Sabrosa Vida workshops ready to help El Paso diabetics and others navigate the holiday season

EL PASO, Texas - If you have diabetes, you may not think the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. You worry about holiday meals and sweets ruining your diet plan. Sabrosa Vida, a new program from the El Paso Diabetes Association in partnership with the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, is here to help you stay on track while still enjoying holiday foods.

"It's really about cutting down on those starchy veggies and grains like potatoes and rice – not necessarily cutting them out – and focusing on green veggies, like spinach, carrots and collard greens, that are high in fiber, as well as portion control," says Sandra Gonzalez, Executive Director of the El Paso Diabetes Association. "There is a misconception that in order to eat healthy, you have to stop eating delicious food and that's not the case. Sabrosa Vida can teach you how."

Sabrosa Vida is a series of online classes that includes cooking lessons from local chefs, who not only teach recipes, but also how to shop healthy on a budget, how to make healthy substitutions to traditional favorites and how to read labels on packaged foods.

Sabrosa Vida classes are open to the entire community, not just those trying to manage their diabetes. Even if you don't have diabetes, we could all stand to eat a bit healthier, even during the holiday season.

"We want to empower the community and continue to educate our community," says Gonzalez. "Let's say one person joins Sabrosa Vida and they are the main shopper or cook for a family of four or five. That's really four or five El Pasoans we are touching and who may be getting something out of these classes and learning that there are ways to eat healthy, eat delicious and it doesn't cost you a fortune."

Sabrosa Vida classes are currently available online due to COVID-19. For more information on how to sign up and attend go to epdiabetes.org