Cooking How-To: Mexican

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Essential Ingredients

• Spices: corriander, garlic, chili sauce, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper.
• Vegetables: bell peppers (red, orange, green and yellow), onions, jalapenos, corn, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, spring onions, limes and avocados.
• Proteins: lean beef or pork, skirt steak, flank steak, skinless chicken breasts or chicken breast strips, kidney beans, black beans and pinto beans.
• Condiments: salsa, low free sour cream, reduced fat grated cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, enchilada sauce, adobo sauce and hot sauce.

Now that your kitchen is ready, try these Mexican cooking tips:

The Wholegrain Shebang
Wholemeal tortillas are more filling and nutritious than corn or flour tortillas. The same holds true for brown rice. For a crispy, nutty flavour, try wild rice.

Fat Free Fixings
Mexican dishes often blend many tastes and textures; making it a cinch to use some low fat or fat free ingredients without losing out on flavour. Experiment with low fat sour cream, low fat refried beans and an array of fat free spicy sauces or salsas. And don't forget to grate reduced fat cheddar instead of regular cheddar cheese.

Crunch A Bunch
If you love to nosh on nachos or are a tortilla chip devotee, think baked, not fried. If your taco salad recipe calls for tortilla strips, make your own! Just brush a tortilla with a little oil and salt and bake for 10 minutes at 350°F. And if your recipe calls for a tortilla coated chicken breast, coat with crushed corn flakes instead.

Let It Marinate
Mexican spices really add authenticity to the taste of a dish. Instead of frying your stir-fry in lots of oil and adding condiments at the end, let the meat and vegetables marinate in the spices first. You'll be able to sauté your stir-fry in little or no oil, and you'll have allowed your vegetables and meat to soak up intense flavour. Use salsa or prepared marinades.

Spice Things Up
A finely diced hot pepper - think serrano or jalapeno - can add lots of flavour without adding fat. Just watch out, one small pepper with its seeds is enough to spice up a few batches of guacamole.

The Doctor Is In
With so many prepared salsas on the market, there's hardly a need to make one from scratch. But if you want to add an authentic taste to bottled salsas, doctor them up by adding fresh, chopped tomatoes, freshly minced corriander and a squeeze of lime juice.

Cool Beans
Adding beans to any meal will add bulk without a lot of fat or calories.