A Yucatecan cookbook isn’t exactly a collection of health-food recipes. But in moderation, an aficionado of the local cuisine can chow down without feeling too guilty.
It’s not the high-fat content of the food, but the size of the portions, says UADY nutritionist Martha Guillermo Magaña.
“The problem is we do not know how to eat, we overeat. We are not satisfied with a panucho or a tamale and usually ask, for example, a torta de cochinita with two tacos de lechón,” she says.
Guillermo also recommended that people suffering from hypertension or diabetes should not make a daily habit of Yucatán’s more indulgent dishes. Also avoid salt and accompany it with water or unsweetened fruit drinks.
Counting the calories of Yucatecan food can be surprising. A sopa de lima has 341 calories, compared to a single panucho at 285.
A plate of four papadzules, at 786 calories, can be replaced with a healthier baked chicken tostada with beans, which is also a traditional Yucatecan food.
The UADY nutritionist recommends between 1,500 to 2,000 calories daily, so a trio of salbutes, at 255 calories each, would put you too close to the limit with one meal.
Regional dishes, such as beans with pork, can be enjoyed without remorse when the puerco is trimmed of fat and you don’t go crazy with tortillas.
So do not feel guilty eating a delicious lime soup or an order of papadzules. Just watch your portions. In the end, Yucatecan cuisine is the best in the world, the dietician’s interview in Diario de Yucatán concludes.
Source: Diario de Yucatán
