By Anne-Marie Nichols of This Mama Cooks! and My Readable Feast

Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. The holiday has grown to be a symbol of Mexican pride, and is now celebrated more in United States than it is in Mexico.

For most of us, Cinco de Mayo is another stuff-your-face food holiday. This means loading up on greasy chips, super sweet margaritas, and monster burritos smothered in green chili sauce. Talk about eating your entire daily allotment of calories in one meal. Not good!

Mexican Food Doesn’t Have to Be Unhealthy

Mexican cuisine can be a nightmare for those trying to lose weight because of all the added fat. Many dishes are fried, covered in cheese, and served with sour cream or guacamole. Luckily, it’s easy to turn a typical Mexican restaurant meal into a healthful one. Here’s how:

- Go vegetarian. Or get shrimp, fish, or chicken instead of beef or pork.

- Ask for corn tortillas instead of flour.

- Skip the refried beans and Spanish rice.

- Get black or pinto beans instead of refried beans.

- Skip the cheese sauce and anything “smothered.”

- Load up on the salsa and shredded cabbage or lettuce.

- Ask your server NOT to bring the basket of chips to the table.

- Get avocado slices instead of guacamole.

- Dump salt all over that giant dollop of sour cream on your plate.

- Forget the margaritas. If you must indulge, ask for a light Mexican beer with a wedge of lime. Otherwise, stick with water or iced tea.

Since most Mexican restaurants serve huge proportions, ask for a “to go” container when your meal is served. Put half your meal in the container, and eat the rest. Not only are you cutting back on what you’re consuming, but you’re getting two meals out of one.
Another strategy is to split a dish with a friend. Or if you’re a parent dining with your little ones, give them your beans and rice.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Home

The best way to eat healthy Mexican food is to make it at home. You have more control over how dishes are cooked, and you can avoid all those tempting sides. Try Tricia’s Kitchen’s Oh Sweet Nachos . These are a meal in themselves, and only four Weight Watchers points per serving.

Or you can keep it lean with another Weight Watchers dish, Mexican Zero Points Soup Recipe from Alanna at A Veggie Venture. Yes, ZERO POINTS. Gotta love those vegetables!

Fish and chicken are great choices for keeping it healthy. Fearless Kitchen has a recipe for Fish in Escabeche with Asparagus, her take on a Rick Bayless dish. Or you can try Anne Gets Skinny’s Layered Mexican Chicken. It’s a Mexican version of lasagna, something even the pickiest of kids would like.

Finally, for a side dish, try Rockin’ Robin’s Mexican Roasted Sweet Potato Recipe with honey-lime glaze. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron.

My Family’s Favorite Mexican Dishes

I like to make veggie fajitas using frozen pepper strips, a dash of olive oil, and a little cumin. I also like canned no fat refried beans. ConAgra’s Rosarita brand comes in several healthy versions including no fat refried beans with green chili and lime, and no fat refried black beans. Both are high in fiber (7 to 8 grams per 1/2 cup) and delicious.

Lately we’ve been making Carne Asada. Instead of buying meat from our local Mexican grocery store, I’ve been using venison, which is very lean. (My husband hunts.) I pound the steaks flat with a meat mallet and soak them overnight in a premade carne asada marinade I get at Costco. (If you don’t have venison, substitute chicken or turkey breasts.) I grill them in a pan in a little bit of the marinade, which eliminates the need for oil.

We also make fish tacos using the dorado (mahi mahi) my husband catches on his fishing trips to La Paz, Mexico. We add shredded cabbage, chopped onions and cilantro, a little salsa, and wrap it all in corn tortillas. Sometimes I skip the tortillas, and serve the fish over rice and black beans with a little pico de gallo on top.

Another favorite is Coctel de Camarones, the Mexican take on shrimp cocktail. My husband likes to order this dish at our local Mexican eatery, too.

You can eat lean and healthy this Cinco de Mayo. All it takes is a little planning and a few good recipes.

For more healthy Cinco De Mayo recipes try the FoodieView Recipe Search Engine.

Anne-Marie teaches parents how to combine children’s books and cooking to promote family togetherness at her blog, My Readable Feast.

And you can also find her at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet sharing healthy recipes and fitness and weight loss tips.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am and is filed under Recipe Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.