Hello from your homekooks! While "kook" may carry a less-than-flattering meaning in the surf world, we fully embrace its playful spirit — someone who's a bit eccentric or a little insane (in a good way). And that's exactly how many people see us. We're crazy for moving to this coastal town as complete newbies, uprooting our family, diving into outdoor adventures, setting up a campsite, and choosing a slower, healthier lifestyle. Hey, sometimes we think we're crazy too, but most days, we absolutely love our lives here. 

At Kooks' Korner, we're all homekooks, so don't expect fancy plating or a set menu. This business is an extension of our home kitchen—what we prepare for you is what we eat at home. Some recipes are guesstimates, and others are online finds that we've tweaked to fit our dietary needs. We hope you enjoy our meals as much as we do!

This is my Dad, Miguel. He’s 46 but mentally feels like he’s in his 20s. Loves his family, gets really hyped over plants, and will find any excuse to insert a stupid joke into our conversations. Not as important but a fact either way, he’s a type 1 diabetic.

Growing up, I never truly thought about how complications with diabetes could lead to damage to our heart, kidneys, and nerves- nothing. I know it is a chronic disease, I’ve always known that, but it simply wasn’t ever a “sickness” that ever caused me to pity him.

I understood more once I met other diabetics. With diabetes, what you eat is the first domino that affects everything else falling into place. It’s the most important thing you have to look after. Yet almost all other diabetics I have met continue to eat in ways that will make them sicker because there’s this large, unfortunate notion that “eating healthy” is something that is “sad.” That eating healthy meant “to deprive oneself of something.” No one should feel that way, especially not for food. Dad taught me this, which is exactly what I want to share.

This is how Dad’s diagnosis led us to the creation of, what others have called, our “Miracle Bread,” which then led to the establishment of Kooks’ Korner– our little household’s way of helping others redefine what healthy eating really means.

My dad was diagnosed 16 years ago on his 30th birthday. He had been experiencing symptoms, so he naturally went to my Lolo (grandfather) who also has diabetes. “That’s it, go get yourself checked,” was what my Lolo told my Dad. And he was right. 

I mentioned earlier that Dad is type 1, meaning his body doesn’t make insulin– the hormone we all need to keep our blood glucose levels within the right range. What I didn’t mention was that his first three doctors misdiagnosed him as type 2, which meant all his medications, food recommendations- all of them were wrong.

Dad was losing so much weight that he was “disappearing.” That’s what his cousin’s late Lola (grandmother), who also had diabetes, said, teary-eyed, before instructing him to change his doctor immediately.

Late Dr. Raboca, his fourth doctor and the one who saved his life, took one look at my Dad upon entering the room and without hesitation said, “You need insulin.”

He got his first insulin injection that night, and it was as if he finally woke up: “That night was a crazy revelation for myself because I woke up. I really woke up from - I don't know how many years of dreaming. I thought being masungit (ill-tempered) was a normal thing with age. I learned that night that it was a chemical imbalance. It was too high sugar that made me a different person. And that night I wrote a long letter to your mom, um, apologizing and saying thank you for still being with me.”

My Dad’s latest endocrinologist, Dr. Fernando, recommended we look at a sensor which eventually, completely changed the game for us. Essentially, it attaches to his body and tracks his blood sugar.

My Dad’s love for tech and research led him to figure out a way to transmit the sensor’s data to his phone, which could then trigger an alarm every time his sugar was too high or too low. It can trigger our phones too, which means that on nights when he wouldn’t wake up from the alarm, one of us would.

With this sensor, we found out about all the food that was making his sugar go up that we previously thought were okay for him but had no way of knowing they weren’t. From sourdough to all these rice alternatives, and even brands that claimed were diabetic-friendly only to turn out they weren’t at all.

This was a complete turning point for us, and that’s when Dad started going on keto.

After two years of trial and error, we finally landed on the right recipe. We monitored my Dad’s sensor, and his blood sugar remained at the perfect rate. He finally had bread again.

“BLT, cream cheese, sugar-free jam– all of those I couldn't… I didn't have anymore because I couldn't stand all of these so-called keto alternatives… until this one. Taste, texture, everything– no difference. Because people like me are on the keto diet, that's all we're looking for and we will pay to get that back without making our sugar go up. I know because I would. I just couldn't find anyone selling.”

I don’t even think our household buys regular bread at all anymore. All of us– my mom, myself, and my sister– eat this bread simply because it tastes exactly like regular bread. I always forget it’s low-carb because, to me, it’s just bread. Bonus points that it’s healthy.

That’s sort of where the problem comes in though. Some people push food away once the word “healthy” comes into the picture. But when friends and family come to visit and we serve sandwiches, well, the only bread we have is low-carb.