Welcome! Bienvenidos! My name is Jessica, (but please call me Jess), and I am the home cook behind Dash of Color and Spice. I was born and raised in Kansas City but both of my parents were born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico. My first language was Spanish and I am proud to say I am fluent in both English and Spanish. I am a full-time oncology nurse and being a nurse is my number one job and passion. I cannot imagine doing anything else or working with any other population other than cancer patients. The job can be sad and emotionally exhausting but also very rewarding with many smiles and successes. I live in Kansas City with my husband, Zac, and two fur babies, Lola and Sonar.
Growing up in a Mexican household I had all the amazing Mexican dishes you can imagine, tamales, tacos, menudo, pozole… you name it! As you can imagine though, these were all wonderful indulgences full of all the glorious flavors and not the most nutritious benefits. Unfortunately being Hispanic also predisposes you to chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Another unfortunate thing: these tend to go hand in hand. So when I was diagnosed with the “trifecta” that I just mentioned at age 24 I was pretty devastated. I was, after all, only 24 years old, pretty fit, not overweight, and relatively healthy. It was then that I realized I needed to change my ways of eating and it included backing off of all the tortillas, arroz, tamales, etc. It was a pretty hard thing to do but I managed to do it, lose some weight, and control my conditions.
Fast forward 5 years when I realized I was spiraling out of control again with poor control of my diabetes and I found Whole30. After much research and prep work I did my first round February of 2018 and the results were amazing. My blood sugars with the best they had ever been and I felt amazing! It is then that my passion for re-creating Mexican recipes to make them “clean” and more healthy started. I wanted to show everyone you can still have delicious and flavorful food while eating healthy. I also wanted to show that I could still eat the traditional recipes I grew up eating but with a twist. You can read all about my Whole30 journey here. I am a firm believer that we can eat all the foods we enjoy, indulge in some goods, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and still be successful and satisfied. It’s all about balance and knowing your body and response to food. I didn’t want to give up all the dishes my abuelita and mom make and wanted to keep learning from both of them so I found a good balance and keep recreating and learning from them constantly.
I share these recipes in hopes that you all try something new, add some flavor and spice to your life, and hope you create a meal or dish that you, your family, friends, and loved ones truly enjoy. My recipes stem from the love and passion for cooking my grandma and mom shared with me and I share them with you all with the same love and passion.
