Cinco de Mayo Menu

May 5 Cinco de Mayo

Family Meal Suggested Menu:
Frijoles Casserole
Taco Salad
Mexican Cornbread
Mexican Wedding Cakes
Fruit Cup
Fiesta Tea

Tip: Parties on the veranda are an integral part of Latin American and South American entertaining. The above picture was made in Brazil. Cinco de Mayo is considered a Mexican holiday but many other countries take advantage of the holiday for a time of celebration and partying. Tables may be decorated with streamers, sombreros and maracas. Colorful fiesta pottery dishes may be used. Paper napkins and tablecloths with cacti or other Southwestern theme may be substituted for linens. May use a potted cactus plant for centerpiece. Mexican wedding cakes may be placed in gift food baskets and presented to guests as favors. Store left over cakes or cornbread in airtight food storage containers for future use. A piñata adds to the festivity.

Food for Thought: The good man eats to live, while the evil man lives to eat. Proverbs 13:25 LB

Eating Well for Wellness

When God created people, He placed plenty of food on the earth for healthy survival and enjoyment. Family meal planners are always concerned about maintaining a healthy family. There are 4 Ps that can help family meal planners to assure that the family is eating well for wellness. These are: 1. Plan 2. Prepare nutritious choices 3. Promote exercise 4. Pray. The primary concern of family meal planners is to give the family wholesome meals and snacks.
Children, and adults as well, do not always feel like eating on a regular schedule. You may need to have nutritious food available when children become hungry. Plan the food that is needed for an entire day. As the child or adult becomes hungry, serve or offer one or more of the foods to balance the nutrients needed for that day. By providing food at hunger times, less food will be served or consumed at family mealtime. Next, promote physical activity. God created our bodies with the capacity to store nutrients for survival.
To maintain a healthy weight, some people may need to deplete those stored reserves to keep from adding cells of fat for energy. Obese family members or those with sedimentary lifestyles should exert some kind of physical activity every three hours for at least 10 minutes. Physical activity may be dusting furniture, vacuuming the house, leg and arm exercises, walking, running, swimming, biking, ballgame, etc. Be sure to replenish the body’s liquids with water or sport’s drinks, if perspired a lot.

Peppers

Peppers are an expected staple of Cinco de Mayo foods. Peppers probably originated in the East Indies. It is used as a vegetable, spice or medicine. Some people mix black peppers and honey for a cough remedy. Pepper pods contain vitamin A and C as well as carbohydrate called cellulose. Green or bell, yellow and red peppers may be cooked, served raw as in salads or stuffed. Red pimentos are often mixed with cheese and served as a spread. Berries from pepper plants are called peppercorns. White and black are ground from ripened berries for table use.
These are tastier when ground at the time of eating. Red berries are considered exotic. Cayenne and paprika range from hot to mild taste. Green berries may be used in the unripened sate in cooking. Chiles are red and green and very hot. Sauces and chili condiments are often associated with Mexican dishes. Vinegar based hot pepper sauces often compliment southern vegetable dishes like black-eyed peas. Chilies may be dried for future use or decoration.
From the Nutritionist: Our menu has a Southwestern flavor. The Frijoles or beans and meat provide protein. The salad, fruit cup and cornbread supply needed vitamins and minerals. For diabetics the cornbread and wedding cakes are two bread exchanges. The Fiesta Tea is a tea-based punch. Via com Dios and felicemento Dia de la Madre a todas Madres. God go with you and happy Mother’s Day to all mothers.
Recipes are available upon request.Comments and questions are welcomed.Please share this web site with a friend.