Mmm Mmm Monday: Mexican Staples

In honor of last Saturday's Cinco de Mayo festivities, I've decided to find out what really is the difference between all these Mexican dishes.  Analyze any menu from Cancun's on 8th Avenue (really great place, FYI) to a chain restaurant like On the Border's and you'll see a number of similar dishes.  I've isolated five of these dishes to find their history and see if what we know as a taco is really a taco.

Burrito
A burrito, which oddly enough means "little donkey," is also known as taco de harina.  Roughly translated, taco de harina means "flour taco".  In Mexico, this dish is prepared by wrapping meat or refried beans in a wheat flour tortilla, creating a cylindrical treat.

Chimichanga 
A chimichanga is a wheat flour burrito, filled with rice, refried beans, or various meats that is wrapped into a rectangular package and then deep-fried.

Enchilada
The world enchilada is the Spanish past participle for the verb enchilar, which means "to add chile sauce to."  Thusly, an enchilada is a corn tortilla wrapped around a filling such as rice, beans, or meat and covered in either a tomato or chile sauce.

Fajita
Fajita refers to the cut of meat this dish was originally made with: skirt steak.  Fajitas are grilled meats (such as beef or chicken) that are served in either corn or flour tortillas and folded in half like a taco.

Taco
The word taco literally means "plug" or "block".  The word's definition is bent to mean "light lunch" or "to fill".  Tacos predate the arrival of the Europeans.  In fact, Aztecs were observed by the Spanish to be selling tortillas filled with meat as a sort of "to go" meal.  Pre-Columbian Mexico: the original Taco Bell. Simply put, tacos are spiced meats in a corn tortilla, which is then folded in half.  Note: hard shell tacos are an American invention.

It should be observed that the ingredients to these dishes are all similar and merely the techniques employed and presentation are different.  Also, notice that the original dishes don't include all the cheeses and vegetables that we use in America.

I hope now you can order with confidence when you head to Cancun -- the restaurant or the city.

Mmm Mmm Monday: Hungry Monday

Have you ever eaten a big meal and then, shortly after, felt like you needed to eat again?  Inspired by this past holiday I decided to look into the matter and found some pretty interesting facts.

The biggest contributors to that feeling of hunger after eating are leptin inhibitors and blood sugar spikes.

Leptin -- not the Iced Tea
Leptin is a protein hormone in charge of regulating energy intake and expenditure, including appetite and metabolism.  Its job is to counteract neurotransmitters such as Neuropeptide Y and Anandamide, which tell the brain to keep eating.  Leptin also promotes the production of alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone. (Yup, the hormone that effects the color of your hair [Melanin] is also in charge of suppressing your appetite!)

So we have this great chemical that stops our body from overindulging, but what we eat can stop the process in its tracks:

"Consuming too much fructose -- a sugar found in foods ranging from cookies to candies and soda -- can block the appetite-controlling hormone leptin from doing its job and increase the risk of obesity..."

-ABC News

Let's remember that fructose is a naturally occurring carbohydrate found in fruits.  Fructose isn't the problem here, it's high fructose ingredients like the corn syrup found in sodas, sugary drinks, and processed sweets.  Please don't stop eating apples because you think they'll make you hungry later.  The fiber in an apple allows the body to absorb carbohydrates with minimal impact to your blood sugar levels.

Blood Sugar

In 2011, the American Diabetes Association found that 8.3% of the US population has diabetes.  With the incidence of obesity and diabetes ever increasing, we have to look carefully at the foods we put in our bodies.

Processed sugars like cakes and candies give us an immediate rush of energy, but shortly thereafter, make us fall into a "sugar coma".  This is a prime example of a blood sugar spike.  Too much sugar absorbed too quickly.

For food to be useful to us, we need the energy intake to be more gradual so that it will sustain us through the day rather than in energetic bursts.  Dietary fiber is the key to this slowed absorption.

Where can I get my fiber?

Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables!  Have a snack of air-popped popcorn, munch on baby carrots, or make a very berry smoothie (I'll post a recipe on that one soon!).  It's so easy to give your body what it needs!

Souces: Men's Health, Colorado State University, Leptin, 

             a-MSH Wiki, Anandamide Wiki, Neuropeptide Y Wiki

             ABC News, ADA, Dietary Fiber Wiki, Livestrong
Picture Credit: Vossman