KINGSTON, Jamaica— When most people speak of beauty they think of an outward appearance rather than what we put inside our bodies. Current Miss Jamaica World, Khalia Hall, has always been a health and beauty enthusiast with a passion for feeling and looking your best by nourishing the body. The twenty-six-year-old is also a mechanical engineer turned vegan chef who wants to educate and inspire Jamaicans to follow a healthy lifestyle.

“I believe that beauty is something that radiates from the inside out. There is a quote that states once you get the inside right the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is internal and secondary reality is without so it’s really what’s on the inside that matters,” Hall told OBSERVER ONLINE.

Miss Jamaica also affirmed that what we eat affects our mood and productivity. By extension, what we feed ourselves will affect what we give to the world. Beauty is by no means linear and it comes with a lot of internal self-care.

During her studies abroad, Hall’s passion for health and nutrition multiplied. “I care deeply about health. It’s something I stumbled upon through my studies abroad doing mechanical engineering. It was when I read a study on the Ministry of Health’s website that I felt a calling to come back to Jamaica and combine my love for cooking with my passion for health and helping Jamaican people. I am currently combining that right now and using my platform as Miss Jamaica World to amplify that message,” Hall shared.

To encourage more people to make healthier food choices, she created a small plant based food business in Kingston known as ‘Shibumi’ cooking for roughly 100 people per week.

Shibumi means simple effortless beauty that is not only about food but also places a lot of significance on the environment.

“My goal is always to target meat eaters or people who think eating vegetables can’t be delicious. It’s really about opening up people who wouldn’t have otherwise tried it to a different style of cuisine,” expressed Hall. 

One of Shibumi’s best sellers is called ‘Bumis’ which are veggie balls available in different bursts of flavours such as curry, jerk, Italian, teriyaki, escovitched, and sweet and sour. They are also accompanied by their own sauces and condiments. Sides include plantains, tamarind barbeque sauce, pumpkin coconut pasta with a cream salad, and many other options.

“I didn’t want to call it veggie balls because then people would build up a perception of it before they have tried it,” explained Hall.

Aside from exposing Jamaicans to healthy food alternatives, she also wants to spread more awareness by sharing ways people can get started on a healthy food journey.

Get rid of labels: Titles such as ‘vegan or vegetarian’ can make the eating experience feel restrictive. She also advises us to focus on including more food that is healthy rather than placing too much significance on restricting what we consume. “Focus on adding rather than subtracting since it’s much more sustainable and something you can commit to for the long term,” said Hall.

Start Small: You don’t need to feel pressured to make big changes to your diet immediately. Always try to find a middle ground and be as flexible as possible.

Cost cutting: Plant-based options are often more expensive but costs can be minimised by cooking at home rather than ordering out. “I find that going to the market is a whole lot cheaper than going to the supermarket. While the supermarket is more convenient, if budgeting is more important then go to the market as those prices are more affordable and you are supporting the farmer and vendor directly,” she said.

Explore the internet: The World Wide Web has a reservoir of knowledge that anybody can make use of provided they have access to it. Healthy recipes like jerk tofu that mimic the taste of chicken can be found in abundance to suit those meat eaters who are just starting to adjust to a new diet.

Hall also intends on connecting with entities that she was unable to before achieving her current Miss Jamaica status.

“This year I am going to work with the Jamaica Heart Foundation. It’s in the works. I am hoping to amplify their messages and share it with the public. I want to focus on awareness because if you don’t know then how can you change your lifestyle?” she revealed.

Miss Jamaica also envisions collaborating with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to implement compulsory nutrition education into the curriculum.

“How is it that we do not learn what to put in our bodies? You go to the mechanic and they tell you what to put in your car but we as humans don’t know what to put in our own bodies. I think this is an issue that starts in school and if I could do that I would be on cloud nine,” said Hall.