Enjoy Authentic Mexican Food the Healthy Way
The Primal Pioneer Podcast teaches you how to improve the environment you live, work, and exercise in so you can achieve optimal health. Heathar’s leading-edge teachings and expert interviews with integrative health professions teach you the most effective, simple yet deeply transformative solutions to overcoming and preventing every chronic disease today. You’ll walk away from this podcast feeling invigorated, inspired, and confident about your body’s incredible and natural ability to heal!
Enjoy Authentic Mexican Food the Healthy Way
In episode 42 of the Primal Pioneer, I want to dive into the topic of Mexican food. Most people think of Mexican food as fried tortillas smothered in cheese and oil. I am going to teach you in this episode five hacks to eating Mexican food so that you can healthily appreciate the flavors.
But before we dive right in, let me introduce myself in case this is your first visit. I am your host, Heathar Shepard and I am incredibly passionate about helping people JUST LIKE YOU find the health and happiness they truly deserve.
Besides being an alternative healer and integrative health coach, I’m also a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor who struggled for 10 years until I discovered the MOST important factor for overall health: the environment we live and work in. And in The Primal Pioneer, I share what 98+% of doctors don’t tell you (or don’t even know!) about true health and wellness. You’ll learn about the importance of sunlight, as well as the foods and eating cycles that heal the root causes of chronic disease. And in an age dominated by technology, you’ll discover how EMF mitigation can drastically improve your life.
Everyone has their healing journey with their unique struggles...but I’m here to give you all the tools you need to make that healing happen!
So if you’re ready to learn more about healthy Mexican food and how it isn't all so bad for you, keep on reading! And for even more details, listen to ALL of episode 42 of The Primal Pioneer on your favorite streaming platform.
Hack 1: Lard over vegetable oil.
If you're new here, you might be thinking, “Heathar, what are you talking about? Lard is so fattening”. We have been trained to think that about saturated fats. There is a huge misconception around how lard can clog our arteries and cause heart disease. The truth is, they are super supportive of our health. We have to understand that there are two types of lard. There is lard that is literally fat from a pig and then there’s a leaf lard. I love leaf lard and I get it when I can because it comes from the fat that surrounds the pigs by the kidneys. This fat is particularly high in vitamin D and it's one of our best food sources for vitamin D.
When it comes to making our fat choices, we always want to think traditional. Vegetable oils were a man-made modern invention but lard is not man-made. You may think vegetable oil is traditional but it's not. Lard is the traditional fat that has been used in Mexico for years. Vegetable oil is just a marketing scheme to get you to buy the product. It may say “heart-healthy” on it but we have to take the time and look at how the product was made, where it came from, and how many humans and machines it took to make. So, these oils have been proclaimed as healthy but I have seen so many people experience health issues after consuming these oils because they are so destructive to our cell membranes. When it comes to upgrading your Mexican food, I highly encourage you to swap lard or leaf lard for your vegetable oils.
Hack 2: Organic corn.
As you may know, Mexican cuisine has a lot of corn in it, especially corn tortillas. 95% of all corn in the United States is genetically modified. We do not want to be eating genetically modified corn because it's bad for our health and the health of our kids. When you eat corn that’s not prepared properly, you are going to run up against anti-nutrient issues. This is why so many people today cannot digest corn, because it’s not prepared traditionally. There is a company out there that produces sprouted corn tortillas that you can use for making tacos or corn chips. It'll be one of the healthiest corn chips you eat if you get sprouted corn tortillas. I highly recommend doing this if you're into Mexican food. If you want to make your own corn tortillas from scratch, you can look for Masa Harina because it is already properly prepared. I encourage you to make your own homemade corn chips and tortillas or find sprouted organic corn tortillas at a healthy food store.
You Might Also Like
Let's deep dive into your health to see what might be holding you back from achieving optimal health
Hack 3: Homemade sauces.
I understand that not everybody has the time or energy to make something from scratch all the time. But when it comes to sauces and salsas, the more you can make it homemade and not semi-homemade, the better. The less processed we get, the healthier we get. By making your own homemade salsas and sauces, you also avoid vegetable oils. Many canned vegetables can contain soybean oils and sometimes even corn syrup as well. So, we have to understand that some things are really easy to make when you have the right ingredients and you have the correct directions and instructions. For your first time, start easy with a salsa or a green salsa. This is going to be a really good and healthy way to upgrade your Mexican food experience. Your sauces will be jam-packed with nutrients like Vitamin C and Capsicum, which is anti-cancer and heart-protective.
Hack 4: Wild-caught seafood.
Mexican food can include a lot of seafood, especially if you're in a coastal region. I'm bringing this hack up because a really popular food here in the states is fish tacos. Often the fish in these tacos is fried so it's breaded in wheat and vegetable oil. You have a double whammy right there. So, when it comes to fish tacos, you can do this in a really healthy way by using corn tortillas and grilled panfish instead of fried ones. You can use lard or leaf lard to pan sear your fish or you can use coconut oil. I personally really love grilled fish because it's healthier and it gives it a nice earthy smokey flavor. If you don't already, I suggest getting yourself a gas grill and firing up some mahi-mahi and wild-caught shrimp. When I say wild-caught, I want to focus on this because the nutrient profile is much bigger. The fish that are farm-raised not only are nutrient deficient, but they have been fed soy and other processed foods and grains. These types of fish need to be swimming in the saltwater to get the nutrients they need. I suggest avoiding farm-raised and if you go to a restaurant don't be scared to ask where the fish came from. You want to focus on wild-caught seafood in any cuisine really, not just Mexican. We want wild-caught because it is rich in Omega 3 and DHA, which is a fatty acid found in wild fish that is the most important molecule to the human body. The more DHA you surround yourself with, the more energy you're going to be able to produce.
Hi, I am Heathar
With over 12 years experience as an alternative healer, integrative health coach and one who has been through severe physical injury trying every remedy under the sun to heal myself with no avail…I’m here to tell you, all of those things are not only attainable but are foundational to achieving optimal health and are core elements to overcoming all chronic and stubborn diseases.
At the age of 23 I suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) preventing me from the ability to engage in physical activity for over 12 years post my car accident. Today, I know I could have recovered from this injury much quicker if I had known then what I know now! But….the accident lead me down the healing path. A path that I was destined to take to help myself heal and to learn how to help others heal complicated and chronic disorders as well.
During this time, I learned two things: How to harness the healing power of sunlight and how to utilize frequency based medicine to facilitate biological transformations in the body - all the way down to the mitochondrial level.
Today, I lead an active life and you can bet I’m uber passionate about teaching others how they can overcome even the most daunting health experiences that most medical professionals have band-aid solutions for, at best.
And today, my health continues to improve each day and I now lead an active, healthy lifestyle - all of which I thought would never be possible to achieve again. All it took was discovering the most effective path to health and healing to get me there and now, to help my clients get there as well!
Hack 5: Stop with the raw cabbage.
A lot of restaurants today put raw cabbage on top of tacos when they serve them. When I get that, I want to send it back so badly. People like it because it’s crunchy but I have to tell you there are so many better choices, especially when it comes to flavor. Cabbage is part of the cruciferous family, which blocks iodine absorption when we eat those foods raw. Iodine is a key molecule that protects us against cancer and supports healthy thyroid function and healthy weight. Most people today are already deficient in iodine and we further fuel that by eating raw cruciferous vegetables. These things should never be eaten raw because of their anti-nutrient properties. So, skip the raw idea and take the more traditional and healthy way of eating tacos. Focus on salsa, fresh guacamole, fresh chopped cilantro, and all those healthy delicious sauces.
The Bottom Line of How to Enjoy Authentic Mexican Food the Healthy Way
I hope this episode was eye-opening and informative on all things Mexican food. The biggest takeaway from this episode is that there are much healthier ways to eat your favorite foods. If you incorporate these hacks into your Mexican cuisine dishes, I guarantee you will find them much tastier and healthier.
If you enjoyed this episode, I would appreciate it if you took one minute to rate and review. Each review helps more people just like you learn the deeper truths about health, healing, and what’s driving our epidemic rates of poor health today. Don’t forget to take a screenshot of the episode, share it on your Instagram stories, and tag me @sunlight_rx. Thanks for tuning in and see you next week!
Episode Resources & Useful Links:
Be featured on The Primal Pioneer Podcast
Do you have a healing story that you want to share with the world?
Have you conquered an “incurable disease”?
Have you been mistreated by the medical profession and want your voice to be heard?
Do you have a mind-blowing healing story or experience that you feel would benefit others?
If so, Heathar wants to learn more!