One of my favorite meals is Mexican food so it’s only fair to say that I will be participating in celebrating this special day!
I will be eating in because I’m headed to New Jersey early on tomorrow morning but for those of you eating out I thought I’d share some tips from Shape Magazine for choosing the healthier meal.
Quesadillas or Nachos?
Quesadilla! Both choices are full of fatty cheese, but the nachos pack a second whammy: a mountain of deep fried chips. Quesadillas are no grease-free zone, but they’re mas bueno because they’re made on the griddle with less oil than the chips. Cut down on the cheese by asking yours to be stuffed with vegetables!
Margarita or Beer?
Beer! Thanks to sugary mixes, a margarita can set you back 500 PLUS calories (NOT WORTH IT!!) The exception: versions made from scratch with only tequila, triple sec and lime juice. One on the rocks is about 150 calories – same as a Regular Beer.
Burrito or Fajitas?
Fajitas! At 888 calories, a chicken burrito is a belly-buster, not a meal. Fajitas let you customize your feast. Opt for corn tortillas (50 calories apiece vs 300 for a ginormous flour wrap) and pile on the meat and veg. Love guac or sour cream? Pick one, but skip the high calorie beans and rice.
Beef Tacos or Taco Salad?
Beef Tacos! A fried taco bowl with meat, cheese, sour cream and guac is a salad in name only. Ditch the shell and you’re still OD’ing on fat. But two soft tacos, with 346 calories and 17 grams of fat, leave you room for the chips and salsa.
Chiles Rellenos or Enchiladas?
Chicken Enchiladas: Yes, peppers are healthy–before you add cheese and fry them. The chicken enchiladas have about the same amount of protein as the melty dairy in the chiles but without artery-clogging fat. Let’s toast to that!
Dips are deceptively caloric. Try these slim-dunk strategies.
Salsa (15 calories per tbsp) Feel free to pile it on as high as a Mayan temple. Salsa is low-cal, fat free and full of veggies
Guacamole (50 calories per 2 tbsp) Avocado deserves its healthy rep, but think of it as green butter. Each fruit has 322 calories and 30 g fat. Take two spoonfuls and pass the bowl
Chile con Queso (62 calories per tbsp) A single bowl of this dip supplies twice the amount of saturated fat you need per day. Scoop up only if you’re livin la vida loca.
If you’re staying in like me feel free to make these recipes:
and buy some of this – 100 calories for a 4 oz drink (it already has alcohol inside). It uses agave nectar as a sweetener, no dyes and is all natural!
Cinco De Mayo isn’t all about pouring yourself a margarita though.. Here are some fun facts about the history.
Cinco de Mayo Fun Facts:
- Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale in the United States than in Mexico.
- Chicanos celebrate this day in appreciation of Mexico’s culture.
- General Ignacio Zaragosa was born in Texas when it was still part of Mexico and is considered to be a Chicano hero.
- Cinco de Mayo is often confused with the Mexican Independence Day, which occurred on September 16, 1810, about 50 years earlier.
- Cinco de Mayo is one of more than 365 festivals celebrated by people of Mexican descent.
- The holiday was popularized in the U.S. in part by Chicano activists in the 1960’s and 1970’s who identified with the Mexican Indian and mestizo soldiers’ triumph over European conquest attempts.
- Cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston host annual Cinco de Mayo celebrations that draw hundreds of thousands of celebrants.
- The Festival de Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles is the world’s largest Cinco de Mayo event. More than 600,000 gather to celebrate with food and music each year.
- Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world.
- Guadalajara is Mexico’s second largest city and where the Mexican Hat Dance, sombreros and mariachi music originated.
- Mexico’s capital, Mexico City (one of the world’s largest cities) is sinking. Some of its buildings are sinking by as much as 4 to 12 inches a year. The city was once an Aztec capital on an island surrounded by a shallow lake. When the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes captured the city, he drained the lake. So Mexico City rests on soft land that continues to sink.
Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone =) Be safe!
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