Authentic Mexican tacos have evolved into somehow an unhealthy version with lots of grease and unwanted carbs. Since Tex-Mex restaurants have become mainstream in the fast-food industry, there have been tweaks made to the traditional version of this popular and well-loved Mexican dish.
With all the various ways tacos can be prepared nowadays, how can you make sure that your tacos are healthy?
Let’s learn more about this favorite Mexican dish and how you can prepare it to be more nutritious.
If you pass by a Mexican street, it will nearly be impossible to not find a restaurant that serves authentic Mexican tacos. And if you ask any American household, you will learn that once in their life, they ate a taco.
Traditional tacos date back to hundreds of years ago when they were originally served to miners. It became a handy meal for miners who would stay in the silver mines in the 18th century. The first real name of this miner’s meal was “taco de minero” or “miner’s taco”.
Corn is the main ingredient of a taco shell. It is said that, in around 3,000 BC, Mexicans excavated the “Valle de Tehuac” to create the corn plant from hybrid grasses. This is how corn started to be revered and has played a vital role in authentic Mexican cuisine.
The first tacos ever made that were sold in Mexico had sausage, chorizo, green sauce and pork rinds, and mole Verde. They were born in the city of Cuautla, Morelos, and made their way to the capital, Cuernavaca.
Today, these are healthy ways of how the most authentic Mexican tacos are prepared:
When you think about tacos, Al Pastor Tacos were the first tacos that were sold in Mexican markets. They are pork-filled tacos sold in street food carts and gourmet restaurants. You will find this name for tacos on the menu of Mexican restaurants today.
What makes this taco healthy is the slow-cooked pork that’s been cooked on a kebab rotisserie after being marinated with chilies.
Slow-cooking preserves all the natural flavors of the meat that blend with the spices in the marinade.
The meat is then served, instead of wrapped in a soft tortilla and garnished with fresh pineapple.
If you go to other places in Mexico, like Puebla, these tacos are known as tacos de Arabes (Arab tacos). In the north of Mexico, they are called tacos de trompo and are flavored with smoky paprika.
Known as the original street taco, you will find these staple tacos sold at a cheap price for any meal of the day on the street or in taco canteens.
They became popular when they were sold in baskets. In fact, the name refers to basket tacos.
If you are looking for healthy tacos, this could be the one. It is prepared by steaming, filled with healthy and simple ingredients like potatoes and beans.
Sometimes, they can be incredibly greasy. Hence, their other name is sweaty tacos.
These are the bucket tacos, named after the way the meat filling is cooked. In Mexico, a ‘cazo’ is a large, metal basket. Meat used for this taco is cooked inside a ‘cazo’ over a fire. The meat, often beef, is left to cook slowly in its own lard or fat for a decadent, tender finish.<
