About Isabel Orozco-Moore
Hi! I’m Isabel Orozco-Moore, a proud first-generation Mexican American, born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both of my parents were born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in the 1980s.
I started Isabel Eats in 2015 as a way to document my family’s recipes and connect to my Mexican heritage. I hope this website and my little corner of the internet bring you joy, inspiration, and a deeper love of Mexican flavors.
How It All Started
My passion for cooking started when I lived far from home when I was in college. I couldn’t find much Mexican food where I lived, and I really missed it, so I started calling my mom for recipes. The problem was she didn’t have any since she cooked just by taste and feel, so with her help and lots of trial and error, I figured out the measurements, took lots of notes, and started writing everything down.
I didn’t want my family’s recipes to get lost, and I figured if I was doing all this work anyway, other people might want them too. So I started sharing my family’s recipes online, and that’s how Isabel Eats started.
Another important part of my story that I think is worth sharing is that when I was in college, I dealt with an eating disorder. It pulled me away from food, especially the Mexican food I grew up eating.
So often we’re told that these cultural foods are unhealthy or bad for us, but I think it’s actually the complete opposite. Sure, these foods feed our bodies and are physical nourishment, but they’re also good for the soul in a way that’s really hard to put into words. They connect us to our culture, to where we come from, and to who we are now.
Cooking Mexican food and the dishes my parents made is what helped me find my way back to food, and reconnect to my culture too.
A Little More About Me
I’m the youngest of six kids – three boys and three girls – aka the Mexican Brady Bunch 😂 I grew up speaking English, Spanish, and a whole lot of Spanglish, and every summer, we went to Mexico to visit my grandparents and cousins.
I met my husband, John, in college, and now we live in OKC with our two daughters, Olivia and Lily, and our two sweet cats, Charlie and Lucy.
Before food blogging, I got a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in social work, and I worked in research at the University of Pittsburgh.
Some Fun Facts About Me
- I’ve watched every episode of Frasier at least 20 times! It’s always on while I’m testing recipes. It’s my comfort show.
- My husband calls me a Mexican food snob because I’m always comparing restaurant food to my parents’ cooking. Listen, I still think that nothing can compete with my mom’s cooking!
- Moving my body, whether it’s yoga or a strength workout, is my much-needed ME time, especially since having kids. It gets me out of my own head, helps me process things, and just makes me happy.
- I love going to local breweries! These days, I’m always looking for ones that are family-friendly so I can take the girls. Luckily, there are a few in my area that have playgrounds and games for the kids.
How I Develop and Test My Recipes
I may not have formal culinary training, but I’ve spent over 10 years testing, tweaking, and perfecting Mexican recipes that I learned from my family. I’d ask my parents a million questions about how they made something and why they did it that way, and then I’d go make it myself.
Everything gets tested on my family before it goes on the site. John, my mom, my sister, my nieces and nephews. They all try it. I also have a small team now who helps me in the kitchen, and we make sure every step is clear enough to work in your kitchen too. You can meet them on the About Isabel Eats page.
Over the years, I’ve also taken courses and workshops in recipe development, writing, food photography, and video. And since Mexico is a big country and every region makes things a little differently, I also like to research how people in other parts of Mexico make a dish, not just how my family from Zacatecas does it.
I also read your comments. If a recipe didn’t work for you, I want to know so that I can go back and retest it.
Where You’ve Seen Me
My recipes have been featured in TODAY, NBC News, The Guardian, Saveur, Eater, The Kitchn, SELF, Good Housekeeping, Refinery29, National Geographic, and Business Insider.
Featured articles and write-ups:
- EdibleOKC: Isabel Eats: Conversations on Culinary Culture with Isabel Orozco-Moore
- The Oklahoma Gazette: Social Cooking
- Ground Up: Isabel Orozco-Moore on Food, Entrepreneurship, and Life with Ground Up
I’ve also been a guest on the Food Blogger Pro Podcast twice, Dishing with Delish, and OKC Foodcast, and I co-hosted a food photography workshop in Pittsburgh with a fellow food blogger.
My Cookbooks
In 2024, after tons of requests from readers, I published three digital cookbooks: The Mexican Kitchen: Essentials, Main Dishes, and Drinks & Desserts.
And now I’m working on my first printed cookbook! Coming soon to bookstores everywhere 😱
If you’d like to receive updates and more information about the cookbook as soon as preorders become available, sign up here.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are your recipes authentic?
Many are made the way my parents and grandparents make them, in our small town near Sombrerete, Zacatecas. But Mexico is a big country, and every region does things a little differently, so you might see the same dish made another way somewhere else. I also share Tex-Mex and Mexican-inspired recipes, and I always tell you which is which. - What do you actually make on a regular weeknight?
These chicken tacos are pretty much a weekly staple in our house. The seasoning on the chicken is incredible. Thankfully, my two girls also love beans, so we always have either stovetop pinto beans or refried beans in the fridge. Two other recipes in our regular weekly rotation are my sheet pan chicken fajitas and my mom’s Mexican rice.
My Personal Favorites
Let’s Stay in Touch
My favorite part of this whole thing is hearing from you. When someone tells me a recipe reminds them of something they grew up eating, that’s truly the best feeling.
Here’s where you can follow along:
I’m so glad you’re here. I hope Isabel Eats brings you inspiration, nostalgia, and, most importantly, really good food. ❤️
¡Buen provecho!
