Can You Eat Healthy and Still Write A Food Blog?

Who said you can eat healthy and still write a food blog? Dr. Leslie Flores. I would never have believed it but since May of 2024, I’ve been eating healthier; a year now, thanks to Dr Leslie Flores, who talked me into trying more fruits, vegetables, seafood, superfoods and less red meat. I also cut out alcohol, which has been more of a blessing than a curse. In addition to saving close to half of what I use to spend, I dropped 10 pounds and my cholesterol is down from 380 to 167; the best reading in years.

As a food writer, my new discipline includes regular cheats - I just tasted Chef Paulina Carreno’s desserts this week for Mother’s Day - but I’ve learned to go right back to healthy eating afterwards; something I’ve trained myself to do over time without even thinking.

All of a sudden I crave good vegetables; you know, the kind that Chef Donnie Masterton of The Restaurant and Jim McKeever of Nectar plant and serve every day. Chef Arturo Sandoval has a list of great vegetable dishes on his menu at Atrio as well as Chef Jorge Avendano at Altar. Chef Regina Aguilar of Hacintto features a gorgeous plate of vegetables with pistachio sauce as her signature dish. It’s my favorite dish in SMA right now.

My favorite meal at home is a chicken breast and a fresh fruit salad. The key to this meal is buying chicken at the Gerez family’s Rancho Viejo store on Insurgentes #168. It doesn’t have a number posted outside but it’s right next to #170. Maribel cuts the breast fresh every day and it’s much juicer, more tender and has a less fibrous taste. The free range chickens roam the farm that Don Luis Gerez founded years ago after he came to SMA from Spain, which his daughter, Angeles, now runs. His son, Luis is using new methods for feeding and reduced water use by applying techniques he learned at the University of Guadalajara. I also buy items at my local fruit and vegetable store at Insurgentes #103, near Quebrada, owned by the Galicia Licea family. I asked the Senora to pick out an avocado and mango to use in a salad that day and over time, I discovered that the produce she picked for me are always perfect. She’s also passed this talent down to her staff. My new motto is BUY LOCAL and plan ahead. Save your cheat days because we’ve got Millesime weekend (May 22-25) and San Miguel y Sus Sabores (June 27-29) coming up in the next two months and if you love food, you don’t want to miss either festival. They both feature all the great food you find in SMA.