Healthy meals can be expensive and inaccessible. A chef from Racine changes that | Local news

By Lynn Sommers On Oct 11, 2021

Miketra Larry, owner of Prepping Beauties, is putting together some breakfast burritos on September 28th. She opened her meal prep service in January 2020.

Diana Panuncial

RACINE – Growing up, Miketra Larry described herself as “not fat, but stockier than the average kid my age.” She didn’t think anything was wrong with her until she started middle school and the verbal abuse caused her to develop problems with her self-esteem.

“I tried to change,” she says. “I was 11 and I couldn’t accept what I had previously accepted. I had to struggle with that. “

For the next several years, Larry would bounce between different diets and exercise habits. At the end of the day, she still wasn’t getting the results she wanted. It wasn’t until she taught herself that “food is there to make you feel stronger, not to fill you up,” that she lost weight – she used to weigh 260 pounds.

Larry knows the challenges of weight loss and in January 2020 opened Prepping Beauties, which offers ready-made meals made from organic ingredients. Their mission is to offer healthy, affordable meals and to teach their customers – especially families – how to have a positive relationship with food on their budget.

Miketra Larry uses organic ingredients to hear the meals on offer in Prepping Beauties.

Diana Panuncial

Cut off the stigma

According to a 2019 public health study, low-income households are typically associated with poor diet due to the cost of healthier food. High-income households can afford healthier organic foods and are therefore associated with better diets.

However, a February study by the University of York showed that low-income families know the difference between healthy foods and processed foods – the main obstacle is their inability to afford these healthier options.

Larry noted that healthy or organic products become more affordable over time because the demand for them increases.

“I’m here to expose all the lies about what a healthy life requires and what it robs you of. Because when I was younger … I tried so many different diets that were so ineffective, that didn’t help me at all. And it was because of everything the scientists said and everything, ”Larry said.

Prepping Beauties, a local company dedicated to preparing healthy meals, attended the Health is Wellness Fair on August 28th.

Diana Panuncial

Healthier barter deals

In addition to offering meals, Larry teaches people how simple methods such as swapping out certain ingredients can make healthier choices more cost-effective.

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For example, Larry showed two ways to make Mexican-style wraps. First she made breakfast chimichangas; Although she used a flour tortilla as a wrap, she used chicken instead of ground beef for the protein and organic condiments for a healthier transition.

Second, she cooked a similar “cabbage bun” and swapped the tortillas out completely for cabbage to put together makeshift wraps. She tossed the cabbage rolls in the oven instead of frying them. It was a way for them to incorporate fresh vegetables into the dish.

Miketra Larry made a breakfast chimichanga a healthier option by replacing chicken with ground beef and using all organic ingredients.

Diana Panuncial

“My point in introducing something like burrito-style cabbage rolls is to still make people feel like they’re getting when they eat tacos and burritos and the like, but it will be easier on your body,” said Larry.

For parents, for children

These types of switches can be critical to a family’s overall health, Larry noted; In fact, their favorite family meals are because “it starts with the parents and trickles down to the children”.

“As parents start adopting healthier habits, the kids inevitably have to stick to those healthier habits, and before you know it, healthy living is second nature,” said Larry.

Larry’s own little son went from “just cheese pizza” to looking for fruit and vegetables.

Entrepreneurial family

While Miketra Larry prepares her chimichangas and cabbage rolls, various family members flock to the kitchen. She was using her mother Jacqueline Larry’s kitchen that morning as she made plate after plate breakfast for her cousins.

“We are first generation entrepreneurs,” said Miketra. Her cousin Nick Larry owns a clothing company in Racine called Motivated by Struggle that is focused on spreading a message of perseverance and “not being satisfied with the average,” Nick said.

Shown from left are Miketra Larry, Nick Larry and Jacquelyn Larry on September 28th.

Diana Panuncial

Miketra’s sister Monika does the nails. Her aunt Danielle is a seamstress. And her mother? Jacqueline is the reason Miketra started cooking.

“When the going gets tough, we look at each other and say we’re there for them. So we have to make the bed. We have to rock the world, ”said Miketra.

Miketra’s future plans for Prepping Beauties are to open a store sometime in January. For more information about Miketra’s business and all of the services she offers, please visit facebook.com/PreppingBeauties.