Woohoo, I won! Donate Life America held a contest called the National Minority Donor Awareness Month Healthy Living Recipe Contest. Lalaine To from Donor Network West referred me to it. I decided, why not? Asian Americans consent to organ donation at a considerably low rate (considered to other ethnicities), and the main reason is a lack of representation. If I can help out any way, I’d gladly do it.

I submitted a picture, my story, and the Heart-Healthy Chow Mein recipe from my cookbook. I guess they liked my recipe and story enough to pick me. I’ll be featured in the 2021 Donate Life “A Year of Healthy Living” Calendar. It’s still under development, but I’m super excited to see it!

11/16/2020 Update:

The calendars came and they’re so cool! I decided to take a few pictures even though I had my skin cream on (but then again when do I take good pictures). I’m excited to try out the other recipes, like the smoked tropical salsa or transplant friendly beef ceviche.

Caption: Growing up, I watched my grandma make chow mein in the kitchen. As an Asian American, food is an integral part of our culture; we communicate over food, bond over food and laugh over food. After my heart transplant, everything around me seemed so unhealthy. Foods were either covered with oil, saturated with salt or included MSG. My Heart Healthy Chow Mein tries to use as little soy sauce and oil as possible, while including more vegetables and protein. Even though it is not traditionally cooked, it still tastes just as good!