cooks profile
NUTRITION ADVOCATE
Kaili Sanchez is an educator, chef, and catalyst for change.
WRITTEN BY MELISSA SIIG
PHOTOS BY CHRIS HOLLOMAN
In 2003, Kaili Sanchez left Lake Tahoe to return to her hometown of Sacramento and teach third grade in a low-income area. She was shocked to see what the students were fed every day for breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria.
“It was stuff I would never feed myself,” she says.
When she switched to teaching fifth grade, the kids’ eating habits became even worse. Her students either didn’t eat breakfast at all, or they consumed candy bars for the first meal of the day. She began observing even more behavioral issues than she did with her younger students.
“Really, my heart was feeling for these kids,” Sanchez says. “I wanted to be able to provide information, to get them something better than what they were getting.”
Healthy Eating
That desire to improve kids’ eating habits changed the direction of Sanchez’s professional life, taking her from elementary school teacher to nutrition advocate and passionate cook. After being involved in some of Lake Tahoe and Truckee’s most important food initiatives, Sanchez branched out on her own to become a personal chef, cooking coach, and food-product designer.
Nine years ago, Sanchez moved back to Truckee and got a job as the nutrition educator for Project MANA, a hunger-relief organization based in Incline Village, and worked with local schools.
“I knew I wanted to help these kids make good choices for themselves,” says Sanchez, 36.
When she was promoted to Project MANA’s Truckee director, Sanchez focused on revitalizing the Truckee Community Garden.
“It became a demonstration garden to empower people to learn how to grow food here,” she says.
Sanchez’s involvement with teaching nutrition and cooking to students and teen moms got her on the radar of Maria Martin, a dietitian at Tahoe Forest Hospital. Martin and Sanchez joined together to create the Tahoe Truckee Nutrition Coalition, whose mission is to promote nutrition and physical activity in schools and communities.
Growing Slow Food
It was about this time that Sanchez also was asked to help found Tahoe’s first Slow Food chapter, along with such local food notables as Mark Estee of Moody’s in Truckee (and now Campo in Reno), Sierra Valley Farms’ Gary Romano, Billy McCullough of Truckee’s Dragonfly Restaurant, and Lisa Boudreau of Truckee’s Lisa’s Central Market (now Lisa’s Organics). Sanchez served on the board for about four years and helped lay the groundwork for some of Slow Food Lake Tahoe’s most successful events, such as the food swap and Dinner in the Barn.
“I was interested in supporting people who locally are producing food rather than sourcing it out,” she says.
But a few years after her daughter, Maya, was born, Sanchez realized she was too busy to spend quality time with her child. She left Project MANA, unsure of her next step. Then a friend recommended her to a family that needed help cooking at home, and Sanchez found her true calling. Two years ago she started her own business, Kaili’s Creative Kitchen, which does everything from helping people revamp their pantries and fridges with healthier foods to meal planning, cooking classes, and being a personal chef.
Creating Trail Mixes
Her house-made treats, Kai’s Kickers, which all are vegan and use pea protein, got her noticed by the leaders of Play Hard Give Back, a company that connects athletes to social causes. They invited her to work with athletes, such as local pro skiers Marco Sullivan and Travis Ganong, to develop AthlEATS trail mixes, available online and in the Tahoe-Truckee area, as well as in Sun Valley, Marin County, and Utah.
No matter whether Sanchez is designing food products, cooking, or working on nutrition education, she always has one goal in mind: “To help people feel empowered with their choices,” she says.
Melissa Siig is proud to know Kaili Sanchez from their days on the Slow Food Lake Tahoe board. When she is struggling to think of something to make for dinner, she often wishes she could employ Sanchez’s personal chef skills.
Asian Slaw with Sesame Dressing
(courtesy of Kaili Sanchez. Serves 4)
½ head purple cabbage
½ head green cabbage
1 bell pepper
2 green onions
1 cup shredded carrots (2 to 3 large carrots)
1 cup cilantro, mint, basil, or parsley
(Other vegetable option ideas: cucumbers, radishes, jicama, kale)
Dressing
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey or agave
2 tablespoons olive oil or sesame oil
1 inch peeled ginger
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (or you can use any nut butter such as almond butter, tahini, or peanut butter)
Shred all vegetables through a food processor using a slicing blade, or slice very thinly with a knife. Using a cheese grater, grate carrots and any other veggies you add, such as radishes, cucumbers, etc. Toss all veggies into a large salad bowl.
In a blender, add vinegar, honey, oil, ginger, and sesame seeds (or nut butter). Blend on high for about 1 minute or until it is creamy. Drizzle over the salad and toss. This salad can be eaten right away or allowed to sit covered in the refrigerator for a day. This helps the flavor soak into the veggies and makes a fantastic treat!
Eggplant and Pepper Tapenade
(courtesy of Kaili Sanchez. Serves 4)
1 large eggplant, stem removed and quartered
2 to 3 bell peppers or any sweet peppers that you get in your CSA box or at your local market
½ small onion, peeled
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
Spice ideas: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, Harissa
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a roasting pan, drizzle a little olive oil or spray to coat the bottom. Place washed peppers, quartered eggplant (there is no need to peel the eggplant), and onion into the roasting pan. Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the eggplant is soft to the touch and the peppers have a burnt or browned skin. Remove the vegetables and place into a glass bowl or container. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel to allow the veggies to steam a little while they are cooling. Once the peppers are cooled enough to handle, run them under water and gently push off their peels; open up to remove all the seeds.
Next, put all veggies into a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times to create a chunky dip. Put the dip into your favorite bowl and mix in spices or salt and pepper to taste. Add a drizzle of good olive oil at the end to finish this dip, if you like. It’s tasty on fish, chicken, veggie chips, or fresh bread.
Shredded Kale, Brussels Sprout, Shallot, and Turmeric Sauté over Forbidden Black Rice
(courtesy of Kaili Sanchez. Serves 4)
“This dish was created while looking through my refrigerator, very hungry and needing warmth from the inside out,” Sanchez says.
½ cup water
1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
1 bunch kale leaves, de-stemmed
½ pound Brussels sprouts
1 large shallot, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chopped ginger (optional)
For rice:
1 cup black forbidden rice or brown rice
1¾ cups water
Salt
In rice cooker or small saucepan, make rice according to the directions.
In a large sauté pan, heat water until boiling. While it’s heating, thinly slice kale leaves, quarter Brussels sprouts, and thinly slice shallot. Place vegetables into heated water and cover to cook, 3 to 4 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are starting to soften but still are a little firm.
Drain vegetables and set aside. Add coconut or olive oil to the pan and bring to medium heat with chopped garlic. Toss vegetables back into warmed oil with turmeric and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes.
Plate the beautiful black rice in the center of the plate, then top with dazzling golden vegetables. I top mine with crispy seaweed, but this also goes great with cooked chicken, beef, tofu, and beans.
Note: If you want fewer carbs, simply leave off the bread.
