Chef Leticia Moreinos Schwartz is encouraging people with diabetes to cook healthier meals at home

 

 

 

Chef Leticia Moreinos Schwartz is best known for her award-winning cookbook called “My Brazilian Kitchen,” but these days she’s more focused on helping people with diabetes lead a healthier lifestyle and cook delicious recipes that not only taste delicious but also keep you healthy. She’s teamed up with MERCK and the American Diabetes Association to lend her voice and hear the struggles that people face during their every day lives living with this disease.

“I have a history with diabetes, my grandfather died from complications of the disease,” explains Chef Leticia Moreinos Schwartz. According to the American Diabetes Association, 11.8% of Hispanics have diagnosed diabetes and those numbers keep going up. This is why it’s so important for Hispanics to look at food differently.

 

The goal of America’s Diabetes Challenge: Get to Your Goals is to urge people with type 2 diabetes to work with their doctor to set and reach their A1C goal. The A1C is the average blood glucose a person has over 2 to 3 months. The program encourages people to learn if they are at risk of high and low blood glucose, known as hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and to help them eat healthier to reduce that risk.

“Our goal is to empower the community to take control over type 2 diabetes and also to work with their doctors to reach and set their A1C goal and to learn and understand the risks of low [and high] blood sugar,” she says.  Diabetes is not the type of disease that is one size fits all. It’s so important for people with diabetes to work with their doctors to develop a plan that’s right for them because type 2 diabetes is different for each individual.

Food plays an important part in diabetes

“Food plays a big part, especially for me as a chef and as a Latina, I make it my mission in joy and love to share recipes that are not just Latin-inspired classic recipes, but I also make them diabetes-friendly,” says Chef Moreinos. Chicken and rice for example, which is a staple in many Latin-American countries; she often substitutes white rice with brown rice. Another example is the rotisserie chicken everyone loves, instead of throwing away the bones, throw them in a pot with water and make stock. It’s delicious and can be eaten alone or can be added to your favorite recipes.

“Use more herbs and spices in your cooking, use lots of condiments–lots of paprika, ginger, turmeric because when you use all of these delicious spices, the need for salt diminishes,” she explains. Chef Moreinos is also a big fan of farmer’s markets where you can get fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs from local farms. 

One thing people have to keep in mind when cooking is portion control. “We have a saying in Portuguese, ‘Um é pouco, dois é bom, três é demais’ which means one is too little, two is good, and three is too much,” she says. “Here in the U.S. the portions are too large and this whole mentality is also what’s putting Hispanics on track for type 2 diabetes.” Making small changes at home can include getting small plates and bowls, which can help control portion sizes. She encourages people to cook at home, which is so important because you’re able to control the quality of ingredients that go into your food and body.

It’s important to set an example for your kids and teach them healthy habits they can incorporate into their everyday life as they grow up. Moreinos introduced her children to cooking at a young age, she taught them that cooking and eating healthy is fun. Especially when you can make your own healthy snacks instead of buying store-bought snacks, which can have too much sugar.

The American Diabetes Challenge aims to get the conversation started among people that are living with diabetes and those at risk, by helping them improve their their overall health with small and simple changes to their lifestyle and diet.