The cuisine of Mexico and other Latin American countries is vast. The most traditional dishes have indigenous roots thousands of years old, made with whole foods packed with nutrition. Native plants, both cultivated and wild, included maize, beans, squash, cocoa, chile, a variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, herbs, insects and small game. For centuries, these foods have served as building blocks for good health.
Following European colonization and continued migration today, more foods have influenced the cuisine and diversity of regional dishes throughout the Americas.
These foods and recipes will be celebrated this Saturday, Sept. 28, at a free event, “The Healing Power of Hispanic Foods,” at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.
Open to the public, the event is led by Dr. Sylvia Melendez-Klinger, the founder of Hispanic Food Communications, a nutrition communications and culinary consulting company, and Nicole Lee, a private chef.
Lee said she will share the secrets of healthy cooking with the foods that are already in our kitchens.
“I grew up in a Dominican household, I’m first generation. From a young age, it was instilled in me the benefits of growing and cooking your own foods,” Lee shared. “My mom cooked a lot, especially for large family get-togethers. We visited the Dominican Republic often, where friends and family had farms, and grew their own vegetables and raised their own cows.”
Melendez-Klinger said that her family background similarly fueled her passion for nutrition. It was through the study of nutrition and her cultural experiences growing up in a Latino home that she became aware of the healing properties of traditional dishes and developed an appreciation for how food can bring people together.
In Latino kitchens, food has always been front and center for what ails you – whether it’s a cold, stomach ache, headache or anything in between. Plants and herbs are often used as remedies that have been handed down from generation to generation. Cilantro and garlic add spice and flavor but also have the power to heal. Chamomile tea, téde manzanilla, has been commonly given to youngsters with a tummy ache.
The most common foods can be among the most beneficial.
While rice and beans are a staple of Latino food and are considered humble foods, it is the perfect meal – a combination of carbohydrates and protein – beans are packed with fiber. Another significant food is prickly pears and nopales, cactus, which have been in Mexican diets for centuries. The Aztecs cooked nopal over an open fire and ate them as ingredients for tacos made from maize, which we still continue to enjoy as a staple food today. Nopales are considered a superfood, packed with vitamins E, C and K1, and fight inflammation, heart disease, dementia and cancer.
Lee pointed out that many people believe you have to run to the health food store to get the best in nutrition, but the reality is, you can use simple whole ingredients to get the same nutrients and benefits.
Lee encourages a focus on health by using ingredients that are in season as they were in an ancestral diet.
“Getting food – fruits and vegetables – that are grown when they’re supposed to be grown, versus having those foods all year round because of supply and demand. Food [in season] at its peak ripeness have the most nutrients and best taste,” Lee points out.
“It’s not super hard to make something nutritious and healthy with healing properties and benefits, just go back to the basics,” she said.
The basics are often tried and true family dishes that can double as cures for common illnesses. The last time you had a cold, your mom or other family member or friend probably suggested a bowl of chicken soup. Besides just tasting great, a good bowl of chicken soup – known as “caldo de pollo” in Latino households – has been scientifically proven to have numerous healing properties, including being an anti-inflammatory. Chicken soup can also help relieve nasal congestion, aid in rehydration and promote the body’s natural healing process. And remember how you just feel better after a bowl of hot caldo? It’s not magic. It’s science. Chicken is high in tryptophan, an amino acid that helps the body produce serotonin, which can enhance your mood. All this in a bowl of chicken broth and tasty vegetables.
Mexican cooks will throw in a few jalapeño or serrano peppers, which add a healthy dose of vitamins and antioxidants – these chiles create heat within the body, and are packed with huge volumes of vitamins C, A and bioflavonoids. They also help to improve blood circulation and dilate blood vessels. That’s enough to send your cold symptoms out the window, which we like to keep open during sickness to push the germs out and let the good airflow in.
Another tip to consider: Latino food is healthiest when prepared at home.
“The biggest benefit of cooking at home is that you know exactly what’s going into your food and you have control over it,” said Lee. “Restaurants tend to use a lot of butter, a lot of salt, a lot of oil – items that are not necessarily good for you in large quantities.”
“When you cook at home, you can monitor and control exactly what’s going into your meal. You know the nutritional value, you know how that is going to benefit you and your family. A dish at a restaurant that you think may be healthy for you may not necessarily be so.”
Lee said her favorite soup and home-cooked meal is caldo de rez, beef soup, Dominican style – made with beef stock, plantains, carrots and corn. It’s good for the winter and the summer.
“Plantains may not be known here to be in a soup, but are a very good vegetable. They are healthy carbohydrates, nutritious and a good source of fiber,” said Lee.
“People should know our ancestors used a lot of fresh herbs, fresh vegetables and citrus – all that maintain the freshness of the food.”
“The Healing Power of Hispanic Food” event is this Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Colony Theatre 555 N 3rd St. in Burbank. There will be two sessions: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Registrants will also receive information on UnitedHealthcare Medicare and how to make the best decisions for you and your family’s health care. Everyone who attends will receive a “swag bag” of gourmet fruits and vegetables.
To register go to: https://events.interlex.com/hmalosangeles.