Debra Peek-Haynes is a wellness advocate, host of radio segment, “Let’s Talk Health”, bestselling author, “The Beginners’ Guide to Healthy Living” and founder of “Debra’s Healing Kitchen” where she travels the world speaking about healthy-living, conducting demonstrations on how to cook delicious healthy soulful food, especially in communities of color, where obesity and poor nutrition contribute to high mortality rates. Debra developed this passion when she was healed from infertility through proper nutrition.
Debra became interested in holistic and nutritional healing when she and her husband had difficulty conceiving a child. More than twenty years ago, she was introduced to a holistic physician who exposed her to a new mindset for a healthier lifestyle. She spent countless hours learning from holistic practitioners, reading books and creating healthy recipes. After transforming to a healthy lifestyle,
Debra was able to conceive and birthed a beautiful daughter, Abeni Jewel. This was just the beginning of her journey to understanding personal wellness and leading others to embrace healthier lifestyles to bring about positive changes to their bodies.
In 2010, Debra launched “Debra’s Healing Kitchen” and is often a featured speaker for health seminars and workshops that usually include her popular cooking demonstrations. She delivers her message in a style that not only informs, but also engages the audience. Her specialty is teaching people how to cook healthy
and hearty meals, such as soul food. Participants leave energized and motivated to commit to a healthy lifestyle for healthy living. Some of Debra’s featured topics include “Cooking for Children” and “Healthy Family Meals”. During these talks, she never forgets the men. In fact, her “Men and Healthy Cooking” class is one of her most popular demonstrations.
In 2011, Debra began a weekly segment called “Let’s Talk Health” during Carmina Barnett’s afternoon show, “Praise Drive” on award-winning radio station, KHVN HEAVEN – 970 AM. Her radio segment allows her to provide practical health tips from a layperson’s perspective. In 2013, Debra authored her first book,
“The Beginners Guide To Healthy Living” and developed a product line which consists of two organic seasoning blends.
FWM: When did you become interested in holistic and nutritional healing?
I became interested in holistic and nutritional healing after I was told it would be nearly impossible for me to conceive by five doctors. I was led to a holistic MD that gave me a book list to read, a plan of action to improve my nutrition and overall health and challenged me to reject the negative diagnosis I was given.
FWM: Tell us about DHK Wellness Strategies Inc.
DHKW is a non-profit dedicated to health and wellness advocacy especially targeting Black, Brown and underserved communities.
Testimonials:
“I’ve tried several of the recipes in your cookbook and my husband is in love with the new dishes I’ve put on our table. Especially the stir-fry! Looking forward to your next cooking demonstration!!! Thank you for caring about our health!!” ~Nita Sapenter Cates
“Debra consistently made the point that the low-fat, low-calorie foods I was eating were toxic because of the sugar and chemical contents. I sought out an independent, integrative-medicine doctor who confirmed for me that processed white sugar was toxic. It was the source of my joint pain and it caused autoimmune-type symptoms such as chronic inflammation,” said Ms. Hill. “After just three months of avoiding processed foods and balancing my hormonal, vitamin and mineral levels, I no longer have pain from arthritis, my blood pressure has dropped, and I have lost 27 pounds. Debra’s message is empowering in that it encourages me to make decisions with whole-body mindfulness.” ~Phyllis Hill
FWM: Your popular show “Debra’s Healing Kitchen” shows you traveling around the world with demonstrations on how to cook delicious healthy soulful food. Please share more about this.
When people visit my home, they have often talk about feeling better, so I named my for-profit company, Debra’s Healing Kitchen. A few years ago, I was also a featured speaker on the ESSENCE Eats stage at ESSENCE Festival where I did a live cooking demonstration on how to prepare my famous meatless collard greens. Wherever I am I want to be a be a beacon of light for all who come in contact with me.
FWM: Tell us about the $10,000 grant you received for the Healthy Youth Project.
The Communities Foundation was generous enough to grant DHKW a grant for The Healthy Youth Project. The Healthy Youth Project focuses on the health and wellness of students in underserved communities. We teach about the importance of nutrition, sleep, water and making positive life choices. Our goal is to inform and inspire students to take better care of their minds and bodies and give them access to more fresh produce. Our goal is to show the correlation between nutrition and academic success. With my team of experts, we develop gardens on school campuses for the students. This includes providing more access to vegetables and herbs. The grant award from Communities Foundation will assist us in furthering our garden development this year. We taught our 6-week classes in two high schools this semester and two middle schools during the fall 2021 semester. Our goal is to continue these classes while expanding to other schools. COVID has delayed our progress but we are still moving forward.
FWM: What’s next for you?
I will continue to improve and expand our services to students and to the community through classes, workshops, videos and events. We look forward to expanding our staff at DHKW so we can expand to other schools and eventually to other cities in the US.
