Facebook page. The code for the Santa Cruz store is “CERANCSTZ.”
The Eat Right America 28-Day Challenge and nutritional eating plan was developed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a board-certified family physician who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. He has been practicing for more than 20 years and established the New Jersey-based Center for Nutritional Medicine. Fuhrman also created the ANDI scale, which is Aggregate Nutrient Density Index. To find a food’s ANDI score, you take a food’s nutrients and subtract the calories. For example, kale is super-high with 1,000 points, but a soda scores zero. Whole Foods has made it really easy to shop according to this scale. There is ANDI signage located throughout each location. There are “Top 10” lists for produce, meat, fish, beans, cheese, and more. In the produce section (where you’re encouraged to spend a lot of time), there is an individual ANDI score on each fruit or vegetable’s sign.
Don’t have time to be in the kitchen very much? There are also pre-made selections that fall under the HSH initiative. These include a white bean and kale soup, an HSH kale and feta salad featuring walnuts, shallots, and walnut oil, and no-oil salad dressings like Dijon-Tarragon. I’ve tried the soup and salad, and they are both delicious.
“Health Starts Here is not about depravation or counting calories, it’s about reconfiguring your plate, adding more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains,” says Whole Foods global VP of healthy eating and quality standards Margaret Wittenberg. “By offering in-depth information, education and services to help support healthy lifestyle changes, we are going beyond just selling healthy foods but also taking action…we’ve also formed a team of doctors, nutritionists, chefs and other experts.”
Whether you decide to do “officially” sign up for the program or not, you can access some HSH recipes including quinoa with balsamic roasted mushrooms, and broccoli with chile-almond dressing.
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