Latin American foods revolve around vegetables, fishes, grains, meats and exotic fruits. Fast food restaurants have demoralized and commercialized these amazing healthy dishes into heart attack inducing meals. Latin food cooked at home is in most instances, healthy.

By Chef Portillo and Lucia Tovar-Matthews

Chef Portillo, a TUCOCINA Chef

When many Americans think of Latin Cuisine, an image of a fat, stuffed, beef burrito or enchiladas plunged in red sauce and cream comes to mind, let’s not even mention how spicy it may be.  So many diet watchers simply disregard Latin foods to stay slim and healthy, but little did they know that Latin cuisine goes so much further, and healthier, than the stereotypical greasy burrito.

Latin America as a whole is comprised of Central, South America, and various colonized islands along their coasts.  With such tropical weather, traditional meals incorporate the use of the variety in exotic fruits and vegetation. Countries next to bodies of water, such as Costa Rica, Cuba and Puerto Rico for instance, tend to have a higher intake of fish and legumes.  Those with a lot of cattle, such as Brazil and Argentina, have a higher intake of red meat.  However, when we think of “Latin Cuisine”, the type of food that comes to mind varies depending on where we live here in the United States.

If you ask a citizen in California about Latin Cuisine, they will probably think of Mexican food, while someone from Florida would respond with Cuban food and equally someone from New York might respond with Puerto Rican foods.  Let’s explore some of these little well-known Latin American dishes.

Green Goddess Pozole

The island of Cuba commonly eats lean fish meats, topped along with sweet potatoes, yuca (a starchy potato-like root) and pineapples.  A popular Cuban food is sofrito, a combination of green bell peppers, onions and garlic all sautéed in olive oil.  Super healthy and simple.  Although a Cuban diet cannot be complete without pork, fried bananas and starchy vegetables, all Cuban dishes incorporate the citrus tangy fruits of the Caribbean.

Puerto Rican cuisines have the influence of African, European and indigenous cultures due to its history of colonization.  A country diverse in fruit and vegetables, their dishes are light, heart healthy and nutritious.  Puerto Rican dishes revolve around plantains, a type of banana only edible if cooked, and other humid friendly vegetation.  From crabmeat stew to empanadas, breaded beef, and alcapurrias, a combination of ground squash, plantain, and other tropical fruits alongside fried fishes and shellfish.  Last, but not least, pork is one of the main attractions to Puerto Rican cuisine, popular to special events and holidays, Puerto Ricans love pork, from its white meat to actual blood ball sausages; pork is a symbol of festivities.

Octopus + Shrimp + Talapia Ceviche

The classic burrito is not only the image of Latin cuisine, but also the image for all Mexican foods.  Mexico’s dishes go way past the simple burrito, from the hundreds of spices to the creative use of corn, tortillas, red/green salsas and meats.  Mexican cuisine has much to offer other than the stereotypical burrito and fajitas, and by the way, fajitas are not even Mexican, they were created here in the U.S.  All authentic Mexican dishes revolve around corn and beans, made fresh without the use of unreadable, unknown chemical ingredients.  Tamales, tortillas, gordillos, for example all use dough made from pure grounded corn.  Now, that’s a relief from the common corn syrup and enriched flours used in ninety percent of our foods today.  Even chocolate, the indigenous produce of Mexico was originally and first used by the Aztecs in ancient times.

Fast food restaurants have demoralized and commercialized these amazing healthy dishes into heart attack inducing meals.  Latin American foods all revolve around vegetables, fishes, grains, meats and exotic fruits.  There are so many dishes that are, in fact, healthy for you. So please, next time Latin American foods are brought to mind, think of the fruits, spices, grain, meats and the unique flavor behind these dishes rather than assuming everything is bathed and fried in oil. It is time to appreciate, and enjoy, the traditional and healthy forms of Latin cuisine dishes.

Nutritionist and ‘Latin Lite’ chef Denise Portillo has recently collaborated with TUCOCINA (www.tucocina.net) for the launch of “La Salud en Tu Cocina,” an initiative developed by the kitchenware maker to encourage Hispanic families to eat healthier and help bring them back around the dinner table.  For more information, and to find out how to participate in the initiative, email mariana@dialogo.us.