Kitchenistas change lives one meal at a time

Two years ago, National City resident Jacqueline Ante and her family was struggling with high blood pressure and being overweight.

Ante, 36, was cooking the way her mother had taught her growing up in Tijuana with meat, beans, rice and tortillas being the cornerstone of each meal.

“My mom thought it was great to go to sleep with a full stomach,” Ante said, adding she took this concept with her as she started her own family.

She lives with her husband and two kids ages 15 and 8.

But about two years ago a presentation and cooking demonstration at her son’s school made by Hispanic mothers who called themselves “kitchenistas” piqued her interest in healthy cooking and eating as a lifestyle change.

She filled out an application to participate in the seven-week program that focuses on healthy cooking techniques and they called her six months later letting her know she’d been accepted.

The program gives priority to South Bay residents, families and those with health related conditions.

Ante graduated as a kitchenista in the spring of 2017 from the Cooking for Salud program at Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center, a nonprofit organization in National City.

“Being a kitchenista pushes me to have a healthier family and encourage that in my community,” she said.

Ante said that once her son turned 8 she began to notice how much her son was eating.

“He started to eat the same amount that my husband ate and I was thinking it was good,” she said. But a year later his cholesterol began getting abnormally high and his weight increased to an unhealthy level.

Ante said her children were slow to accept the changes but having her husband also support them made it easier.

“The most important thing is I have my kids help me in the kitchen so they know what’s in the food,” she said. “The program helps with my family’s health and I think that’s the big thing I take with me and share with my family.”

Learning what a healthy diet looks like and sticking to it has improved the health of her family, including normalizing blood pressure and decreasing weight gain.

“In the program they teach you how to use different ingredients in cooking, they teach you how to recognize the nutritional value of each ingredient so you use it correctly and substitute things to make food more tasty,” she said.

The healthy cooking changes extend to gatherings during the holidays as well.

This Thanksgiving for example, she used cauliflower instead of pasta to make macaroni and cheese, sweet potato instead of mashed potato and cooked boneless skinless turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey or ham.

As participants become kitchenistas they become more involved in the community in public speaking, leadership training and continued education within the healthy eating realm.

With funding from UnitedHealthcare, the center has created and expanded a community outreach program that uses kitchenistas to visit each school within the National School District to train parents in healthy cooking and nutrition.

While today Ante volunteers in the garden within the various programs at Olivewood, her focus is on giving presentations at schools within the National School District in peer to peer nutrition presentations.

Since going through the kitchenista program Ante said her relationship with and perception of food has changed significantly.

“I think about what I’m going to eat ahead of time,” she said. “I think about the sugar and salt. I always try to incorporate more vegetables on my plate and look for better choices when I buy groceries.”

“The Cooking for Salud program really empowers the ladies going into the community to make healthier choices and be their own advocates,” said Claire Groebner, Olivewood’s director of development. “It’s not just an individual effort, it’s about building a community around health. It’s about creating a community that supports each participates in a health journey.”