FAQ

Why was Keys to Abundant Life started? Keys to Abundant Life was started by Kyira Harris, the founder and a former speech-language pathologist, because she realized the connection between healthy food and functioning was missing. She would arrive at various homes to provide speech services to children who were eating and drinking lollipops, soda, “juice” and/or chips for breakfast. She knew that the nutrition put in your body had a direct link to how your body functioned and performed, especially after she successfully treated her own digestive issues with alternative medicine and proper nutrition. She wanted to share this knowledge with the population she was serving and with older children.

What is Kyira’s background, the founder? Kyira Harris is a certified holistic health counselor who studied at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition from 2004-2006. She received her Master of Art degree in speech pathology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998.

Can you tell me about a typical younger kid’s cooking class? The class consists of a theme-based book, a song and movement (if applicable), a science activity, and a related cooking activity that is made by the kids. For example, a children’s book on chocolate was read to the kids. When asked, “Where does chocolate come from?”, the first through third graders confidently responded, “The chocolate factory!” Once the book was finished, the kids understood the origin of chocolate. They were given raw chocolate (cocoa) to taste and practically spit it out because it was bitter. When instructed to eat the raw cocoa nibs with raisins, they liked it stating that it tasted like ‘Raisinets’. Afterward, the kids made healthy chocolate sauce with agave nectar and ate it fresh fruit.

Can you tell me about a typical older or adult cooking class? A typical class with older kids is very hands-on. The kids are given tasks like chopping, peeling, grating, zesting, or whatever the healthy recipe calls for. The kids complete the recipes with the culinary instructor’s assistance. The culinary instructor acts as the executive chef providing structure and order while teaching new culinary-related vocabulary/phrases and facts about nutrition during each class. The older kids’ healthy cooking class is more aligned with the academic day. A S.T.E.M. approach, a writing assignment and Common Curriculum Standards in Math and ELA (where applicable) are incorporated in the classes. The typical adult cooking class is also very interactive and hands-on. The participants engage in cooking activities while nutrition facts are taught.

Do you bring the food to the schools or the kitchens? Yes, we bring the food each week along with the healthy recipes. We also provide the kitchen supplies at the sites as long as we are able to store the equipment and supplies for the duration of the cooking class series.

What kind of foods do you make? Are they all healthy? We, with the students/participants, make all types of foods. We circle the globe and make healthier versions of what’s already been created. We try to make foods that the kids love. We just make healthier versions of those foods. Kids are amazed by healthy pizza, smoothies and cookies. But we also introduce our participants to new foods from all over the world.

Are there any foods that you don’t make or use? Yes, we do not use any nuts or shellfish because of the high number of allergies to both. We also do not cook red meat, pork or shellfish, which includes catfish because they are not health-promoting foods.

Do you teach people how to duplicate the healthy cooking in their own homes? Yes, we make that a point in our cooking classes. We want the participants to take the recipes home to implement these healthier choices into their daily lives.

Do you just focus on nutrition? We focus on nutrition as well as healthy living through our workshops, which include stress management, financial health, importance of exercise, self- and body- image and a number of other topics.

Can you work in any type of school? Yes, we work with schools of all types. We are looking to expand into private and charter schools. We have mainly worked in public schools so far.

Does the school or organization need to have a kitchen for you to work in? Not at all. We bring the kitchen and store it at your site for the duration of the cooking series.

Do you only work in schools? Schools are just the beginning… We work in summer camps, temporary housing sites, and municipal housing sites. We also work in higher education – colleges and universities. And we are also open to working in new locations as those are presented.

How many people do you have/need in your cooking classes? Ideally, we prefer 15 participants to ensure enough attention for each one, but will accept 20 participants maximum in a cooking class.

How many people are allowed in your workshops? We’ve held workshops with up to 150 participants.

How many teachers do you have? At the present time, we have four culinary instructors and a number of consultants. We hire instructors on an as-needed basis.

Do you only work in certain geographic areas? At the present time, we work in the five boroughs of New York City and lower Westchester. We are always looking to expand into other states.

How do your programs work? That’s a difficult question to answer because we offer different programs. To get a general idea, please look at our programs page. Please contact us and then we can answer your question more specifically.

What is the cost of your programs? The costs of our programs vary depending on the client’s request(s). Please contact us so we can answer your question specifically.

Do you work on grants? Yes. However, we do work within school budgets and with private monies as well.

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