Humans of Brighter Bites (May 2017, 3 of 3)

“My mom is a naturalist, so she does not believe in chemical medicine. She hates it. She has a doctor that’s a naturalist as well and he tell us and guides us of what is better for our body to take as far as herbs and spices. Cucumber, celery, cilantro, garlic, and lemon: that is more on the sour end, but it helps a lot with cleaning your system, your kidneys. We’ve seen that turmeric in the last year has been so popular, but my mom’s been using it for years. Those noni plants? We’ve been drinking it for years. I don’t know how you say it here, but the “guanabanana” helps a lot with preventing cancer and it helps with cleaning your system, too. She’s been using that for years. It’s really expensive to get the fruits here, but sometimes my uncles sends her the fruits so that she can juice them. When we get an avocado from Puerto Rico, and we have friends over, they’re like, ‘What is that there?!’ And I’m like, ‘That’s what an avocado really is!’ Because it’s like ten times bigger than the little Hass avocados.”

Humans of Brighter Bites is a series that captures how Brighter Bites volunteers, participants, teachers, and supporters connect with food. Check back here for each installment of the current story and each month for a new story.