The Road to Health

“The road to health is paved with vegetables, fruits, beans, rice and grains.” -Polly Strand

“The normal food of man is vegetable.” -Charles Darwin

“Eat food.  Not too much. Mostly plants” -Michael Pollan

- by Lisa C. from Whole Foods Market, Lake Calhoun

Chances are, if you are looking at this post you have an interest in health and healthier eating. Welcome!  At Whole Foods Market, we are working hard to make eating healthier enjoyable, by providing healthy eating education and also recipes that are easy, straightforward AND delicious.  We call this program Health Starts Here, and you may have noticed some of the signs and information around our stores.

Eating healthier can mean different things to different people.  The simple fact is, there is overwhelming evidence to support the health benefits of a plant-based, whole-foods diet.

Health Starts Here is a simple, mindful approach to healthy eating that’s rooted in four simple ways to build a better, delicious meal.  We call them the “four pillars” of healthy eating.

If these concepts are foreign to you, or seem overwhelming, I would recommend a simple, step by step approach to this way of eating.  Consider this order of priority:

1.      WHOLE FOODS

2.      PLANT STRONG

3.      HEALTHY FATS

4.      NUTRIENT DENSE

WHOLE FOODS

• Begin with stocking a healthier pantry.  Remove all the processed and refined foods and bring in the good stuff.  Check out this link for tips to build a new pantry for under $100- http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere/healthierpantry.php

• Start reading labels.   Look at all ingredients, including “other ingredients.” For those of you in our E2 Challenge, we will review this topic in our week 4 meet up.

• Start planning –key to any successful dietary plan.  Set aside some time one day a week to plan your meals and go shopping to have all the ingredients on hand.  If you are time crunched during the week, consider making a few dishes to keep in the fridge or freeze if necessary.  Here’s an example to get you started: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere/menuplan.php

PLANT STRONG™:

• Aim for 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Eat more vegetables than fruits.  Include a mixture of raw and cooked. Be sure to include leafy greens (such as lettuces, kale, collards, bok choy, chard, etc.) daily.
• Try to have vegetables take up at least half of your dinner plate, or start your lunch and dinner with a large colorful salad.
• Consider green smoothies as a healthy snack or breakfast and a great way to get even the pickiest eaters to get their greens.  Check out this Double Green Smoothie recipe.  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2879
• Make the majority of your meals from plant based ingredients.

HEALTHY FATS:

• Get your fats from whole, plant based foods such as nuts, seeds, avocados and olives.
• Minimize extracted oils.  Experiment with new cooking methods that skip cooking with oil.  As I move through the E2 Challenge, I have had the opportunity to examine my assumption of the necessity of the necessity of oils for cooking and sauteing.  I have been getting great results using low sodium vegetable broths and even water.  Check out this link for more information.
• If you eat animal products, choose leaner meats and seafood, and low-fat dairy.

NUTRIENT DENSE:

• This is about making your choices count optimally.  Think the difference between dark leafy greens and ice burg lettuce.  The dark leafy greens have significantly more nutrients.
• Look for the ANDI scoring system in our stores for guidance on how to make better choices.  Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI) scoring system.  You are welcome to stop by our Minneapolis store and ask me for a free handy bookmark that highlights the ANDI Top 10 Foods by department.

For more information, visit:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere