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health starts here: whole foods
16March 23rd, 2010health, other, stores, whole foodsi don’t know if you’ve noticed recently at whole foods…but the store has been rolling out a new initiative called health starts here, which promotes plant-based, low-fat, nutrient-dense cuisine. all the way from the bakery to the deli case, you can find pre-packaged meals to go, branded with the health starts here label. not all of it is vegan, but plenty of it is, so this just means our options at whole foods got a whole lot better.
health starts here baked plantains and black bean meal. $5.99
one dish i have been completely addicted to lately, is the baked plantains and black beans. you can find this along with other read-made meals in the prepared foods section, where they keep all the to-go items. it’s tasty, satisfying, and costs under $6. plus, it’s great for week night dinners when you want something super fast and very healthy. another bonus is, the label indicates which day it was packed on, so you always know how fresh it is.
so next time you are perusing the prepared food section at whole foods, keep your eyes peeled for the health starts here signs. HSH has a shelf in pretty much every section, offering a variety of low-fat and animal-free goodies.
watch out for this logo!
i think it’s a huge step forward that a mega grocery chain like whole foods is starting to push healthy, plant-based items on a large scale. let’s make sure to support this initiative!
Tags: healthy, whole foods
15 responses to “health starts here: whole foods” 
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Thanks for the linkage! Keep in mind not all of them are vegan (feta and blue cheese in some Health Starts Here???) They are coming out with a bunch of new recipes soon & there is an elusive Health Starts Here Vegan Pizza with a low fat hummus on top instead of cheese… reportedly hasn’t made it out of Texas, yet, but we keep requesting! Big changes are coming we just have to keep the demand for vegan food high! (reportedly we’re only 3% of Whole Food’s business…)
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Gauri Radha March 23rd, 2010 at 09:39
Good news. Now if the Whole Foods near me would just carry more vegan items in general!!
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Ooh, I have eaten this from the 3rd and Fairfax Whole Foods and it was delicious! Kelli, have you actually ever eaten it? Because you are wrong. They also have a yummy tofu and egg plant version. 🙂
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Lex is correct. They are not all vegan or healthy. It is a step in the right direction.
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That plantain and black bean meal looks so good! Two of my favorite things… Thanks for posting this – I’ll look out for these next time I’m at Whole Foods!
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Kelli, try the Yam Kale Salad with the Cranberries and Mustard Dressing, it is to DIE for!!! Chad Sarno is the chef of Saf Restaurants and responsible for these. Also, depending on your location some of the store chefs are better than others at getting those plantains to caramelize! I shake some chili pepper on it and its amazing! I won’t confess how many I’ve eaten since they started!!!
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Jennifer March 23rd, 2010 at 14:37
I actually had the black beans and plantain meal a couple of weeks ago, and I wasn’t particularly impressed. It didn’t really have very much… flavor. And I thought it was a bit dry. The plantains were awesome, but I felt like the beans and rice really let me down. Won’t stop me from trying other meals from Whole Foods, though. The price was good.
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Hannah March 23rd, 2010 at 16:16
i love fried plaintains, but recently stopped purchasing them bc of the high fat –i never thought of baking them. This is good combination for the low-fat health conscious. I must admit, it does look a little dry, now all they have to do is come up with a solution to keep food flavorful and LOW-FAT.
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ummmmm yes to plantains, please! these look great for work lunches.
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you def have to spice the plantain dish up! We usually split the plantain & yam kale and use a little bit of the mustard dressing to kick up the beans and rice, but also most whole foods have hot sauce, etc in the eat in area.
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RescueDog March 24th, 2010 at 10:00
Great news b/c I was getting really disappointed in the Torrnce WF’s lately. My hubby and I tried three times recently, to order some of vegan sandwiches on their deli menu and could not. They said they didn’t have any of the ingredients and that they didn’t have demand for them. So why were they still posted on their signs? They just shrugged. Can’t they just get the ingredients in their own store?
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Fat Fudge March 24th, 2010 at 10:33
I went to the El Segundo Whole Foods yesterday and didn’t see that. I did see in their serve-yourself pastry case that have vegan oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies!
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Screwdriver March 24th, 2010 at 13:26
I had the Tofu and Eggplant today for lunch….very tasty…..
I also noticed a few more I am going to try…I am also glad the WF puts a “Vegan” sign in front of the good stuff.
From the label…
Tofu, Eggplant, Black Pearl Medley (Whole Grain Brown Rice, Black Barley, Daikon Radish Seeds), Black Beans, Corn, Cilantro, Southwest BBQ Spice, Salt, Black Pepper.
Also had onion, but not shown..
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susielol March 28th, 2010 at 19:49
Sounds good. I’m going to try following a nutritarian diet on most days, and these meals seem to be “healthier” and convenient! 🙂
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[…] prepared foods section was also stocked with the wonderful health starts here meals. these things make eating healthy not only easy and cheap, but […]
lex March 23rd, 2010 at 08:11