Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanya Kushla.
Hi Melanya, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m just a girl who loves to eat. And cook. And talk about food. Growing up I remember we always had a small garden and my mom cooked just about every meal, even if it was simple. My father had some scary health problems when I was young and I developed a keen awareness of the connection between food, health and quality of life from a young age. Luckily, he overcame them and is doing well, I am happy to say! But the perspective certainly inspired my career and laid the foundation for my small business, Taste & Thrive.
I initially became a chef, and then a dietitian, and later a health education specialist so I could learn how to maintain my health proactively and help others do the same. My intention hasn’t changed but my approach certainly has! I learned throughout my career that we have to bring the human element back into healthcare. We are not treating diseases and conditions, we are treating people. I spent the first 10 years of my career working for the Veterans Health Administration, where I established a teaching kitchen program to teach Veterans about nutrition and healthy lifestyle skills through hands-on learning- cooking, shopping, reading labels, meal prepping, the whole nine yards. This path lead to me heading the National teaching kitchen program for the VHA for about 6 years, from 2018-2024, where I helped establish, organize, and support over 125 teaching kitchens in VHA medical centers around the country. This was an incredibly rewarding career and it felt like my dream job. Until one day, I had the realization I had accomplished what I needed to in the VHA. It was time to change, to think bigger. The VHA is a BIG entity, but the world is bigger. So I left the VHA to start my own business, Taste & Thrive, which I began in July 2023.
I started Taste & Thrive to share my collective expertise and experience in the field of culinary medicine, nutrition, and health education with those who are looking for a sustainable and meaningful solution to rebuilding a harmonious relationship with food. Food is a common denominator among all human beings. It is also a means through which we can influence and our own health and wellbeing. I am motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle to delay the onset of hereditary cardiovascular disease and preserve my functional capabilities for as long in life as I can; but I also want to do so in a manner that enhances and maintains my daily quality of life. I love food and trying new things! And through my experience as both a dietitian and a person who likes to eat, I have found that healthy lifestyle choices are not black or white – it comes down to finding a balance that works best for your lifestyle and aligns with your personal priorities.
Eating is not just a means of sustenance, but also a means of sharing and receiving LOVE. And not just between each other but for our own selves. Food is physical nourishment but also an emotional one. However, I see many people, particularly women, trapped in a cycle of negative self talk, guilt around food decisions they make, distrust of their own body, and low self confidence when it comes to finding a path forward out of this space. I love to help people reconnect with food and their own bodies so they can enjoy a sustainable and balanced relationship with eating.
I want to share my love of food with the world- in a way where people understand they do not have to sacrifice health for love of food- or sacrifice foods they love for health. Both can co-exist. Food is both necessary for life and a joy in life. A balanced life and body has space for both. Though, everyone’s balance looks a little different.
I want to help people find and maintain this balance so food decisions, cooking, and eating are something to be celebrated- every day! Not a something to be dreaded, stressed out, or burdened by. Food is a constant in our lives and empowering people to make confident food decisions for lifelong wellness is how I envision improving the health of the world, one person at a time.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Mostly, but I have always been one to meet change head on, so perhaps it is my perspective. Working in nutrition or any healthcare field is tough, because as much as I want to help, the client has to make the choices themselves. I can lead them to the path but they must want to take the steps. And not everyone is ready. However this has made me a better person, and a better practitioner, appreciating the nuances of everyone’s unique journey to finding health and balance. I got my masters in health education and promotion, which provided me a background in the science of health behavior. The path forward is not as simple as knowing what to do, it also involves helping people connect with whatever gives them true meaning in life.
Another significant challenge is the sheer amount of “noise” in the media about health and nutrition. There is so much information and misinformation out there that a good bit of my time is simply spent de-bunking or validating nutrition claims that people hear about from friends, Google, or Tik Tok.
As far as my entrepreneurial journey goes, there have certainly been challenges. I think the biggest one for me was learning to present my services in a way that people can connect value to. There are so many different things I can help people with that relate to their problems with health, eating, and body image. But how do they all connect? Who is looking for my help? I have ended up serving primarily women, as women-specific healthcare is often unavailable or very limited. I also strive to make our sessions a safe space to speak freely and I find that women appreciate having someone to share their thoughts and feelings with that will validate them instead of patronize them, in a healthcare setting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I think I spoke to this pretty well in my first response, but I provide nutrition counselling, coaching and consulting services to transform people’s relationship with food. I empower them with knowledge, confidence, clarity and realistic and sustainable lifestyle changes to create a balanced and healthy eating pattern for lifelong wellness. I help people take all the pieces of the health “puzzle” and put them together for a clear and individualized path forward. One full of confidence, power, and freedom from intrusive food-related thoughts. My clients find peace with their food choices through a deeper connection and appreciate of their own body’s needs, an understanding of nutrition, and second-nature lifestyle habits.
Taste & Thrive offers a unique blend of nutrition education, cooking skills, lifestyle strategy, and holistic health coaching to help people set health goals in alignment with their priorities, make informed food decisions, gain confidence with their cooking skills, and become empowered to make healthful and enjoyable food-related decisions for life-long wellness. My signature EMPOWER program is a 4 week introduction to my framework for connecting with your priorities and aligning behaviors and food decisions with what matters to you. I walk my clients through a step-by-step journey of self-discovery which includes nutrition knowledge and an understanding of how the body works, food-related skill building like meal planning, reading food labels, and cooking hacks, and plenty of mindset work to connect back with our bodies and understand why we make the choices we do.
In addition to working directly with individuals, I also provide nutrition expertise and program development in the form of various writing, editing and food photography services as well as culinary medicine consulting for organizations looking to plan, design, implement and evaluate a culinary medicine or teaching kitchen program.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would say my parents – for serving as my initial inspiration and providing me with a living example of what balance looks like. I also want to thank my mentor and former director, Anne Utech. She is the Director of Nutrition for the VHA and entrusted me to represent the VHA and champion a life-changing program for tens of thousands of Veterans for many years. Finally, I’d like to thank my partner, Jordan, whose support made it possible and helped me find my courage to leave the VHA and follow my heart to create Taste & Thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tasteandthrive.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taste.and.thrive/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550648720712
