Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Hunter.
Hi Jackie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I managed my seasonal allergies and frequent sinus infections without major inconveniences until one extremely stressful year of college. I hadn’t realized how much allergy medication I had consumed throughout my life. Eventually, it grew to be less effective and began to ruin my gut health. If you didn’t know, I don’t blame you because that was me, but your gut health is excruciatingly important.
My allergies ran rapid and triggered sinus infections. I was prescribed antibiotics but combined with stress, poor eating habits, and lack of sleep it all began to destroy me. I began to wake up feeling… sick. I was moody, deeply sad, and anxious, all things relatively new to me.
I knew that I needed help. I Googled “Natural Healing Doctors near me,” came across The Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor, and booked an appointment immediately. Dr. Amanda, bless her, helped me determine where I was out of balance and which organs were overworking themselves. I finally had clarity and solutions. In particular, she suggested that I cut back on dairy and keep a food log.
To see faster results, I cut all dairy and began to feel better! My eating habits were poor, but Dr. Amanda provided me with nutritional information and natural supplements. Before I knew it, I was not only eating better, happier, and healthier but my seasonal allergies were gone. I had more energy, a clear head, and felt the most alive I had ever felt.
I knew I had to share this experience with everyone that would listen. I knew that I had to talk about eating habits and healing ourselves.
I took Kinesiology, Nutrition, Environmental, Psychology, and Epidemiology classes and studied food, where it comes from, our body, our minds, the environment, sickness, and health. Meanwhile, I began to cook for myself and my friends. These things didn’t mark the beginning of my journey, but it was a pivotal moment where I began to explore food and what it could do for humans and the planet.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part, the road has been smooth, not because everything is peachy, but because I feel like I am exactly where I need to be.
There was a time when I pulled away from certain friends because I wasn’t considered or taken seriously. I would be invited to dinners where there wasn’t anything for me to eat and faced conversations such as, “we’ll you’re already so small.”
Food is such a social thing, and I missed those social interactions. To avoid being left out, I started to bring food EVERYWHERE. Now it’s a known fact that if I’m there, 9 times out of 10 I have snacks/food with me and I’m sharing haha.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I share my experiences and information that has helped me. That includes recipes, meal plans, food alternatives, food hacks/tips, eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives, plant care/tips, DIY/thrifty tips, and more.
I Pop Up to serve food at events and around the holidays I allow people to Pick Up their food. I know far too well how it feels to be unable to eat with everyone else during holidays and celebrations so I like to combat that for others.
I consider myself to be an artist and chef, not one above the other. As far back as I can remember I drew, painted, built, and created things. Create and use or create and share. I eventually took a bunch of photography classes in high school where I worked with film, developing my prints in a dark room, and began to edit the pictures I shot digitally. I competed with other students, won an award at an art show at the DIA, and had my work mentioned in the Huffington Post. I took classes on photography, photojournalism, watercolor painting, and art history in college.
The knowledge I gained, and the skills that I learned and developed, are all things that I now use to create food content for social media.
I’m a creative being here to create and share.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Here’s a list of things that make me happy (in no particular order): the sun, the moon, rain, ice cream, good food, laughing, dancing, music, adventure, doing things with my hands, solving a problem, my parents, my godsons, my soul sisters, good news, other people feeling happy.
Why? Well, I love to be outside and close to nature because the world is one of the greatest works of art, ever. I love to create and solve problems because I feel so blessed to be able to do so. Finally, the people in my life are nothing short of a blessing.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_plantfriends
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Plantfriends
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJGf_dOkWs4X8Zj8Jsn14jw
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@_plantfriends
Image Credits
Jackie Hunter
Cyrus Tetteh
