Culinary Medicine with Christina Badaracco
Have you ever been told what to eat—but not how to actually make it?
That gap between nutrition advice and real-life cooking is exactly what culinary medicine aims to fill. It’s the bridge between knowing what’s good for your health and being able to bring that knowledge into your kitchen in a way that actually works for your lifestyle.
Culinary medicine blends the science of nutrition with the everyday skills of cooking. It’s not just about telling people to eat more vegetables—it’s about showing them how to prepare meals that are realistic, enjoyable, and nourishing. Whether through teaching kitchens, group workshops, or hands-on tools like cookbooks, the focus is on helping people feel more confident, capable, and connected to the food they eat.
This kind of practical, skill-based approach is especially helpful for people who feel lost in the kitchen—maybe they never learned how to cook, aren’t sure what meals to make, or feel like healthy food is too bland or too complicated. Culinary medicine meets people where they are. It helps shift the focus from rigid diets or nutrition charts to something more empowering: learning how to cook food that supports health and tastes good.
And that brings me to today’s guest.
Christina Badaracco is a registered dietitian with a Master’s in Public Health and a strong background in healthcare and culinary medicine. She leads culinary medicine training programs across the country and has taught workshops at Obesity Medicine Association meetings, where she helps healthcare providers better support patients in the kitchen—not just with advice, but with real tools and techniques.
She’s also the author of a new cookbook called Mix It Up—a resource created for beginners and hesitant home cooks who want to make healthy meals without feeling overwhelmed. The book focuses on flexible, nourishing recipes that can be adapted to different needs, preferences, and ingredients. I’m really excited for you to hear more about her work and this book, because it’s a perfect example of how food, health, and everyday life can come together in a way that’s both approachable and impactful.
What Is Culinary Medicine and Why Does It Matter?
This isn’t just about giving people nutrition advice—it’s about showing them how to make nourishing meals that fit into real life. Back in 2008, a book by La Puma and Marx described it as a blend of medical knowledge and cooking. Since then, it’s grown into something much more interactive and empowering: helping people turn nutrition guidance into practical, enjoyable habits.
A big part of this happens in what’s called a teaching kitchen. Think of it like a lab for healthy eating—where people don’t just hear what they should eat, they actually learn how to make it. They get hands-on experience preparing veggies, building balanced meals, and figuring out how to make healthy food taste good. And because these sessions usually happen in groups, there’s a real sense of community. People learn from instructors, but also from each other.
One of the key things this approach helps with is a common issue: a lot of people were never taught how to cook. Maybe life got in the way, or they never felt confident in the kitchen. But without some basic cooking skills, eating well becomes a lot harder. That’s where this kind of work really shines—breaking things down into simple, doable steps that make healthy eating feel more accessible. It also helps shift the idea that healthy food is bland. With the right technique (and some seasoning), even Brussels sprouts or kale can become something people actually look forward to.
At the heart of it, this is about giving people real tools to take care of themselves and their families—through everyday meals, not strict rules. When someone feels confident in the kitchen and enjoys what they’re eating, it’s a lot easier to stick with those habits. And that’s where long-term change really starts.
Finding Culinary Medicine Programs and Support
If someone is interested in culinary medicine—whether they're a clinician or just someone who wants to build their skills—it can be tricky to know where to start. Unfortunately, you can’t just go on Zocdoc and search for “culinary medicine” providers (at least not yet). But there are a few great resources:
One is the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative. If you're a patient, you can visit their site to see if there’s a healthcare system in your area with a teaching kitchen or public programs. If you’re a provider, it’s also a helpful way to find out if your organization—or one nearby—is doing similar work.
Another option is Health Meets Food, part of the American College of Culinary Medicine. They list their member organizations online, which can help patients and providers alike find programs.
If your healthcare organization doesn’t have anything like this yet, you can actually start one. It doesn’t require a huge budget. You don’t need a high-end teaching kitchen to begin. It could be as simple as a cutting board, knife, and bowl to demo healthy meals for patients.
Patients can also ask their providers about culinary medicine—sometimes those requests can be the nudge an organization needs to get something started.
There are also community-based options. YMCA teaching kitchens are affordable, easy to rent, and great for classes. Some churches, culinary schools, and local universities have accessible kitchens and programs. One colleague even rents a church kitchen to run a program with her dietitian partner. It’s a creative way to meet patients where they are—outside of a hospital setting.
And yes, while hospitals might not scream “delicious food,” some are working hard to change that. Boston Medical Center, for example, has a rooftop farm and sources produce for their kitchen and teaching programs. Northwell Health in New York is another system doing impressive work to bring better food into the hospital.
About the Culinary Medicine Cookbook
Let’s talk about the new cookbook by Christina Badaracco—first off, congratulations to her! Writing a book is no small feat, and this one in particular brings something unique to the table.
The idea actually came from her co-author, Olivia, who also co-founded Rewire Health. That initiative focused on making culinary medicine education more accessible through an app and video content. Eventually, Olivia thought, “Why not turn this into a book?” So they did.
They decided to self-publish, which came with its own learning curve. From printing and design to figuring out distribution, the process taught them a lot. But the result? Something that stands out from your typical cookbook.
This isn’t just about fancy meals or mastering gourmet techniques. They’ve created what they call a “culinary medicine cookbook”—a guide to healthy cooking that’s approachable, flexible, and built for real life. The focus is on simple recipes that can be easily customized based on what people like, what’s available, or even what fits within their cultural traditions.
Rather than rigid instructions, the recipes are presented as frameworks. Think: frittatas, grain bowls, baked oatmeal, smoothies, and sauces. Familiar dishes, but with a flexible twist. At the front of the book, there’s even a section dedicated to ingredient swap tables. So if a recipe calls for kale and you’re not a fan—or just don’t have it on hand—you’ll find plenty of alternatives that still work both nutritionally and flavor-wise.
And they’re not stopping with the book. They’re also working on an online library of free, downloadable resources to support readers even further.
Helping Patients Eat Better—Even When They’re Eating Less
Finally, with all that being said, this is where everything comes together.
Culinary medicine fills a critical gap between knowledge and action. In obesity medicine, we can talk all day about behavior change, nutrition, and medication—but unless people are given practical ways to apply that knowledge in their daily lives, it often falls short.
This is what makes tools like a well-designed cookbook so valuable. It’s not just about knowing what to eat—it’s about knowing how to make healthy food work within a busy schedule, during treatment, or with a limited appetite. And for those using medications like Wegovy or Zepbound, it becomes even more important to make every bite count.
While protein is often the focus, nutrients like zinc, iron, fiber, and vitamin D also play key roles and can easily be overlooked—especially when meals are simplified or supplemented with processed “health” products. That’s why the cookbook isn’t just a collection of recipes. It offers flexible frameworks and practical guidance to help people get the most out of what they eat, even with fewer ingredients.
Most healthcare providers don’t have the time to walk through all of this with every patient, and that’s understandable. But offering clear, evidence-based resources—whether through a cookbook, a teaching kitchen, or even a short conversation—can help fill that gap.
Because at the end of the day, real change happens when knowledge is paired with action. And culinary medicine is where that connection truly begins.
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