The Missing Ingredient in Most Meal Plans? Culture.
Because the goal isn’t to erase culture, but honor it while making nourishing choices.
Many clients have had a love/hate relationship with meal planning, and I can completely understand why. Even though meal planning is often proposed as the path to healthy eating, it can feel like the whole point is to restrict you from eating the foods you love.
Case in point: When I used to host meal-planning challenges, I often recommended that participants eat mostly “whole foods” with little consideration of culture. I didn’t know then that I was making it more challenging (not easier) for my students to make healthy food choices.
Many struggled to prepare traditional recipes that they knew and loved rather than making modified versions of their traditional foods. A few issues can arise specifically with that.
When we change almost every ingredient in a recipe, it can become unrecognizable to the culture from which the recipe originally originated.
While we’ve all become accustomed to ingredients like “cauliflower rice,” some substitutions do not work well in recipes.
If you’ve ever unsuccessfully substituted an ingredient in a recipe, you know all too well that it’s not only a huge waste of time but also money.
However, there are ways to do it well that can contribute to healthy eating habits, as illustrated by a 2025 Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics study. Researchers recognized there is a lack of culturally relevant healthy eating resources for African-Caribbean communities in the UK. Therefore, they partnered with African-Caribbean community members to participate in cooking sessions, offer feedback, and refine the recipes.
When I read this, it reminded me that an aspect of meal planning that people often dismiss is that the resources, specifically the recipes, aren’t always culturally relevant. When you’re building the habit of meal planning, ensuring the recipes are relevant to the cultures that you’re working with is a critical step we don’t want to miss.
Regardless of whether you’re supporting African-Caribbeans living in the UK or not, there are a few takeaways to consider when meal planning:
Takeaway 1: Be Mindful of Substitutions.
As a health coach who has made this mistake, there is no judgment; however, we don’t need to substitute every ingredient to make a recipe healthier. When we start making unnecessary substitutions, it can change the recipe's authenticity. As I’m reminded in my PN Level 2 Master Health Coaching Certification, most people don’t see themselves as eating “nutrients,” but they’re eating food. Food they enjoy, that is also nutritious, is something they are more likely to consume consistently.
Rather than introduce unfamiliar ingredients community members weren’t used to preparing, they made small adjustments to the traditional foods that increased the nutrient quality. For example, soaking saltfish overnight reduces sodium rather than substituting it with a different ingredient.
Takeaway 2: Provide Resources for Informed Decision-making.
I didn’t take my first “nutrition class” until I became a Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach, so there’s a good chance many clients and patients are in the same boat. When we assume that everyone comes to the table with the same level of nutritional knowledge, we’re making an assumption that isn’t necessarily true. That’s why resources such as recipe cards, which can contain preparation instructions and nutritional information, are increasingly helpful.
Instead of community members trying to “wing it,” having recipe cards is a great resource they can use to make informed health choices. For instance, the recipe cards given to the community members in the study contained nutrition labeling that was easy for them to understand. In this way, they could enjoy their traditional recipes knowing they were adapted to increase nutrient quality without sacrificing flavor.
Takeaway 3: Make the Process Collaborative and Respectful.
Contrary to some opinions, Black communities are eager to engage in health-promoting behaviors when it’s done collaboratively and respectfully. That’s why collaboration is essential when designing weekly meal plans. When they are co-designed, we can ensure that we include traditional and culturally relevant recipes that clients (and their families) will enjoy.
The researchers worked with the community members to modify the recipes, ensuring they remained tasty and familiar. For example, it can be as simple as using skinless chicken for the Jerk Chicken or coconut milk for the Goat Curry (two of my personal favorite recipes!). The point is to make the process respectful by not forcing our beliefs on others, but working together to meet in the middle.
If meal planning hasn’t worked in the past for you, your patients, or your clients, I hope this UK study has given you some insight into what might be missing. Regardless of what culture you personally identify with, when it comes to food, it’s important to ensure you’re including foods that you actually enjoy.
Because I’m curious, I’d like to hear your thoughts:
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