Mexican Meals and Customs

MEALS AND CUSTOMS

Desayuno is breakfast in Mexico and as in many other places, it is eaten early and is usually a light meal. For the countryside farmer or the worker in Mexico City, the first meal may be tortillas with frijoles refritos sprinkled with mild grated cheese and washed down with hot chocolate or cafe con leche (coffee with milk). For the city person, the tortillas may be replaced with fresh bolillas or other breads, the hot drink will be the same, but the morning paper may be the accompaniment. Where time and money are no problem, a more leisurely desayuno may include fresh fruits, eggs (huevos rancheros), tortillas, and frijoles refritos garnished with grated cheese and a few wedges of fresh avocado, together with cafe con leche or hot chocolate.

The main meal of the day is usually the comida lasting a leisurely two or three hours (which may include a rest time), from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Most people try to take this meal at home with their family.

Mexicans also have a name for a special lunch at about 11:00 a.m. which they call almuerzo. This meal usually consists of one filling dish such as sopa seca or something based on tortillas such as tacos or enchiladas. But if almuerzo is taken, then the comida would be correspondingly a lighter meal.

And if either the almuerzo or the comida left some hunger pangs, there is a type of “sweet break” in the late afternoon that usually consists of sweet rolls or small pastries with coffee or chocolate and this is called merienda.

In spite of the many “official” meals, snacking is a national pastime and many vendors on city streets and along the highways make their living by carefully preparing fresh sliced fruits, fruit drinks like horchata (prepared from melon seeds, sugar, and lime), candied fruits and vegetables, salted and spiced nuts and seeds.

On special occasions, many villages have their own local sweet bakeries and small confections that are prepared in the homes then offered for sale to passers-by. Some of the oldest traditional sweets and baked goods were prepared by nuns in the convents for special holidays. Within minutes a small stand can be set up to make fresh tortillas, and varieties of fillings and bottles of hot spicy sauces to be used to taste. Other stands are specially constructed to bake bananas where they are served hot with a sprinkle of sugar and a dribble of canned milk. Chicarrones (pork cracklings), fried taco chips and crispy-fried cookies all beckon the appetite of anyone walking by.

The evening meal is called the cena. In the rural areas this would, like the other meals, be based on the staples of tortillas and frijoles and may include a cazuela of vegetables, seasoned with a mole of garlic, onions, tomatoes, and chilies. This evening meal is taken very late in the city eight to ten o’clock being a usual time. But this meal would not be a heavy one unless the family is dining out or there is a special occasion. Much entertaining is done out of the home, especially in the city. Home parties are likely to be buffet style.

Borrowed from: http://www.food-links.com/countries/mexico/meals-customs-mexico.php

Viva la Mexico

This week, we will be featuring Mexico on our blog to honor our Mexican followers and anyone who loves Mexican food and culture. Enjoy!

Skinny Fiber Results Online Facebook Trivia Answer

Hello all,

The answer to today’s Skinny Fiber Results Online Facebook Trivia Question is 3.4 ounces.  According to the latest from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the correct answer is 3.4 ounces per day. Of that, 1.8 ounces per day is the average beef consumption. If you want to view the question, click here.

Thanks for playing!!

Health.Fun.Energy

And don’t forget… if you like their page on Facebook between now and August 31 at 11:59 pm, you will be entered to win a great FITNESS JOURNAL!!!

Want to Win a FREE Fitness Journal?

Hello all,

Our friends over at Skinny Fiber Results Online have a fantastic contest for you that they asked us to help them promote.

They have a spectacular Facebook page and they would love to have our followers be a part of it. They have exciting posts about nutrition, health, and fitness that we know you will LOVE! 

So here’s the deal…

Any person who “LIKES” the Facebook Page from now until August 31, 2012 at 11:59 pm EST will be entered in a drawing to win a Fantastic Fitness Journal!!!!

Diet and Fitness Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Like” in the page is easy and it can be done in two ways:

1. Click Here

2. Click “Like” on the Facebook box on the right side of the Health.Fun.Energy blog page

Need a “Day at the Spa?”

So some of you may know we have partnered with a great blog/Facebook Page called Skinny Fiber Results Online. They are an awesome company that promote the same values that we do here at Health.Fun.Energy and they sponsor a weekly Skinny Cocktail that we are privileged to share with you.

As a follower of our blog, we are giving you a sneak peak of the Skinny Cocktail that will be posted later on their Facebook page. 

It seriously doesn’t get any better than this!!!

Need a day at the Spa?

To locate the liquor, you can go to: http://www.trytyku.com/home.html

8 Surprising Energy Sappers

A large part of our mission here at Health.Fun.Energy is giving you exciting content that will help you feel better about the way you live. We thought this would be perfect because many of us do lead busy (and often exhausting) lifestyles.

Energy sapper: your breakfast menu
Missing a morning meal slows metabolism and depletes your body of the fuel it needs to function optimally, explains nutrition expert Joy Bauer, R.D. But what you eat matters as much as the fact that you eat something. Bauer suggests starting each day with a breakfast that contains at least 5 grams of protein. This nutrient activates the production of norepinephrine, a neurochemical that increases heart rate and alertness. It also digests slowly so blood sugar and energy levels stay stable. Some tasty recipes: a cup of cereal (with 3 g or more of fiber, no more than 120 calories per serving) topped with skim milk, 1/2 cup of blueberries and 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts (10 g of protein per serving), or an omelet made with 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup chopped broccoli, 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1 ounce lowfat shredded cheese (22 g of protein per serving).

Energy sapper: your outfit
Those killer heels and pencil skirts may look polished and professional, but if you’re sacrificing comfort for fashion, they can also turn you into the office sloth. Workers took an average of 491 fewer steps on days they wore more formal business attire compared with dress-down days, according to research commissioned by the American Council on Exercise in San Diego. And using less energy leads to having less energy, says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer with ACE: “Sitting at your desk all day slows circulation, so less energizing oxygen is delivered to cells throughout your body.” Wear clothes that allow for movement and cushy footwear instead of uncomfortable heels to the office so you’ll be more likely to walk around. If you can’t part with your stilettos, keep them on at work, then slip into flats or low-heeled shoes for a lunch-break walk outdoors and your commute.

Energy sapper: your worrying
Credit card debt, a micromanaging boss—long-term stressors such as these can leave you spent. “Chronic stress increases heart rate and blood pressure, making your body work overtime,” explains Nieca Goldberg, M.D., director of the New York University Langone Medical Center Women’s Heart Program in New York City. “When you’re on edge, you also tend to tighten your muscles, which sets you up for aches and fatigue.” What’s more, worriers often take shallow breaths, so they don’t take in enough oxygen, Dr. Goldberg says. “You’re essentially hyperventilating and building up carbon dioxide in your blood, a waste product that can make you feel tired and dizzy.” When anxiety strikes, take three slow, deep breaths to give your body a big dose of energizing oxygen while slowing down a rapid heart rate. Then, as soon as you have a few minutes of downtime, do something distracting that feels good, like talking to a friend or watching a funny movie.

Energy sapper: your messy desk
Digging through piles of unorganized paperwork is a time and energy stealer in and of itself, but merely the sight of those stacks can stress you out, decrease efficiency and drain your brain, says Carol Landau, Ph.D., clinical professor of psychiatry and medicine at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island. While a little disarray is OK, in general, your desk should hold only items that you use very frequently—your computer or stapler—and the paperwork you’re working on that day,” notes Laura Stack, author of The Exhaustion Cure (Random House). Nonessential items—a labeler and a three-hole punch—can go in a drawer. Tokeep your desk clear, spend five minutes at the end of each day putting documents you’re working on in a neat pile and filing away the rest.

Energy sapper: your Saturday sleep-ins
“Bingeing on sleep on weekends to catch up on missed zzz’s throws off your circadian rhythm, your body’s 24-hour clock that plays a key role in sleep and wakefulness,” says Amy Wolfson, Ph.D., author of The Woman’s Book of Sleep (New Harbinger Publications). Sleeping in—and hitting the hay that night later than usual as a result—also makes it hard to readjust to your workweek routine, so you start Mondays in a fog. Strive to get up within the same 60-minute range both days: Oversleeping by more than one hour significantly disrupts your body clock. Still wake up with a case of the groggies? Open your bedroom shades as soon as your alarm goes off. The sunlight sends a signal to your brain that it’s time to get up.

Energy sapper: your lack of vitamin C
About 30 percent of women don’t get enough vitamin C, and too-low levels can zap your energy. That’s because vitamin C helps produce carnitine, a molecule that shuttles fatty acids into cells where they’re burned for energy, says Carol Johnston, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at Arizona State University at Mesa. “Lack of carnitine forces the body to use carbs or protein for energy instead. That can cause your body to produce lactic acid, a waste product that builds up in tissue and fatigues muscles.” Aim to get the recommended daily allowance of 75 mg of C daily bynoshing on naturally rich sources such as an orange or a kiwifruit (both have about 70 mg per fruit), broccoli (1 cup chopped: 74 mg) or strawberries (1 cup: 89 mg).

Energy sapper: your stuck-in-a-rut routine
Grandma was right: Variety is the spice of life. “We all crave diversity and challenge,” Steven Berglas, Ph.D and author of Reclaiming the Fire: How Successful People Overcome Burnout says. “When there’s no challenge in completing a task, you go on autopilot—it’s mind-numbing.” If job monotony is dragging you down, ask your boss for more or different responsibilities, or have lunch with someone in another department to find out if her type of job is something you’d like to explore, Berglas suggests. Blasé about your daily regimen? Simple change-ups can deliver some rut-busting benefits. For instance, find an alternate route home (and stop at a park or shop that grabs your eye along the way); sign up for a language, pottery or photography class to get your brain chomping on something new; or trade the treadmill for a fun circuit training class.

Energy sapper: your sluggish thyroid
Found at the base of the throat, this gland secretes hormones that help control metabolism, heart rate and more. “The less active your thyroid is in producing hormones, the slower your metabolism and the less energy you have,” says Stephen Richardson, M.D., an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. Other telltale signs of an underactive thyroid include constipation, menstrual irregularities and dry skin, hair and nails. A blood test can reveal whether your levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone are high—a sign that the thyroid isn’t working up to speed. If they are, your M.D. can help pinpoint and treat whatever is elevating them; a viral infection or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease) are potential culprits. If your gland can’t do its job, you may need to take a daily synthetic thyroid hormone pill. Fortunately, once those hormones are back in balance, your lethargy will disappear. In the meantime, try relaxation exercises (deep breathing or yoga). “If you have a thyroid problem, stress might add to the drain on your energy levels,” Dr. Richardson says. That’s one more good excuse to take it easy—and save your energy for something fun.

Content borrowed from:

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/healthieryou/8-surprising-energy-sappers

Turkey Reuben Sandwiches

It is almost lunch time on the East Coast. What are you having today?

Smoked turkey stands in for corned beef in this lightened variation of a deli favorite. Serve with a pickle wedge and chips.

Lighten up with this Turkey Rueben Sandwich
Borrowed from: http://www.allrecipe.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 8 slices rye bread
• 4 (1-ounce) slices reduced-fat, reduced-sodium Swiss cheese (such as Alpine Lace)
• 8 ounces smoked turkey, thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup fat-free Thousand Island dressing
• 1 tablespoon canola oil, divided

Preparation

1. Spread about 3/4 teaspoon mustard over each bread slice.
2. Place 1 cheese slice on each of 4 bread slices.
3. Divide turkey evenly over cheese.
4. Top each serving with 2 1/2 tablespoons sauerkraut and 1 tablespoon dressing.
5. Top each serving with 1 bread slice, mustard sides down.
6. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add 2 sandwiches to pan; top with another heavy skillet.
8. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden; remove sandwiches from pan, and keep warm.
9. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and sandwiches.

Recipe and Image borrowed from: http://www.allrecipe.com

Ultimate Beef Wellington

Ok… we are getting all fancy since the weekend is coming. We know this one involves a lengthy prep time, so we wanted to post it early enough that you could prepare.

Let us know how it turns out and stay tuned tomorrow from the “Skinny Fiber Results Online” Skinny Cocktail.

Ultimate Beef Wellington
Borrowed from: http://www.foodnetwork.com

 

 

Ingredients

For the Duxelles:

• 3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:

• 1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
• 1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• Minced chives, for garnish
• Green Peppercorn Sauce, recipe follows
• Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• Warm Wilted Winter Greens, recipe follows

Directions

To make the Duxelles:

1. Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat.
3. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

To prepare the beef:

1. Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil – about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board.
4. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef.
5. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles.
6. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
7. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard.
8. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape.
9. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1.  On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together.
2. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef – saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired.
3. Top with coarse sea salt.
4. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
5. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife – this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking.
6. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
7. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices.
8. Garnish with minced chives, and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, and Warm Wilted Winter Greens.

Green Peppercorn Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 1 cup brandy
• 1 box beef stock
• 2 cups cream
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1/2 cup green peppercorns in brine, drained, brine reserved

1. Add olive oil to pan after removing beef.
2. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then, off heat, add brandy and flambe using a long kitchen match.
3. After flame dies down, return to the heat, add stock and reduce by about half.
4. Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard.
5. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add green peppercorns.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Garlic:

• 2 pints fingerling potatoes
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh sage
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, left unpeeled
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus for sheet pan
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F and place a baking sheet inside to heat.

1.  Add potatoes, rosemary, sage, thyme, and garlic to a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Remove sheet pan from oven, lightly coat with olive oil, and pour potatoes onto pan.
3. Place potatoes in oven and reduce heat to 425 degrees F.
4. Roast for 20 minutes, or until crispy on outside and tender on inside.

Warm Wilted Winter Greens:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 pint walnuts, for garnish
• 3 bunches assorted winter greens (such as Swiss chard, radicchio, or escarole), washed, stemmed, and torn into pieces
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, for garnish
• Parmesan shavings, for garnish
• 1 shallot, chopped, for garnish

Cook honey and balsamic together over medium-high heat in a large saute pan, about 5 minutes. Toast walnuts in a small skillet; set aside to cool.

1. Pile greens on a platter.
2. Stir mustard into balsamic-honey dressing, then whisk in about 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil; pour over greens.
3. Season greens with salt and pepper and garnish with walnuts, pomegranate seeds, shavings of Parmesan, and shallot.

Recipe and Image borrowed from http://www.foodnetwork.com

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

4 lamb chops (3/4 inch thick)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together the rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavors.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 3 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm on a serving platter.
3. Add shallots to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes, just until browned. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don’t, the sauce will be runny and not good. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Pour over the lamb chops, and serve.

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction

We think this is a fabulous way to kick off Protein week.

Any special requests of recipes you would like to see?

Image and Recipe Borrowed from: www.allrecipe.com

Beet Root Juice… Fitness in a glass?

We know you are wild about Beet Root Juice, so we figured we would give you some more information about it. This post was borrowed from a recent New York Times article called “Looking for Fitness in a Glass of Juice.”

Beetroot juice, as the name implies, is created from the knotty parts of a beet. Who first imagined that liquefying beetroots might improve physical performance is unknown. But he or she appears to have been on to something. In a series of studies in the past two years, beetroot juice has been found to enhance certain types of athletic performance. In a representative study published last year, for instance, cyclists who ingested half a liter of beetroot juice before a 2.5-mile or a 10-mile time trial were almost 3 percent faster than when they rode unjuiced. They also produced more power with each pedal stroke.

Since in the world of elite sports a 3 percent improvement in performance is enormous, athletes quickly embraced the juice as news of the studies spread. Today, beetroot juice is reportedly a staple among British track and field athletes at the Olympics, including Mo Farah, who won the gold medal this week in the men’s 10-kilometer race, and among several of the United States Olympic marathon runners, many other nations’ runners, swimmers, rowers and cyclists, and quite a few Olympic soccer players.

Although it isn’t clear just how beetroot juice improves performance, it seems to improve blood and oxygen flow to muscles, says Andrew Jones, a professor of applied physiology at the University of Exeter in England, who’s led many of the studies of beetroot juice and athletic performance. It also prompts muscles to use that augmented oxygen more efficiently. “There is a lower oxygen cost” to exercise when someone is drinking beetroot juice, he says. That may be one reason it allowed volunteers who drank it for a week beforehand to walk or run for significantly longer on a treadmill than those who had drunk a placebo juice.

But that advantage may not exist in all types of exercise, other new research suggests. A cautionary study published last month found that a single dose of beetroot juice ingested several hours before a one-hour cycling time trial did not noticeably improve the riders’ performance.

What that finding suggests, says Naomi Cermak, a researcher at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands who led the study, is that beetroot juice, while effective at improving performance in short, extremely strenuous bouts of exercise, may have less effect during longer, relatively less intense types of exertion. In other words, the juice might help an 800-meter runner but perhaps not a marathoner.

Based on the currently available science, Dr. Cermak adds, it’s also likely that benefits will be most evident in someone who drinks the juice regularly, not someone who tries it for the first time on the day of a race.

So if you wish to experiment with beetroot as a performance booster, begin at least a week before a race or strenuous event. In many experiments, volunteers drank a half-liter of the juice per day. (Some studies have used smaller, concentrated beetroot “shots.”) And be prepared for a period of acclimation. Beetroot juice is “an acquired taste,” says Dr. Jones.

Beet Root Juice… Is it “Fitness in a Glass?”

Have you tried it? What did you think?

-Health.Fun.Energy