Kristyn Merkley

Growing up in a Hispanic family, I ate amazing food every single night and especially at every family gathering! It was incredible, but I had no idea how much I took it for granted. My blogging story starts as a newly-wed wife struggling to make anything that could pass as edible for my poor husband. I had been so enabled as a little girl by a mother who loved to cook so much that I never had the opportunity to learn for myself. I decided then and there that I would master my family recipes, and any others that I found. Gratefully, after I got married, my mom and aunts taught me all their tips, tricks, and recipes. I started posting them on a personal blog, more as a way to keep track of them for myself. I would share the blog with others who expressed a similar desire to learn to cook more. I chose the name Lil’ Luna because Luna is my mother’s maiden name. It was her and all of her sisters that really introduced me to the amazing cuisine of our heritage and family. So I am just one of several Lil’ Luna’s who have taken up the art of using food to entertain and connect people.

Dozens of recipes later, I realized I loved learning new recipes and techniques, and I loved even more sharing those with others. As the years progressed, my husband, who REALLY loved my learning of new recipes, and I were joined by six food-and-fun-loving kids. This added a whole new aspect to the recipes that really resonated with me and my readers. With a crazy life like that, the recipes had to be so easy AND so yummy. This became the new tagline for my website. This joy of sharing easy, delicious meals with busy parents was the driving force for me to learn photography, SEO, web page design, email strategy, social media, and all of the other crazy things that owning and running a food website requires. Now fourteen years and thousands of recipes later, there have been many rewarding and amazing benefits from owning a company like this. However, the most enjoyable thing is still hearing about that stressful family dinner or get-together that turned out great in part because of a recipe that was found on Lil’ Luna. Because that has been the case for me as well, and it feels great to pay it forward the way the Lunas (my mom and aunts), did for me.