Hispanics that love their food!

VeroLaLoca

Hi, I'm Puerto Rican and I love my food! I've given up a few things because of all the sodium, carbs, and fats! For example I love me some arroz blanco con chuleta frita! Mmmm....lol! Just looking for hispanics that support and understand the difficulties of having to limit themselves from these delicious foods.

Plus it doesn't help that I have to cook all of it for my family and I have to control myself :ohwell:

My name is Veronica and I have lost 5lbs in a month, I have 91lbs to go. :frown:

jesekelynne

Hi! So I'm not exactly Spanish, but my Hubby is Donimican. When we got together I sat in his Mom's kitchen and learned how to make all the dishes he (and I) like. I now make a better Moro de guandules than she does LOL!
My son considers arroz blanco, huevos revoltiados y kechu his "comfort food". Since one of your fav dishes is chuleta frita, (also one of our favs) you could try baking them. Here's how I do them:
I line a cookie sheet with foil
I pour some limon over the chuleta for a few minutes then drain it off.
I sprinkle Adobo and Sazon en paquete I do try to go easy on them bc I'm tracking my sodium also.
Then cover the whole sheet in foil
I cook for about 20 minutes with the foil on then remove and cook for another 20 minutes. I also flip them about 1/2 way through to get both sides browned. My hubby likes them very well done!
They aren't quite as good as frito but they do hit the spot for way less calories.
I hope this helps

justjenn1977

I'm not hispanic... but I do love me some hispanic food!!

I make a mean salsa de barenjena and fajitas...

I found that there are MANY hispanic foods that are very healthy... especially when I make them with fresh rather than canned veggies (reduces the sodium)

laumanu0507

I know exactly what you mean!!! I'm Mexican.I can't seem to stay away from all that food, I love to eat carnitas and tacos ..I don't think there is a healthier way of making carnitas though =(..I managed to lose 35lbs when I was cooking all my meals now that we moved in with my mother in law I have a really hard time controlling myself..she's a GREAT cook

raqufern

Thanks to a MFP friend on here I discovered skinnytaste.com

It has healthier versions of some of our meals including enchiladas, carnitas, chuletas, rice etc!!!!! Check it out and hope it helps!

PatrissiaLu

Yep, I'm on the same boat. I'm Mexican, and I still cook every day for my husband all the regular Mexican food he loves. I have just cut down on frying a lot, and we've been grilling a lot more and eating way more vegetables than we used to... but I still have chicken, bistek, pork every once in a while, all our regular salsas, beans, etc. And when we have family functions where there's pozole, carnitas, tamales, enchiladas or whatever else, I go ahead and splurge a little. I've lost 40 pounds since the beginning of March and am still aiming at losing another 20 pounds and I've managed to do this not by completely depriving myself of good food, but by practicing healthier eating, portion control, and daily exercise. It's all about balance. :-)

yusineddy

I know exactly what you mean, I am Cuban and we tend to eat lots of fried foods, I have lost 9 pounds so far and I still eat my cuban food, I just tweak them a little like I try to bake more than fry and for the rice, I still have it, I just have 1/2 cup instead of the mountain of rice we are used to serving,Lol...And I put all of my recipes into the recipe builder which makes it easier to count for. Sometimes, it is not as bad as we think they are, we just have to have less amount than we are used to!

WendyTerry420

I'm not hispanic, but I love, love, love the food!

saral89

Venezuelan here,
trying to stay away from those warm out of the oven arepas is the hardest part for me
Especially when I get home and my mom has just made a new batch and offers me some. I pretty much go to bed crying :grumble: haha

saral89

Venezuelan here,
trying to stay away from those warm out of the oven arepas is the hardest part for me :sad:
Especially when I get home and my mom has just made a new batch and offers me some. I pretty much go to bed crying :grumble: haha

dodihere

I am not hispanic but I was just in Puerto Rico last week!

VeroLaLoca

Your right! A mountain of rice is what we're use to. Lol I've cut back to just a half cup or none at all.

Twinklene

I know what you mean. I'm Mexican and it was definitely hard giving up all that good food. Especially flour tortillas lol

VeroLaLoca

I know exactly what you mean, I am Cuban and we tend to eat lots of fried foods, I have lost 9 pounds so far and I still eat my cuban food, I just tweak them a little like I try to bake more than fry and for the rice, I still have it, I just have 1/2 cup instead of the mountain of rice we are used to serving,Lol...And I put all of my recipes into the recipe builder which makes it easier to count for. Sometimes, it is not as bad as we think they are, we just have to have less amount than we are used to!

I love eating a mountain of white rice lol unfortunately we are served big portions since we were born :noway:

ldrosophila

Not hispanic but raised in New Mex and on New Mex and Mexican cuisine. I still think the best food in this world is hispanic food. Always so flavorful and intense. Most hispanic food seems to have a lot of vegetables incorporated. Fresh corn tortillas are the best, warm posole, carne adovada.....mmmmm starting to drool here! Not giving up my latin food I'll just have to eat it in moderate amounts.

StrongSandra

I'm Mexican, and I love Mexican food, but I've always tried to make any Mexican dish 'healthier' at home.

I make spinach and mushroom enchiladas - and don't 'fry' the tortilla before passing it through the salsa. I just warm it on the comal, pass through the sauce and fill it up. Same with huevos rancheros, I don't fry the tortilla. I make tacos with Trader Joe's 'Southern Greens' blend and black eyed peas.

One of my favorite things to put on the grill is marinated portobello mushrooms. The first time I did this at a family function my cousins thought I was a bad Mexican! But years later, they tell me that they love them, too. So have one carnitas taco and two portobello tacos

Salsa, particularly home made salsa, is actually quite healthy. You can substitute healthier ingredients (brown rice instead of white) or cooking process (bake instead of fry) for most recipes. And adding more veggies is a good way to fill up with less calories.

It might be better for you and your families if you chose to cook healthy versions of the dishes about 80% of the time, and then make the authentic version as a treat every now and then.

WhatDoesLisa

I know exactly what you mean, I am Cuban and we tend to eat lots of fried foods, I have lost 9 pounds so far and I still eat my cuban food, I just tweak them a little like I try to bake more than fry and for the rice, I still have it, I just have 1/2 cup instead of the mountain of rice we are used to serving,Lol...And I put all of my recipes into the recipe builder which makes it easier to count for. Sometimes, it is not as bad as we think they are, we just have to have less amount than we are used to!

OMG, I lived in Miami for 3 years and I LOVE Cuban food. Can you PM me some of your lower calorie recipes? Thanks!!!

anarjackson

Oh my goodness...Dont' get me started. I thank God for skinnytaste.com You will find great recipes on there! I love that website! Good luck girly!

Iron_Stephanie

Good job! I love my mexican food, I try to make it a little healthier now, I don't fry anything no more:) Now I wan't pozole lol!

Lmaxwell

I'm Cuban. White rice, black beans, Pernil & tostones. My mouth waters at the thought of it.
Unfortunately that just does not fit into my daily meal plan. I only make rice dishes about once a month.
If it's a special occasion I will allow myself to indulge, just not go crazy.
My kids ultimate comfort food white rice with huevo frito.

Iron_Stephanie

Add me chicas!

n_gal87

I'm Mexican and I've been having this problem as well. For me the answer has been moderation. My favorites are enchiladas and tacos. I've always made both with corn tortillas and I've continued to do so, and I've started making my own salsa with fresh tomatoes and a little seasoning, but I've been eating them less frequently.

I've found taco salad is a good substitute for traditional tacos as well, just eliminate the tortilla and it significantly reduces the calories.

eleqtriq

I've learned to adapt all my favorite dishes to a lower calorie version. I've even managed to get tacos to around 85 calories per.

You just have to consider that you make the dishes the way you do because you learned it that way. There's nothing stopping you from learning a *better* way.

avir8

Oh I feel you. I love my pan de dulce and I was used to making all my mexican food from scratch. I have to say that it doesn't taste as good when using reduced fat but at least it's healthier.

shanae727

I JUST LOVE FOOD...POINT BLANK...PERIOD!

supahstar71

Órale! :drinker:

The_New_Christina

I'm half Mexican. I haven't changed my recipes much. Just eat less

jvac9397

I am Puerto Rican too and arroz blanco and chuleta frita is my favorite meal. I grill everything now. I am not watching my sodium so i use Adobo and sazon to season all of my meats and then just grill it. its not the same but at least the flavor is there. We limit rice to once a week maybe once every two weeks. Rice is my husband's addiction so we can't have it often. Hard to limit to just a cup. Keep at it.

_Mitch_

Comida Latina (latin food) my favorite after Sushi!!!! Love the brazilians steak house!!!

kinsellae

Mexican American here and I still eat everything I used to minus the salt. Feel free to add me

grdnr03

I agree with most posters here, all in moderation and excercise play a huge part in weight loss! When we know better we do better, you will be teaching your family how to embrace their heritage, but also be healthy about it, not all latinos, hispanics are overweight right.

I have found that MFP brings into reality how much in denial I was about my food intake,, have you measured out an actual cup of rice, not much compared to the heaping spoons fulls that we have been made to believe is the correct way to eat and feed our family.

Measuring helps with serving amount and with logging your food.

add me if you like