Tag: Dinner

Healthy Mexican Food

New Mexico Green Chile Stew

manton

New Mexican Green Chile Stew is Queen! La Reina de los Estofados! You might be picking up on a little bias on my part. And that is due to the fact that New Mexico is my home. Furthermore, while I am admitting my biases, I will tell you that there’s no better green chile than New Mexico Hatch Green Chile. Punto.

If you are lucky enough to live in New Mexico, you know what I’m talking about when I tell you that it’s GREEN CHILE SEASON!  And the air is full of green chile aroma. There’s something about a crisp autumn day when the sun is shining but the air is cool, and you’re walking down the street and you smell green chile roasting. If you haven’t experienced this, it’s worth you going out and buying some fresh green chile, hopefully from New Mexico, and firing up the backyard grill. Your neighbors will thank you for enriching their senses and you’ll have the start of the best stew in your healthy recipe box.

So here is our very good and easy-to-follow recipe for New Mexican Green Chile Stew! The hardest part of this recipe is roasting the chiles, and if you have never done that before, it might take a few tries. But let me tell you, it’s worth it. Just give it a try and wear gloves. Another thing, if you are a little lazy, or in a hurry, you can give yourself permission to get frozen Hatch Green Chile from your grocer. And Trader Joe’s has Hatch Green Chile sometimes in the frozen section. Safeway has it in Portland, and any good grocer worth her salt has it in New Mexico and Arizona! And I don’t know about the rest of Texas, but I have found green chile in El Paso! So all this to say, that you are a busy woman, and who am I to judge? If you want to take a short cut, ¡Andale!  Go ahead and buy it in a jar or a can. (Ni Modo!) You can also use Anaheim, and we won’t hold it against you, although then you’re really making Anaheim Green Chile Stew. It’s still good. No worries! Use more! Now, if you are a real New Mexican, you might take offense with us using tomatoes. But I first learned how to make New Mexico Green Chile Stew from the Pink Adobe Cookbook, and Rosalea used tomatoes so I gave myself permission to do that. Finally, this stew is great on a cold evening, and shared with the people you love. It will please the panza and soothe the soul.

¡Qué viva Nuevo México!

English, Healthy Mexican Food, Recipes

New Mexico Green Chile Stew

shared

New Mexican Green Chile Stew is Queen! La Reina de los Estofados! You might be picking up on a little bias on my part. And that is due to the fact that New Mexico is my home. Furthermore, while I am admitting my biases, I will tell you that there’s no better green chile than New Mexico Hatch Green Chile. Punto.

If you are lucky enough to live in New Mexico, you know what I’m talking about when I tell you that it’s GREEN CHILE SEASON!  And the air is full of green chile aroma. There’s something about a crisp autumn day when the sun is shining but the air is cool, and you’re walking down the street and you smell green chile roasting. If you haven’t experienced this, it’s worth you going out and buying some fresh green chile, hopefully from New Mexico, and firing up the backyard grill. Your neighbors will thank you for enriching their senses and you’ll have the start of the best stew in your healthy recipe box.

So here is our very good and easy-to-follow recipe for New Mexican Green Chile Stew! The hardest part of this recipe is roasting the chiles, and if you have never done that before, it might take a few tries. But let me tell you, it’s worth it. Just give it a try and wear gloves. Another thing, if you are a little lazy, or in a hurry, you can give yourself permission to get frozen Hatch Green Chile from your grocer. And Trader Joe’s has Hatch Green Chile sometimes in the frozen section. Safeway has it in Portland, and any good grocer worth her salt has it in New Mexico and Arizona! And I don’t know about the rest of Texas, but I have found green chile in El Paso! So all this to say, that you are a busy woman, and who am I to judge? If you want to take a short cut, ¡Andale!  Go ahead and buy it in a jar or a can. (Ni Modo!) You can also use Anaheim, and we won’t hold it against you, although then you’re really making Anaheim Green Chile Stew. It’s still good. No worries! Use more! Now, if you are a real New Mexican, you might take offense with us using tomatoes. But I first learned how to make New Mexico Green Chile Stew from the Pink Adobe Cookbook, and Rosalea used tomatoes so I gave myself permission to do that. Finally, this stew is great on a cold evening, and shared with the people you love. It will please the panza and soothe the soul.

¡Qué viva Nuevo México!

Healthy Body, Healthy Family, Healthy Mexican Food, Latina Community

Meatless Monday

manton

Meatless Monday – A Fun Way to Start Eating More Veggies

One of my healthy living goals for the new year is to cut down on meat, and eat more more fruits and vegetables.  

A fun way to do this is to start a Meatless Monday tradition. So we agreed that we could try new recipes, and start the week off with a slightly healthier approach. Also, in these times of climate change, I am constantly worried about our poor little planet! Eating less meat is good for our bodies and good for the planet – a win-win!  

I was remembering my life in Nogales and how we had Meatless Mondays at my Nana’s house “across the line,” on the Mexican side of border. And then I realized that it wasn’t just Meatless Monday, but also Meatless Tuesday and Meatless Wednesday. And then, wait! Hold on. We pretty much went meatless every day except for maybe Carne Asada Sunday!  

The reason wasn’t that we were trying to save the planet, or lower our cholesterol. The reason was that my Nana and my aunts and uncles who lived in that old adobe house on the hill, didn’t have the money to buy meat for a giant family.

We ate frijoles de la olla, frijoles refritos, sopa de frijoles, enfrijoladas, burritos de frijoles, frijoles con chorizo, tostadas with you guessed it, frijoles, and even a special trick I learned: Cave out a bolillo roll and fill it with frijoles and queso fresco! YUM! This all paired really well with my Nana’s killer salsa de chile verde. And ¿sabes qué? I never once felt deprived. I felt loved and satisfied and nurtured.

When we were on the Mexican side of the border, we were poor and we had a super healthy diet. We never ate large portions because there weren’t that many portions to go around. But we never went hungry either, so we were lucky.

You’ve heard it here before and we will say it again: the traditional Mexican diet is a SUPER healthy diet! Our Mexican diet was pretty much dominated by protein from beans, eggs and queso fresco, and bolstered by corn, which is the grain of the gods. (No fooling.) Sure, we ate meat with our meals, but they weren’t dominated by large portions of it. If we had meat, it was in very moderate to small amounts, and mostly for taste.

But here we are now, trying to adopt a healthier way of living. And all we Mexicans have to do is look back to the way of our Nanas and Tatas!

In doing research about Meatless Mondays, I found out that Meatless Monday started as a movement by our colegas at the Public Health School at Johns Hopkins University, back in 2003. Through research, they discovered that Monday was the ideal day to try to recover from the overindulgence of weekends. (Overeating, disrupted sleep patterns and possibly even drinking too much.)  

Some of this research showed that people were motivated by making a small but significant change at the start of the work week. That is where the idea of Meatless Monday came from. As more and more people adopted the idea of not eating meat on Mondays, they became healthier, poco a poco, over time. Here is more evidence that small changes over time are the ones that last. It wasn’t a drastic thing, but just one day a week. The idea is that we could become just a little healthier if we took this small step. We would become healthier and the planet would benefit too.  

 

So Meatless Monday took off and other countries and organizations started getting on board. Australia tried it. Paul McCartney promoted it. Even beef-consuming Argentina got into the act in 2017 by declaring Vegan Mondays!

If you want to learn more about the history of Meatless Mondays, see the Wikipedia article. It has a fascinating amount of information that will surely inspire you to try it!

So at De Las Mías we want to encourage you to give Meatless Monday a try. Here’s another way to eat more veggies and fruits for your health and help Mother Earth carry the load.

Here are some of the benefits of Meatless Mondays:

  • Lower your cholesterol and therefore, your risk of heart attack and stroke.
  • Help you get to a healthier weight.
  • Help lower your risk of high blood pressure.
  • Increase your intake of fiber and its health benefits.
  • Take a little stress off the planet (plant-based foods take less energy).
  • Use less water to grow food (plant-based foods take less water than animal-based food).
  • Plant-based foods pollute less than cows.  

Try some meatless dishes from De Las Mías:

And we’re curious…

  • What’s your favorite meatless dish?  
  • How would your family feel about starting a Meatless Monday tradition at your house? Would they be on board?
  • What is the biggest barrier to going meatless on Mondays?

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meatless_Monday

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/10/19/argentinas-vegan-mondays

¡Hola, Sabrosa!, Edición No. 7: Change, English, Healthy Body, Healthy Mexican Food

Meatless Monday

shared

Meatless Monday – A Fun Way to Start Eating More Veggies

One of my healthy living goals for the new year is to cut down on meat, and eat more more fruits and vegetables.  

A fun way to do this is to start a Meatless Monday tradition. So we agreed that we could try new recipes, and start the week off with a slightly healthier approach. Also, in these times of climate change, I am constantly worried about our poor little planet! Eating less meat is good for our bodies and good for the planet – a win-win!  

I was remembering my life in Nogales and how we had Meatless Mondays at my Nana’s house “across the line,” on the Mexican side of border. And then I realized that it wasn’t just Meatless Monday, but also Meatless Tuesday and Meatless Wednesday. And then, wait! Hold on. We pretty much went meatless every day except for maybe Carne Asada Sunday!  

The reason wasn’t that we were trying to save the planet, or lower our cholesterol. The reason was that my Nana and my aunts and uncles who lived in that old adobe house on the hill, didn’t have the money to buy meat for a giant family.

We ate frijoles de la olla, frijoles refritos, sopa de frijoles, enfrijoladas, burritos de frijoles, frijoles con chorizo, tostadas with you guessed it, frijoles, and even a special trick I learned: Cave out a bolillo roll and fill it with frijoles and queso fresco! YUM! This all paired really well with my Nana’s killer salsa de chile verde. And ¿sabes qué? I never once felt deprived. I felt loved and satisfied and nurtured.

When we were on the Mexican side of the border, we were poor and we had a super healthy diet. We never ate large portions because there weren’t that many portions to go around. But we never went hungry either, so we were lucky.

You’ve heard it here before and we will say it again: the traditional Mexican diet is a SUPER healthy diet! Our Mexican diet was pretty much dominated by protein from beans, eggs and queso fresco, and bolstered by corn, which is the grain of the gods. (No fooling.) Sure, we ate meat with our meals, but they weren’t dominated by large portions of it. If we had meat, it was in very moderate to small amounts, and mostly for taste.

But here we are now, trying to adopt a healthier way of living. And all we Mexicans have to do is look back to the way of our Nanas and Tatas!

In doing research about Meatless Mondays, I found out that Meatless Monday started as a movement by our colegas at the Public Health School at Johns Hopkins University, back in 2003. Through research, they discovered that Monday was the ideal day to try to recover from the overindulgence of weekends. (Overeating, disrupted sleep patterns and possibly even drinking too much.)  

Some of this research showed that people were motivated by making a small but significant change at the start of the work week. That is where the idea of Meatless Monday came from. As more and more people adopted the idea of not eating meat on Mondays, they became healthier, poco a poco, over time. Here is more evidence that small changes over time are the ones that last. It wasn’t a drastic thing, but just one day a week. The idea is that we could become just a little healthier if we took this small step. We would become healthier and the planet would benefit too.  

 

So Meatless Monday took off and other countries and organizations started getting on board. Australia tried it. Paul McCartney promoted it. Even beef-consuming Argentina got into the act in 2017 by declaring Vegan Mondays!

If you want to learn more about the history of Meatless Mondays, see the Wikipedia article. It has a fascinating amount of information that will surely inspire you to try it!

So at De Las Mías we want to encourage you to give Meatless Monday a try. Here’s another way to eat more veggies and fruits for your health and help Mother Earth carry the load.

Here are some of the benefits of Meatless Mondays:

  • Lower your cholesterol and therefore, your risk of heart attack and stroke.
  • Help you get to a healthier weight.
  • Help lower your risk of high blood pressure.
  • Increase your intake of fiber and its health benefits.
  • Take a little stress off the planet (plant-based foods take less energy).
  • Use less water to grow food (plant-based foods take less water than animal-based food).
  • Plant-based foods pollute less than cows.  

Try some meatless dishes from De Las Mías:

And we’re curious…

  • What’s your favorite meatless dish?  
  • How would your family feel about starting a Meatless Monday tradition at your house? Would they be on board?
  • What is the biggest barrier to going meatless on Mondays?

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meatless_Monday

https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/10/19/argentinas-vegan-mondays

Healthy Mexican Food

Traditional and Healthy Frito Pie

manton

Frito Pie is one of those Southwest Chicano inventions that would make a traditional Mexican chef like Diane Kennedy cringe, but it is one of the most kid-friendly, festive and delicious stews you can eat in the street or in your own home. New Mexicans and Texans fight over who invented this famous concoction on an on-going basis. I don’t know who would win that feud, so let’s just say that it was a happy evolution!   

My own favorite experience is the memory of sitting on the grass on the Santa Fe Plaza and having my husband hand me what looked like a bag of Fritos  brimming with what I mistakenly called chile con carne.  I said, “What is that?” and he said, “Frito Pie, Man.”  When I asked where it came from, he said, “Woolworth’s.”  And when I dipped that plastic spoon into that glorious hot mess I was a changed woman. Chicano food at its very best! They still sell it on the Plaza in Santa Fe, so hurry up before it goes away.  The next best thing is to make it yourself.  Lori and Malena “hacked” it with ground turkey instead of beef, but it has so much New Mexico red chile in it that no one will ever know you didn’t use beef. It’s a lot healthier and just as delicious.

Reminder: This recipe falls squarely in the ‘Poquito de Todo’ category. We don’t want to give up our beloved foods but we want to go easy on the portion sizes! One cup is plenty! Use the Fritos like a garnish and not like a staple. If your hijitos are still developing their chile tasting buds, cut back on the chile or use a milder version. And please serve it with a tossed green salad! 

This one will take you home, Sister!

Makes 6 cups. 1 serving = 1 cup.

Healthy Mexican Food

Black Bean Tostada with Mexican Squash

manton

These vegetarian tostadas ¡son muy sabrosas! These Black Bean Tostadas with Mexican Squash are tasty and easy.

Get your tostada on!

Here you will find different ways to get your tostada on. You can make your own tostadas in the oven. You can heat them up on the comal to the point of crispy, or if you’re feeling lazy or rushed, you can just use the ones that come in EL PAQUETITO. Yes, that’s right, sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do. If you have a hungry crew ready for dinner, just use the packaged ones. We won’t tell! And remember, corn is a whole grain, and we want you to eat more whole grains!

This is a delish concoction of black beans and calabacitas, aka Mexican squash. It calls for canned tomatoes. We suggest Rotel™ although we are not sponsored by them. They just have an honorary place in our pantry for those days when you have to throw something together quick.

The combo of sautéed squash, onion and tomato with the black beans is hardy with plant protein and packed full of flavor. The added queso fresco and cilantro add a nice touch and don’t forget to punch it up with your favorite salsa. We have several salsas for your culinary pleasure. So knock yourself out and make yourself, your honey, Viejo, Vieja, Kiddoes, or whoever is at your table, a healthy dinner!

We love tostadas because the basic street tostada is just as simple as a crispy corn tortilla, a good spread of beans, refried, or just mashed without the extra fat, a few morsels of your favorite meat: carnitas, ground turkey, turkey chorizo, or tofu, if you must, and a robust serving of shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sliced radishes or whatever fresh veggie your heart desires. You got queso fresco? Throw some on there! A little of this and a little of that and you’ve got yourself a Mexican feast,¡Comadre!

¡Qué viva México y que vivan las tostadas!

¡Buen Provecho!

 

Healthy Mexican Food

Turkey Chorizo

manton

This Turkey Chorizo is a twist on the traditional Mexican chorizo, usually made with ground pork, and let’s face it, ground pork-parts with lots of flavor and lots of fat.  Those of us who are taking care of  our hearts and want keep our families healthy want to make healthy changes but don’t want to give up the foods that feed our soul.  You could say “we want our chorizo and we want to eat it too!”   With this fabulous recipe, you don’t have to give up your beloved chorizo.  You don’t have to give up flavor or spice, or anything nice! This chorizo is as delicious as it is healthy. We make ours with ground turkey.  No one in our extended family of passionate chorizo lovers has noticed the difference.  And I don’t think your family is going to notice the difference either.  Don’t even tell them it’s made with turkey.  Just cook it and scramble it up with some eggs, and make those killer huevo-con-chorizo burritos that you’re famous for! If you want to bump up your journey to a healthier life, make your burritos with whole wheat tortillas.

This turkey chorizo makes a mean breakfast taco too.  Just heat up your corn tortilla, add a couple of spoonfuls of frijoles, add the chorizo and garnish with shredded lettuce, tomato and a sprinkle of queso fresco. (Y con un cafecito con leche! Yummy!)  Make your chorizo tostadas in very much the same way.  Start with a nice base of mashed pinto or black beans to spread on the crispy tortilla,  add the chorizo and top it off with your fresh shredded cabbage or lettuce.  And let’s not forget a good plate of chilaquiles with chorizo!  You can add eggs or just top them off with crumbled chorizo and queso fresco. And don’t forget the salsa!

I like to cook up a whole pound of turkey chorizo and keep it in an airtight container in the refri for quick and delicious chorizo-based dishes during a hectic week.

Comadre, this healthy home-made Mexican style turkey chorizo will take you home!