Meet Mel Griego: Health Blogger

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mel Griego and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mel, what matters most to you?
The value that matters the most to me is definitely integrity. It wasn’t until I was in college that I fully grasped the meaning of integrity, but once I did, I realized that it was subconsciously a value that I held near and dear my entire life. Growing up, my parents raised us with integrity as a main foundation for everything we did. The way I learned about integrity was not through a dictionary, but through my parents’ actions; every choice they made for our family was filtered through the lens of integrity. I have realized over the last decade just how important integrity is to me. I think I took for granted that not everyone holds themselves to the same standards that I had been raised with; I experienced a handful of people that did not operate with integrity over the years through school and work. Having these experiences allowed me to truly see the value of integrity and I have now made it a mission in my business to make every decision with those same values in mind. 

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I have always struggled with food, nutrition and food sensitivities so I have had to learn how to get creative in the kitchen to keep myself healthy and avoid foods like gluten and dairy. I discovered quickly that the “allergy-friendly” products they sell at the store are not the healthiest so I decided to experiment to make my own. I knew I couldn’t be the only one struggling with these issues so I decided to create a blog around my health struggles. On my blog (Peace Of Mel) I provide a community for others struggling with their health who are looking for healthy recipes, ways to stay active, and just great wellness tips in general. I am most excited about the growth that is going to come this next year! I have created 2 fun, healthy recipe ebooks and am preparing to expand Peace of Mel to provide more content to help women who have struggled with eating disorders and body image issues. It has taken about 2 years to get to where I am now and I know that it is only going to grow from here. I think the hardest part that I have had to deal with in creating this business is getting crystal clear on where I want to go. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to do it all, luckily I have my husband to keep my feet on the ground most of the time. One of the biggest lessons I have learned (and am still learning) is to just do it. Don’t worry about what others think or what they are going to say. If you are being authentic, doing what you love, and serving others the rest will fall into place. The reason I started this blog and will continue to expand it is because I know what it is like to struggle, to feel hopeless and to feel like you are all alone. There are so many things that I have experienced with my health, especially as a woman, that I know others are experiencing right now and all they want is guidance and community. My goal is to be a light for those struggling. I want my blog to be a place where women from all walks of life can find an article that will help them deal with the anxiety of eating foods they have labeled as “bad” in the past, a workout that makes them feel good in their body, or a copycat recipe for a food they miss because of their allergies.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I absolutely love showing Colorado off! I lived in Florida for a year and everyone I met, I would rave about how wonderful Colorado was and how much I missed it. The places I would take them to eat would be: -Blue Sky Cafe in Golden (Brunch) -Indulge in Golden -Snooze (Brunch) -Lake Terrace at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs (Brunch) -Golden Bee at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs -Dbar in Denver -True Food Kitchen in Cherry Creek -Loaded Joe’s in Avon The places we would go and things we would do would be: -Take the Celestial Seasonings tour -Head to Red Rocks and do some morning yoga or stair runs -Walk around downtown Golden -Go to the Museum of Nature and Science -Walk around Garden of the Gods -Go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo -Walk around Vail Village

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think about this all the time! I would not be where I am today without the encouragement and support from my parents, my sisters, my husband and my amazing friend, Christy. They have each played an important role in my life and have everything to do with my entrepreneurial spirit, my belief in my business, and my ability to dream BIG!

Website: www.peaceofmel.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/peaceofmel
Facebook: www.facebook.com/peaceofmelblog
Other: www.pinterest.com/peaceofmelblog