Rapper and lyricist Nas hammered the point home when he said, “You got one life to live, so live it the best you can.” But it’s easier said than done because life is anything but easy, especially when you’re a plus-size Latina, a military spouse, a mother, and a successful entrepreneur who has built a business out of their love for cooking and helping others, like Cristina Curp.

As the author of two bestselling cookbooks, Cristina has found tremendous admiration for her ambition to help people feel better through healthy food that is also delicious. A seasoned chef herself, Cristina teaches others how to kick it up a notch in the kitchen and believes nutrition information is useless “unless people can put it into practice, and that happens in the kitchen.”

The Castaway Kitchen is a growing online community to help people with autoimmune diseases and autoinflammatory skin conditions, like Hidradenitis suppurativa, feel better via educational content and healing recipes. You can join the community on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to be a part of Cristina’s journey as she helps people live life to the fullest despite any health obstacles. Her motto is: love the food that loves you back.

Her struggle with chronic illness has inspired Cristina to reach out to people who may relate to her story. She wants to remind them that they’re not alone and that it can get better. After living with the painful skin condition since she was 13, Cristina put it in remission with patience, courage, determination, and her love for cooking. Finding her voice, her passion and her purpose, Cristina says that she truly began to live her life at 32 and reminds us that it’s never too late to change your story.

Cristina was born as a first-generation American in Miami to hardworking parents who wanted to give her a better life than they did. Always seeing her grandmother exude grace and class despite the hard life she lived, Cristina knows challenges are no excuse for giving up on life, especially when it can have so much to offer.

Never shying away from putting in the effort, Cristina continues to expand her education, professional experience,  and new ways to help others. She understands that life is precious, especially as a child of Cuban immigrants who fled a communist dictator to ensure a better life for their children. Her family’s bravery inspires her work every day.

Knowing the sacrifices and hard work that made her life possible, Cristina remains grounded and appreciates life for the beautiful opportunity it is. She aspires to help others look at it the same way. Her anti-inflammatory recipes are healthy, delicious, and ever growing as she continues adding to them through multiple platforms via the The Castaway Kitchen online community. As a functional nutrition therapy practitioner and HS warrior, her goal is to educate people on the connection between what they eat and their health, especially in relation to autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditions.