LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The countdown to 2024 is on, meaning many are getting their New Year's resolutions in order. 

What You Need To Know

  • Sakinah Bunch started her healthy food journey when one of her children was allergic to all but four foods: bison, turkey, cucumbers and iceberg lettuce.

  • Six years ago, Cleangoodeats Cooking Studio was established 

  • Attaining healthier eating habits can be achieved by taking initiative and having the right mindset, Bunch said  

  • Bunch added nine of the top 10 leading causes of death can be prevented with food

Sakinah Bunch is a doctor of naturopathy, an integrative nutrition health coach and owner of Cleangoodeats Cooking Studio. She started taking a healthy lifestyle when she found out one of her children was allergic to all but four foods: bison, turkey, cucumbers and iceberg lettuce.

"What we don't realize is, we are what we eat, right? The fact that she couldn't eat so many foods, it really started messing with her cognitive development [and] started messing with her moods," Bunch said. "Then she developed even more allergies, and it was like a snowball effect.” 

Learning how to cook food that her child could handle is how Cleangoodeats Cooking Studio came to be. Its goal is to help others restore a healthy relationship with food.

The first step to attaining healthier eating habits in the new year is taking the initiative, Bunch said. But she admitted that’s not necessarily the easiest thing to do. 

“The first thing we work on is the mind because if you can't get the mind to be in order, the body's not going to be in order," Bunch said. "So what are some of the goals that you have? Is your main goal just to lose weight? Is your goal to be healthy?

"Whatever your 'why' is, it has to be like a real serious 'why' or else you won't stick with it. You'll start it on Jan. 1, and by Jan. 3, you're done."

Nine of the top 10 leading causes of death can be prevented with food, Bunch said. 

"Everything from stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease; even depression and suicide can be avoided with a food change," Bunch said.

Simple cooking that's both tasty and healthy is what Cleangoodeats specializes in. For example, chicken, cabbage and an almond tortilla can be a delicious and nutritious meal, Bunch said.

"Cabbage is great for so many things ... and then chicken, obviously [there's] protein and things like that," she said. "And then the almond tortilla, almonds have omega-3. That's good for the brain, and it's gluten free." 

Bunch added she hopes more people will start taking their health seriously in the coming year. Information on cooking classes and other resources on healthy eating can be found at Cleangoodeats' website. 

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