Cooking, Culture, and Chaos: Episode 4—Jerk Shrimp with Shaquelle Thomas!
Welcome to Cooking, Culture and Chaos: Episode 4 featuring Shaquelle Thomas!
In this episode we feature Shaquelle Thomas, a former Sister Fit coach!
Coach Shaquelle did such a great job coaching our members through our Strength and Fitness program last year! She was fun, knowledgeable, and I appreciated her perspective on health—that people deserve to be healthy at any size.
Her strength, presence, and perspective help so many women who struggle with their self-worth. Shaquelle is also a diabetes coach and personal trainer with a unique and solid skill set based on a kinesiology background.
Shaquelle’s health philosophy is also rooted in knowing yourself and your cultural background—values that I share. So, I knew she’d be perfect for the show since she’s proudly Grenadian and Jamaican!
Cooking:
Shaquelle and I grilled up some jerk shrimp and paired it with a mango salsa. We also brought along some store bought rice and peas to complete the meal.
Nothing screams Jamaican more than jerk! I chose shrimp instead of the traditional chicken in the interests of time, but WOWZA was it delicious! Pink Argentinian shrimp, like little lobsters, have a buttery taste—so good and so easy!
All you need to do is marinate the shrimp for 30 minutes, skewer them, and grill them for just a minute on each side. Once you bite into this delight, you’ll be in heaven!
The mango salsa took more effort than the shrimp—a combined result from the mango being a bit unripe and my knives a little dull, but it was totally worth the effort. The sweet and tart mango works as an excellent contrast to the salty and zesty jerk. It may not be a typical method of serving jerk, but Shaquelle was quite easygoing about this decision.
Culture:
Image Credit: Tourism Winnipeg.
Shaquelle was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She grew up in a household with native Caribbean parents, meaning she had access to authentic Caribbean food. Although there is a Caribbean community in Winnipeg, it is quite small. She participated in Caribbean events in Winnipeg such as Carripeg (a small Winnipeg version of Caribana), Folklorama, and the Soca Reggae Festival.
When Shaquelle moved to Toronto in 2021, she was excited to explore the heavy Caribbean influence in the city. From the cuisine, to the festivals available in Toronto, Shaquelle is experiencing it all—and loving it.
In regards to health and fitness, Shaquelle believes that learning how to incorporate her culture into her habits contributed greatly to her journey to become her healthiest self. She found that most “healthy eating” information and advice did not align with her knowledge of Caribbean food. Considering both her parents are first generation Caribbeans, she saw this struggle as an opportunity to dive deeper into her roots and share her experience with others.
Chaos:
Shaquelle is a Registered Kinesiologist, Certified Personal Trainer, and Group Fitness Instructor who climbed her way through numerous life traumas, the scare of pre-diabetes, weight loss difficulties AND successes. Moving through the health and fitness industry as a plus-sized, Black female coach brings intense and unique challenges, but Shaquelle’s presence, approach, and expertise brings a much needed and desired perspective to the industry that enriches and elevates our community.
Through these lived experiences Shaquelle has learned and thrived through life. She’s faced hardships, failures and successes, and grown through self-love, self-respect, and intuition.
You can learn more about Shaquelle’s philosophy by checking out her recent e-book about reversing diabetes. Click here to view and buy her book!
