Chef LaLa
About Chef Lala
For more than a decade, Laura Diaz (aka Chef LaLa)
has been cooking up delicious, healthy recipes as
a celebrity chef. Now she’s bringing her expertise
straight to the doorsteps of her fans through her
meal company, Chef Nourish.
Diaz is a certified nutritionist, a busy mom
and a business owner. She’s also a chef and a
cookbook author. Her first book, “Latin Lover Lite,”
was hugely popular and sold out its first printing.
“Best-Loved Mexican Cooking,” her second book,
was inspired by her father (who had diabetes) and
emphasizes traditional ethnic cuisine—minus the
fat. But she hasn’t stopped there – she’s been
featured on the “Today” show, “Dr. Oz,” “Martha
Stewart,” CNN en Espanol, ABC and Telemundo
(to name a few).
Diaz’s work as a nutritionist focuses on the
crisis of obesity and diabetes in urban America.
Her own experience with struggling with her
weight after having her first child has inspired
and motivated her audience to live a healthy life.Influences
Diaz shared, “I come from a family of restauran-
teurs. I also have a family history of diabetes. So I
learned firsthand the great pleasures of cooking
and eating but also the critical connection between
food and health.” Her grandparents and her father
passed away from complications of diabetes, and
her mother has the condition. She learned from
her dad that it’s possible to honor culture andtraditional flavors yet cook and eat healthfully
at the same time.
Diaz learned about cooking in her family’s
restaurants and then studied at the famous Le
Cordon Bleu school. Her newest venture is Chef
Nourish, a Los Angeles-based company that
provides high-quality, nutritious foods to busy
people to help them live “the healthiest possible
lives.” For more information, visit the website at
http://www.chefnourish.com.On health and diabetes
In addition to her work as a nutritionist and cook-
book author, Diaz has given back to the community
in a number of ways. She has been a spokesperson
for the American Diabetes Association and has
been involved in multiple organizations, including
the American Diabetes Association, the American
Heart Association, the National Kidney Founda-
tion, NBA FIT and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Diaz has received numerous awards for her work,
including an award from Joslin Diabetes Center’s
Latino Diabetes Initiative in 2012.
wDiaz shared some advice for people living
with diabetes: “Being prepared and planning
ahead are so important. We live in a busy world,
and we’re always trying to find time for things like
cooking meals or researching our family’s health
history. If you prepare ahead of time—keeping
your refrigerator stocked with a variety of healthy
foods, for instance, or deciding your meals at the
beginning of the week—you’re able to make
better choices about what you put into your body
without sacrificing your enjoyment of food.” She
firmly believes that you can keep culture and flavor
in your food—there are so many healthy options.
Garbanzos, avocados, sweet potatoes and leafy
greens are favorites, providing taste, texture and
color to satisfy all of the senses.
So, what does a busy chef/business owner/
cookbook author/mom turn to for a healthy, go-to
meal? “Zucchini noodles are a great substitute. You
get the joy of pasta but without the heavy carbs.
Same goes for cauliflower rice, which has the nice
texture and feel of rice grains but with a lower
glycemic-index value. I like to pair it with zesty
Cajun-spiced shrimp and crisp asparagus spears
for a meal that is completely satisfying. Ground
turkey or chicken can take the place of beef in a
dish, then I like to add back a little fat
For more international cuisine from Chef LaLa, visit and flavor with some shredded cheese.”
DiabetesSelfManagement.com/recipes
MEXICO
46 September/October 2019