Our Story

I’m Jonathan Heine, founder of You Are Loved Foods.

I’ve struggled with diet and weight my whole life. When I was 40, I visited one famous diet doctor after another.  They all had me follow what was essentially a food pyramid, low fat diet.  I actually gained 60 pounds doing exactly what they said. 

Finally, a nutritionist figured out that I was gluten intolerant, and more than that, I had significant trouble metabolizing starches and sugars.  He also told me I was severely insulin-resistant and was crossing over into diabetes.  That was my call to action. 

I was terrified.  Nothing worked.  But bless this talented man, who was way ahead of his time (he’s in White Plains, NY, and I’ll gladly give you his name if you ask).  He put me on a strict paleo diet.  No grains, no legumes, no fruit, no candy, no booze, no sweeteners. Once I got out of the danger zone, I got bored.

Living without starches, sugars and dairy was challenging. I still craved sweets. And grab and go foods like protein and so called healthy snack bars made me bloated and gain weight.  Whey, protein isolates like soy, and sugar alcohols like xylitol, sorbitol, erythritol, and malto dextrin (the ‘tols) made me bloated and raised my cholesterol.  I was a very sensitive boy!

So I started experimenting using Paleo friendly ingredients.  I started with grab and go protein bites, and then invented a chocolate using ingredients I discovered and developed.  I loved cupcakes and figured out a way to make iced cupcakes using non grain flours.  And I loved cereals, so I invented a yummy granola.  Most stevia and monk fruit (lo guan ho) tasted horrible to me, and agave and honey and other sugar substitutes were really just sugar.  For me, anything with a glycemic index over 10 was a problem.  So I scoured the earth for suppliers that would work with me on formulations.

But this was all for my consumption.  

Then, one day, a dear friend who had advanced diabetes begged me to help.  Over time, using the foods I made for him, and changing his lifestyle (adding exercise, eliminating starches and booze), he ceased needing insulin.  I realized that I could help people with my food, and I founded You Are Loved Foods.

The Name “You Are Loved Foods”, came as a result of 2 events converging. 

When we were first setting up the kitchen, a woman came to help.  We gave her some treats, and she asked if she could bring some home to her sons.  One was severely Type 1 diabetic, with significant food sensitivities.  The other, rife with food allergies.  This was right before Christmas, and on Christmas day, the phone rang.  It was she.  She told me her sons tried our chocolate bites, and one began to cry.  I felt so bad, so I asked what happened.  She told me.

               “My son said ‘Mom, you always told me God loves me, but I thought God was angry at me, because I couldn’t have chocolate.  Now I can have chocolate and I don’t get sick.  So now I know God loves me!”

At that moment, I was reading an E-Card sent to me and at the bottom it said: “Remember You Are Loved”.  And that was the inspiration for the Name: You Are Loved Foods.

Because you deserve to eat the foods you love, and have them love you, too.

Our food is designed to be gentle on the system.  We use ingredients that metabolize and digest gently and slowly.  With just enough protein and fiber so your body burns what it eats.  All our ingredients have ultra low glycemic counts, providing foods, even sweets, that are easy on your metabolism. 

Our chocolate is 1/3 the fat and ½ the calories of most leading chocolates, even dark chocolates.  We use no grains or starches (no wheat, rice, oats, barley or corn), so everything is naturally gluten free, free of GMOs, soy and protein isolates.  And all our products have less than 1 gram of sugar and less than 4 grams net carbs per serving.  Our chocolate truffles are about 47 calories a piece.  We use no nasty ‘tols (no xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, maltitol or malto dextrin). 

We only make what my sensitive system can handle, and I share it with you, so that we can be healthier together.

Thank you for your visit. And Remember:

You Are Loved