Tanya’s love for nutrition grew from a passion for food and cooking, alongside a desire to help her family manage diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, after learning that Black and Brown women are disproportionately at risk for adverse birth outcomes, she felt called to support BIPOC individuals in their prenatal/postpartum nutrition journeys. Whether working with patients to manage (pre)diabetes, heart health, or optimizing nutrition from fertility through postpartum, Tanya loves helping diverse individuals incorporate their traditional foods into their nutrition plans. Before joining the Culina Health team, Tanya worked as an inpatient dietitian at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Brookdale Hospital. She also has experience as a chef, creative director, and artist.
Favorite cultural dish or comfort food: Coconut curry chicken with rice and beans
Go to morning beverage: Guanabana (soursop) smoothie or cafe con leche
Favorite thing to purchase at the farmer’s market or grocery store: Fresh sourdough bread
Sleep ritual I never forget: White noise machine
What I listen to for inspiration: The Food Heaven podcast
Favorite recipe: Heirloom tomato tart — sub heavy cream with blended cottage cheese
Favorite nutrient-packed snack: Trail mix with cranberry and chocolate morsels
Favorite book/TV show/movie: Ted Lasso
Grocery shopping tip: Spare your wallet by eating before grocery shopping
What’s one small thing someone can do today to work toward a balanced eating pattern/lifestyle? Ditch the timeline you have in your head and work on consistency over everything else. If you think you can consistently do a thing once a day/once a week/etc. do it until you can repeat it week after week. Once you’ve done that, increase by one unit and repeat the process until you’ve reached your desired goal. This will take patience and dedication, but it’s how small changes lead to monumental results.
What’s your nutrition superpower? Helping patients sift through contradictory information online and on social media to determine how to eat a healthy, balanced diet while still incorporating the foods they love.
How has your cultural culinary heritage shaped your approach to nutrition, and do you incorporate any traditional practices into your counseling? In Black and Latino culture, food is tradition, history, and a source of joy. It is a tool to gather, grow, and heal our loved ones. Our cultural foods do not need to be changed to be part of our daily lives. I help my patients understand how they can incorporate their traditional foods into their health and wellness goals.
Nutrition myth or trend you find particularly annoying and would like to set the record straight: Weight and health are not inextricably linked. You don’t have to lose weight to improve your health. Period. Now, you can have the desire to lose weight. And you can want to improve your health. But you don’t have to do both at the same time, and you absolutely do not have to step on a scale to get healthier. Also, let’s just get rid of BMI already.
Language(s):
English
Spanish
Education:
Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition, New York University
Dietetic Internship:
New York University &
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Certificates:
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Counseling Style:
Empathetic
Empowering
Weight Neutral
Humorous
Informative
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