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Deep Mexico: Ingredient-Driven Mexican Meal Prep |  |
This page is a brand-new addition to my popular series, How to Save Money on Groceries.
A Month-Long Experiment, A Deep Dive into Mexican and Mexican-Style Meals with a Focus on Pantry Shopping, Cooking with What We Have on Hand and Meal Prep.
Deep Mexico Quick Links
~ Pantry & Shopping List ~~ Meal Prep ~
~ What We Made ~
~ What We Learned ~
~ More Ideas ~
~ About the Photos ~
Getting Food to our Tables.
It's a challenge for all of us, yes?
Even for those of us who l-o-v-e to cook, the fact is that we spend less time actually cooking than the more mundane chores of "figuring out dinner" and "getting groceries" plus the dreaded "cleanup".
It's not the cooking that wears us down, it's the planning, the shopping and the dishwashing.
It's no wonder that meal planning services, meal delivery services like Blue Apron and grocery home-delivery services are gaining popularity. (Ha! Who else notices that nobody but nobody is offering to do the dishes?! Well, restaurants, I suppose ...)
Every cook has his/her own system that works (or doesn't ...) in his/her own situation.
Here's what's working in mine plus our experience with our Deep Mexico experiment
Three Techniques That Might Help & Might Inspire.
For a couple of years, I have honed three strategies aimed at getting healthy, delicious food onto the table.
But first, I developed data to help me understand what was happening. Yes, I'm nerdy this way.
I actually tracked the time associated with meal planning + shopping + cooking + cleanup.
The shocker?
Shopping took more time than cooking and cleanup together!
And that's for someone who lives within a couple of miles of my favorite grocery stores and who has the time flexibility to shop during the week vs busy weekends.
#1 An Ingredient-Driven Pantry.
First I changed my whole grocery routine, after asking about your your pantry ideas.
BEFORE My home economist mother taught me (and all her students) to plan meals and then shop for what was needed.
AFTER I began to shop for and stock up on our personal "grocery store" of ingredients, the ingredients we use over and over again.
HOW IT WORKS Now we cook from what we have: much less goes to waste and much less time is spent wandering grocery aisles.
And I think like a chef, making sure that every ingredient in our household pantry, especially the shelf-stable ones, can be used in two or three or more different ways.
FOUR YEARS LATER This technique remains the bedrock of my food shopping and it's fundamental to shopping for groceries online for pickup or delivery because 95% of my orders are the same items, week after week. Space-wise, I still don't have a "pantry" per se but did open up a couple of strong shelves in a basement storage room, this really helps, especially for big items and heavy items.
#2 No More Weekly Meal Routines.
Meatless Mondays. Taco Tuesdays. Pizza Fridays. Saturday Soups. Sunday Suppers.
Some families simplify their meal planning by designating Mondays for vegetarian suppers, Tuesdays for tacos and so on.
This idea intrigued me so I tried it. But it just didn't work here.
It would be Monday and I'd have chicken from the weekend that needed to be eaten. Or it would be Tuesday but I wasn't excited about tacos because the corn tortillas I'd used the prior Tuesday had little bits of mold on them.
This form of meal semi-planning felt all hurry-up-and-slow-down and herky-jerky to me, with little flow or continuity from one day to the next.
I needed something better. Spoiler: Deep Mexico!
FOUR YEARS LATER We haven't yet repeated a Deep Mexico experiment (though I keep wanting to, probably with a different cuisine) but it's become second nature, cooking with what we have, no real need for meal planning.
#3 Lean Into Meal Prep.
Some cooks ease that just-home-from-work pre-supper scramble before weeknight dinners by doing "meal prep" on Sundays, everything from prepping vegetables to cooking a big pot of soup for the week to putting five days of lunch salads into mason jars.
Earmarking precious weekend time for meal prep isn't for me but I took the general concept to heart and made it my own.
A few months ago, I started my own "meal prep" routine by starting supper 30 or 60 or some times even 90 minutes before I "have" to start cooking in order to get dinner on the table.
And oh my, has this relaxed our rush-rush time before dinner.
I make salad dressing for the week. Or cook pot of quinoa. Or make granola.
The extra time means there's a few minutes to put chicken stock in canning jars or inventory spices or mix bread dough to rise overnight in the fridge or print the recipe for tomorrow's supper or clean out a sticky refrigerator drawer or ... or ... or ...
I might even fold a load of laundry or pour a glass of wine on the patio with my husband. That's a win!
FOUR YEARS LATER Allowing extra time for meal prep is so important! It's like a savings account, except that it's food not money set aside for tomorrow. It's tempting to "just bake cookies" or something sweet for meal prep but instead, I force myself to focus on savory foods, soups, salads, etc.
Enter ... Deep Mexico: Getting Started
And so almost on a whim, I proposed that we combine – and give hyper-focus to – the three concepts of an ingredient-driven pantry, a meal routine and meal prep.
My husband was enthusiastic and so we launched the cooking adventure we call Deep Mexico, a month-long dive into fresh, ingredient-driven Mexican meal prep, cooking and eating. It was great!
On Day One, we made a list of "Mexican" ingredients and went grocery shopping for vegetables and fruit, beans plus a few sauces.
Our local Walmart is more likely to have good-quality tomatillos and poblanos (for starters) so we spent $60 there, then another $20 at Sam's Club.
The fridge was p-a-c-k-e-d but the idea was that our groceries would last a week, feeding three people three times a day.
Why the Name "Deep Mexico"?
Deep Mexico is a family phrase of aspiration, no single place, no particular state, no particular time.
Instead Deep Mexico is a state of mind, an intense feeling of immersion and inspiration, whether we're at home making salsa or somewhere tucking into tacos.
A first taste, a first sip of good tequila or mezcal, even the hues of a sunset ... any one might just momentarily whisk our minds back to Mexico. The feeling can last a moment, an evening or even longer.
That ... is Deep Mexico.
And since we asked the ingredients, not cookbooks and not recipes, to drive our cooking, what ended up on our tables didn't always turn out to be authentic Mexican, maybe more, hmmm, let's call it Mexican-ish with pit stops in the American Southwest and Tex-Mex.
Deep Mexico Pantry & Shopping List
Nearly all of these ingredients are already familiar in most (and our) kitchens. But since Deep Mexico is a month-long adventure, we are excited to learn about and incorporate a few new ingredients too!
Avocados
Bell Peppers Chayote Corn Green Beans Hearts of Palm Jicama Mushrooms Nopales or Nopalitos (Cactus Pads)Onions
especially White Onions
Radishes SpinachSummer Squash
especially Tatuma (aka Calabacita)
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatillos TomatoesFRESH CHILES & (THEIR DRIED/SMOKED COUNTERPARTS)
Poblano Peppers (Ancho)
Anaheim/Chile Colorado (Seco Del Norte)
Chilacas (Pasilla or Negro)
Chile de Arbol (same)
Jalapeño (Chipotle)
Mirasol (Guajillo)
Serrano (same)
Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce
Green Chiles Salsa VerdeLEGUMES, GRAINS, CEREALS, RICE & SEEDS
Canned & Dried Beans
Hominy LentilsQuinoa
Cornmeal Rice Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)MEAT, CHICKEN, PORK, FISH, SEAFOOD & PLANT PROTEIN
Chicken
EggsBeef
Lamb Pork Lard SausageFish
SeafoodCrab
Scallops Shrimp Tuna FRUIT
Bananas
Limes Mangoes Melons Papaya Pineapple StrawberriesDAIRY
Cheeses
especially cotija, queso fresco, queso Oaxaca & queso blanco
Cream Cheese
Crema Sour Cream YogurtPANTRY STAPLES
Tortillas
Masa Masa HarinaPasta (Fideo)
Coffee
Chocolateespecially Mexican Chocolate
Hibiscus
Piloncillo
Cajeta Dulce le LecheEvaporated Milk
Sweetened Condensed MilkFresh Herbs
especially Cilantro & Epazote & Purslane
Dried Herbs & Spices
especially Mexican Oregano, Mexican Cinnamon (Ceylon vs Cassia), Whole Allspice, Annatto (Achiote, including Achiote Paste)
FYI I've linked the familiar ingredients to current Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture recipes: there are recipes there, not Mexican per se, but which can be adapted to fit our Deep Mexico vision. Regular readers will recognize the Pantry & Shopping List as a Deep Mexico-specific version of Recipes By Ingredient and for vegetables, A Veggie Venture's Alphabet of Vegetables. For anyone interested, there's also a cuisine-specific list of Mexican recipes.
What Have We Missed?
What Doesn't Belong?
What's Not To Be Missed?
Let Us Know Your Thoughts!
Deep Mexico Meal Prep:
What to Make First, What to Make Often
This is where "meal prep" steps in. Make any one and preferably several of these and you're all set for a Mexican feast.
The good news is, no one thing takes very long but the payoff is big. Much to my surprise, I'd already fixed on some of the very basics, even before launching the Deep Mexico project.
COOK SOME BEANS
Creamy Slow Cooker Beans
COOK SOME RICE
How to Cook White Rice
Red Rice with Tomatoes (with Mexican-style spices, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, say)
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
Mexican Cauliflower "Rice"
ROAST SOME CHILES
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
How to Roast a Pepper on a Gas Stove (for one or two at a time)
How to Roast Peppers in the Oven (for an electric stove or many at the same time)
ROAST SOME GARLIC
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
How to Roast Garlic
PICKLE SOME JALAPEÑOS
Quick Jalapeño Pickles
MAKE BIG BATCHES OF SALSA
Best Quick Tomato Salsa (Red Salsa)
Avocado, Cucumber, Mango Salsa
Green Chili Sauce (Salsa Verde)
Blueberry Salsa
Strawberry Salsa with Sweet-Cinnamon Baked Tortilla Chips
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
Roasted Nopalito Tomatillo Salsa
Slow-Roasted Tomato Salsa
MAKE CREMA
Lime Crema
MAKE SOME SALAD DRESSING & OTHER SAUCES
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
Easy Salsa Dressing
Microwave Green Beans with Tomatillo Salsa Dressing
GET GOOD AT GUACAMOLE
My Guacamole
Recipes from A Veggie Venture, my food blog
Avocado Dip
Homemade Guacamole with Tomatillos
Laura's Famous Chunky Guacamole
LEARN HOW TO MAKE TORTILLAS?
We sure thought about it. We sure tried it. We sure didn't get good at it.
What We Made: So Many Really Good New Recipes
During Deep Mexico, we perfected several recipes that are house staples, they're below. And frankly, four years later, I'm shocked by how many really good recipes had their genesis in Deep Mexico.
It just goes to show how "focus" and "productivity" go hand in hand. Honestly, I'm blown away.
So I definitely owe you (and myself) several more recipes that are "90% ready" for sharing here on Kitchen Parade. I'm on it!
- THE RECIPE Shrimp Veracruz Another Quick Supper, straight out of Mexico.
- ANOTHER TAKE Picadillo (Cuban Ground Beef Skillet Supper) Homey comfort food from Cuba.
- THE RECIPE Mexican Scrambled Eggs (Huevos Revueltos a la Mexicana) From Diana Kennedy, the most famous eggs in Mexico.
- ANOTHER TAKE Fried Egg Quesadillas A fried egg sandwich with a tortilla.
- THE RECIPE Fried Egg Quesadillas A fried egg sandwich with a tortilla.
- ANOTHER TAKE Green Chile Scrambled Eggs An easy, healthy breakfast.
- THE RECIPE My Guacamole Restaurant-style guacamole, our house recipe.
- ANOTHER TAKE Homemade Guacamole with Tomatillos
- THE RECIPE Spiced Pickled Red Onions A game changer for tacos, salads, eggs and more.
- ANOTHER TAKE Quick Jalapeño Pickles No canning required.
- THE RECIPE Best Quick Tomato Salsa (Red Salsa) For chips, tacos, burritos, eggs & more
- ANOTHER TAKE Green Chile Sauce (Salsa Verde) New Mexico-style salsa verde
- THE RECIPE Jicama-Mango Salsa with Chipotle
- ANOTHER TAKE Jicama Slaw
- THE RECIPE Lime Crema A DIY Mexican crema for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and more.
- ANOTHER TAKE Ten-Minute Foolproof Enchilada Sauce Perfect for fast enchiladas and any time a "hot sauce" is useful.
- THE "RECIPE" Deep Mexico Fruit Salad A simple, summery fruit salad arranged in a pretty and symmetrical pattern around cottage cheese, so simple and surprisingly tasty.
- ANOTHER TAKE Mexican Fruit Salad A light and simple fruit salad with a surprising mix of spices and fruits.
- THE RECIPE Mexican Cauliflower "Rice"
- ANOTHER TAKE Cauliflower Spanish "Rice"
- THE RECIPE Pinto Bean Salad
- ANOTHER TAKE Black Bean & Corn Salad
- THE RECIPE Raw Mexican Street Corn Salad with Cauliflower Rice
- ANOTHER TAKE Raw Corn Chowder
- THE RECIPE Deep Mexico Carrot Soup with Tomatillo & Lime Serve hot or cold.
- ANOTHER TAKE Laura's Healthy Carrot Soup Creamy without a drop of cream.
- THE RECIPE Mexican Salsa Bread Great for loaves or buns, perfect for toast, sandwiches, burgers.
- ADAPTED FROM Our Daily Bread: My Easy Everyday Bread Recipe An easy, European-style bread I make every few days.
Deep Mexico: What We Learned
I love the take-aways from projects! So here's what we learned from our Deep Mexico project.
- Deep Mexico was a really fun couples cooking project – and my elderly father, who lived with us at the time, found it a fun eating adventure too! My husband and I were a good balance: he's a capable, intuitive cook, rarely making the same thing twice; I'm a devoted recipe cook aiming for simple, reproducible results.
- It was a great way to get out of a cooking rut.
- Poke into a little Mexican market for inspiration and specific grocery items. Our closest has fresh nopales!
- If you already have an arsenal of Mexican recipes, lean on them. A project like Deep Mexico is supposed to be fun, not all-consuming.
- Try one or two new recipes a week or only on the weekends or ... whatever works for you.
- We already had enough of a base so loved adding to our existing recipes, often making them several times during the month to perfect them to our taste. Now they've become staples!
- So for new recipes, it does pay to focus on the kind of dishes you'd be happy to make again and again. Think like a chef. If your family loves fish tacos, working on perfecting fish tacos.
- Buy lots – lots! – of cilantro!
- Schedule a taco party! Show off what you're working on!
More Ideas for Similar Experiments
Four years later, my husband and I are still talking about Deep Mexico. We talk about doing it again, but haven't. I think about using the same techniques for another project but haven't (yet!) pulled the trigger.
Some ideas:
- Deep Vietnamese
- Deep Finland (I kinda did this before Christmas last year)
- Deep Ukraine (as I'm updating this page in 2022)
- Deep Stir-Fry
- Deep Dried Beans
- Deep Leafy Greens
- Deep Vegan
- Deep Dinner Salads
- Deep ... and so on
About the Photos
All the photos were taken by me in Mexico.
The main image at the top was taken in Puerto Vallarta, grandkids and pseudo-grandkids at sunset on the beach.
The remaining images were taken in Oaxaca, a foodie paradise. (I wrote about our time there, including a cooking school, in Chayote Soup with a Kick and Mexican Mango Trifle (Ante de Mango).)
As an aside, on the Oaxaca trip, I did exactly what you're not supposed to do and packed a brand-new camera. But I had such great luck with what was that Nikon D90 (affiliate link), I literally opened the box the night before leaving and read the user manual on the airplane.
I set it on automatic and clicked away. I loved the pictures from that trip!
Bookmark! PIN! Share!
How do you save and share favorite recipes? recipes that fit your personal cooking style? a particular recipe your mom or daughter or best friend would just love? If this Deep Mexico concept is intriguing, go ahead, save and share! I'd be honored ...
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences.
Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, for more scratch cooking recipes using whole, healthful ingredients, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.
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2018 & 2022
I love this concept, even if I feel a little overwhelmed Looking forward to seeing where this takes us.
ReplyDeleteLinda ~ Oh dear, I do so hope to “un” overwhelm you with a couple of super-simple recipes in short order here. You’re a cook, right? We’re finding it super simple to let the subset of Deep Mexico ingredients guide what we cook -- even for me, a “recipe” cook, I’m totally inspired. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteI’ve done something similar to this many times, though usually for 7-10 days. In addition to helping with meal planning and prep, I think it’s more economical than eating from all over the globe weekly or even daily. Additionally there’s some evidence that you eat less when variety is limited which may help prevent weight gain or possibly lead to weight loss.
ReplyDeleteI got the idea when I read this: Weeks and weeks of meals
http://yourhealthisonyourplate.com/2013/07/weeks-and-weeks-of-meals/
Late last year I found Batch Cooking. You make a sauce, a grain, a protein, a salad and some veggies, then mix and match with some other additions. Nourished Planner Batch Cooking Basics
https://nourishedplanner.com/batch-cooking-basics-healthy-eating-meal-prep-plan/
I’ve found these basic dishes combined with tortillas can make a large variety of meals.
Sally
Sally ~ Very thoughtful additions, thank you! I can definitely see moving to a 7-10 day variation, especially for cuisines we’re less familiar with. And I’m so intrigued by the connections to grocery expense (and likely food waste too) and weight loss. The links are super interesting ... thanks for chiming in!
ReplyDelete