Latinx Heritage and Plant-Based Eating
It’s Latinx Heritage Month!
A perfect time to remember the historical presence of plant-based eating en nuestras comunidades.
Have you ever noticed how much of what's emblematic of our cultures revolves around food? From ancient civilizations to the present, las plantas have been a fundamental pillar of our culinary heritage.
Our legacy of culinary staples:
Latinx cultures provide a wide range of traditional dishes that can readily be made plant-based.
Peru’s Causa: Mashed potato layered with avocado and other vegetables.
Brazil’s Acarajé: Deep-fried black-eyed pea fritters often filled with vegetables.
Colombia’s Patacones: Fried green plantains, often served with a tomato-onion sauce.
Cuba’s Yuca con Mojo: Yuca (cassava) served with a garlicky citrus sauce.
Dominican Republic’s Mangu: Mashed green plantains often served with sautéed onions and tomatoes.
Bolivia’s Sajta de Verduras: A spicy vegetable stew often served with potatoes.
Our legacy of Sustainable Farming:
Ancient cultures like the Aztecs and Incans gave us pioneering agricultural systems that were all about sustainability.
An example of this is the chinampa, a traditional Mesoamerican agricultural system that dates back to pre-Columbian times, primarily used by the Aztecs and other indigenous cultures.
It is a method of farming that involves the creation of small, rectangular, man-made agricultural plots or raised fields in shallow lake beds or wetlands.
A remarkable example of indigenous agricultural ingenuity, they allowed ancient Mesoamerican societies to produce an abundance of food in a region with challenging environmental conditions.
Chinampa farming is still present today in the sourthern parts of Mexico City!
Our legacy of Super Foods:
Diverse ancient cultures had diets with staples like maize, beans, quinoa and chia.
Quinoa and amaranth, the 'Andean Gold,' were Incan dietary staples, integral to the plant-based superfood legacy that have become mainstream.
Quinoa: Once the 'mother grain' of the Incas, it's a complete plant protein, packed with vitamins and minerals.
Amaranth: It's rich in protein, fiber, and nutrients, providing sustainable energy.
These ancient grains are the foundation of a lasting plant-based legacy. Embracing them today connects us to Incan wisdom and honors their sustainable, superfood nutrition.
