Hispanic Heritage Month Highlight – Sonya Gomez of Plant Based Meals
At first glance, plant-based Mexican food seems like a paradox because most traditional Mexican meals showcase meat. Nevertheless, Sonya Gomez was successfully able to create her own version of Mexican food that highlights vegetables for health and cultural reasons.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, we will be sharing why Sonya helped build Plant Based Meals, which is now a thriving vegan Latinx company in San Diego. We will also be discussing the benefits of a plant-based diet and how to adapt this diet to fit your lifestyle.
Why Sonya Gomez Started Plant Based Meals
Plant Based Meals is a Hispanic women-owned business that incorporates classic Mexican flavor into its plant-based dishes.
Co-owner Sonya is not vegan herself, yet she firmly believes that adding more plants to one’s diet and eating fewer animal products is to the benefit of humanity. She believes that this diet is advantageous on individual, community, and global levels.
Sonya is aware that human beings are the only mammals who are capable of making conscious decisions on an everyday basis. That’s why she encourages others to play a role in healing Mother Earth by making eco-friendly food choices.
It was a radical move on Sonya’s part to promote a plant-centric diet because she grew up in a Mexican American household in San Diego where meat was almost always the main course. However, over the years, she was able to encounter a new generation of Latinos who understood the value of a plant-based diet. Sonya learned to create plant based meals with the rich and traditional flavors that Mexican food has.
The Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
There are two main advantages of adapting plant-based diet:
Going Back to Ancient Mexican Culinary Roots
More and more Latinos are beginning to appreciate vegan-Mexican cuisine. This is not as surprising as it seems since Mexico's ancient indigenous natives mainly ate vegetables during pre-Columbian times, according to NPR.
Folklife Magazine explains that this growing trend is rooted in the desire of Mexican Americans to reclaim ancestral food knowledge and to rediscover their original pre-colonial culture.
Healthy Food Options
A plant-based diet is a low-risk, cost-effective way to lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and body mass index, according to a nutritional update from the Permanente Journal. It recommends this type of diet for people who are struggling with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
The Journal of the American Heart Association also reveals that plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, especially in middle-aged adults.
Vegan-Mexican cuisine is easily accessible to everyone who lives in San Diego, thanks to vegan Latinx companies like Plant Based Meals who deliver plant based meals all across the San Diego area.
Plant Based Meals is the only whole food, plant-based meal prep and delivery service in San Diego. It is the ideal option for people who are interested in eating in a healthy and culturally conscious way. You can also support a Hispanic women-owned business this Hispanic Heritage Month.
Call (858) 255-0590 or fill out our contact form to start ordering vegan meals that will transform your eating habits.