"SABOR" is a food & wine and lifestyle series that savors Latinos' zest for life and passion for home and family. 

How do you think about food? Does it involve savoring the flavors, seasonal produce or boosting your energy, or is it just scarfing down what's available, pre-made and processed?

For Chef Doreen Colondres, that's an easy question, for food is her passion and a way of life. It's also a means for her to enlighten others to the benefits of healthy cooking without compromising flavor or authenticity. However, it's not always easy. The relationship people have with food can be a bit more complicated than that, but she says it doesn't have to be that way.

Instead, Chef Colondres wants people to know that fresh, flavorful, authentic and seasonal ingredients really can improve your health and ultimately change your life, and she's on a mission to "revolutionize the way people think about food."

"That's [TheKitchenDoesn'tBite.com] my brand, that's my mission basically. I want to convince people to spend more time in the kitchen instead of buying processed foods or going out to eat. Just 20 minutes a day. We are what we eat," she told Latin Post in an exclusive interview.

"As long as we control what we are eating, we can be healthier. I want to convince people that it's easy, it's a therapy, and that it's something that we have to share with people, with our families and with our kids," she added.

Chef Colondres is also the creator of LaCocinaNoMuerde.com, has her own cooking show "Boricuas," and has done a variety of cooking segments on Univisión Network and Mundo Fox, and hosts cooking shows "Hola Martin" & "Tu Vida Más Simple" on Fox Life-Utilísima Network, which airs in more than 16 countries.

The Puerto Rican-born chef has been traveling the world and the U.S. to study the cuisines of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Spain, Greece, Morocco, Italy and beyond, to share new experiences and recipes with her followers.

"There is a lot of gastronomy and influence from country to country -- and that's a good thing!" she said. "I think having the privilege of spending time with Grandma -- that's how you find the real flavors of each country. ... People are looking more and more for those grandma recipes."

This spring, Chef Colondres will introduce her first cookbook, which will be published by Random House - Penguin.  She is also a food and wine writer for "Diario Gourmet," a popular section in one of the top Hispanic women's magazines in the U.S., "Siempre Mujer."

In addition, Chef Colondres creates recipes for multiple food, beverage and health brands, including Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical, "a world leader in diabetes care." She has hosted more than 30 live cooking shows for the Diabetic community around the U.S. She has also served as a spokesperson and consultant for the Bordeaux Wine Council and the Ribera del Duero Wine Council.  

Currently, Chef Colondres serves as the celebrity chef for the National Pork Board's Hispanic efforts in the U.S. and develops a variety of healthy and flavorful recipes for the National Pork Board's Spanish-language website PorkTeInspira.com.

"I am a Latina, I grew up eating pork. I am from Puerto Rico.  I think pretty much all Latinos like pork. We think of our grandparents' and our parents' recipes. In every country, you have it. It's kind of emotional for me and it's been a perfect marriage for me," she explained. "I just want people to get inspired with those Grandma recipes and those flavors from our countries. For me, it's a great opportunity to show others creative and flavorful ideas for cooking at home."

"I come from a family of food," she added. "My dad was a professional cook ... on my mother's side there were a lot of recipes. It was a ceremony for my family."

On Feb. 22, the National Pork Board presented the Goya Foods' 'Swine and Wine' event during the Food Network and Cooking Channel's "South Beach Wine & Food Festival," where Chef Colondres teamed up with Pubbelly's Chef Jose Mendín to serve as National Pork Board Ambassadors and judges for the "National Pork Board Critics' Choice Awards."

The annual event held in Coral Gables, Florida showcases the latest pork dishes created by all-star chefs. This year, the best of the pork-centric tapas dishes were selected to receive top honors during the "National Pork Board Critics' Choice Awards."

"It was an amazing competition," she said. "There were around 15-17 restaurants."

Chef Colondres also led a fun-filled, live demonstration featuring two healthy and easy-to-make pork-inspired recipes: Pork Pita Pizza and Orange Honey Pork Meatballs.

Also a wine enthusiast who became the first Hispanic Celebrity Chef for the Bordeaux Wine Council, the most prestigious wine region in the world, Chef Colondres is also the spokesperson and consultant for the "Viva Bordeaux" campaign for which she designed an elegant Latin recipe guide paired with Bordeaux wines. She suggests pairing pork-inspired recipes with Spanish wine, especially considering Spain caters to a lot of its pork lovers.

"Spanish wine will always be amazing with pork," she said. "A Rioja is amazing with pork. ... With any kind of pork recipe -- with sauce, or with no sauce. People are more into wine, Latinos are more into the wine. I love wine, so it's great. Wine is a perfect pairing with pork."

Colondres also suggests that sometimes the best way to prepare the pork is to simply sear the pork in olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic and dried oregano. Then, cook the vegetables in the same pan to pick up those flavors and get the carmelization from the pork. "You get a lot of great flavor," she said. "You can use fresh asparagus, or whatever vegetable is in season."

After almost a decade, Chef Colondres continues to wow her fans, friends and family in the kitchen.

"It [cooking] was always my hobby," she said. "My background is business and marketing. I decided to study it [cooking] in school. I love to learn every day." While her friends enjoyed being in the kitchen while she was entertaining, she pointed out: "My friends were extremely scared of the kitchen ... but they had to learn that food doesn't bite."

Well said by the founder of "The Kitchen Doesn't Bite!"

Chef Colondres will soon embark on a U.S. tour and hopes to launch her own brand of olive oil and coffee in the near future.

Check out Chef Doreen Colondres' Pork-Inspired Recipes for PorkTeInspira.com:

Pork Pita Pizza

Pork leftovers from the day before? Prepare this easy and fun pita pizza in less than 20 minutes. Great for lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer during a friends, family or kids party. Create your own and make it even more fun.

What you need:

1 pita bread

1/4 cup of shredded pork, well-seasoned

2 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1-2 cherry tomatoes, sliced

1 fig, sliced, 6-8 pineapple small cubes or 1/4 of a mango, sliced

5-6 cilantro leaves

1 tsp. olive oil

Queso fresco or goat cheese to taste

What you need to do:

1. Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.

2. On a pizza stone, wood pizza paddle or regular baking pan, place the pita and lightly brush with olive oil.

3. Add the cheese, the shredded pork, tomatoes, your favorite fruit and cilantro.

4. Bake the pita pizza for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and pita looks crispy.

5. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with queso fresco, serve immediately and enjoy!

Serving size: 1 person

Time: 15 minutes

Orange Honey Pork Meatballs

Everyone will fall in love with this easy to make, flavorful and fun meatballs recipe. They can be served as an appetizer, lunch or dinner with bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, salad, yucca, pumpkin or carrot puree or a side of zucchini and squash. Add a serrano or jalapeño chile for a spicy touch. Invite kids to create different shapes with them, like croquetas or lollipops to insert on a stick. You may add one more tablespoon of agave honey to the sauce to make it sweeter. Your kids will love them! 

What you need for the meatballs:

1 pound of fresh ground pork**

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 egg* (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Chile serrano or jalapeño (optional)

What you need for the sauce:

Juice and zest of 1 orange (1/4 cup orange juice)

2 tbsp. olive oil (or toasted sesame oil)

2 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp. honey agave (or regular honey)

1 tbsp. cilantro

What you need to do:

1. On a bowl, mix the pork, egg, garlic, chile (optional) and lightly season with salt and pepper.

2. Using your hands, shape 10-12 meatballs similar to a small burger patty and set aside in the refrigerator.

3. On another bowl, combine the zest and orange juice, honey, soy sauce and set aside.

4. On a sauté pan over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and cook for 2 minutes on one side.

5. Then flip over the meatballs, add the sauce and combine to deglaze the pan. Scrape the fond using a wood or rubber spoon, cook for 2 more minutes and reduce heat until cook to perfection, depending on the shape and size of the meatballs.

6. Add the cilantro and serve immediately. 

* The egg will help with consistency, juiciness and shape but you can do it without the egg in case of allergies of dietary restrictions.

** If you don't find ground pork in the refrigerator of your favorite grocery store, ask an employee, I am sure they can ground it fresh in just a few minutes.

Serving size: 10-12 Pork meatballs

Cooking time: 20 minutes

For more healthy and delicious Pork recipes, visit PorkTeInspira.com.