From Abuelita's Kitchen to Happy Belly: When Food, Culture, and Legacy Become a Book

Some of our most treasured family stories are never written down. They live in recipes passed from one generation to the next, in the aroma of a favorite meal, and in the loving hands that prepared it.

In this heartfelt episode of Write... Reflect... Reimagine®, Dr. Vilma Luz Cabán welcomes Kristina Cruz Diaz, affectionately known as "Chef Red," the founder of HappyBelly, LLC, a Puerto Rican cultural cook, food consultant, caterer, entrepreneur, and community educator.

Together they explore how kitchens become classrooms, how recipes preserve memory, and why a cookbook can become one of the most meaningful forms of storytelling.

Kristina shares:

•  Growing up in her abuelitas' kitchens and the life lessons they taught beyond cooking. 
•  How resilience, love, and Puerto Rican traditions shaped her journey. 
•  Why family recipes are living archives of culture and identity. 
•  Her remarkable health journey and how it inspired the creation of HappyBelly. 
•  Why she believes we don't have to choose between cultural foods and healthy living. 
•  The philosophy behind "Don't Worry... Eat Happy."
•  How entrepreneurship, healing, and storytelling are leading her toward writing her first cookbook. 

Food has the remarkable ability to preserve what time might otherwise erase. It carries family stories, cultural traditions, and expressions of love from one generation to the next, reminding us that every shared meal has the power to become part of our legacy. It is love expressed through action. It is one of the most enduring ways families preserve their stories across generations.

Whether you're a writer, entrepreneur, home cook, or someone who cherishes family traditions, you'll discover how our lived experiences often become the books we're meant to write.

Guest:
Kristina Cruz Diaz ("Chef Red")
Founder, HappyBelly, LLC

Support Kristina!

At the time of this recording, Kristina was competing in the Favorite Chef Competition, where finalists have the opportunity to appear in Taste of Home Magazine, cook alongside Carla Hall, and compete for a $25,000 grand prize.

Cast your vote here: (VOTING LINK)

Better Connecticut Home Chef Segment 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Casa de Maria. This is a space for writers, artists, and cultural storytellers who believe that our words carry memory, meaning, and responsibility. Here, we gather to reflect on craft, honored lived experience, and explore ethical pathways to publishing and creative growth. I am your host, Dr. Vin Malus Kavan, founder of Casa Rimaria Publisher. And I am grateful you are here.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Welcome back! Today's episode takes place in the historic city of Hartford in Connecticut. Today's podcast guest is someone our audience may remember from our recent Casa de Maria Publisher public event. It was our Grace and Boldness Latina Voices for Change, literary event that we hosted in the historic Dwight Hall at Yale University. As our guests arrived, they experienced something extraordinary. It was a welcoming reception prepared by Cristina Cruz Diaz, lovingly known in her community as Chef Bread. Through each traditional appetizer, Chef Bread offered a glimpse into the stories, traditions, and values that have shaped her journey as a Latina woman, wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, and community advocate. The culinary treat buffet table became more than a place to receive guests. It became a jumpstart to frame our event, a place where culture, memory, and community met one another. Food has a remarkable magic to preserve what time might otherwise erase. And long before stories are written in books, they are often carried through recipes, family traditions, and meals shared across generations. A handwritten recipe card can become a family archive. A favorite dish can hold the memory of a loved one. A kitchen can become a classroom where culture is taught without a single lesson plan. Today's guest understands that connection deeply. Chef Fred is a Puerto Rican cultural chef, food consultant, caterer, television guest, entrepreneur, and founder of Happy Belly LLC. Through her work, she reminds us that nourishment is not about seeking perfection. It is about how we take steps to promote dignity, food accessibility, cultural affirmation, and community care. Many of you may also know that she is currently competing in the favorite chef competition, where finalists have the opportunity to appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook alongside Carla Hall, and compete for a $25,000 grandpaz. Now, at the time of this recording, she's currently ranked at sixth. Let's keep voting, and we'll include the link in the podcast description. Today we're talking about food, culture, entrepreneurship, and perhaps most importantly, how a cookbook can become a bridge between generations. Because some of our most enduring family stories are never formally written down. They live in the meals that we prepare, in the traditions that we repeat, and in the wisdom passed from one pair of hands to another. And over time, those experiences become something larger than a recipe collection. They become a legacy. Chef Fred, welcome to our Casa de Maria Publisher Podcast.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

Hello, thank you so much. I am truly happy to be here and honored.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Today's episode is titled From Abuelita's Kitchen to Happy Belly, When Food, Culture, and Legacy Become a Book. Now, one of the things we often discuss at Casa de Maria Publisher is that most books do not begin as books, they begin as lived experiences. Now, Chef Red, when I look at your journey, I see the kitchens of your abuelitas, your years of culinary experience, the television appearances, your entrepreneurship, your devotion to community work, and your heartwarming philosophy around nourishment that you've developed over time. Now, what strikes me is that each of those experiences has contributed an ingredient to a much larger story. Now, you together, they form a narrative about culture, resilience, family, and care. Looking back, when did you first realize food would become such an important part of your life?

SPEAKER_02 6:02

I didn't ever realize like a key moment. I just knew that if I wanted to have a family, I would have to nourish them, right? And and the way that it showed love. And and that was my abuelita. I was in the kitchen since I was oh my goodness, I can't even remember. Like three, she always just had me in the kitchen with her. And that's how she showed her love. That was how she spoke. Everybody else would be talking and gathering, and she's just in the kitchen, and that's how she spoke. And that's me. Like I speak through food. So I knew that that would be important if I wanted to communicate my love.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

I love that. Yes, they say the kitchen is the heart of the home, right? So I love that you shared early memories of being in your abuelita's kitchen. Now, what lessons did they teach you those moments about extended beyond cooking?

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Well, resilience, because the kitchen is hot. I just I just came up over the weekend and everybody kept saying to me, How are you doing this? Like people couldn't handle the grill. I'm out there like in the grill, like nothing. It's 90 degrees, and I'm not batting an eyelash. Yes, it's a lot, but it taught me the resilience of it's gotta get done. People have to eat. And are you gonna sit there and complain because of the heat? If and that saying is very true. If you can't stand the heat of the kitchen, then get out. You know? So it was like, it's truly resilience. Like, and my abolita, and you know, the one that I her name is Grandma Olga, the one that I really referenced, even though I love my other abuelita, Daulina, and she taught me a lot too. But the kitchens were so hot, and my grandma Olga lived in New York, and there was no AC honey, you know. So it was like, and you know, those new hor New York heat waves is no joke. And I just remember my Olguita, because that's what we would call her Olguita, and she does not, she was not bating an eyelash. And it was just the resilience of, you know, she's like, I'm gonna convey my love no matter if it's a heat wave or whatever. Like some a meal has to be prepared. And I have guests, and I'm not giving up. And that was, and it just throughout, you know, throughout her, she was here for 91 years and just never giving up. And Olguita, even when she had a hip replacement, still cooking, no matter what, through the aches and the pains, and we would always be like, Grandma, sit down. And she'd be like, no, no, tu cafecito, you know, and so that taught me that, you know, like even when I was tired, my boys had to eat, my husband had to eat. If there was a guest honoring my home, oh honey, I don't care if I worked a 12-hour shift, I'm gonna cook. So it was really resilience.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Oh, I I love, I love how you captured, right, the the huge takeaway of resilience and what that means facing those those really uncomfortable spaces, all very purpose-driven. In this case, to receive, I am bringing el pueblo. So we have to make sure we feed these folks, but also it comes from a place of honor, right? To be able to give to your family. And were there any particular recipes that became part of your family tradition?

SPEAKER_02 9:46

Oh, I first one off the top of my head was Grandma Olga's arrocon candules. And it took me years, years to perfect that dish.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

And I'd be like, Porque, like, because I don't know why rice can be such a finicky beast.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

And I would be like, but why? And I had watched my grandmother make it so I mean glued, glued to it. Like I would be glued, and everybody knew you had to have grandma Olga's arrocon de candoles. It was just something about it, something about it. And I remember because traditionally we cook with a lot of pork, and my mom was not, she had she had make a choice through religion to stop eating pork. And I remember my grandmother such a wonderful person and and kind and wanted everybody to eat happily. She adapted, and from this day, I still remember remember she adapted it to be turkey kebasa. And I made it again, you know, because in her honor, and I had some impromptu guests, and nothing was on the stove, but honey, I whipped out that arrocon gandules, and it was the most magical arrocon gandules ever. And I was teaching another young lady, and she was like, and her her her honey came up and said, Oh, please, because it's so hit or miss with her arrocon gandules. And I said, Honey, I understand because I can only perfect it now. And I've messed up a few times, you know, still, still making it all these years. Sometimes I'd be like, Pero boy, so, you know, I'm o go yaw, which is, you know, the sticky or gra too duro, like if there wasn't enough water. But when you're in your element and you're cooking with love, it comes out perfect every time. And it was the I'm telling you, I'm still tasting it. And they were so excited to take some home. And I said, Hey, I'm literally making you my grandma Olga's arroconándoles. And also, I did have the honor because this it brings happy tears. Towards the end of my grandma, my grandma's my grandmother's life, she fell ill. Sorry, because I just touched my heart and I I just this memory. If I cry, it's okay. It's just such a beautiful memory, and why her uh her arocon gandoles means so much.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

She was bedridden at the end, and she was suffering from like a dementia, and it was very difficult for our family to, you know, the strongest woman, you know, still cooking all the way in her late 80s. And it was difficult. She fell ill during COVID, and so like to see her was very difficult, and I was going through my health problems as well. And the strength came out, and she was finally back home after she got out of the hospital, and my dear aunt and my cousin were taking care of her, and it was very difficult on them. And I said, All I can do is go and make you her last meal, you know, like like the I can cook for you. I don't, I don't have words and I appreciate you. So sorry that we're crying, but this is just such a loaded and what what this means to me.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

And I said, I can go. I was like, Titi, I can go and I can make grandma's because they were like, she's not making sense. This is so hard, you know. We want to let her go. Like, and I was like, I got you. Let me, I'm gonna go say goodbye.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

This was the last time I saw her. Like, I said goodbye. And I went, I got in that kitchen, honey, and um I made her rice in her kitchen using her pots. Oh and do you know that they gave it to her and we I was feeding her? She remembered me. She came out of it with it, and she said, Cristinita, you made my rice. Goosebumps, I know. So there you go. That was my memory and why food is so important.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Well, you know, we we did frame today's episode that is about culture, right? But it's act also activating memory. Yeah. You know, think about all the memories that you're activating now for a listener who's hearing you share that love language of a meal, right? Even in light of those most challenging circumstances, that there was a glimmer of hope in that memory of that shared experience of love. You know, I I know that sometimes it's hard to see this, what feels almost like mystical. How can we capture that? It's like putting ladybugs in a bottle, right? It's it's so hard. You know, how do you capture that magic and contain it, right? And that's what a cookbook offers, you know. Like looking back, when do you like if anyone ever told you that you would even consider maybe 20 years ago, that maybe one day you your some of the recipes can become a a cookbook, what would you have said? Total loca.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

You're crazy. I I what who are you and what are who what you know? But but but then yes, it why? Because but then it became almost like I had to. Like it was almost like a mission because a lot of my family, you know, as our elders started passing away, and I had been the only one, like the only grandchild who had really been in the kitchen, even in Puerto Rico with my abuelita, even though I didn't get to see her all the time. But when I was there, I was in the kitchen with her and my Titi Elvira. Oh, I make her sorull to this day, honey. And that is, and everybody would be like, How did you do Titi Elvira's sorullos? Like the entire, so both sides, you know, father's side and my mother's side. And people saying, You're the only one, you know, like you're the only one. So I'm like, ooh, I'm the only one. Then I'm gonna have to. And so this is actually what started me saying, I have to write it down. Because nobody had, because that's not normally in our culture. We don't write it down. We're just like, sit there, be quiet, and listen. You watch, you have to watch. And that's how our grandmothers and our grandfathers taught us, right? De ojo. And in Puerto Rican cooking, our culture is todo de ojo. It's all about the eye and eyeballing it. So I was like, how do I do this? Because I taught de ojo. I'm not a classically trained chef. I am a home cook that goes with feeling. I measure with my heart, just like my abuelitas. But then, and this started changing, you know, two years ago, especially when Happy Belly, because I wanted to do the cookbook. I I did. I was like, I really would like to do a cookbook, but with stories. It wouldn't be your normal cookbook. And then saying, okay, well, how in the world could I do a cookbook if I can't give people measurements? Because I see people like yelling at people in the comments of like somebody does a recipe on TikTok or online or on YouTube, and they're in that what's the measurements? And I'm just like, I got nervous because I was like, that's gonna be me, because I'm gonna be like, Well, you just measure with your heart, honey. But then they oh, they oh that would be my grandmother, like, figure it out, watch. But but so the cookbook is kind of like, yes, measure with your heart. But then I give you a guide. So it's more of a guidance cookbook. It's not like this is how you do it, and if you don't do it, it's not coming out your way. So the cookbook is an evolving creature as I am evolving, as to how would I put this on in words. And I want to invoke a feeling. That's what the cookbook is really about. My fra My favorite book of all time. Actually, there's two, but my favorite book of all time, the one that invoked true emotion in me was like water for chocolate. That book, and that's kind of how I would love my cookbook to be, is like water for chocolate. So it tells this beautiful story, right? I mean, and you're crying because you're just like, girl, you're going through it, right? I would I don't want to divulge it, but she speaks through the only way she's so marginalized and she's so diminished, and she so has so many, she has so many emotions. And her, kind of like her abuelita, because she didn't have one, so it was at the time the person who was in charge of the kitchen took her in, and she was in charge of the recipes, and she would say, put your emotion in it. And so when people would eat her food, they would feel what she was feeling. So if she felt sadness, everybody would cry. There's I'm telling you, there's a movie, so if you don't want to read the book, but this is what I want my cookbook to be.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

I love that. I love that. You know, so if your future cookbook included family photographs or stories and memories, what would readers learn about your family? What would they learn?

SPEAKER_02 19:25

Wow. They would learn that I come from a wonderful, beautiful line of strong women, like strong, because like I said, both my abuelitas duraron, they lasted until in their 90s. And my other abuelita, this is a cute story too, about food, was that, and she also had dementia at the end and was bedridden, and she would yell at my mom, and my grandmy had already passed away, but she didn't know, you know, she didn't recognize. But this is how food, right? She showed her love through food, and she would tell my mom, Nilsita, hazle el café a feyo. And my mother would be like, Okay, mommy, you know, and she would be like, Se lo hice, you know, and she like she wouldn't forget that she always liked clockwork, her body didn't forget my grandfather's cafecito, and every day, my abuelita Teolina would say, Nilcita, ale el cafecito ha fecho at the same time in her pure dementia, you know, like it was just, and I remember her making, and I remember there because they would they made their own coffee. And so my my abuelito grew the coffee on his property, and then he taught me how you picked the you know, the beans, the beautiful when they turned red, how to dry them in the Puerto Rican sun. And then they and then my my abuelita, again standing the heat in the kitchen, would tostalo over the fogon. Oh. And honey, those fogones, yes, yes, very hot. Very hot. And I was just again, I got to see my father-in-law yesterday. He has fogon. And we were discussing, you know, like how to tostad and you know, doing things, and he lives in Windsor, so it's funny, you know, like he has his fogon, he brings it with him, because tradition is tradition. And just discussing, you know, the flavor of what the fogon brings and haciendo cafe colado, you know, and I make that. And my husband can tell, honey, everybody be like, he goes, Oh, baby, you made a colado. And I said, Yes, honey, I sure did.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Oh my goodness, I love it. It's about reinventing tradition, right? Without losing culture. So the fogong is not in Puerto Rico, it's now here in Windsor, Connecticut.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

There's a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

But still, the Fogong is here, and the the stories continue and the memories carried, and I think that. That's the power of what a cookbook can do. It carries memory across generations. It's a legacy gift that we can offer our loved ones as well as our community. And one of the most powerful parts of your story, Red, is that you have experienced food from multiple perspectives: cultural, professional, personal, as well as health-related. Now, your work through Happy Belly LLC honors traditional foods while helping people navigate modern health realities, right? Because that's what we have to deal with. And too often, people believe that they must choose between cultural foods and healthy living. It's almost like healthy living becomes the neutralizer, the oh, you can't have that, you know, and and it it totally negates the power of what our traditions are. So your work suggests, though, otherwise. So tell us about that balance.

SPEAKER_02 23:02

So yes, that is my motto. That is how I feel that why give up your culture to quote unquote eat healthy foods. I had mentioned before that my abuelitos, both sides, both grandparents, lived well into their 90s, and they never gave up any of their cultural foods to satisfy anybody. The misconception is that, oh, you know, now you can't have your cafe con leche just to save those calories. But now you're eating angrily, and then you're like, well, then I'm gonna go for a sugar substitute. You know, I'm just giving this as an ex an example, right? Because this is uh what so many people come to me. So as a food consultant, I tell them, let's find the balance for you. I am not a nutritionist, I am not a dietitian. I tell everybody, if you need those things, because I've worked with those people in when I was not well and I didn't know what to eat, and I was going through my health journey, and I remember a nutritionist saying, You have to eat what works for you. She said, You have to figure out what you can digest, what your body needs to be healthy. Because I hadn't, I when I had gained weight, it actually had nothing to do with overeating. I actually underate. It had everything to do with inflammation. I had, I still, you know, battle, and I say I live in harmony with, because I don't battle it anymore. I live in harmony, and this is what I love to teach is that I live in harmony with any quote unquote health ailments. So instead of looking at them as like, oh, you know, now I can't, if I eat it overindulged, now I'm gonna get triggered and then it's all over, you know, like, and so now I'm mad, right? No, I don't believe and I find that I find the balance. And I, if somebody comes to me, you know, my friends or my clients, or when they want to consult, this is a consultation. This is us finding out what works for you. So I say, okay, well, what are your goals, right? And you know, I had a couple one time and they they had already been vegan, you know, she had done the vegan thing, and then she was like, no, honey, I need some meat. And I was like, Yes, okay. So how do we get those foods into you that you feel happy about it, not guilty? And so I I guide, because I don't teach, I guide people to find their happiness when they're eating. Because when you're happy, you digest well. When you are relaxed, your body absorbs well. Because remember, fight or flight. And so if you're fighting and flighting and freaking out what you're about to eat, then you're not all of those things, you know, like you negate the your food is your fuel. So no matter, even and uh funny thing, we're gonna laugh, but because I'm a food consultant and I eat really well, right? Like pretty well. Um, and my husband, love you, honey. My husband eats McDonald's and he eats out almost every day for lunch. And all of his coworkers are like, How do you not bring your wife's food from home? And I would happen happily, I want to make him lunch, but we used to actually have an argument about it. And he was like, honey, I just don't want it. And he's like, and it's not that I don't want your food because I love your food. And like, again, this is finding people's balance, right? And respecting that. And and and now we are in such harmony. And people were like, and my husband's lab work is spot on. Like, people look at him like what? And I tell people, I said, You see, he didn't give up, you know, okay, fine if he eats, you know, fast food because we're not gonna say anybody, you know, like, but he eats fast food and he eats out, but then he has my food. But guess what? I bless him. And so that's the energy of what I do with Happy Belly and when I cook for people and for my husband, I bless him. I go, honey, enjoy, enjoy your lunch. Not, oh, you're eating out again, you know. And I this is what I teach people, especially like moms, you know, because I went through this, this these are my lessons. And happy belly is a vibe, you know, it's a service to everybody finding their happy way of eating. If your child is like, I only want chicken nuggets, you know, and but this is what I hear all the time. He only eats chicken nuggets and french fries. But guess what? It's still fuel and bless. That's why we're so, you know, people pray. I just say, listen, bless your food. That's what we we stopped doing that. And I teach, I I don't teach, sorry, I guide. I guide us. The balance is to bless whatever the universe has given you and to eat with gratitude. Because there was a time that, and I call it the grateful diet. You know, like it's like people are like, oh, what's your what what do you what's what do you what do you eat? You know, and like what are what do you identify as? And I'm like, I'm a flexitarian. And that's a word now, you know, but I'm like, it's really gratefully. I eat gratefully because I remember the time that I couldn't eat. I actually was little known thing when I was in my medical crisis. I couldn't swallow. I had lost the ability to swallow, literally, like lost the ability to swallow. I almost died, and I had to have a pick line. And so when I tell you you lose your ability to eat, it's it's a mind bleep. And the I remember the doctors telling my husband, her body's shutting down, we don't really know what to do. She's gotta make a choice. She's either gonna survive or she's not. Like, there's no they had done everything that they could for me. And so again, this is how we get to Happy Belly, right? Like it was so traumatic. And I get fitted with this pick line. It was wow. And they were like, hey, we gotta give you, you know, it was basically tooth feeding, you know, like it through an IV. Six weeks I was on this IV, and my husband kept me alive. He kept me alive, and you know, if this resonates with somebody else, you know, that gratitude again. And I said, and I I blessed my life every day. I blessed that man who would come and put my pick line in and fed me, fed me, and so now we're here, right? Like happy belly, and I tell people when you lose it all and you promise yourself, universe, God, if you allow me to eat again, I will never stress out about you know, a diet or a fat or you know, anything. I will say thank you for allowing me to swallow my food. So that's why we're here. And this is what happy belly is it's a vibe. And to be happy, and to be happy, and everybody should eat happy. Don't worry, eat happy.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

I love that. I love that, I love that. You know, families, you know, they struggle, right? Making those healthier choices. And I think that's the word I want to focus on is healthier, right? Because they think whatever the world deems healthier. And you, you know, those sorrullos, I tasted at one of the Puerto Rican parades in Hartford, Connecticut, and you had packed them with so much love for the authors that were in that parade, and you were joining our group, and I was so in, I was touched by those sorrullos. I said, Oh my goodness. And they were a healthier option because you air fried them. You didn't, you didn't, you didn't fry them, you the you air fried them. And so that immediately to me was an indication that you were not abandoning your cultural tradition. Here we were, Puerto Rican Day Parade in Hartford, Connecticut, and you came out wrapped in foil, these amazing cerrullos that were just uh fire. And so now learning about how your health journey influenced now this approach. I mean, I'm just floored about why don't worry, eat happy is really beyond the slogan for you. It's about building a lifestyle that I'm sure it didn't appear overnight. You know, it grew from these experiences, the challenges, and a commitment, right, to not only helping yourself, but helping others. Tell us about the moment you decided, though, to create Happy Belly.

SPEAKER_02 31:55

It was the summer, uh, two summers ago in July. Yes, in July. And I had been working on the concept, working on the concepts, and I was like, what do I want? Do I want, you know, I thought I wanted a restaurant at first because everybody's like, we need your dishes. And and I was like, actually, no, it's gonna almost go on three summers. I'm sorry, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. When I decided, I had done a stent, a stint, excuse me. I had done a stint because I wanted to get my serve safe because I felt like that was another layer that I, if I was gonna do to guide people to food or whatever, I also wanted because I I worked in a lot of restaurants, and so cross-contamination is no joke for me. And so I wanted to learn this, but I also wanted to learn how people thought. And I went and I worked in a fast food place. You're like everybody's like, what? Like, and I laugh about it, but I needed, I knew I needed to immerse myself into what American culture did to traditional foods. And I needed, I observed. It was like almost like a research project, you know, like you go to the jungle and you're researching, you know, the gorillas. I was researching people and their behaviors. It was, and this is why what helped me to want to really, really say, I need to create this. Like this is what people need. People need this because I had these customers, because I always worked the window, and and people's orders, and then people telling me, ugh, I don't know why I'm eating this. And I had done a lot of research into I had done a lot of research, excuse me, into food uh fast food and like what makes people eat this and what diets do work and what you know, whatever. I did a lot of this research before I even happy belly, right? So people were like, wait, I'm like, you don't understand the years, you know. And then, but it was really after working in fast food and seeing it for myself that American people, you know, and actually no, I shouldn't even say American, I say pee, I should say people, you know. We had lost ourselves and quick, fast, and it tastes good. So it wasn't like it really, it wasn't nourishing, really. It was just like I need the fuel and that's it. You know, and I noticed that it was chang like when you put better fuel in your car, right? Your car runs more efficiently. And so that's what I kept seeing. I was like, okay, so you can eat healthy Puerto Rican food, right? You can still make the same recipe, but less less frying, right? Because that's just we know that less frying and really what's in our oils, right? Because back in the day, our ancestors and our abuelitas fried and true grease, like lard. And and I render, you know, I actually keep my my lard. I just like my abuelitas. And I had that question yesterday. And then also cooking and healthy fats, right? So now, and it's funny, a lot of these, they're called seed oils. So we're going away from that and we're going back and realizing I can still have a fried thing as long as I fry it in beef tallow, you know, if you don't. So I'm I'm guiding people to say, hey, you know, our ancestors lived a really long time and they had that sorollito, even though it was fried, but they fried it in lard, not in these saturated fats. So that's what I'm teaching, you know, and and that's what I learned. And I also learned, too, by the way, that when you eat a lot of fast food, you're actually addicted to the chemicals. That's what I found out in my research. And a lot of those foods are actually patented. A lot of a lot of people do not know this. And I wanted to know because I was like, how can I assist somebody or consult with them if I don't know what they're biologically, they're craving these foods. So how do you get them to eat maybe better and have healthier gut health if you don't even know why they're addicted to these foods? Because people be like, I had a customer, I'll never forget it. He said, I don't know. Like he was irate, and I was like, they're like, go get Christina. And I'm like, I'm coming. And they're like, he says, I don't understand. I haven't eaten this certain fast food chain in six years. I just started, you know, for for whatever reasons, he went, he dipped back in and he could not stop eating it. He was going every other day. And he just was like upset with himself that he couldn't break the cycle. And I said, and I learned in that fast food place because I would actually eat their food. But guess who? Guess who ate the healthier options within reason was me. And I never to this day, knock on wood, when I was working there, I never had an adverse reaction. I actually lost weight. And I was eating fast food every other, you know, like, but I was eating the healthier options. And so I tell people, stop yelling at yourself. Like, I why am I having this French fry? Yelling, yeah, don't yell at yourself. Go have the French fry, just do it better. You know, either make them from scratch or air fry your french fries. You know, you can, you know, then everybody's like, oh, but the air fryer has can't, you know, certain ones have cancer because of the coating. Okay, guess what? There's even, and now I found out there's an even better option is I have a glass air fryer. So again, but not hurting yourself, you know, making yourself beating yourself up is doing what for anybody? But just lowering your self-esteem and making you more angry. And then you're whole you're holding on to cortisol. That's another people thing that I tell. I say you're gonna hold on to belly fat no matter how much. If you're if you're angrily eating those rice cakes because they feel better, guess what? You're still gonna have cortisol because you're mad. And so you're gonna still have you lose weight everywhere else, but you're gonna. So, so I tell people, again, we're laughing, but this is what what happy belly means. Like it's a vibe. You know, I wanna, I want a lifestyle of happy people because our grandparents gave us food happily. Our ancestors gave it with love. And I tell people, be very careful who is preparing your food. How are you preparing your food? Because, like the book, I of like water, like chocolate, I that invoked me, and this is the feeling I want to give to others in my cookbook eventually one day, is it's a vibe. And if you, and I tell people normally the reason why you get sick from other restaurants is because the food was prepared with anger. And I observed that at the fast food chain. And then people are like, How is it? I never can really eat cheese, but I can eat your, you know, sordorito with cheese and not have any gastric intestinal problems. I've had this all the time, and I say, because I put Reiki and I put good energy and I put love. So I just eat whatever you're gonna eat, make smarter choices little by little. Don't give, don't give everything up and just do a little bit better and do more research, you know, and and do what works for you.

SPEAKER_01 39:36

Oh my goodness. You have you I can't wait for this book to come out simply because what you have just you've dropped a couple of truth bombs here. Things that I, once we're done with this podcast, I just want to dive in and learn more about. But that's what I think your cookbook's gonna do. It's gonna entice people to dig deeper into the process. And you talk about this with such a lens of healing and self-compassion, which I think that for so long, I don't think I've ever heard too many people speak on this this whole like give yourself grace when when you're trying to like, wow, I mean, like this is like a business that's becoming a book for you, you know, and and really not gatekeeping these gems that are eventually going to change lives and the quality of life for communities. And I'm just so excited to hear how, you know, you had to go through this very difficult process and learning about your adversities. Thank you for being so transparent and sharing from the heart. I know that's not easy, but I know that the long game for you, the long goal here is to be able to break through for other people. And I and I appreciate that so much. You know, one of the reasons I wanted to have this conversation is because many entrepreneurs don't realize that a book can become an extension of their mission. And so, like a cookbook, yeah, it can preserve culture, but it could also educate and it could inspire, just like I'm sitting here at the edge of my seat wanting to look up a few things. It can open doors to public speaking. I'm so grateful you're here with us today on this podcast, but it could also open doors for future workshops, consulting opportunities. You're gonna be back on that television show doing another recipe and talking about your business. And these media appearances are not just about highlighting the book, but it's about reaching past the impact circle that maybe you can do just one-on-one or in a small group or maybe at a business. It's actually broadening the radius of impact for the people that you want to help and support. So when you think about a future cookbook, I know this excites you, but at this time, do you feel that you why does it feel like it's the right time to consider doing it?

SPEAKER_02 42:14

Yes. Well, is it the right time? Because I've been scared of scared to launch for a really long time. I don't, I don't have all my ducks in a row, I feel, you know, because people are like, well, how do I work with you? Right now, this is just me, you know, the mission, right? The focus. And I feel like everything is gonna fall into place because I had to know what did I really want to offer. And for a really long time, I was like, was that gonna be a restaurant? Or was, you know, was that gonna be a restaurant? You know, was that gonna be, you know, so many things. Like, I didn't know where what I really wanted to do. And then I understood, like, okay, what did I want to say in the cookbook? You know, what do what do I want people to hear from me? And then it's just having these conversations that it's like the passion is insane for me. And I'm like, okay, I gotta get this out there. I do want to do public speaking, you know. I do, I wanna drop these gems on so many people. I want the private conversations that I have with wonderful people. I wanna mind blow everybody else. I want to be like, hey, hey, hey, did you know you could be happy and eat whatever you want and just be joyful? And I wanna, I just want a movement, I guess. So yeah, I we're getting there. We're getting there. And I feel that the the cookbook is gonna really be, it's gonna be such a wonderful feeling for people because it's gonna be more like a guidebook. It's not really gonna even be a cookbook, I feel. I feel like it's gonna be a guidebook of how, you know, like if you want to learn how to make, like I said, the rice, because let's see, I will guide you to find the best way to make your own rice because there's so many different ways to do rice, there's no perfect. Way, right? So I feel like the cookbook would be a guide to be you're the chef of your own kitchen, you know, and then also giving the gems of the background of, you know, did you know? We're gonna one more gem, right? And this will be in the cookbook, right? Well, we're we because I had this amazing conversation. And it's such a conf. I'm laughing about how controversial it is whether to wash your rice or not. Ooh, honey, we're gonna shut it down. That it's gonna be, we're gonna be team wash or team not, right? Like for real. And and and and and and and guess who was team? What the heck? Why are you not washing your rice? To I am team, do not wash that rice. I know everybody's jaw is dropped. You're probably yelling on the pod, you know, yelling at the podcast. Don't come for me. I'm gonna give you the background. And again, make your own decision. And this is why. If you want to wash your rice, please. But I'm gonna tell you something, you're gonna freak out. You're washing away the nutrients. Okay, so everybody pause right now, run to your kitchen cabinets and go look at the rice. And on the rice, even the Spanish rice, my loves, it says, do not wash rice. You will wash away the nutrients. It literally says that. And this is the secret. I'm gonna put it in the cookbook, but we we're gonna give you a taste. The secret to really good rice is don't wash it because when you wash it, you mess up the water ratio. And that's why your rice actually comes out. Oh my god, yes, a mogul yao. So I just dropped it, and by the way, it's an exact ratio if you're gonna use long-grain rice. So this is no, but I was teaching this to a young woman yesterday, and she was like, I cannot, but you just, she goes, you just mind blew me. And I said, This is the secret to amazing rice. So yeah, and again, you're it's already cleansed, you know, like, and you're by the way, if you're worried about any impurities, you're boiling them out. So everybody relax, you're gonna be okay if you don't wash your rice. I can't wait to see the comments on that, right?

SPEAKER_01 46:11

I love it. Oh my goodness. It seems like if you had this cookbook right now, it would be in the hands of one particular group of people and the naysayers of the wash the rice, don't wash the rice. Oh my goodness. Oh my gosh, that should be the name of the cookbook. Should we wash the rice? Should we wash the rice? I love it.

unknown 46:31

I love it.

SPEAKER_01 46:32

Oh my goodness. I I love I love learning about what inspired you, what provoked deeper inquiry, what got you to kind of be unsettled. Because I believe that that's when growing happens. You're so uncomfortable. You're just not sitting okay with something. And that's when something sparks, and like all of all of these ideas. I mean, I can see your cookbook with a QR code that has you literally preparing the food and having these beautiful sidebar commentaries. It's almost like the directorial comments. If you ever watch a film and then the directors are talking about how they set that up when they did the it, I can see this for you in your book. The QR code is you preparing it and saying the oh by the way, right? And dropping more gems upon more gems behind this philosophy of happy belly. I I love it. And that's just, and by the way, that just came to me right now. So see what happens when you're in that space to receive the ideas and what inspires you. I mean, I love that you are bold and you you went for it. You know, like I'm thinking about the competition, the favorite chef competition. Yes. I mean, I know that's not easy because it's very public. You are reaching out to your circle of supporters for votes, and it's multiple votes, votes carried over time, and it's a very intense ranking system. But I love that you were there because I firmly believe, Chef Red, that representation representation matters. You being in that competition, holding space. I'm so glad you didn't disqualify yourself and say, oh, you know, I don't think I have enough experience. Good for you. That's exactly what this works about. And it's so tied to your mission of Happy Belly, appearing, showing up, having people show up for themselves, extending some compassion, some grace. I can I could only imagine, you know, like can you give us an update on how things are going? How did it go for you?

SPEAKER_02 48:42

Yes, I actually can. So, funny story. I mean, I'm telling you, all the funny stories, right? I'm probably like your comedian guest over here. So, funny story how this came about. So, I actually was in the competition last year. And I was, I had imposter syndrome. I was like, who am I? But it had come up on my you know, like like a social media feed. And then I said, let's check this out. I was in the parking lot waiting for my son to come out of an appointment. And I'm like, huh. And I look into it, and this is actually a competition of home cooks. You cannot enter, by the way, you cannot enter if you are a classically trained chef. You actually are disqualified if they find out that you're a classic, excuse me, classically trained chef.

unknown 49:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 49:36

So it's for home cooks and it's for like, you know, people who don't have the, you know, that the, you know, went to, and again, I have amazing friends who have taught me so much. I have such respect for, you know, the classically trained chefs. But this is them want to find out like who's your favorite chef. So funny thing was, I did it. I didn't tell anybody because I was like, I don't even know. I didn't even have good food pictures. I was just like, I don't even know. I here we go. And I did it and I got pretty far. Like I made it last year, I made it, you know, all the way to like fit 15, like right now, top 15. And I believe I even made it to like top 10 in our in the area. It's a it's a lot. There's a lot of people. Um, and again, it's just by voting daily on social media. So it's really difficult. You know, a lot of people forget about it, and so you have to be kind of on top of it. But I, and it was funny, my mom said last year. She goes, I saw that you, I saw that you are on in um in a cooking competition. Are you gonna get in trouble because you're not a chef? But not, but again, and me going, well, real chefs call me chef, you know, and I said, and I'm known as chef red, but I said, no, it's okay, mom. I said, actually, they're looking for somebody that is amazing in the kitchen and doesn't have their, you know, culture or whatever. And she goes, I mean culture, the the certification or something. And she said, Oh, okay, it was just making sure you didn't get this close. Yeah, I was like, okay, but so now this year I saw it and I was like, uh, I mean, I I didn't know if I really wanted to do it and like where was I at in my head? Like, you know, and competition is like I'm in competition with myself. Like, I don't, I don't, I don't ever really I want to just do better for me. So it's like competitions don't really attract me at all. Like it's just I'm not that person. But it came back, it was crazy. I'm on my way to work, like I'm driving, and it just pops up. Like they text me. This is the crazy part. Like, and of course I know that it's a list, you know, but they text me. And it was the day before the competition was gonna start. I wow and no, it was two days before, and I laughed. I go, what is that? Because then you had can have it read it back to you. And it was like, hi, favorite chef, are you coming back in this year? And I'm laughing in the car, like, what? I wasn't gonna do it. I'm like, it's not gonna be me. And then I forgot about it. And I'm but I'm laughing on my way to work. And then I come back and then it pops up again, and it was like, we'd love to see you come back, you know, like you, you know, see how far you get. And again, I know this is like generated, but it's like the universe is like, enter. So I submit my entry the night before the competition starts. No lie. And it's supposed to be a process, you know, they have to look over your submissions. Oh no, they were already like, and welcome to the competition because they had all my information from last year. And here we are. So I don't know. We if I make it this week, because it's weekly, you know, cutoff points. Um, and if I do, I do. And if I don't, you know, think I'm just so it just helped, it's the love of the support of like just keep going, you know. No competition defines you, you know. And I got to see, oh, this was another inspiration because about Latinas and culture, right? Chef Omi, she just dropped her cookbook. And I got to see the live feed out of nowhere. Like it was one of those things, and I was just so inspired because she was cooking, she had brought her mom on who inspired and her abuelitas, and they talked about the abuelitas. So I was like, Oh, see, thank you, thank you, universe, for saying I have to do my cookbook, you know. So that was a really cool thing, and she's a chef and she's only she's not classically trained, and she cooked with Chef Ramsey.

SPEAKER_01 53:28

Oh wow, and and to think I sent you the questions to this podcast like about two, almost almost three weeks ago, almost three weeks ago, and the title being right, about the abuelitas. Like it was confirmation. It was like that you were supposed to go through this. My goodness. Oh my goodness. You know, before we move, I love this, into our final reflections. I want to have a little fun. Not that we have anything. Oh my god, it's funny. Oh my goodness, this is amazing. But I'm gonna just ask a few quick questions and whatever literally comes to your mind first, that's the right answer. So don't try to change it. All right, ready? Favorite Puerto Rican comfort food.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Arro con gandoles.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

One ingredient you always wait, can you say that again? Favorite Puerto Rican comfort food. Arros con gandules. One ingredient you always keep in your kitchen. Sofrito. Coffee or tea, sweet or savory. Savory. A recipe that instantly reminds you of your abolita.

SPEAKER_02 54:33

Arro con gandules.

SPEAKER_01 54:35

The most underrated ingredients in the Puerto Rican cooking culture. That's a good one. Aceite de achote.

unknown 54:43

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 54:44

A dish everyone should learn how to make at least once.

SPEAKER_03 54:48

Arro con candules.

SPEAKER_01 54:50

I love it. One food myth, you love to retire forever.

SPEAKER_02 54:55

Is that you have to fry all Puerto Rican frituras, even though I know that's the title, but you can make I even make acapurrias in the air fryer.

SPEAKER_01 55:03

Ah, I love that. The first thing people would be surprised to learn about our beautiful chef Fred. Oh, that I'm actually a professional Spanish interpreter. I love that. Favorite meal to cook for family gatherings. Oh, arrogo can I love it, I love it, I love it. If you can cook for anyone, right? Anyone, alive or deceased, who would it be? We already know it would be Grandma Olga. Oh, I love that. Now, one word that describes happy belly LLC, joy.

unknown 55:42

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

One word that describes your abuelitas. Love. One word that describes your future cookbook. Grace. And complete the sentence. My cookbook is really about finding your joy when you eat. I love that. I love this. I love the answers. And just speaking about your future and your vision and just sitting together here. Let's just imagine, take us fast forward to the future. You've published your book. We're sitting together a few years from now. It's been published. Your readers are preparing now the recipes in their homes. I mean, we're dragging that future right now into our present. I love it. Families are sharing those meals that are inspired by your stories. What do you hope they experience when they first crack open that book?

SPEAKER_02 56:43

I want them to experience laughter and love and joy.

SPEAKER_01 56:50

Oh my goodness. Before we close, Shefred, I'd love to leave our listeners with this thought. At Casa de Maria Publisher, we believe books often begin long before that author realizes that they're really writing one. And sometimes a book begins in that Abuelita's kitchen. Sometimes it's in the midst of a challenge. I'm thinking about you now, Chef Fred, telling us our your story. Sometimes it begins in service to a community. And sometimes it begins by asking, what wisdom would be lost if I never wrote this down? Wow. Chef Fred, as you think about your future cookbook, what is one message you hope future generations will carry forward?

SPEAKER_02 57:46

Oh I hope for my future generations, and I actually see that now in my boys. And I gave, you know, gave that to my grandchildren as well. Is remembering the joy and the love in the kitchen. And I see that in when my boys prepare the meals for, you know, their girlfriends and their partners and their friends. And I'm just like, I did that. I pass I I completed the mission of passing on what my abuelitas passed on to me. And I I want that to be my legacy. And because that was my grandma Olga and my abuelita Teolina's legacies, was that love and that resilience and that strength. And that's what I want to pass on to my future generations.

SPEAKER_01 58:43

Talking about those beautiful abuelitas, those strong abuelas. If if they were sitting beside us right here today, holding your book right in their hands, what do you think they would say?

SPEAKER_02 59:00

Wow, because I'm I'm trying not to cry again because I see the keyword is hands. I see their hands every time. So I could see, I can visualize my grandmother. Aurica always had these beautiful manicured nails, no matter what she used to get, silk wraps. And then my abuelita Teolina's hands were sun-kissed with freckles and just worker hands, but they were so beautiful when she her sorry, when they would have, you know, I would see them preparing the meals, and I see her rolling the sorull. And then my abuelita with that finesse of cutting with those manicured nails all the way into her 90s.

SPEAKER_03 59:46

And I for them to hold my I could picture them holding my cookbook and just smiling because they would they would know that I cherished every minute of them and it's in a physical book.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:00

So I could see that and I know they're always smiling because they're always cooking with me, by the way. And every time I feel them, I feel them guide my hands if I forget a recipe. And I think that they would say thank you. You know, gracias, mi amor, gracias mi cristinita, que, you know, you I think that they would, sorry, my family says this all the time that I am the passer on, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:25

I am the one who continues the story of our family and through food and through legacy. And if I could write that down in a cookbook and honor them because they are they are just so important in my life. Like they are just who I looked up to and who I still look up to because they built helped me build character and they just taught me not to give up.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:52

And I want that to be other people, you know, like to know that and just you can be strong and love, you know. You can be a strong woman, love, you know, and they weren't women of many words, especially Teolina, but she was the strongest. Like I could just hear her voice, and then Grandma Olga, oh, the laughter. And everybody would go to my grandma Olga. Everybody, like everybody to this day is like Olguita, you know. And so that, yes, just the quiet strength. And I am that woman now. I am that woman now. Everybody comes to me, you know, and I'm the keeper of the secrets, I'm the keeper of the legacy, and I love that. Like I love that. So they would be very grateful that I am like, I am their granddaughter.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:43

I love it so much. Beauty in that gratitude and in that legacy work. I really can see them saying the same thing. Thank you, you know, and and just having that orgullo, that pride. Wow, I want to thank you, Chef Fred, for sharing your story, your vision, and your commitment to helping people build a healthier relationship with food while honoring culture and heritage. And to our listeners, perhaps today's conversation has you thinking about your own story. Maybe the idea that you've been carrying for years is not just an idea, maybe it's the beginning of a book. Keep reflecting and keep reimagining because your future is yours. Gracias y hasta la próxima.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Thank you for spending this time with me. If today's conversation resonated, I invite you to explore our free webinars, writing retreats in Puerto Rico, and our curated anthologies at Casa de Maria Publisher. Your voice matters. Your story deserves care. Until next time, write with intention and courage. Pen your passion. Publish your promise at Casa de Maria Publisher.