When Hunter found out she was pregnant with her second child, she knew something had to change.
Her first pregnancy hadn't gone well. Her diet mainly consisted of ultra-processed foods, and her health suffered as a result. Near the end of that pregnancy, her gallbladder had to come out. She wasn't able to breastfeed. "Everything I was eating was not good. Fried food, cupcakes, cookies, ice cream.”
This time, she was determined to do things differently. Then she received an email about the NourishedRx program. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but she clicked. "I was like, let's give it a try."
Better Food, Delivered
When the first delivery arrived, Hunter was impressed by how fresh everything was and was excited to try something new: ground turkey. She'd never tried it before. "Lo and behold, it is now one of my favorite things. I will choose ground turkey over ground beef now."
She loved getting the grocery boxes, which allowed her to cook with fresh ingredients from scratch. The pantry box, which came with seasonings, grains, canned goods, and more, kept her stocked for months.
"With everything that was sent to me, I have so many more ideas now. It makes you feel so much better. It's not processed stuff. You know where it's coming from."
The convenience mattered too, especially being pregnant with a toddler at home. "It's delivered straight to your door. You don't have to worry about going to the grocery store. It's right there for you. You know what's coming directly to you, you know what's in it. It has the nutrition labels slapped right on top. You can see everything that's in it."
More Than a Food Program
The food was one part of the equation. The health coach was another.
Afraid of repeating the same mistakes she made in her first pregnancy, Hunter was undereating before she started with NourishedRx. “I was scared of gaining weight.” Her health coach quickly encouraged her to eat more, eat well, and start taking her prenatal vitamins.
"When I got the coach to talk to, I think that really motivated me to want to eat. She helped me understand how important it is to eat healthy with a baby on the way….My health coach was the motivation I needed to change my eating."
This pregnancy looked nothing like the last one. Hunter started eating well at 20 weeks and kept going: smoothies every morning, fresh fruit, and real food she was cooking herself. She was feeling better than ever and was able to breastfeed this time around.
A Foundation She's Still Building On
Hunter is honest that life with two young children isn't always perfectly healthy. There are tired days, and fast food happens. But the way she thinks about food has shifted in ways she doesn't expect to reverse.
She makes her baby's food from scratch. Her son eats the way she eats now. The habits built during the program are still there. When she slips, she knows how to find her way back.
"I have all the tools in my little toolbox. I know what to cook, I know what to grab from the grocery store. I have so many more ideas about different foods."
She thinks about the habits she's building for her kids — what they'll grow up eating, what they'll consider normal. "That ripple effect will be on my family forever. I'm going to choose the healthier stuff for my kids, because I know they want to see me grow old."
At 26, with two young children and a pantry full of ingredients she actually knows how to use, Hunter is grateful for what the program gave her. Better food led to a better pregnancy. A better pregnancy built better habits. And better habits, she believes, are the whole point. "The better food you give a person, the better they're going to feel. And then they don't have to have medicine."
What Hunter needed was a place to start. NourishedRx gave her the support she was looking for to take control of her health: fresh food to her door, a coach in her corner, and habits she's still building on today.
"This is one of the best programs you can do during a pregnancy, and even if you're not pregnant. I think this is the best food program that you can do."
