🌿 Hello!
My name is Dr. Claudia Carvajal Guillen, and Bites of Health is much more than a platform to me. It is the story of a life shaped by resilience, compassion, and unshakable faith.
I grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, inside the neighboorhood of Los Mangos, La Vega - a place known more for its hardships than for hope. When I was just 7 years old, my father passed away, and my mother was left alone to raise five young children. I began working at age 12 to help my family, attending high school at night while working during the day.
At 17, I left my country in search of new opportunities. In Trinidad & Tobago, I worked in a university kitchen as a chef’s assistant while learning English. I was later invited to the United States as a missionary, helping Spanish-speaking families navigate a healthcare system that often leaves them behind. I saw firsthand how culture, language, and access can create overwhelming barriers, and I knew I was being called to do more.
I moved forward step-by-step in the healthcare field: From Home Health Aide to Nursing Assistant, Phlebotomist, Medical Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, and now Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).
Although I had worked in the kitchen as a young woman, my true passion for cooking began here in the US during my academic and professional journey. This is where I completed my higher education and first encountered the concept of food as medicine. As I witnessed how many of my patients’ and their family illnesses were rooted in what we were eating, I gradually immersed myself in culinary medicine. Since then, I have devoted my life to teaching how food can be a powerful tool to heal, prevent disease, and live purposefully.
Early in my career, I dedicated myself to understanding how food could harm or heal. I began applying the principles of lifestyle medicine (specifically the eight laws of health and culinary medicine) to help my patients prevent and reverse disease. Over the years, I have taught my students, patients, friends, and family one crucial truth: we are what we eat -and we are what we think.
As a nurse practitioner, my love for cooking became a calling. I am now teaching my patients how to use food as medicine, not only to treat disease but to live more fully.
Teaching at a community college has been one of the most meaningful chapters of my journey. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring students who have become medical assistants, nurses, and even doctors. Through teaching, I’ve witnessed how education can uplift, empower, and transform those who, like me, have faced cultural and language barriers.
And through it all, my faith has sustained me.
Every goal I’ve achieved, every life I’ve touched, has been possible because I firmly believe God has guided every step of my journey. I am also here thanks to the constant love and support of my husband, my late in-laws, my mother, and my two wonderful children, who have always encouraged me.
Bites of Health is the culmination of everything I have lived and learned.
It was created to teach people, especially underserved and Spanish-speaking communities, that:
· Food is medicine
· Health is possible
· And you are never alone
This platform does not exist only to inform. It exists to inspire.
To say:
✨ You are enough.
✨ You are capable.
✨ Your life can change.
I'm excited to share everything I have learned with you.
