New Obsession: Goodness Me! Natural Food Market

Move over Whole Foods, there's a new and even better big boy in town! I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a health/natural food market snob. My criteria is as follows: clean, friendly and helpful staff, wide selection of products, fresh and organic local produce, and reasonable prices. Goodness Me! has that all covered and I'm thrilled that they've opened up a brand new location near me.   How it all began....

Over forty years ago, Scott Jacks was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His father had suffered the same disease, as did many of Scott’s family members, and when Scott was diagnosed, Janet made the decision to change the path of his condition. Recognizing that her five children were more likely to develop diabetes because of their genetics, and wanting to provide her husband with the best life and health possible, Janet began researching how to deal with and prevent diabetes. All her research pointed her in one direction: natural foods and nutrition as the key to healthy living. A fiery passion was born in Janet, and in 1981, Janet and Scott opened to the doors to the first Goodness Me! Natural Food Market in Hamilton, Ontario. 

Back then, Janet was the only employee in that first small store. She baked, ordered, priced, ran cash, and talked to and educated customers, all the while raising her young family and expanding her knowledge base on how to naturally treat diabetes and other health conditions. Goodness Me! was one of the first and only resources for people to access nutritional foods and supplements, and perhaps more importantly, information and education about health and nutrition. It was a much needed addition to the community, and Janet thrived on reaching out to and helping people of all walks of life. 

Today, Goodness Me! has grown to five locations, hundreds of knowledgeable and friendly staff, and thousands of beneficial natural and organic products. Janet’s passion for education has lived on, creating a dedication to education for all of our customers. We have remained strong due to Janet’s commitment to bringing people together, motivating them to take the steps necessary to achieve their optimal health, and helping them along the way. We understand our role and responsibility in protecting and promoting health and nutrition, and we take it very seriously. 

At Goodness Me!, our goal is, and always has been, to empower you to be as healthy as you’d like to be, and to help you get there. What will your success story be?

Not only is their story motivating, but so is their mission and commitment to healthy living and eating.

Scott & Janet outside of their very first store in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)

There are currently 6 Goodness Me! locations; Hamilton Mountain, West Hamilton, Burlington, Waterdown, Brantford, and (my favourite) Mississauga. They will be opening up 3 other locations towards the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 in Guelph, Waterloo, and Barrie. Hang on folks, they're coming!!  Now, shall we get on to the virtual tour of Goodness Me! Mississauga??

Entrance. Need I say more? haha. I love their logo. Not sure why I'm so drawn to it, but I am.

The second you walk in, you're greeted by a friendly staff member (or two) and this juice bar!! What?! I love me a good juice bar, although, I'm sad to admit that I haven't tried anything from it yet. Usually when I go in, it's either super busy, I'm in a rush, or just not in the mood. Behind the juice bar is an incredible variety of reasonably priced fresh and ORGANIC produce. My parents aren't big into the organic thing, but even they were impressed by the produce department. Actually, they were impressed by the entire store!

As with any grocery store, there are aisles and aisles of every thing you could possibly need. Here we have the freezers, jam packed with all sorts of goodness like frozen fruits and veggies, prepared frozen foods, breads, ice cream, etc.

This is my second favourite part of the store, produce is first, The Eatery! I cannot even tell you how delicious their hot foods and baked goods are. Their hot food selection is great and contains several meat, vegetarian, and gluten free options. Try the mac and cheese, you won't be disappointed. While I'm not a vegan and this isn't a vegan store, I'd love to see more delicious vegan options in the hot section. On that note, they do have an extremely impressive salad bar. The ingredients are fresh, vibrant, and delicious. Scroll down, you'll see what I mean.   Also, there`s a classroom in this area where they offer a variety of classes from cooking to just learning how to treat certain issues like ezcema. You can find out more about each class and where they`re offered by clicking here.

See? beautiful!

The baked goods on this table are my absolutely favourite! I've tried a few of the muffins and cookies here. What? I have a problem, I know. Most of these are vegan, with the exception of one or two, and the red paper on the muffins indicates that it's gluten free. My only wish is that there were full ingredients listed for those with severe allergies or diet restrictions. You can ask any of the staff to help you figure out if there's something in it that you can't eat, however, that's a bit inconvenient for both the customer and staff. It would be much quicker and easier to just have them listed. Just sayin! You should definitely try the chocolate chip oatmeal cookie, chocolate almond muffin, and chocolate zucchini muffin though. To. Die. For.


This is the end of our tour. You get cashed out by a friendly face and begin planning your next shopping adventure at Goodness Me! Natural Food Market.
UPDATE: I got so excited about their fresh produce and delicious food that I forgot to mention their beauty section. Their beauty section is packed full of skin, body, hair care, and makeup. Many of the brands I'm familiar with, but they do have some that I've never heard of before and some of which I haven't been able to get at a health food store near me (like Ecco Bella and Zuii). I love the selection of brands, both local and abroad, and the competitive pricing. Will likely be trying out some new goodies from there as soon as I use up more of my stash. Of course I already have my eye on a few things :).
Let me know if you`ve ever visited a Goodness Me! (or would like to) and what you loved most (or think you`d love most) about it.   *I genuinely love this store. I wasn`t compensated or given anything to write up this post.