Blue Zones Project highlights restaurants offering healthier menus
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) Inside Gordon's Cafe on Main Street in downtown Salinas, cooks are preparing tasty and healthy meals.
Menu items like veggie bowls - packed with greens, beans and rice. The owner Maribel Monjaraz, has decided to be part of the Monterey County's Blue Zones Project. It's an initiative that aims to promote healthier communities.
Monjaraz is working to transform traditional Mexican dishes like her Oaxacan enchiladas and vegan pozole, that's packed with flavor and vegetables. Growing up in Mexico, her family's diet she says was plant based. Monjaraz is working to transform traditional Mexican dishes like her Oaxacan enchiladas and vegan pozole, that's packed with flavor and vegetables. Growing up in Mexico, her family's diet she says was plant based. Meat she says was only available at the weekly market - 20 minutes away. While that was only out of necessity, her family's diet has proven to help family members live a long and vibrant life. Her great grandmother lived to be 107 years old.
"I really believe that we have a purpose to be able to help our community to sill enjoy good food with out having to have all the of the extra sodium -- the meat - and extra fat in our meals," said Monjaraz.
Despite inflated prices at the grocery stores, Maribel is pushing to carry a menu with affordable prices while offering nutritious meals is important to her. She She does her best by roasting and grilling chicken rather than frying meats in oils.
"There is a beg problem in our community with diabetes being on the high rise and a lot of the foods. And a lot of the foods it's cheaper to eat unhealthy foods," said Monjaraz.
Regulars, who are looking for a well balanced meal, are on the lookout out for restaurants that are designated blue zone partners.
According to representative with the Blue Zones Project, the pandemic has only hurt the efforts to reduce chronic illnesses like diabetes. People were stuck at home not exercising enough.
"In Monterey County, there is such a need for us to be here. Unfortunately more than half of our residents suffer from diabetes or are pre-diabetic and don't even know it," said Veronica Plascencia.
The answer is in the foods people eat.
"The goal is to make traditional home dishes, where some of the restaurants that we have the opportunity to work with reinvent them," said Plascencia. "To make it like you feel like your eating at grandma's house and your going to mom's house - and it's soo familiar to you. Yet, it's so much better for you."
The Blue Zones Project is based on the movement of adapting and implementing characteristics of people who live in Centenarian zones. There are five blue zones in the world were people live the longest and healthiest: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California.
