Healthy By Nature

Grocery stores have completely changed in the past decade or so. What used to be a place for milk, eggs and bread is now a destination; a place where you can not only buy the staples, but buy a table on which to serve them, or hang out and drink wine.

Before this change, if you wanted anything out of the ordinary, you had to visit a specialty shop. As someone who grew up vegetarian, my family spent a lot of time in health food stores buying what we couldn't find in regular grocery stores.

Now that vegetarianism has become more mainstream, it's been a while since I've visited a health food store. That's why I found myself in recently; I wanted to see what I've been missing.

Healthy By Nature reflects the changing tide in health needs: while there were certainly vegetarian alternatives (I picked up some Tofurkey bacon tempeh while I was there), they are not nearly to the extent that I remember. Instead, you'll find a large array of gluten-free products.

There are the typical gluten-free bake mixes that you can find in most grocery stores, but there are also a great deal of products that I have never seen, including pasta made from quinoa.

Healthy By Nature isn't just for people with dietary restrictions, however. You can also find a great deal of organic products including meat, flour and a variety of grains. They also have a large selection of supplements made out of different types of protein (soy, whey, etc.) and probably the largest selection of vitamins in town.

Most importantly, Healthy By Nature isn't just about health food. You can also buy natural and organic hair, makeup and bath products. Even natural pet products are represented in the aisles. There's also a section devoted to eco-friendly products, including those for cleaning.

While the health food store trend used to be about getting "out of the ordinary" food, Healthy By Nature showcases what health food stores are now: a one-stop shop for conscious purchasing for every aspect of your life.