Christy Daoud: Bringing Haitian, Lebanese, and French Influences to Everyday Cooking

Christy grew up surrounded by Haitian, Lebanese, and French influences, with food at the center of everyday life. Born and raised in Haiti, she grew up around deeply flavorful homemade Haitian dishes like legume, diri kole, rice and beans, and griot — meals that brought family together and made cooking feel second nature from an early age.

Her grandfather immigrated from Lebanon to Haiti, where he met her Haitian grandmother, and over time both cultures naturally blended within the family. Alongside Haitian cooking were Lebanese dishes like hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, and kousa, while French influence appeared through baguettes, pastries, tartes à l’oignon, and the everyday culture she grew up around in Haiti.

“Everyone around me cooked,” she says. “My mom, my aunts, my uncles — food was always a big part of life.”

That upbringing shaped not only her palate, but also her belief that food should bring people together and feel both nourishing and enjoyable.

Christy worked in hospital foodservice, gaining experience in nutrition, patient care, and large-scale food operations. Over time, however, she realized her passion extended beyond traditional healthcare settings. She became increasingly drawn to education through food — teaching people how to make simple, approachable meals people could realistically recreate at home. When the pandemic began, she stepped away from hospital work and started sharing recipes online. What began as a creative outlet quickly grew into a platform centered around easy, flavorful cooking and practical nutrition.

Today, her goal is simple: to help people feel less intimidated by healthy eating. Through wholesome ingredients, quick recipes, and creative combinations, she hopes to show that eating healthy does not have to feel repetitive, restrictive, or boring.

“People often think healthy eating means the same salad every day,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be like that. Healthy food can be easy, flavorful, comforting, and something you genuinely look forward to eating.”

Christy’s recipes are heavily inspired by the cultures she grew up around, but her cooking style is also shaped by curiosity and creativity in the kitchen.

From homemade sourdough to quick high-protein meals and fresh Mediterranean-inspired dishes, she enjoys experimenting with simple ingredients and finding ways to make everyday meals feel exciting. Her focus is not on perfection, but on creating recipes that feel approachable, flavorful, and realistic for everyday life.

“I want people to realize cooking at home doesn’t have to feel complicated,” she says. “You can make something wholesome, delicious, and beautiful without spending hours in the kitchen.”

Many of her recipes are intentionally designed to be quick, easy, and visually inspiring — helping people feel motivated to cook more often rather than intimidated by it.

Family continues to play a central role in Christy’s content and daily life. Many of her videos feature cooking moments with her son, Alessio, as a way to encourage parents to involve children in the kitchen from an early age. For Christy, cooking together is less about perfection and more about building confidence, curiosity, and healthy habits that can stay with children as they grow.

“I think getting kids involved in the kitchen early is so important,” she says. “It helps them become more comfortable around food, more willing to try new things, and creates quality time together as a family.”

She hopes her content inspires parents to see cooking at home as something approachable and enjoyable rather than stressful or overwhelming. Christy also credits much of her confidence to the support of both her father and her husband, who always believed in her ability to build something meaningful around her passion for food and creativity.

“That support meant everything to me,” she says. “Having people believe in you changes the way you believe in yourself.”

When asked what advice she would give to others hoping to succeed, Christy’s answer is simple:

“You have to find something that makes you happy that doesn’t rely on your kids, your husband, your parents, or your friends,” she says. “It has to be something you genuinely love — something you can see yourself doing even when it’s not rewarding yet. You have to love it enough to keep showing up for it.”

She encourages others to take chances on themselves, stop being afraid to pursue what truly makes them happy, and continue showing up for the things they love — not because they expect something in return, but because it genuinely brings them joy.

Today, through Be Happy Foodie, Christy shares recipes inspired by her multicultural upbringing, professional nutrition background, and belief that healthy eating should never feel like a chore. Whether she is creating a quick high-protein breakfast, a Mediterranean-inspired lunch, or a family recipe rooted in her Haitian heritage, her message remains the same:

Healthy food can be simple, delicious, and accessible to everyone.

As she likes to say, “Yep, it’s that easy.”

Follow Christy on Instagram at @behappyfoodie, where she shares globally inspired, dietitian-approved recipes that prove healthy eating can be flavorful, accessible, and genuinely fun. Chefadora is proud to spotlight creators like Christy who are bridging cultures through food and showing that nourishing yourself well does not require sacrificing what you love.

Updated on 23 Jun 2026