Latina entrepreneurs are leading a movement to make traditional Hispanic food healthier – USA TODAY

Veronica Garza struggled with the first of several autoimmune issues in her teens. As an adult, she adopted a healthier diet, but longed for the foods she grew up eating in her Mexican American home along the Texas border, prompting her to experiment and create a grain-free tortilla.

Rosa Rios Valdez watched her mother live with and eventually succumb to diabetes. After her husband was diagnosed as prediabetic, she knew more serious lifestyle changes were necessary to stave off the disease that ran in both of their families.

First, Jocelyn Ramirez faced thyroid issues. Then, her father battled cancer. When it returned the second time, she made it her mission to help make him stronger and healthier before he had to undergo major surgery.

These stories speak to a bigger picture.

The leading causes of death among Latinos include heart disease and cancer, and Latinos are 50 percent more likely to die from diabetes than whites. There also has been a rise in the number of people, particularly women, with autoimmune disorders, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). More than 80 diseases occur as a result of the immune system attacking the body’s own organs and tissues, and some, such as diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus, are more common in Latinas and other women of color, according to NIAID.

Hispanics also have high rates of obesity (an estimated 47 percent) and diabetes (12.1 percent) in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the U.S. and afflicts people of color at higher rates, according to the CDC and the American Diabetes Association. Among Hispanics, Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans have the highest rates of diabetes, 13.8 percent and 12 percent, respectively. They are followed by Cubans (9 percent) and Central and South Americans (8.5 percent).

While research on the causes of these conditions continues, one thing is clear: Smarter lifestyle choices, beginning with diet, are an important step to living longer and healthier.

The three entrepreneurial Latinas named above were inspired to help others eat better, and are at the forefront of a heritage food movement taking place across the country: a desire to improve traditional foods that are cultural staples in Latino kitchens.

Here’s how each turned her passion into a successful business:

Siete Family Foods

Veronica Garza recalls speaking with one of her doctors about changing her diet and being told that it likely wouldn’t help her autoimmune conditions. “It was a little disheartening to feel that there was nothing I could do to change my health,” she says. “I’m headstrong, so I decided I’m going to try it for myself.”

Garza’s older brother had done some nutrition and fitness research and suggested she adopt a paleo (low-carb, grain-free) diet. In a show of solidarity, her family joined her on her fitness journey, eating the same way and exercising together in the family’s Laredo, Texas, backyard four days a week.

But Garza missed the foods she grew up eating, especially tortillas. “It didn’t feel good to show up to a carne asada (cookout) with a bag of lettuce to use as a tortilla,” she says. “I always felt as a bit of an outsider.”

She began experimenting with almond flour tortillas in her mom’s kitchen. After many iterations and much taste-testing, she knew she was onto something when her grandmother gave her stamp of approval. After sharing news about her tortillas on Facebook, people all over the U.S. started asking her for the recipe.

Meanwhile, Garza’s youngest brother, Miguel, a lawyer, was between jobs and living in Austin, Texas. He suggested they turn the tasty tortillas into a business venture. The Garza clan all graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, so they decided to set up shop in Austin, the birthplace of Whole Foods and Wheatsville Food Co-Op; the latter was first to sell their tortillas. “I loved the vibrancy of the city around food, music, culture and health … making it a perfect place to plant our roots as a better-for-you Mexican American food brand,” Garza says.

The company, Siete Family Foods (named for the seven family members), has successfully built an award-winning, fast-growing brand in the natural food space by offering “culturally relevant product offerings, rooted in tradition and heritage,” says Miguel. After establishing their tortilla products, they have since added chips, salsas, a bean dip and more.

Garza, who says she has “no professional background in cooking,” serves as Siete’s president and chief innovation officer, constantly creating new recipes or improving upon old ones in the Siete test kitchen.

The Garza family members remain close, working out together (along with their staff) several times a week in the gym they built in the company’s headquarters. “Our mantra is: Family first, family second, business third,” says Miguel, who is the company’s CEO. 

The Siete brand, easily recognized by its bold, colorful packaging with a papel picado heron (garza), has exploded, growing its distribution from 400 to more than 4,400 stores and from a small family-only business to a staff of 50 over the past three years. Miguel says they expect to double the number of employees this year. Recently, Siete secured $90 million in funding through a minority investment led by New York-based Stripes Group.

And as a bonus, Siete’s products help Garza manage her autoimmune conditions. “Our tortillas, chips and other products make it more convenient for me to follow a mostly grain-free diet and still embrace and participate in parts of my culture that I’d be missing out on otherwise,” she says. “Food is an important part of my healing journey that also includes exercise, managing stress and working with numerous compassionate doctors to create a balanced and holistic approach to my quest for health and happiness.”

Salud de Paloma

Rosa Rios Valdez’s Salud de Paloma is the only Latina-owned olive oil company in the country. It’s also a company on a mission. “We put diabetes and heart health ahead of retail sales,” says the founder and CEO, who was born in Mexico and grew up in central Texas. “We’re about educating and impacting change.”

When her mother died from diabetes in 1989, Valdez says she and her siblings could no longer be in denial about the disease. “I was cooking the way I learned from my mother,” Valdez says. “My Tex-Mex food tasted wonderful, but it was not the way I needed to be cooking.”

After some research, she switched to cooking with olive oil, and her siblings followed suit. None has diabetes. Valdez says she also was aware that olive oil was used for medicinal purposes in Mexican culture. The vitamin E in olive oil can help heal small scratches, she says, and it makes a great moisturizer. “I tell my friends, ‘Use the good olive oil in your food and the so-so olive oil to moisturize your body.’ No olive oil should be wasted.”

Olive oil production in Texas dates back to the 1930s and has increased since the late 1990s, according to Texas A&M University. “The industry has been growing quickly as consumers are becoming more informed and starting to demand healthier food options,” Valdez says. Having cooked with olive oil for years, Valdez decided to jump into the business.

Launched in 2015 as a social enterprise, Salud de Paloma is owned by the nonprofit Business and Community Lenders of Texas (BCL), of which Valdez is president and CEO.  Paloma is the Spanish word for dove, which is seen as a symbol of love and motherhood in some cultures. “My mother was my paloma,” says Valdez. “I’ve made it my personal campaign to educate Latinos about eating better to honor my mother.”

Valdez says the Austin, Texas-based company was started with a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services because it was considered a Latino health initiative. The funds helped pay for equipment — it’s an automated bottling business — and marketing materials.

The company offers cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, as well as three flavored options: garlic, chili pepper and Meyerlemon. Today, Salud de Paloma targets young Latinos to educate them about the benefits of healthy eating. The company has sent thousands of 1-ounce sample packs to high school culinary programs, as well as to the Texas State University nutrition program.

Salud is sold primarily online via the company’s website and on Amazon.com, and in a few grocery stores across Texas. It is looking to expand its sales nationally, targeting states with significant Hispanic populations, including New York, California, Colorado and Florida, and recently met with the supermarket company ALDI to discuss distribution.

“It’s personal for me,” says Valdez. “I really believe we grew up eating the wrong food. We have to make a commitment of changing food products and the way we eat.”

Todo Verde

Health issues, first hers and then her father’s, started Jocelyn Ramirez on a health food journey. She switched to a vegetarian diet after being diagnosed with a thyroid issue. “I decided to change my diet and heal myself over time,” says Ramirez, who added supplements and superfoods into her diet.

Ramirez’s father, Jorge, who is diabetic, was then diagnosed with throat cancer. Later, his cancer returned, requiring him to undergo an invasive surgery. Ramirez knew he needed to be as strong as possible leading up to that operation and suggested he drastically change his diet. She would make smoothies loaded with superfoods for her father. “During those weeks, he felt dramatically different,” she recalls. “He was able to minimize and almost stop his insulin injections.”

Eventually, Ramirez started exploring what she calls “indigenous veganism.” She says she was taught about healthy eating “first and foremost” by her maternal grandmother, who is from Zacatecas, Mexico. She also studied at plant-based chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney’s former culinary academy in Venice, Calif. 

“Most of what I cook now was passed down by my grandmother — tacos, guisados — who taught me to build flavor with humble ingredients, including chiles,” she says. “We make foods that feel culturally relevant and still feel like family.”

Ramirez started Todo Verde in 2015, specializing primarily in smoothies, juices and aguas frescas.

Today, the vegan catering company has eight employees and makes foods inspired by Ramirez’s Mexican and South American roots. Todo Verde operates out of a commercial kitchen, and owners aim to open a brick and mortar site in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles by next year. Toward that end, Ramirez raised $50,000 through crowd-source funding on Indiegogo (and continues to raise money).

In addition to catering special events, Todo Verde participates in Smorgasburg LA, the largest open-air food market, panel discussions and community dialogues about plant-based eating. She co-founded Across Our Kitchen Tables, which describes its mission as cultivating “social spaces for self-identified women of color and gender-non-conforming community members in food-centered work.” The organization also strives to make healthy foods accessible in food deserts. Ramirez is also a member of the leadership council for the Los Angeles Food Policy Council.

Prior to becoming a caterer, Ramirez worked in higher education, so not surprisingly, she loves to share her know-how on healthy living in Latino communities through workshops, dialogues, food demonstrations and speaking engagements. When she’s not cooking, she consults with restaurants to help them develop healthier or vegan recipes.

Ramirez says there is a cultural food awakening taking place among Latinos. “People are starting to realize that you don’t have to live with diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and other health issues,” she says, adding “eating processed foods is not good for us in the long run.”

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