Exploring Life & Business with Nicolette Jahnke of Nicolette Marie Health

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicolette Jahnke.

Hi Nicolette, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I lived a normal teenage life. I went to school. I was a competitive cheerleader. I partied. I cared about my social life, I didn’t care too much about my grades and I didn’t really care about how I was taking care of my body, mind, or spirit. And then at the end of high school, I started to become hyper-aware of my body, which would later lead to an aggressive eating disorder.

I was always surrounded by people (including a twin sister who even shared the same room as me) and then when it came time to go to college it was like it was the first time I was ever alone. All my friends went to different colleges, including my boyfriend and sisters. It was the first time I got to think for myself and in that thinking, I didn’t even know who I was or what I wanted, or what was important to me. I definitely made a lot of mistakes and did stupid things throughout high school and going to a new college where no one knew me — I had the opportunity to reinvent myself.

I started to care a lot about school, about getting good grades, so much so that I achieved the highest honors every semester of my college career. Which sounds all great and dandy, but there was a lingering perfectionist beneath it who was struggling immensely. Because it wasn’t just about my grades, it was about striving to be a perfect human. I began to eat healthier and work out more.

And without even realizing it, myself, I had people making comments about how small I had gotten and how much weight I lost and questions wondering how I did it. To make a long story short, I suffered from that eating disorder for eight years.

I was told I would lose my life to it. And at one point even accepted that because anything would be better than going back to how I felt about myself before. I did graduate from nursing school and I worked for two years and knew so deeply it wasn’t the right career for me. It wasn’t how I intended to help people. During those two years, I worked as a nurse I also accidentally built a beautiful online community. I created a separate Instagram that I kept a secret from everyone I knew. It was a safe place for me to write what I needed to say.

To hold myself accountable for what I was eating and make sure I was eating enough and in the process inspire other girls who were fighting the disease to do the same. Fast forward a couple of years and I started to get really sick. It started as random pain in different parts of my body, until one day I literally couldn’t walk because I was in so much pain. I had to go to the chiropractor regularly just to be able to get through my day. During this time I was also about to move to North Carolina and once we got here it was like my body had enough.

I had so many symptoms — the back pain, constant bloating, brain fog, constipation, etc etc etc. Only to get every diagnosis from IBS-C, candida, parasites, SIBO, and I had to know WHY. What went so wrong? It took a couple of months but my new chiropractor suggested it might be something called “breast implant illness” as he had a friend who just went through the same things as me. And that’s when my life simultaneously fell apart and together. I did everything in my power to find a surgeon who could perform the surgery I needed as soon as possible. Within a month I had my explant and was on a serious healing journey after.

Only the healing wasn’t just physical. It was deeply emotional and spiritual. I learned so much about who I am and who I’m not and what I wanted out of this life.

I wanted to help people who were hurting like me. During my healing, I could eat VERY minimal things thanks to all my new gastrointestinal disorders. I have always had a passion for cooking and baking and one day my boyfriend tried some of my granola that was sitting on the counter and he was like “WOW, this is really good, you should think about selling this.”

That night we designed a logo and Remedium was born. My granola company.

That would soon sell out completely online multiple times and then get approached by a huge luxury grocery store in California. A company that cares for your well-being. That cares about the ingredients and the sourcing and how it makes you feel when you eat it. A company that knows food doesn’t just fuel — its power and joy and healing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was most definitely not a smooth road.

I had zero experience in owning my own business, let alone a food company. I had to quickly find a commercial kitchen that I could work out to make the product for the grocery store. I had to find insurance.

I had to simultaneously learn how to run a business while I ran it, make the product, create the marketing, do the shipping, and so much more. I am a one-woman team with the occasional, but greatly appreciated, help from my boyfriend.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the owner of Remedium granola. It is a gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, adaptogenic granola. I know what you’re thinking, “so it probably tastes like cardboard.” But at Remedium we don’t sacrifice taste to have a healthy product. Adaptogenic Coco Granola is currently our only flavor on the market and it is anything but “cardboard” or “bird food.”

It has the most insanely delicious and decadent sea salt chocolate flavor. It also comes in big clusters that are absolutely mouth-watering. If you are unfamiliar with adaptogens, they are natural substances that help the body adapt to stress. In our granola, we use reishi and cordyceps, which both have their own unique health benefits. What I am most proud of about Remedium is its transparency.

I created this product because I wanted to help those who are struggling with their health, who feel excluded from what they can and can’t eat due to health reasons, and who have a passion for delicious, and healthy food. I care so deeply about what goes into our products. I am completely transparent about ingredients, sourcing, everything that goes on behind the scenes, and my health journey because Remedium is a brand you can trust.

I also have my own lifestyle account on Instagram and TikTok where I work with companies that I absolutely adore and use in my everyday life. I first built an online community by sharing my struggles with recovering from my eating disorder and as I have grown and healed from that my page has also healed and grown with that and I now share everything from self-love, healthy recipes, the law of attraction, and so much other good stuff.

I am truly so blessed to do what I love daily and that I get to share my life and granola with so many beautiful souls!

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love about Raleigh is the size. I am from Chicago and I lived there for the majority of my life it never felt like home.

I’ve only lived in Raleigh for a little over a year and it felt so much more welcoming and loving than Chicago. Everyone is so friendly and I love how much Raleigh pushes to support local businesses. It is truly beautiful.

I think what I love least is the lack of healthy options when it comes to restaurants, coffee shops, etc. I would love to see more organic juice bars and smoothie shops open up… or maybe, I’ll just open one myself hehe

Pricing:

• Adaptogenic Coco Granola $12.99

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.nicolettemariehealth.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_nicolettemarie/