Infuse homemade Cinco de Mayo fare with spicy flavor, not fat

In case you are looking for an excuse to eat Mexican food, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. Mexican food is the most popular ethnic cuisine in the United States, recently surpassing Italian for the No. 1 spot, according to Shindigz.com, a national party supply Internet retailer.

Much of what we eat is hybridized Mexican food, such as Tex-Mex, which relies more heavily on cheese than authentic Mexican fare. No matter. It tastes good and we eat it often.

Traditional Mexican fare utilizes f lavorful meats, often marinated with both hot and calmer spices, along with fresh vegetables. In the United States, we often embellish with plenty of cheese, which adds significant calories and saturated fat, making it far less healthful. But there are so many Mexican style flavorings, such as spicy peppers and cilantro, that you really don’t have to depend on cheese to make a Mexicaninspired dish taste great.

Chicken and beef are popular protein choices in Mexican entrees served in the United States, but more traditional fare might use pork, fish, goat or beans.

Today’s recipe makes eggs the source of protein, and adds Swiss chard and tomatoes for a delicious taco that allows you to get your veggies too.

Eggs are one of the closest-to-perfect proteins in our food system, with a nice balance of all the amino acids we need. While egg yolks do contain substantial amounts of cholesterol, they provide choline. Although not classified as a vitamin, choline helps maintain the structure of brain cells and is especially important for fetal brain development during pregnancy. Egg yolks also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytochemicals which help prevent macular degeneration.

While other foods, like spinach and kale, have higher amounts, some re-

search shows the lutein in eggs is more readily absorbed. You’ll get a substantial amount of lutein from the Swiss chard in these tacos also.

For this recipe, thinly sliced Swiss chard is cooked briefly before the eggs and tomatoes are added, then everything is cooked a little longer and topped with minced onion and cilantro, to be spooned into corn tortillas. You can add green or red salsa if you like, or increase the amount of cilantro if you like the flavor as much as I do.

This provides a tasty entree that you can serve for Cinco de Mayo or just because you like the flavors of Mexican food but want something a little healthier than the usual fare. Megan Murphy is a Tennessee-licensed registered dietitian and associate professor of nutrition at Southwest Tennessee Community College. Call 901-277-3062, FAX 901-529-2787, e-mail Meganmyrd@aol.com.