Grosse Pointe stores with healthier alternatives

As they say, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

“I think healthy eating is a great thing to get into,” MaryClaire Diamond ‘19 said. “It makes you feel so much better not only physically, but mentally.”

Diamond has been following a healthy diet regimen since this past summer. Her diet consists of mainly fruits, vegetables and meats.

“I try to incorporate fruits, vegetables and meat into my everyday meals. I also cut out most dairy, other than yogurt,” Diamond said. “Taking out junk food and processed food has also become a daily.”

Diamond recommends that one should know where a meal is coming from in order to eat healthy.

“Try to eat fresh food or food that you cook yourself,” Diamond said. “Just look up recipes online for meals and snacks. There are some amazing websites out there, one is Blogilates.”

J House Juice is a raw juice store across from South that sells raw juices, smoothies and other food items.

“Our juices are put together fresh daily. We are constantly juicing; we are juicing every day,” J House co-owner Jennifer Callewaert said.

J House emphasizes the true meaning of a healthy diet.

“Eating healthy food in an unhealthy manner isn’t really awesome for you,” J House co-owner Jen Dunbar said. “Sometimes people just come in and throw down a juice just to get it in their system, but we rather you take your time with it, enjoy it and realize you are nourishing yourself.”

Eating healthy is not just about ingredients, Callewaert said. Some tips she has are to combinations of food for ideal digestion, to chew in the correct way, to eat in good spirits at the right time of the day, and to adapt eating habits that are suited to someone’s individual lifestyle instead of following a set plan.

Sprout House is a natural foods market that serves homemade soups, sandwiches and juices. It is owned by Marie Maconochie and her husband, Blake.

“I think that healthy eating is food that has no pesticides, hormones, dyes and synthetics. Everything is covered in chemicals and pesticides, so that to me is number one,” Maconochie said.

Maconochie’s grandparents made all food from scratch when she was growing up.

“I think today, it’s so easy to go and buy all this prepared food everywhere and it’s not all good. A lot of it is sprayed with stuff and you don’t know how many people have touched it,” she said.

According to Maconochie, healthy eating is worth it.

“One thing I want people know about healthy eating is that it does pay off in the long run,” Maconochie said. “Also taking good supplements, whole food supplements, not synthetic. Supplements that are made from food first are really good.”

Maconochie is not a trained chef but learned how to prepare things from cookbooks.

“Now you have the internet, so you can just get whatever you want, there’s no excuse,” Maconochie said. “I tell people to Google it, you have everything at your fingertips.”

Healthy eating is not only good for you, but also has some serious health benefits, according to Maconochie.

“Some people get better once they change their diet, we see it all the time. People that are sickly, diabetes, high blood pressure, we’ve actually seen people get rid of acne and achy joints because they change their diet,” Maconochie said.

Giving the body nutrients is important for any person.
“Getting good nutrition, you can’t live without it,” Maconochie said. “You have to have nutrition.”