(Photo by Gonzalo Mendiola on Unsplash)

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we will feature some of Jamie’s top Latin-based recipes this week, but first: our meal plan of the week!

Meal Plan – Week #29 (Written by Jamie)

Cost: $94.54 week for 3 people // $1.50 /serving* (*NOTE: These numbers are calculated off what we actually spend each week, which may include occasional supplements of grain, starch, or beef for Drew and Jamie which Charlie cannot have. Week-to-week fluctuations in cost are more reflective of the times we need to pick up staples like olive oil and vinegar or weeks where Jamie is prepping three weeks’ worth of cauliflower rice rather than one week’s meal plan costing extra. Overall, we believe this offers a more accurate reflection of what this diet might look like financially for others.)

Meal Plan Diet Categories: (Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian)

Meals: (Click on the names to go to the recipe) (1) Turkey Chili / (2) Standard Chicken / (3) Root Veggie Hash/ (4) Cumin Pulled Pork / (5) New Orleans Inspired “Red” Beans / (6) Brown Rice / (7) Garden Salad / (8) Steel Cut Oats

Snacks:  Chopped Veggies (for dipping) /Herb Dipping Sauce / Egg Whites / Naked Popcorn

Charlie and I love Hispanic eats- partly because we were once California-based, and my Dad’s side of the family owned a chain of Mexican food restaurants, replete with our own secret recipes. I remember the smells in the kitchen as the Great Aunts assembly-lined the making of a zillion tamales with Grandma posted at the masa bowl. I remember eating the salsa out of the chip dipping bowls with a spoon like it was spicy ice cream at age 3, and consuming endless orders of cheese enchiladas. And I could rattle off tons of other Hispanic eateries that were also delicious and flavorful with their own family secret recipes on the menu without reservation.

…What I didn’t know (until I moved to the Pacific Northwest) is that Mexican food isn’t a failsafe thing. You can actually screw up refried beans and Spanish rice. It is possible to have a flavorless salsa. It felt like it took years to finally break the code and find the genuinely tasty flavors from my childhood two states away from where I last tasted them…the kind that triggers the happy eating memories that other people have when they smell pumpkin pie in fall, or their Nonny’s pasta sauce simmering on low in the kitchen.

There IS good Hispanic food to be had up here if you know where to look!

…But there are also a LOT of salts and fats in those delicious dishes, and bringing those flavors back to Charlie without the things she is restricted from became a beginning goal for Jamie. Because Jamie too loves her some heat, beans, and rice. In fact, her hot sauce and salsa collection (and it is a “collection,” not just a few options kept in the fridge side door) is multinational and impressive. From her everyday Cholula, Tawazula, and Valentina sauces to the Arizona Gunslinger line, her tons of organics and local sauces, the Italian Firelli, Bravado Spice Co, El Yucateco, Dave’s Gourmet, to the Queen Majesty and Truff sauces. There is even a small batch salsa she will drive 2 hours to get to and stock up at the one tiny country store she discovered it is sold from up on the peninsula.

…This is all to say the Hispanic mixes of spices and heat are definitely her jam, and so it is no surprise that a lot of her recipes she focused on flipping for lower calorie, salt, and fat content would be Latinx based/adjacent. Celebrate this month and your food journey with a few in your weekly meal planning!

Fresh Salsa Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Vegan

Black Bean & Corn Salsa Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Grain Free, Vegetarian, Vegan

Seared Chili Pork Loin Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet

“Buffalo” Chicken Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo

Mexican Pinto Beans (as a salad topper or side) Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian

Spicy Broccoli Dip (as a salad topper or side) Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian

Cumin Black Beans (as a salad topper or side) Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Vegan, Vegetarian

BBQ Pork Meatballs Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Paleo

Citrus Cumin Pork Roast Gluten-Free, Lactose/Dairy Free, Diabetes Diet, Low Fat/Low Cholesterol, Cardiac Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Paleo

~D