Chef LaLa Targets Latino Diabetes With Healthier Recipes - Press Telegram

Mushroom Silvestri is flavored with garlic, red wine and parsley to create a healthy side dish.For many, Mexican food is thought of as a treat, that delicious splurge that throws off your daily caloric intake leaving you feeling guilty.

But celebrity chef and certified nutritionist Chef LaLa is fighting that stigma as she creates healthy recipes without abandoning her Latino heritage and flavors.

The chef’s cookbooks “Latin Lover Lite” (Spencer Publications, 2004) and “Best Loved Mexican Cooking with Chef LaLa” (Publications International, 2008) are aimed at creating healthy ethnic cuisine.

But now she has taken it a step further by partnering with Merck, a global health care company, to launch Sazone Su Salud, an educational campaign designed to educate the Latino community about type 2 diabetes and to offer diabetes-friendly recipes.

“My part as a chef and certified nutritionist was to be able to speak about my experience,” says LaLa, whose birth name is Laura Diaz. “My position, personally, is not only of understanding what it is to live with a family member who has diabetes, but also of one that I have to take special precautions because I understand I’m predisposed to diabetes.”

LaLa got involved with the campaign because the disease runs in her family, and because it’s prevalent in the Latino community. Her goal is to make healthy recipes, suitable for those with diabetes, without having to give up the flavor.

“As a chef, I love to cook. I mean, I became a chef because I like to cook as much as I like to eat and I wanted to re-create the dishes that I love to eat,” she says.

And at the same time, because I’m a foodie it’s important that it tastes good. If someone gives me rice cakes to eat and says that’s what I’m stuck with, I’m not happy. I have a strong heritage and traditions - I didn’t want to forget them.

There are ways to create flavor without all the fat, says LaLa, such as using chiles, lime and cilantro. It’s also key to stay away from stuffing entrees with cheeses and creams, using more natural ingredients instead.

The chef recommends staying away from processed foods because they are high in fat and limited in nutrients.

It really boils down to a healthy cooking method and the quality of ingredients. I always say, if it comes from its own package like an apple, it’s a good idea,” LaLa says. “Cooking methods like boiling, baking, steaming, sauteing and also adding flavor mechanisms of the heritage like cilantro or lime or herbs or spices.

LaLa provides more tips and recipes at sazonesusalud.com, which offers content in Spanish and English.

“There’s all kinds of fun and healthy solutions because what we want to do is to provide solutions to make your life better and healthier and have a better quality of life for you and your entire family,” LaLa says.

Chef LaLa Targets Latino Diabetes With Healthier Mexican-Food Recipes

Diabetic-Friendly Cooking By Latina Chef LaLa - Valoramas

Chef LaLa, Latina celebrity chef and a certified nutritionist, is helping to educate Latinos about type 2 diabetes by participating in a food and health tour in Southern California and showing how to prepare a diabetic-friendly meal.

Chef LaLa encourages Latinos to make healthy lifestyle changes via the new program Sazone Su Salud (Season Your Health)

Sazone Su Salud (Season Your Health) is an educational campaign that showcases food recipes to help Hispanics to create a healthy, diabetic-friendly lifestyle. Chef LaLa engages Latinos in live demonstrations of diabetic-friendly cooking in three California communities – Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

Chef LaLa said: “I’m excited to be a part of Sazone Su Salud to help educate Hispanics about easier ways to prepare healthy meals as one way to help manage their type 2 diabetes.”

Type 2 diabetes is a very serious problem among the Latino community in the U.S.  One out of five adult Latinos of age 50 or older has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. California has the highest rate of type 2 diabetes among Latinos aged 18 to 44 years.

Chef LaLa To Give Live Cooking Demonstration In Anaheim

Celebrity chef and certified nutritionist Chef LaLa is teaming up with Merck to raise awareness about the rising problem of type 2 diabetes among Latinos in Southern California.

As part of her efforts, she’s bringing her Sazone Su Salud (Season Your Health) food and health tour to Anaheim this week. 

The event, which will feature a live cooking demonstration of diabetes-friendly dishes, takes place at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 7 at the Northgate store at 720 W. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim.

For more information, plus cooking tips and recipes from Chef LaLa, visit www.SazoneSuSalud.com.

Chef LaLa Joins Merck To Kick Off A Food & Health Tour In California Aimed To Help EDUCA

Merck today announced the launch of a food and health tour in Southern California with award-winning celebrity chef and certified nutritionist, Chef LaLa, to educate Hispanics about type 2 diabetes and to encourage them to make healthy lifestyle changes. Sazone Su Salud (Season Your Health), is a program that showcases simple, healthy recipes to help Hispanics lead a diabetes-friendly lifestyle. Paired with a healthcare provider, Chef LaLa will engage in live cooking demonstrations in three California communities – Bakersfield, Los Angeles and Orange County. The first event launches today in Bakersfield and will be held at Albertsons grocery store.

“As a Hispanic woman, chef and nutritionist, it’s important for me to help my community understand that we can enjoy our traditional cuisine and still eat healthy,” said Chef LaLa. “I’m excited to be a part of Sazone Su Salud to help educate Hispanics about easier ways to prepare healthy meals as one way to help manage their type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes disproportionately affects the Hispanic community in the U.S. Nearly one out of five Hispanic adults over the age of 50 reported having type 2 diabetes, which is among the highest prevalence for all racial/ethnic groups. In Los Angeles, Kern and Orange Counties more than 4.4% to 13.5% of Latino adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Among U.S. regions with the highest Hispanic populations, California has the highest rate of type 2 diabetes among younger Hispanics aged 18 to 44 years (3.2% versus 1.3% for non-Hispanic whites in that age group).

“Through Sazone Su Salud and Chef LaLa, we hope to educate Hispanics about the serious health risks associated with type 2 diabetes and to raise awareness of diet steps they can make to help manage this complex disease,” said Stephen Clement, M.D., C.D.E., director, Medical Affairs for Diabetes, U.S., Merck. “We are excited to reach out to Hispanics and to encourage them to talk to their doctors about type 2 diabetes – whether they are already diagnosed with diabetes or are at risk.”

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Celebrity Chef Lala Joins Merck To Kick Off A Food And Health Tour In California Aimed To Help EDUCA