Traditional Foods

"Traditional" in the context of these projects means pre-contact foods. No beef, mutton, goat, chicken, pork, milk, butter, cream, wheat flour (no fry bread), rye, barley, okra, black-eyed peas, or any other "Old World" food that many of us have lovingly incorporated into our diets and tribal cultures. No processed foods (Doritoes, Lays Chips, etc), even if the base is corn or potatoes. No chocolate unless it is unsweetened cacao or sweetened with honey from the Melipona bee, fruit, stevia, camas or agave. Be adventurous and try unfamiliar foods! There are many foods to choose from. My American Indian Health and Diet Project site lists and defines many of them.



Friday, November 4, 2011

Drinks

I'd like to know what everyone is drinking--besides water. I posted on Marty's page that I am a Propel junkie. I carry packets to mix with water in my Camelbak and metal bottles. I have tried using infusions of herb teas for flavor but they aren't all that exciting. I'm going to try blueberry mixed with Stevia sweetener. I drink a lot of water and am never without a [non-plastic] bottle.

Re booze: My students like to remind me that Tequila is indigenous to this hemisphere. And indeed it is. So is pulque and mescal. Indigenous peoples south of the border made pulque from the agave, or maguey, plant and were able to refine their production of the drink after being introduced to the distilling process by the Spanish. I have never tasted pulque, but it reportedly tastes like sour milk mixed with gunpowder and Limburger cheese. One student has had it several times while in Mexico and likes it.

The word "Tequila" is patented and is brewed in the Mexican town of Tequila.It's made from 12-year-old blue agaves. The worm you may see in some bottles is the maguey worm. Mescal is made from the heart of the agave.

Has anyone tasted hot chocolate made from 100% cacao and sweetened with honey?

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