Welcome to “The Hungry Cuban”

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to visit my site and to let me share my story with you.
Maybe you stumbled onto this site by accident (or by divine intervention), either way, I’m glad you’re here. Please read the whole story…that way you can find out about me, and most importantly… How I can Help You?

Professionally, I have just recently retired as a Firefighter/Paramedic after 28 years for the City of Deerfield Beach, Fl. I held the rank of Captain for the last 16 years of my career. My wife Mary and I have been married over 24 wonderful years and we live in sunny Boca Raton, Florida with our two awesome college aged kids.

Born in Havana, Cuba…

I was born in Havana, Cuba. Due to the turmoil in the country at the time, our family moved to South Florida to flee the Communist regime. I was just 9-months old. We went from living a very comfortable life in Cuba to a low income family in Florida, in just of matter of days. My parents struggled through that time and ended up in divorce when I was 2-years old.

I lived with my mother and grandmother in a one-bedroom apartment in Miami for most of my youth. We always made the best of every situation. My mom worked hard to provide for our family as my grandmother took care of me at home.

I started working washing cars at the age of 9 and did not stop from then on. I knew my mother could not afford the things I wanted, and that instilled in me a strong work ethic. I have always been a go-getter and willing to try new things.

After various jobs throughout my life, I was accepted into the Fire Academy right out of high school. I went on to become a Firefighter/Paramedic and veered all my college education towards my Fire Service degree. I moved up to achieve the rank of Captain, which I held for the past 16 years. As of this writing, I have just retired after 28 fulfilling years of service.

In 1985 I went on my first and last blind date. In May of 1986, I married my wife, lover, and best friend. She does complete me! I have been blessed with a son who is also a best friend, and a daughter who is the sunshine in my life.

In 1992 we where invited to a church service. We soon knew it would change us completely. My wife and I were baptized in April of that year, and gave our lives over to God. He has guided me with his Word to show me how to be a husband, father, and how to have deep meaningful friendships. Both my son and daughter are also Christians.

Early Conditioning…

Ever since I can remember, I’ve struggled with weight. As a little boy, my mother would take me shopping in the “Husky Boys Department” at Sears. I was an overweight kid. When I turned 13 I began lifting weights and exercising, which eventually lead to my involvement in sports. Because of my youth and level of activity, I could pretty much eat anything I wanted to. And I did.

I grew up playing all kinds of sports, (football, baseball, soccer) to name a few. I was always very active, staying outside playing with friends till Mom called me in for dinner. I became a Life Guard at the age of 16 and continued doing that till and even after I started the Fire Academy. I worked at various city parks and different country club pools.

At the age of 18 I was certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI), and started teaching little kids and babies how to swim.  What a treat that was!

Life Catches Up with You…

Well, over the next 30 years, my weight problem continued. My weight went up and down 10, 15 sometimes 20 pounds, but I could pretty much stay fit as long as I exercised. With less time on my hands, as I raised my kids, family responsibility’s, and working full time, the weight began to pile on… and pile on… and pile on…

With no time to exercise and less time to cook a healthy diet, the weight quickly added up. I found it increasingly difficult to button my pants or wear any of my, “nice clothes”.

As a Firefighter/Paramedic my job requires me to stay in reasonable shape. Overweight and my unhealthy condition was just not cutting it.  I was fat and I hated the way I looked and felt.

At the age of 40 years old I still had another 10 years in the Fire service. I decided to train and compete for the: “The Firefighter Combat Challenge”, as seen on ESPN. I did well and it motivated me to continue to pursue and improve my health and fitness lifestyle.

For the next several years I studied and studied more on health and nutrition. I became a certified Fitness & Nutrition Trainer for “The International Association of Firefighter/Paramedics” and was involved with the “Firefighter Health and Wellness Initiative” for our fire department.

I ate a real healthy diet. I exercised 4-6 days per week. I did just about every diet on the market and have tried almost every new weight loss product that has come along, but still could not loose that last 10 pounds.

So I studied on Health, Nutrition, and Weight loss till I was blue in the face. After a while I came to the realization that it all boils down to basics:
•    Good Nutrition
•    Exercise
•    Sleep / Rest
•    Water
•    Cleansing

Food…

One of my earlier memories of cooking was watching Abuela (grandmother) cook in out small kitchen in Miami. She is the one that taught me how to make most of the Cuban dishes that you see on my site. I was also one of the main cooks in the fire house. This is probably where my passion to cook really took off.

After I got on my health kick, my cooking direction changed to a more nutritious healthy way of cooking. Many of my fellow firefighters started to complain, till they all started losing weight and feeling better.

I love food and I love eating! While I try to fill my diet with mostly healthy foods, I have a number of favorites that are not necessarily nutritious, but are still delicious and fun to eat, like pizza, burgers, chicken wings and oatmeal cookies to name a few. If eaten in moderation I believe that the “bad” foods can be part of an overall healthy diet.

My goal is always to find a healthy balance in the foods I eat. I really enjoy cooking. I love to take not so healthy meals, changing the ingredients and making them healthy, nutritious, and good tasting. I like what I call, “Real Food”, the way the good Lord created it. My family likes food and we like to eat it together. To me there is nothing better than creating a great meal and sharing it with family and friends.

Cooking has always been my way of showing how much I care for my loved ones. The tradition of sitting down for family dinners and enjoying a good meal and conversation has been lost in the shuffle of everyday life. We forget just how good and satisfying it is to have family time together. We need to get back to that.

I do balance out my healthy eating with physical fitness. I believe that exercise is the key to losing weight and keeping it off with ease. Luckily, I’ve always enjoyed exercise and try to get some form of physical activity in every day whether it is weight lifting, running, cycling, cardiovascular machines at the gym, or simply walking in our neighborhood with my wife. I try to keep my workouts varied and take rest days if I start to feel run down.

I finally have come to a comfortable place where I eat everything in moderation according to how I feel. I strive to eat food that is in season and like to buy either locally or organically. I feel the best when I do. Nowadays you can find allot of these foods at  places like Costco and Sam’s Club.

This blog is not in any way, shape, or form meant to be a “diet” site. I don’t believe in diets at all. I just believe in eating healthy meals that make our bodies feel good. If you listen to your body and feed it when it is hungry and let it rest when it is tired, I promise you there would be less weight and health issues.

Time To Change…

TheHungryCuban.com first began as YourWeightLossMentor.com, a health, fitness, and nutrition advice blog, in 2008.  I quickly realized that my followers where more interested in my healthy cooking. So I changed the name to reflect who I am and what I love to do.

I have decided to take my passion to a new level and enroll at The International Culinary School at the Art Institute. This will be my second career as I am recreating myself.  I have considered myself a good cook but never a Chef.

“My goal is to blog about my Culinary School experience, giving you tricks and tips on cooking, nutrition, and continue creating mouth-watering healthy recipes just like a good Chef would do”.

And lastly, please enjoy the photos and recipes and stories on this site! My utmost goal is to write cookbooks and teach folks how to create healthy and delectable meals. I believe the obesity problem in this country can be cured, “One Meal At A Time”

I look forward to hearing from all of you regarding any questions or comments you may have. I am happy to answer any nutrition-related questions you may have, keeping in mind that I am not a registered dietitian. I hope you all get many great ideas and that this site can be a positive space that we can talk about good nutritious food!

I enjoy writing each and every post and love sharing my recipes, thoughts, and tips with you all. So don’t forget to sign-up for my Newsletter or subscribe to my RSS feed so you will not miss a thing.

Thanks for visiting The Hungry Cuban!

Email Juan: TheHungryCuban@gmail.com

Popularity: 13%