Tasty Tips To Make Mexican Food Lighter And Healthier
Join your friends at a typical Mexican restaurant and look around the table at all the delicious offerings. Aside from making your mouth water, what do all these dishes have in common?
Chances are they are not exactly what you would call "on the lighter side."
You might also notice the servings are huge. (No, you aren't imagining things… that plate of nachos you enjoyed a decade ago has now become an enormous platter). Over time, our appetites have become used to these larger portions of fatty, fried foods swimming in heavy sauces.
Fortunately, you can turn those bad eating habits into healthy ones - while still enjoying all the great Mexican flavors you love. Authentic Mexican food doesn't resemble those loaded plates of fat and calories. By simply returning to the roots of Mexican cooking - lean protein, beans, and fresh produce - you can lighten your plate and stop loosening your belt.
Here are a few healthier choices you can make and still enjoy all that wonderful Mexican food:
Lean Protein
Skip the beef. Red meat was not a staple in the Mexican diet because beef cattle were not readily available to most of the people. Instead, turkey, chicken, and seafood were much more likely to be eaten by the average Mexican family.
Go back to those simple diets and enjoy these leaner and healthier proteins instead of ground or shredded beef. You'll be eating much healthier - and the result will be more authentically Mexican.
Beans
Beans are the ultimate lean protein enjoyed in many classic Mexican dishes. So, how did this super healthy food become so unhealthy?
Fat and sugar are often found in canned beans and most definitely in refried beans. You'll also find some restaurants take the term "refried beans" to mean throw the canned beans into a skillet and fry them twice in fat.
The term “refried beans” is actually a misnomer. The actual English translation from the Spanish term "frijoles refritos" means "beans well fried." You can do this in a healthy manner like authentic Mexican cooks. Just smash some cooked beans and fry them dry, meaning with no oil. Or just smash the beans and add them to your recipe without frying them to enjoy all their healthy goodness.
Guacamole and Salsa Fresca
You can add lots of great flavor to your next Mexican meal with fresh guacamole and salsa. Any Mexican restaurant worth going to has its own freshly made versions of these two classics. These dishes are also super easy to make at home, so there is no reason to succumb to any of the other not-so-healthy toppings that are offered.
Speaking of unhealthy toppings, there is one in particular that you may want to avoid: queso sauce. When you see the words "con queso"- just turn away. Loaded with fat, salt, and lots of calories, any queso sauce (cheese sauce) on the menu can be replaced with a fresh, healthy guacamole or salsa fresca.
Tortillas
And now we come to that very popular vehicle for so many Mexican foods… the tortilla. Used to wrap other ingredients, the tortilla can be healthy - or not.
A basic flour tortilla, fried in a dry skillet until lightly browned, can be just fine. But somewhere along the way, restaurants started churning out tortilla monsters. Super huge chimichangas, burritos, and tacos now reign supreme.
Not only are these offerings huge, they are often deep fried, as well. Yes, that gigantic tortilla-wrapped bundle of cheese-laden ingredients gets lowered into a vat of hot fat and deep fried for your dining pleasure.
For a healthier choice, skip the deep-fried option. Then, choose fillings that feature leaner proteins, healthy vegetables and non-fried beans. .
As you can see, even standard Mexican restaurant fare can be made healthier by making simple substitutions. All the fresh, delicious flavors of Mexico can be enjoyed in new, healthier ways.
All you have to do is look to the past and cook real food in traditional Mexican ways.