THE WEEKLY GLEANER | AUGUST 8 - AUGUST 14, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | ADVERTISEMENT 14 Paul Williams/Gleaner Writer THE BIGGEST challenge for persons living with diabetes is to find meals that are tasty, but which do not undermine their health. For these persons, foods rich in carbohydrates are a big no-no. So, there is the constant vigilance to make sure they are not present in the diet. It’s a life of inspecting and nitpicking at foods. BUT IT does not have to be this way, as Tasty Diabetic Meals (TDM), a USbased company, makes healthful, tasty meals and offers guidance on meal planning for diabetics. Started on September 4, 2021, by a Jamaica-born family based in Newburgh, New York, TDM produces ingredients for meals. “We are marketing a platform in which diabetics can go to and thrive in. The main feature of the platform will be the meal kits that we sell, as well as the one-on-one diabetic coaching services we provide. Ultimately, we will be a hub that diabetics can go to, with [the] confidence that they will always get information or services to make their lives as a diabetic easier with every visit,”Matthew Hood, director of technology at TMD, told The Gleaner. TDM also guides diabetics about their diet and lifestyle, and offers a series of food product substitutes. Speciality ingredients are used tomake things like pancakes, maple syrup, different kinds of breads, brownies, cookies, and much more. Meal kits, along with easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes, are mailed to clients, as there is not yet a storefront. Hood, a type one diabetic, uses his own products, and says that up to this point, his blood sugar is even lower than some persons who do not have diabetes. He says his inspiration for establishing the business was his personal struggles with this very difficult type of diabetes. “The idea was a collaborative initiative based on howMatthew Hood was able to overcome his struggles with handling type one diabetes through diet, lifestyle, and knowledge,” the family said. Hood was diagnosed when he was 19 years old. He played varsity sports in high school, and was ahead of his class and top of his game in college when he was rushed to the emergency room, after which he got the“quite shocking” news. EMOTIONAL PERIOD He says it was an emotional period for him to learn how devastating the disease could be, and the (possible) reduced life expectancy. Although he accepted his lot and tried to adapt to his new lifestyle, he was not inspired. It was stressful, day after day, because of the constant worry over blood-sugar levels and what to eat. He was influenced even further as he saw the devastating effects of the disease on the lives of other people, including his grandparents and an uncle. He felt that there had to be a better way, which he had to find to eliminate the stress from his own life. “Just seeing all the horrible effects of this disease provided me with even more inspiration to get the company up and running, to keep people from suffering.” The response has been encouraging. To learnmore about TDM’s work visit: https://tastydiabeticmeals.com/. paul.williams@gleanerjm.com NEW YORK, NY: “Y OU LEAVE home but home never leaves you.” That sums up themotivating force that has kept young Renardo Vassell going since leaving home in Montego Bay, Jamaica, for the United States a shade over three years ago for what was supposed to be a short vacation and much-deserved break from the kitchen. But it has been a working vacation since then for this budding entrepreneur, who has decided to try his hand at perfecting a culinary craft started by his father in Manchester. “Growing up around my dad, who’s been a chef all his life, was enough reason for me to love the kitchen and cooking,” Vassell said from his base in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “My dad did very well as a restaurant owner/head chef for the famous Father Bull Restaurant and Jerk Centre, located in Manchester and Montego Bay,” he shared about his father’s experience. It is safe to say that youngVassell was a good student while working alongside his dad, although he was given enough latitude to operate a thriving catering business for private parties on his own. “I’ve worked alongside my dad for years in his own establishments while I did private catering and more,” he stated with confidence to highlight his foray into entrepreneurship. As a matter of fact, Renardo says that the idea of his own brand of spices and condiments came to him while doing business in the island’s resort capital, Montego Bay, in 2016, and so deciding what to do during an unexpected extended vacation was a no-brainer. News that his girlfriendwas pregnant with their first child changed his outlook on life in a heartbeat and provided further motivation because, in a matter of months, he will be ‘Father Bull II’! He and his team have been working around the clock to get the products to market, includingpepper sauce, barbeque sauce,meat tenderiser andnatural spices. With the blessings of his father and support from a caring family, Vassell told The Gleaner that the project continues to win acceptance from close associates and patrons, near and far away from his production base in Philadelphia, USA. “We are in selected stores in the neighbourhood. However, our social media presence is growing and so is the appreciation for what we are doing,” he raved. For more, visit www.vassellspices. com and follow on Instagram @ officalvassellspice. So, the next time you walk into your neighbourhood corner shop or grocery store, make sure you ask for IT BY NAME! That ‘IT’ is the new line of spice and condiments developed and now being marketed under the Vassell brand! Vassell’s spices preserving a family tradition Vassell’s BBQ Sauce CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS J’can family serves meals for diabetics in New York Hood CONTRIBUTED
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