The Health Nuts

Until recently I’ve found this little joint under the guise of a florist shop. Yes, it is super packed, and in the beginning you don’t know which way leads to your almond butter, all of which is true, but soon this place DELIGHTS you — it has a complete series of Tea’s Tea, all you need for your overnight oats, a juice bar which offers real green juice and affordable treats, and basically satisfies any special need. I did encounter once when the employee seemed a little grumpy — but overall the people are nice, especially the lady at the juice bar. It’s a little pricier than WF, but does have enough pros for regulars.

Had an awesome deal for TEA, bought a lot of boxes. I wish this store was closer to me because they have a good selection of essentials.

This review has nothing to do with the products they sell, it is based on management and a cashier who should be doing something other than handling money.
After coming here for years, sadly, I will never come back.
Came in yesterday morning, bought some items (i usually go in the evening) and left thinking, «hummmmm that was expensive». Today, I bought some more produce, I asked for my receipt, I went through it and noticed that the produce was not charged by weight and quantity. She just charged for vegetables. If you buy 7 pears @ 2.99 a pound, the receipt needs to reflect that detail, for obvious reasons. I went to work (I own a restaurant in the area), I weighed the pears and realized it came to 3.5 pounds.
What upset me the most was the way this was handled. I came back and was not mad, until I noticed I had not gotten a simple apology. It was not something I wanted to accept and I left upset. When I get to work, i’m telling my business partner what happened and he said he had had a similar experience with the same lady, just a week ago. I called the manager and let him know, he didn’t care to hear my concerns.
What a shame, because my trust with this business has for ever been ruined. No matter how good a place you have, you need to have some respect for your low maintenance, money spending, customers. Especially, the ones who are in a business that can compliment, or comment on your services.

So lately I’ve been really outraged by what I call vegetable juice fraud and this is one place that is not guilty. By fraud I mean this: open a juice bar. Advertise a range of juice combinations each of which involves apples and a variety of vegetables. Then make sure each juice is something like 90% apple. Congrats! You’ve just gotten people to spend 10 dollars on a tall glass of apple juice! And the best part is they actually think they’re doing something for their health by spending that much on a glass (sorry, plastic cup) of sugar water. Since not everybody is that stupid, make sure you have at least one thing that doesn’t include apple. I’m looking at Greenforce Juice here. Everything they sell contains (is dominated by?) apple except one, the super veggie – and guess what? It’s literally 99.9% carrots. Just a coincidence of course that carrots are super cheap – so they’re getting people to spend 10 dollars on a ton of huge pale old carrots! Seriously, what nerve to call themselves GREENforce! But everyone’s happy: the customers think they’re being healthy while really drinking a super-​sweet beverage (yay) and the store gets 10 dollars for a glass of the cheapest vegetable/​fruit out there.
By contrast there’s the Health Nuts. This place seems to have followed me around all my life: the 2^nd ave. location was around the corner from where I worked for years, then the one farther uptown was near my gym ten years after that, now I’m in Morningside Heights and they’re near me again! And while they have the usual range of stuff including apple, they also (this is the litmus test of a serious juice bar) have an all greens. And it’s all organic. And it costs six dollars, not ten. And they generously add any combination of lemon, ginger, or garlic for seventy-​five cents.
So much for Health Nuts as a juice bar; as a grocery store I have to point out that their products are mostly high quality and nearly every time both they and the other supermarkets in the neighbourhood sell the same product, their price is meaningfully lower.

This place is phenomenal. Endless selections, and a great place other than Whole Foods on the UWS. If you want an even less processed lunch or made to order whatever… this place beats WF. Not saying it is healthier. it just depends on where your interests lie and what you want in particular. Good prices, except for the typical $ 8.99/lb for food. It adds up.
Also, in terms of service. No clue where the other comments are coming from. Granted, everyone has their ‘days.’ They have been OVERWHELMINGLY nice every single time I have been there. I mean, if you are a _​_​_​_​_​, you might be treated like a _​_​_​_​_​. It’s all relative. Energy. However, they are always nice to me, but more of a caring nice. Not fake.
GO here. Skip Barzinis near 92^nd… unless it is late then Whole Foods is open til 11… then Barzini’s is open way late. Better than bodegas if you need something along those lines.

3.5 stars. Can’t give it four due to the cons.
As a health nut myself, I find that there aren’t many options for healthy food in the Manhattan Valley area. This place has been clutch for me when I’m looking for my kale fix. However, I am a health nuts who actually likes REAL ANIMAL MEAT for my protein. Sure, tofu is all fine and good and I know plenty of people are all about the vegan life now, but I’m a gym rat in addition to a health nut, so some chicken, turkey and salmon in the prepared foods section would be nice. Don’t misunderstand — they do sell poultry and fish, just not at the prepared foods counter.
Prices: Odd. Their produce is absurdly expensive. A tiny box of blueberries costs $ 7. Absolutely ridiculous. But the products that are also sold and your average supermarkets (frozen yogurt, milk, some Greek yogurt brands, etc.) are actually cheaper here. Not quite sure what accounts for that dichotomy. Prices for everything at the prepared food counter are also reasonable.
Selection: So-​so. I’m here every week and I’m always aware of the snack-​to-​actual food ratio. It’s not a good one (unless you consider hemp and quinoa tortilla chips a meal… who knows). They have a vast section of frozen food and as alluded to, aisles upon aisles of snack food and cereal/​granola, but they’re lacking in food with real, hearty substance. Energy/​nutrition bars for DAYS. In their prepared foods counter, you can usually find items such as kale slaw, steamed mixed greens, sweet potato mash, quinoa and spinach burgers, tofu curry, chickpea salad, etc. Special shoutot to the tofu curry — it’s actually quite tasty.
One thing that I love: they carry the only protein powder I’ll use (Tera’s Whey, if you were wondering).
Other features:
–Full juice/​smoothie bar
–Lots and lots and lots of natural remedies/​oils/​supplements
–Very sweet employees that often get in your way, but you can’t get mad, because they’re really, really sweet.

Really dismal customer service. If you call to ask if they carry something they will tell you yes, but actually when you get there… not. Its very hard to get any kind of help in there and they aren’t friendly.

I am shopping here more and more as I become disenfranchised by Whole Foods and some of their corporate policies (not supporting GMO labeling) and a few other things. On more than one occasion at Whole Foods I have purchased organic apples that are on sale for say $ 1.99 and noticed at the register that they get scanned in at the regular price. If I hadn’t noticed I would have been charged full price. This has also happened with chocolate bars. How much money do you think they make that way? The check-​out person has no clue as to what the price really is — they wouldn’t know an organic apple from a non-​organic apple, and then they have to call a supervisor and one time I went all the way back downstairs and took a photo w/​my phone, came back up and they were still discussing with the supervisor whether or not the apples really were on sale!
So I have come back to my“local” «family operated» neighborhood store THE HEALTH NUTSand suddenly realize that their prices are not really any higher than Whole Foods and their organic produce is much better cared for and always looks fresh. And the prices are mostly visible. The employees have been working there for the past 20 years and recognize me, say hello, smile, and actually know where things are and which products are better than others.
Their Synergy Kombucha is always $ 3.49 per bottle, and Whole Foods is now charging upwards of $ 3.69 and they’ve had the great coconut water that I like for $ 3.50 per liter. So now I am supporting my local store again and hope others will too. Their bulk section is fresh too.

I bought soy milk here recently; at home, I found the expiration date had passed by more than a month. Tonight, I bought prewashed kale mix. At home, I found the plastic box open and the kale inside wilted and yellowing, even though the expiration date is over a week away. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they put old kale salad in a new box and then put it back on the shelf. Don’t shop here in a rush, because you need to check dates and packaging very carefully.

GLORY. This place has it all.

love and hate. they sell more healthy snacks than whole foods. im talking about raw and gluten free cacao bites, nori sticks, kale chips etcetc. at the same time a lot of stuff here here is more expensive on sale than whole foods regular priced (e.g. califia almond milk) :(
props to making myself sound like a domestic goddess

They have a good (not great, but good) bulk section, fresh organic produce, tons of packaged dry goods, frozen and refrigerated foods, a deli with a full juice bar, and every supplement you could ever want. All the food was fresh (this is a huge deal for an independent health food store), the place is clean and well stocked. I was so happy to find a health food/​grocery store with all the foods from my youth– including carob peanut butter cups!
Prices were reasonable for organic food in Manhattan, lower than Gary Null and Whole Foods.
The staff was very helpful and friendly, and lunchtime on a weekday the store was not crowded, so it was a quick in and out trip. I am usually a Fairway customer, but sometimes I can’t handle the clientele. This is my new grocery store.

Love this neighborhood gem… health freak paradise! Always find all my supplements, fresh green juices and smoothies, and a nice selection of fresh raw foods, desserts and superfoods. The staff never leaves you without help. Very nice!

the lady who works here is soooo nice & helpful. she helped me pick out food.
the men are lazy you ask them where is this product they act like they don’t want to show you where the product is. they have good stuff
now that I go here a lot the men are helpful. brought a lot of vegan stuff. fair prices.
I called very polite & educated about the products

This store carries many awesome health items. I have been on a hunt to find «Beanitos» black bean chip — a Dr. Oz recommended chip-​substitute. I have read reviews on many blogs about this item and have been curious about it. Whole Foods and other health food stores do not carry this. Long and behold– it can be found here! Mind you, this store is expensive. I didn’t encounter any rude staff as other Unilocalers have mentioned, but I have only been here once.

This is a really cool store. Yes, they carry a fair amount of stuff that is so expensive it will make your eyes pop out of your head, but they also carry a lot of tasty-​looking items that I’m looking forward to working my way through — goat’s milk yogurt, Lifeway kefirs that are in manageably –sized little bottles (and Lifeway lassis too!), some kind of orange-​and-​olive-​oil flavored snack bread from Sevilla, blueberry soda (pretty good)… The Indian family that runs the place also makes reaally tasty health smoothies. I’m looking forward to exploring their endless rooms on multiple future visits.

Thank heavens Whole Foods opened up in the neighborhood because dealing with the trolls who work here was unpleasant.
I came in once a week for a decade and not one of employees (all of whom have been there for the 10 years I shopped here) was ever anything but sour. I still pop in once in a while for squeezed juices (since the other health food store a few blocks south closed), but the unpleasantness of interacting with the scowl-​faced couple in the back deli counter usually deters me unless I’m in a hurry and can’t walk to another juice bar. Unfortunately, though, 8 out of 10 times the carrot + apple juice I order has a distinct garlic flavor.

Like a lot of other people have written — these guys are really unfriendly to outright rude. It’s just kind of sad because you would think this place would be an oasis in the city. No such luck.
It’s also quite pricey with widely variable quality. I used to go to Health Nuts in a pinch but stopped altogether after the guy overcharged me by 25% for my lunch. When I noticed the discrepancy the @#%#% cashier told me to get to THE END OF THE LINE! I pitched a fit, he looked it over, and yes, he had been wrong.
Never again. Goodbye, Health Nuts.

If I could give minus points I would.
Ruddest cashier ever. He just said ‘what’ as I lay down my purchases. I should have left then, but I’m a hungry vegan. Sat down at the little breakfast bar area, and ate my average sandwich. About to tackle the strawberry soy protein shake when one of the staff SPAT into a bin near me. Urgh! And my smoothie was disgusting, had to throw it away. No flavour whatsoever.
It’s a shame that this store has the worst staff ever, it could be good otherwise. If you don’t like people, then don’t work with the general public.

The Health Nuts have a lot of specialty food that doesn’t really hold my interest but their bulk section is worth stopping into whenever I pass by.
I’m not one for the Organic craze that has swept the nation so I’m not exactly the Health Nuts’ target consumer but they do have a bulk section in the middle of their store that pulls me in. It’s all that great peanut brittle, nut and seed brittle, granola (great in yogurt), and other goodies like yogurt covered pretzels and dried papaya that I just can’t say no to. The prices I think are good for these items but I haven’t really shopped around for them either.
Also, they have a peanut butter machine (add peanuts get fresh peanut butter) that I am interested in trying one of these days for a price I can’t remember off hand but do recall it being cheaper than buying a branded jar.
Stop in and check it out, if you’re into the health food stuff then I’m sure you’ll find something you like. It does seem to be a bit expensive for non-​bulk items though just so you are prepared. Oh also, important thing, I believe there is a $ 10 minimum for credit card transactions.