This is not a "how to" make them or recipe even, this is an article talking about the nutritional value of our foods, that is often overlooked in a Eurocentric nutrition education.
Let me talk to you a little bit about some of my cultural foods, on my Mexican side. Today, I am talking about yesterday’s dinner: Chicken taquitos.
I cooked and shredded a chicken breast, then fried a few minutes with onions and salt. Then warmed the tortillas, add the chicken, roll it up, add some fat with a brush, and into the air fryer. Easy and something that I do a lot with left over chicken.
Where I grew up, we top them up with sour cream, lettuce or cabbage, queso fresco though here I use fetta, a tomato-based salsa and then if you are up for it some salsa de chile (I used salsa macha). On the side I had also some guacamole.
One of the fun things about our food in Mexico is the versatility of a few ingredients to get more than one dish. For example, in this case with chicken and tortillas I could have made enchiladas, chilaquiles, tostadas, or entomatadas.
While diet culture has given some people the impression that these cultural foods are foods for a “cheat day” or something that needs to be "helthified", they are part of our daily nutrition. And I say nutrition, because they all have something to offer. Here is a quick breakdown:
Tortillas – A source of carbohydrates and fibre. Traditionally, these are made from masa, with corn that has gone through a process known as nixtamalizacion, which makes nutrients such as niacin more bioavailable. Though there are also tortillas made from the fresh corn (the whole thing) without first processing it to nixtamal. I personally have memories of one of the Tortillerias close to my house, that had a huge machine where you could see all the fresh corn going in and coming out the other end as masa.
Chicken breast – Dare I say, probably one of the most commonly eaten sources of protein in America? It may not be something super high in vitamins or minerals, but that’s why we add all other stuff. Protein itself is one of the building blocks of your body. Protein is used by your body to make things like muscles, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters. Hence, why along with carbohydrates and fats, is considered one of essential macronutrients.
Cabbage – Usually an inexpensive cruciferous vegetable. Providing some fibre, and a source of vitamins like C, and K. Personally, I don’t find a difference in flavour between red and green cabbage, but I do tend to get purple most of the time because I love the colour and it does contain some additional beneficial phytochemicals, like anthocyanin that gives it the colour. Now, you don't need to go out of your way to get purple or red cabbage, in the case of anthocyanins you can also find them in any other red, purple, and blue fruits and vegetables, like berries, onions, plums, etc.
Sour cream and Fetta – Small source of protein and fat. They provide some minerals like calcium of course, and vitamins like A and some Bs. Fat in your meals helps with absorption of fat-soluble nutrients.
Salsa – In this case, my salsa is a tomato based one. Made by boiling the tomatoes and then blending with the water, adding salt and oregano. Did you know that tomatoes are one of the ten most important agricultural products worldwide? - Not to mention, they are easy to grow. Here in Saskatchewan, people sure love growing tomatoes in the summer.
Tomatoes are a good source of potassium and also provide vitamins C, K and A. Tomatoes are also rich in an antioxidant called lycopene. Diets rich in lycopene have been linked to improved cardiovascular function and may offer some cancer protective benefits. Other sources of lycopene include papaya, sweet red peppers and pink grapefruit.
And lastly, the Guacamole – Another source of fibre, mono- and poly-saturated fat. As I mentioned earlier, fat can help with the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients and can add to the satisfaction and fullness of a meal. Avocados are also rich in magnesium, potassium, folate, vitamins K, B6, E, and C.
Fun fact about guacamole – depending on the region of the country, we all make our guac differently. In Guadalajara, where I grew up, we use the avocado, tomatoes, onion, chiles, cilantro, salt and lime.
And a NOT so fun fact about avocado that I would also like you to know, is that for us it was always just a normal food in our diet. When the market got a hold of it and pronounced it a “super food” demand grew, making it now less accessible to people in Mexico. It has also become part of the money-making scheme for drug cartels and is a growing environmental problem.
Taquitos can be made with many other kinds of fillings, that would provide their unique nutrition of course. We make them with potatoes, refried beans, picadillo, shredded pork. They are eaten as a main dish, or as a side dish to accompany soups for example. I have seen restaurants calling these flautas too, but at least in the State I am from, flautas are made with tortillas twice as long.