Portion sizes matter. Every food has a function, and each food has a certain portion we all need. Understanding how much of each food group you need, and which foods impact your blood sugars/glucose more is critical. Make half your plate non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, collard greens, brussels sprouts, and okra. The other half of your plate, divide in half and have protein and a carbohydrate food.
Asthe appetite for foods that offer health benefits beyond basic nutrition continues to grow, the market for functional foods has exploded. Consumers are no longer just asking for delicious flavors; they demand that their foods also support their lifestyle, health, and well-being. This intersection of function and flavor is not just a trend; it’s a movement towards a future where every bite counts towards better health. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jasmine Westbrooks-Figaro.
Jasmine Westbrooks-Figaro is a Registered Dietitian, Nutritionist, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist residing in Raleigh, North Carolina. She earned her Bachelor of Science in nutrition dietetics from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and her master’s degree in nutrition education from Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago. She co-founded EatWell Exchange Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the primary goal of bridging the gap in health outcomes by guiding communities in making positive lifelong changes while respectfully maintaining their culture.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Ofcourse. I am originally from Memphis, Tennessee, and I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Growing up in Memphis exposed me to a lot of health inequity and family diagnoses with preventable chronic conditions. However, I didn’t know why, and I didn’t understand at a young age why my family members were passing away from heart disease and other complications of diabetes. It wasn’t until I went to college, graduated with two degrees in nutrition education and dietetics, and started working in the community that I realized that social barriers impact how we look, receive, and eat certain foods. That was also when I realized that I share the same stories as the communities I serve. My mom’s health conditions inspired me to become a dietitian as she started struggling with gastrointestinal and liver issues. Her doctor recommended that she see a dietitian; from there, it was history. I changed my pre-veterinary biology major to nutrition dietetics.
Before moving to North Carolina, I worked for the health department’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Division in Florida. Working at this facility, I realized that participants who looked like me were, unfortunately, educated about foods irrelevant to their cultural preferences. Many participants were called ‘non-compliant’ after seeing colleagues for nutrition education. So, some friends and I started our nonprofit organization, EatWell Exchange.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Before I decided to change my major in college in order to be a registered dietitian, I was in school to be a veterinarian. I was determined to be a veterinarian because I loved animals so much, significantly growing up as a kid. It wasn’t until my family started developing preventable medical conditions and going through my own unhealthy relationship with food that I realized the nutritional field was a perfect career choice for me. My degree in nutrition is a catalyst for sharing my own experiences about my health and wellness. My story and how I had to navigate a healthy relationship with food and its cultural relevance is what drives me to keep going.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Persistence: Sometimes, we have a vision within our plan, and it just doesn’t work out. This is where being persistent in your actions must kick in. You must pursue continuous efforts to achieve your goals and overcome obstacles at all costs. There will always be challenges and setbacks; however, you must remain motivated and inspired when motivation fails. There have been so many situations where I have had to be resilient. For EatWell Exchange, it has been challenging to apply for and be awarded grants for funding as a nonprofit organization. I, along with our other cofounder of EatWell Exchange, had no experience writing and submitting grant applications. However, after two years of applying for grants, taking grant writing classes, seeking guidance, and fostering relationships with those that work in funding, we have won over $100,000 in grants over five years. This was all because we didn’t give up, even after getting rejection after rejection.
Creativity: Thinking outside the box is crucial if you want to foster innovative plans and build a sustainable organization or company. Problems will arise, and sometimes, you must develop creative solutions. The world we live in is rapidly changing, and we must keep up with the demands of the changing world for sustainable impact. Because I have been a creative leader, it has allowed me to solve complex issues. For example, I often provide cooking demonstrations; I am front and center where people can see me, get to me easily for samples after the demo, and continue with their day. One event where I had to be creative was when I was placed in an area to do a cooking demo with very little traffic. So, after my demo, I got a volunteer to provide food samples to areas of the event we could not reach. This resulted in more traffic flow of people coming to my vending table.
Ability to Pivot: I have learned that you can plan, plan, and plan. However, it can still turn out completely different. And that is okay. It is ok to prepare because it provides some direction to get started. I have had to pivot when employees didn’t show up or when I had to push back a program start date. Ultimately, it worked out because of timing. Understanding and accepting that you may have to pivot will add such an advantage point to your leadership tool kit!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Yes, I am. I am continuing and starting a new cohort of participants for my culinary program geared toward diabetes prevention. This program is something I am proud of. We also plan to host and facilitate a multi-city Black dietitian panel and cooking demo event. This event is crucial to expose underserved communities to dietitians of color and have their questions asked on the spot to improve their health and wellness. Black dietitians only make up 2.7% of all dietitians in the US. To that end, it’s important that we are seen. Additionally, I am working with public schools to provide teen culinary programs.
What inspired you to explore sugar-free culinary alternatives, and how has this journey changed your approach to cooking and nutrition?
I would like to rephrase sugar-free options to sugar-less options. In my teachings, I focus more on foods that may have sugar but have less than the sugary options that may be available. I was inspired when I would have countless clients, patients, and communities become more and more interested in trying sugar-free options but too afraid to try them in their households. Most people would think that sugar-free or sugar-less means disgusting and doesn’t taste good. This approach has created a variety of foods to eat, with jeopardizing the taste of foods you love.
Can you share a memorable experience where a sugar-free dish you prepared or tasted completely changed your perception of sugar-free cuisine?
A sugar-free food I think of is sweet potatoes. Sugar-free can mean that there is no added sugar in a product or food item. Sweet potatoes naturally have sugar in them, usually not added unless canned, and it is indicated that there is added sugar on the nutrition facts food label. One way to get sweet potatoes to taste sweeter without added sugar is to apply them by roasting them in the oven. This caramelizes natural sugar in the sweet potato, making the sweet potato taste sweeter. It’s a WIN-WIN!
How do you balance flavor and satisfaction in desserts without the use of traditional sugars, and what are some of your favorite natural sweeteners or techniques?
Balancing out flavor and satisfaction involves using less sugar-free sweeteners. If a recipe calls for sugar, you can substitute it for a sweetener, but almost half the amount you would typically use for sugar. Most people would think you need to add more because it is sugar-free, but that is not true. Sweeteners are 200–700 times sweeter than table sugar in taste. Some of my favorite natural sweeteners are stevia and monk fruit. Stevia comes from the leaves of a stevia plant from South America, and monk fruit is from a melon-like fruit grown in Southern California.
In your opinion, what are the biggest misconceptions about sugar-free eating, and how do you address these in your work or advocacy?
These sweeteners cause high blood sugar and have an unpleasant aftertaste. Every sweet has a different taste; some are better when applied with heat and cooking than others. It’s important to follow your own personal preferences and tastes. Sugar-free sweeteners do not cause your blood glucose to elevate. In fact, they are a great tool to use to manage healthy blood glucose levels. Just like every food we eat, it’s important to eat sugar-free products in moderation. Just because it is sugar-free, it doesn’t mean it is carbohydrate-free. There is a difference.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Expert Tips on How to Relish Food Without the Sugar Spike”?
1. Add a source of protein with food that contains carbohydrates. Carbohydrate foods are beans, legumes, and grains like bread, rice, and pasta. Additionally, it’s all fruit or fruit juice, sweets and deserts, milk and yogurt products and starchy vegetables like potatoes and peas. Eating these foods with a source of protein can create healthy blood glucose or sugar numbers.
2. Eat carbohydrates with fiber 50–80% of the time. Fiber doesn’t absorb in our blood steam, decreasing sugar release from carbohydrate foods. This, in return, decreases your blood glucose from rising high and fast. So, eat foods with fiber, like whole carbohydrate products. An example would be eating an apple instead of drinking eight ounces of juice most of the time because you gain fiber from eating the entire apple.
3. After you eat, move your body. Moving your body helps decrease blood glucose or sugar levels when you eat foods with sugar. Walking for 20 minutes can decrease your blood sugar instantly by about 30 points! Exercise works like medicine to bring your blood sugars down.
4. Portion sizes matter. Every food has a function, and each food has a certain portion we all need. Understanding how much of each food group you need, and which foods impact your blood sugars/glucose more is critical. Make half your plate non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, collard greens, brussels sprouts, and okra. The other half of your plate, divide in half and have protein and a carbohydrate food.
5. Honor your hunger and fullness cues. Eating when hungry and avoiding skipping meals helps you avoid overeating later in the day. Do not eat everything on your plate when you are full or stuffed. Place your plate aside when you feel satisfied. This will also help reduce your blood glucose/sugars.
Looking towards the future, how do you see the evolution of sugar-free cooking and baking, and what innovations are you most excited about in this field?
I think sugar-free options will grow in popularity, but there will be a bigger shift in eating whole foods without added sugar. A lot of people are interested in revamping their whole foods to make quick, convenient, and satisfying dishes, with less sugar and more nutritional benefits.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
That’s a good question! Creating an EatWell Exchange cultural food hub in at least 20 states throughout the U.S. would be the movement I’d work to implement. Our culture needs this space to participate in cooking classes and learn from healthcare and nutrition professionals without judgment. Our healthcare system has failed Black and brown people historically to the present day. It is essential for us to have a space to shop for healthy groceries and get whole-person care while learning to thrive in life. This is where neighborhood grandmothers can come and choose from endless produce to make Sunday dinner for the family. This is where kids can go and learn how to cook with their families without judgment, prejudice, and fear. EatWell Exchange food hubs are a big vision of mine that will demonstrate how we can decrease the risk of developing chronic conditions for generations now and after us. I am interested in creating agency and the ability to have the community drive the hub for success.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Visit us on our website at eatwellexchange.org and through all social media platforms at @eatwellexchange. Be sure to follow us too! You can also subscribe to our eblast letter on our website.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com .
