My interest in the connection between health and food was sparked when I saw my father successfully manage high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and borderline diabetes through diet and exercise. I learned as Hippocrates instructed, “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. I took that knowledge with me when I served an Agricultural Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, establishing a sustainable project which improved family nutrition and women's financial independence.  As a new mom, I held Cook Days at my home to teach my girlfriends new recipes.  I'd send out an email with the recipe and the ingredient list and my friends would bring their children over and we'd cook all day.  The kids would play outside, the mamas would cook and take home a dish for dinner.  That way, the husbands couldn't say "you spent all day with your girlfriends, and there's nothing to eat." The food was so delicious that soon the husbands were asking "When are you having another Cook Day?"

One day I said "I wish I knew something about politics or education.  Then, I could do something positive in the community."  My girlfriends said "JuJu, you know food!  You know how to teach people to make a feast using simple ingredients." I started doing cooking demonstrations at a Farmers Market in DC, spreading what I call my "gospel of eating well." My philosophy, my "good news," is that healthy eating needn't be expensive, difficult or time-consuming.

I parlayed my knowledge into a successful profession, teaching children and adults in the community at Farmers’ Market, after-school programs, and senior centers.  I penned a very successful cookbook based on WIC staples and fresh vegetables which was distributed free to people receiving food assistance and have updated it into a new edition! I am available for teaching classes, curriculum development, cooking demonstrations and speaking engagements.