Myth #6 – Mexican food is unhealthy, & there are no vegetarian options.

Like in every other cuisine, there are some unhealthy dishes in the Mexican repertoire, but these are your celebratory & special occasions dishes.

When traditional Mexican food is made at home it is fresh & can be healthy without compromising on flavour & authenticity.  Because traditional Mexican does not make use of liquid cheeses, marinades & salsas packed with sugar, or mysterious & highly processed ingredients, the result is a more balanced meal.

If you go back in history, you will find that indigenous communities that inhabited what we call Mexico today used to eat a mainly plant-based diet with occasional meat. ‘Unhealthy’ ingredients were added with the arrival of the Europeans to America, for example, cattle meats & dairy & refined sugar. More processed ingredients, like liquid cheese, fried hard shells, sour cream, etc. were added as Tex-Mex food, waiving the ‘Mexican flag’, became a global phenomenon.

The healthy diets of our ancestors are still practised by some indigenous groups that remain isolated in Mexico & Latin America. Currently, there is a push to rediscover them & learn more from these ancient practices & the many years of accumulated wisdom.

Here is a list of quick tips to make your Mexican meals healthy:

• Replace lard for appropriate oil or margarine, depending temperature & cooking methods.
• Make your own fresh salsa at home & avoid recipes that have excessive sugar. I personally do not use any sugar because there is already enough natural sweetness in the tomatoes & chillies.
• Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas. Corn tortillas, especially those made with nixtamal, are made with whole corn grains versus flour in wheat tortillas. Moreover, wheat tortillas usually have a higher content of saturated fat, calories & sugar.
• Use cheese & cream as a garnish, not as the main ingredient & in moderation.
• Replace meat with veggies for a more balanced diet 🌱

Myth #7 – Corn chips are a snack in Mexico

This will come as a surprise to many, but corn chips are not a snack in Mexico.  Mexicans prefer potato chips, especially freshly fried on the streets & swimming in lime & hot chilli sauce.  There are, however, snacks made from corn in Mexico, but they don’t look anything like the typical rounded yellow corn chips you find in supermarkets outside of Mexico.  Corn snacks come in different shapes, consistencies, & forms, but they all share one thing: they are covered in chilli powder.

So “what about totopos?” you may ask.  Totopos, are generally used for cooking & garnishing. At home, we use old tortillas to make totopos by leaving them uncovered on the bench or fridge overnight, & frying or baking the next day.   Totopos are more sturdy & morish than your regular corn chip, & they are perfect for chilaquiles or dipping into thick salsas & beans.

As a Mexican, it fills me with pride seeing corn tortilla chips conquering the stands of supermarkets around the world to be devoured as a crunchy & fun snack.  They may be used differently but I’m certain it is enjoyed equally 🌎

Myth #8 – Beef mince & chicken are the main taco ingredients

Contrary to what you may find in most Tex-Mex & some ‘Mexican’ restaurants overseas, beef mince & chicken are not common as a taco ingredient in Mexico.  Pork is king in Mexico!  The most eaten taco in Mexico is Al Pastor, a mouth-watering marinated pork taco with roasted pineapple.  Pork & beef make up for the vast majority of the tacos eaten on the streets of Mexico, followed by vegetarian tacos such as rice with beans & ‘rajas con crema’.

Chicken is not commonly eaten on a taco in Mexico, especially not in a flour tortilla & lots of cheese like you would find in some Tex-Mex menus. However, you can find chicken used in an endless repertoire of Mexican recipes, this is not surprising given that chicken is the most consumed protein in Mexico, just not in 🌮

Now let’s talk about mince beef in tacos.  I personally have never seen mince being used for tacos in Mexico but it is very common to find on hard-shell tacos.  Perhaps mince was introduced in Tex-Mex food as an easy replacement of ‘bistec’, thinly sliced beef filets prepared with chopped onions, which is very popular as a taco filling.

So next time you’re having a taco, maybe you want to try a pulled pork recipe or the world-famous ‘carnitas’, pork chunks slow-cooked in their own fat. 🐷

Myth #9 – All Mexican food is street food & therefore cheap

Regardless of the cuisine, there is a difference between the food you find on the streets & what you can have at restaurants.  I believe Mexico has a unique mixture of street & restaurant food & each play an important role in the food culture in Mexico.  It is true that some of the food dishes you find at restaurants in Mexico are inspired by street food but they usually have a twist & added experience at restaurants.

It is also true that most of the Mexican ‘fast-food’ is inspired by street food but the difference is that the secrets & flavours of your taquero cannot be replicated. ‘Mexican’ fast food, which is really Tex-Mex food disguised as ‘Mexican’, has taken over the world by a storm pushing this idea that Mexican food should be cheap.

Traditional Mexican food is elaborated, refined & uses gourmet & exotic ingredients.  It is not surprising that many of the top restaurants around the world serve Mexican cuisine & many of these run by top Mexican chefs.

Choosing quality & fresh ingredients will make your Mexican food & experience much more enjoyable & tastier but it shouldn’t break your bank account.  Using in-season ingredients will make your recipes cheaper to prepare.

Myth #10 – Burritos are eaten all over Mexico

Whilst burritos are eaten in parts of the north of Mexico, they look different to the ones you find at ‘Mexican’ fast-food chains. Burritos in the north of Mexico, also known as ‘Burritos Norteños’, are a large wheat tortilla stuffed with beans & shredded beef meat & rolled in a tubular shape. It is believed that they were invented in Ciudad Juarez, a border city with the USA but there is no concrete evidence about this.

The version that you find in the USA & many fast-food chains around the world was made popular in California, most likely San Francisco during the mid-1900s. This Cali-Mex version added the rice & cheese making the shape look more like a parcel.  From there, many different variations were created & the popularity of the burritos soared & soon was part of the USA menu & later the world.

Outside of the north, burritos are still a foreign food to most Mexicans, so don’t be surprised if you get a strange look when asking for one.  If you’re lucky, someone may bring you a little donkey, which is the literal translation for ‘burrito’ to Spanish.