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Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Mexican-American Recipes for Health and Healing
International Latino Book Award winner, Best Cookbook
More than just a cookbook, Decolonize Your Diet redefines what is meant by "traditional" Mexican food by reaching back through hundreds of years of history to reclaim heritage crops as a source of protection from modern diseases of development. Authors Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are life partners; when Luz was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, they both radically changed their diets and began seeking out recipes featuring healthy, vegetarian Mexican foods. They promote a diet that is rich in plants indigenous to the Americas (corn, beans, squash, greens, herbs, and seeds), and are passionate about the idea that Latinos in America, specifically Mexicans, need to ditch the fast food and return to their own culture's food roots for both physical health and spiritual fulfillment.
This vegetarian cookbook features over 100 colorful, recipes based on Mesoamerican cuisine and also includes contributions from indigenous cultures throughout the Americas, such as Kabocha Squash in Green Pipian, Aguachile de Quinoa, Mesquite Corn Tortillas, Tepary Bean Salad, and Amaranth Chocolate Cake. Steeped in history but very much rooted in the contemporary world, Decolonize Your Diet will introduce readers to the the energizing, healing properties of a plant-based Mexican American diet.
Full-color throughout.
Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are professors at California State East Bay and San Francisco State University, respectively. They grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on their small urban farm. This is their first book.
More than just a cookbook, Decolonize Your Diet redefines what is meant by "traditional" Mexican food by reaching back through hundreds of years of history to reclaim heritage crops as a source of protection from modern diseases of development. Authors Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are life partners; when Luz was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, they both radically changed their diets and began seeking out recipes featuring healthy, vegetarian Mexican foods. They promote a diet that is rich in plants indigenous to the Americas (corn, beans, squash, greens, herbs, and seeds), and are passionate about the idea that Latinos in America, specifically Mexicans, need to ditch the fast food and return to their own culture's food roots for both physical health and spiritual fulfillment.
This vegetarian cookbook features over 100 colorful, recipes based on Mesoamerican cuisine and also includes contributions from indigenous cultures throughout the Americas, such as Kabocha Squash in Green Pipian, Aguachile de Quinoa, Mesquite Corn Tortillas, Tepary Bean Salad, and Amaranth Chocolate Cake. Steeped in history but very much rooted in the contemporary world, Decolonize Your Diet will introduce readers to the the energizing, healing properties of a plant-based Mexican American diet.
Full-color throughout.
Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are professors at California State East Bay and San Francisco State University, respectively. They grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on their small urban farm. This is their first book.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
134 people are currently reading
1240 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
November 27, 2015
This book is full of healthy, plant-based Mexican-American recipes, but it's much more than that. The authors place these recipes in the context of the continent's colonial history, reclamation of culture, social justice, and intersectionality. It's a delicious education aimed particularly at Latinx people and First Nations, but helpful for anyone who wants to move beyond colonial perceptions of indigenous foodways.
Here is a link to my full review: http://onewetfoot.ca/2015/11/26/holid...
Here is a link to my full review: http://onewetfoot.ca/2015/11/26/holid...
October 4, 2025
Fun recipes & politics. Quibbles: (i) There’s no evidence the diet benefits ‘our people’ more than others; (ii) Calling all Hispanics ‘indigenous’ erases difference & disadvantage.
May 15, 2016
A rare and well researched examination of how European conquest & colonization changed the diets of Indigenous peoples of the Americas for the worse and how we can take steps to reverse the harm.
The authors, Calvo and Rudea Esquibel, use historical sources to show how the indigenous people of america were discouraged from their previously healthy diets high in fresh vegetables, fruits, beans and little to no meat, and were made to embrace meat, cheese, wheat, cooking oils, etc, which has in turn created health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure & heart disease.
Through generations of resilience & strong traditions, many of our old ways of cooking are still accessible to us.
The recipes in this book, lovingly collected & described, are a testament to the strength of Mexican/Chicanx culture and to the deliciousness of food.
The majority of these recipes are vegan, which speak to my heart and to historical accuracy. Although Calvo and Rudea Esquibel are passionate about health and authenticity, they are not purists and somehow manage to pull off this whole project without sounding judgmental or superior. This probably has to do with the fact that they begin the book with their own personal stories and journeys to the decolonized diet. This makes their vision a joy to read and I thank them both for sharing their earth-centric, woman-loving, pro-indigenous work with the rest of us.
The authors, Calvo and Rudea Esquibel, use historical sources to show how the indigenous people of america were discouraged from their previously healthy diets high in fresh vegetables, fruits, beans and little to no meat, and were made to embrace meat, cheese, wheat, cooking oils, etc, which has in turn created health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure & heart disease.
Through generations of resilience & strong traditions, many of our old ways of cooking are still accessible to us.
The recipes in this book, lovingly collected & described, are a testament to the strength of Mexican/Chicanx culture and to the deliciousness of food.
The majority of these recipes are vegan, which speak to my heart and to historical accuracy. Although Calvo and Rudea Esquibel are passionate about health and authenticity, they are not purists and somehow manage to pull off this whole project without sounding judgmental or superior. This probably has to do with the fact that they begin the book with their own personal stories and journeys to the decolonized diet. This makes their vision a joy to read and I thank them both for sharing their earth-centric, woman-loving, pro-indigenous work with the rest of us.
January 12, 2020
I love the premise of this book. Just as Italians ate before incorporating the American tomato into their diet; just as the Irish ate before receiving the American potato, Mexicans ate before Europeans brought cows and pigs to the Western Hemisphere. This book of mostly vegan recipes focuses on precolonial foods, especially those that combat post colonial illnesses, such as diabetes. To be sure, the ancient Americans were not vegans. And although maple syrup is a food indigenous to the New World, I’m not aware of its use in precolonial Mexico. Still, the emphasis on fresh, healthful, local ingredients is well-taken. Yet the recipes do not tempt me. Many of them call for hard to find ingredients such as lambs quarters or purslane; they assume an aptitude for foraging and gardening. Although I’m sure they are delicious— authentic Mexican cuisine is out of this world— I ended up not cooking from this book due to the fussy nature of the recipes. However, I love the prose and scholarship of this book. For example, the authors include the southwestern part of the United States in their area of focus. Indeed, the boundary between the US and Mexico did not exist for most of Mexican civilization, and the ancient foodways would carry over. In sum, I would love to read a non-fiction book or perhaps a collection of essays on the topic of the prehispánic diet by these two scholars.
July 20, 2018
I love this book. It is a great primer on food justice. The authors are thoughtful, the writing is good and perhaps most important the recipes are simple and delicious. A couple of observations: some of the recipes are more labor-intensive than they need to be, for instance, they often use a pestle and mortar where I would whirl the ingredients in a food processor or blender still I like the fact that they include the low tech option. Second, I wasn't sure how hot some of the chilis would be in the sauce/salsa recipes I just looked up the info. All of the recipes are vegetarian or vegan and feel very authentic.
January 24, 2018
Not fully plant-based, if that's what you're looking for. Some recipes contain eggs and butter. But overall an interesting read. A lot of ingredients it may not easy to find, but that's the adventure.
September 23, 2016
Easily one of my very favourite cookbooks but, really, it's so much more than that. I'll treasure and refer to this amazing book for years to come!
October 13, 2019
I loved reading this cook book. I am a Chicana and have recently became a vegetarian. I didn't do it for any particular reason. After reading this book I feel like my choice to change my diet came from my ancestors. Also, verdologas are my absolute favorite food. Enjoy this beautiful reconnect with your roots and great vegan vegetarian recipes.
November 17, 2017
This book came to be when two sisters found out that one of the sisters had cancer so that sister started to get healthier. The older sister decolonized her diet and help her sister do the same, they grow there own garden and made a book with some of their of their food that they mad.
January 5, 2016
Have tried several recipes so far, which have all been delicious. Highly recommend the roasted Chipotle salsa.
October 28, 2021
These recipes are SO FLAVORFUL! I loved the authors exploration of public health / social determinants of health in Mexican American women in the beginning of the book. A journey through breast cancer, connecting with the earth and ancestral plants, and understanding of self care within multiple contexts gives so much attention to the complexity of who we are and importance of how/why we choose to engage in self care/community care/ecological care.
Living in America, it was really cool to read about common “weeds” that were used as greens by indigenous folk. I’ll definitely be tailoring my home garden next spring to allow for these nutrient dense plants to grow.
Living in America, it was really cool to read about common “weeds” that were used as greens by indigenous folk. I’ll definitely be tailoring my home garden next spring to allow for these nutrient dense plants to grow.
August 12, 2022
cool premise. good background on the benefits of each ingredients and a solid range of recipes, but alas i’m still not inspired to cook
July 9, 2020
This is the single most useful cookbook I've ever used. It includes so much information about the pre-colonial Mexican diet, as well as explanations for certain ingredients in most of the recipes. It also helped me make the transition to a plant-based lifestyle, and I've had the joy to make some recipes from it that really impressed my family (my mom is always asking me when I'm going to make her more butternut squash and roasted green chile tamalitos). I've recommended and bought this book as a gift for multiple people.
February 29, 2024
4.5/5
This cookbook was written by a lesbian Latina couple who were inspired to get into plant-based whole-food cooking and the indigenous roots of Mexican cooking when one of them was diagnosed with breast cancer. The introduction details this story, as well as presenting quite a lot of interesting ideas. For instance, they mention the “Latina/o Immigrant Paradox”, which refers to epidemiologists' observations that recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America tend to have better health outcomes in terms of things like breast cancer, infant/maternal mortality, etc. than one would expect from their socio-economic status, but that subsequent generations (who are more likely to have adopted the Standard American Diet – appropriately acronymed “SAD”) show poor health outcomes similar to other minority groups in the US.
The authors describe these as “Recipes to sustain revolutionary love” and note: “We are writing a cookbook, but not just for individual cooks…The project of decolonizing our diets cannot be accomplished through individual acts of food preparation…Politically, as Chicanas/os, we believe it is important to stand in solidarity with our native brothers, sisters, and trans siblings across our continent…It is within these broader contexts that we issue the call to ‘decolonize your diet’ with full knowledge that what we need is a dismantling of our entire food-for-profit system.”
They also note that “As queer Chicanas/os, we recognize that the kitchen has been a space to which many women have been confined, yet also one in which many (men, women, and two-spirit) have laid their own claim. Activist meetings should include feeding each other healthy food. If one person prepares a pan of enchiladas, another a pot of beans, another a nopales salad, and another a pitcher of hibiscus tea, then the whole group is strengthened, nourished, and sustained”
[Insert my standing ovation here!! Well, minus the bit where they seem slightly confused about how to refer to trans and two-spirit people (some, though not all, also being sisters/women or brothers/men), but it feels like they're trying, which is more than you can say for most books in 2015, let alone most cookbooks.]
The section on ingredients and techniques is a pretty good resource – there’s two pages on different ways to cook beans - though I don’t know how many people would be interested in making their own nixtamalized corn (a traditional process of treating it w/ slaked lime, which increases nutrient availability) when you can buy hominy and/or masa harina in so many US grocery stores.
A few recipes barely count as such (Put lime on papaya. The end.), while others seem like too much work even for my taste. And some of the attempts to make vegetarian/vegan versions of things seem a bit insubstantial or unsatisfying. I’m sorry…you can’t call cauliflower soaked in spicy citrus juice “ceviche”! It might be an all-right salad, but it is an entirely different beast, without the protein or the texture of marinated fish.
However, many of the recipes ARE very good, especially if you allow yourself to tweak them to your taste a little bit.
Recipes I’ve tried
- Sopes with maitake mushrooms and corn (��Sopes” are sort of like tortillas with a rim on them, which you can fill with something savory. The recipe calls for them to be cooked on a griddle and then baked. I don’t know why; shaping them on a greased baking sheet and baking yielded a “dish” sturdy enough to be eaten by hand. I would also recommend using 1/3 shitakes for extra meaty flavor, and adding a bit of avocado for creaminess. Using the less sweet Mexican corn if it is available also adds a hearty flavor – and something closer to pre-colonial authenticity! Using achiote powder rather than full seeds is also easier; either way, I liked the slightly tart flavor and red coloring it adds)
- Verdolagas, beans, & butternut squash soup (This…was underwhelming. Verdolagas are purslane greens, which have a bright, lemony flavor. I think the problem is that this soup ALSO contains tomatillos – which look like green tomatoes in husks – that have the same flavor profile. The result was too tart and watery for my liking. If I try this again, I’d want to reduce the amount of both ingredients so that the beans and the butternut can have a chance to shine through and contribute their earthy and sweet flavors.)
- Hibiscus flower tacos (I know, I know – this sounds weird! I thought so when I first read this. But then I had taquitos de Jamaica when I stayed in Morelia for a few weeks, and they were incredibly delicious! Jamaica - pronounced Ha-MAI-ka – is often used to make tea and other beverages. But, when soaked, the dry flowers also take on a rather meaty texture, and when caramelized they are tart and a little chewy - a great match to a bit of creamy cheese, avocado or fresh greens, and crunchy tortillas. This recipe has potatoes for some reason, and soft tortillas, which sounded too starchy. So I removed the former and doubled the amount of Jamaica flower, used a pinch of dried chipotle instead of the saucy sort to avoid overwhelming the flowers, toasted the tortillas, and piled the ingredients on top to make tostadas.)
- Soldadera beans (In this dish, named after the ladies of the Mexican revolution, pinto or other beans are cooked in beer with peppers, tomato, chipotle chiles, and other spices. They note that you can add a little liquid smoke for a “cooked over the campfire” flavor – though, having tried that: Go easy!)
- Black velvet beans (Black beans flavored with chipotle chiles, citrus juice, epazote – an herb popular in Mexican bean dishes – and, if you can get them, which I could not, dried avocado leaves. The flavor combination is quite different from the garlic-and-onion focused Cuban black beans I usually make. Goes well with sopes.)
- Scrambled egg and nopalito tacos (The slightly tart prickly pear chunks make a nice contrast with fluffy eggs. A good brunch or lunch dish)
Recipes I’ve used for inspiration
- Classic nopalito salad (Includes cherry tomatoes and queso fresco. I kind of combined this with a similar recipe in the Frida Kahlo cookbook, and added fresh oregano from my garden)
- Portobello fajitas (Meaty portobello mushrooms make a great beef substitute in fajitas, and are WAY easier to transport safely when I’m doing camp cooking for my fieldwork team. I didn’t use the tomato or tomato paste used here, though, and made a spice blend with paprika, dried chipotle, and oregano, plus fresh minced garlic.)
- Coyolxauhqui bowl (Haha – can you tell I was excited to find prickly pear in the markets once I moved to California? Here they are combined with beans over brown rice with salsa…but I like to make beans and nopales into tacos instead.)
Also, I can credit this book with reintroducing me to the terrific organization Native Seeds/SEARCH! I had encountered them when my family briefly moved to Arizona when I was in middle school. I thought their mission of preserving and promoting native crop varieties, particularly those grown by the local Tohono O’odham people, was really interesting, and even used one of their yellow bean varieties in a science fair project. But this cookbook alerted me to the fact that they now have a website from which you can buy not just seeds for your garden (which are probably not ideal outside the Southwest) but ingredients for the kitchen as well, including beans, spices, mesquite seed flour, prickly pear fruit jellies, and more. Check the website out, it’s cool!: https://www.nativeseeds.org
This cookbook was written by a lesbian Latina couple who were inspired to get into plant-based whole-food cooking and the indigenous roots of Mexican cooking when one of them was diagnosed with breast cancer. The introduction details this story, as well as presenting quite a lot of interesting ideas. For instance, they mention the “Latina/o Immigrant Paradox”, which refers to epidemiologists' observations that recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America tend to have better health outcomes in terms of things like breast cancer, infant/maternal mortality, etc. than one would expect from their socio-economic status, but that subsequent generations (who are more likely to have adopted the Standard American Diet – appropriately acronymed “SAD”) show poor health outcomes similar to other minority groups in the US.
The authors describe these as “Recipes to sustain revolutionary love” and note: “We are writing a cookbook, but not just for individual cooks…The project of decolonizing our diets cannot be accomplished through individual acts of food preparation…Politically, as Chicanas/os, we believe it is important to stand in solidarity with our native brothers, sisters, and trans siblings across our continent…It is within these broader contexts that we issue the call to ‘decolonize your diet’ with full knowledge that what we need is a dismantling of our entire food-for-profit system.”
They also note that “As queer Chicanas/os, we recognize that the kitchen has been a space to which many women have been confined, yet also one in which many (men, women, and two-spirit) have laid their own claim. Activist meetings should include feeding each other healthy food. If one person prepares a pan of enchiladas, another a pot of beans, another a nopales salad, and another a pitcher of hibiscus tea, then the whole group is strengthened, nourished, and sustained”
[Insert my standing ovation here!! Well, minus the bit where they seem slightly confused about how to refer to trans and two-spirit people (some, though not all, also being sisters/women or brothers/men), but it feels like they're trying, which is more than you can say for most books in 2015, let alone most cookbooks.]
The section on ingredients and techniques is a pretty good resource – there’s two pages on different ways to cook beans - though I don’t know how many people would be interested in making their own nixtamalized corn (a traditional process of treating it w/ slaked lime, which increases nutrient availability) when you can buy hominy and/or masa harina in so many US grocery stores.
A few recipes barely count as such (Put lime on papaya. The end.), while others seem like too much work even for my taste. And some of the attempts to make vegetarian/vegan versions of things seem a bit insubstantial or unsatisfying. I’m sorry…you can’t call cauliflower soaked in spicy citrus juice “ceviche”! It might be an all-right salad, but it is an entirely different beast, without the protein or the texture of marinated fish.
However, many of the recipes ARE very good, especially if you allow yourself to tweak them to your taste a little bit.
Recipes I’ve tried
- Sopes with maitake mushrooms and corn (��Sopes” are sort of like tortillas with a rim on them, which you can fill with something savory. The recipe calls for them to be cooked on a griddle and then baked. I don’t know why; shaping them on a greased baking sheet and baking yielded a “dish” sturdy enough to be eaten by hand. I would also recommend using 1/3 shitakes for extra meaty flavor, and adding a bit of avocado for creaminess. Using the less sweet Mexican corn if it is available also adds a hearty flavor – and something closer to pre-colonial authenticity! Using achiote powder rather than full seeds is also easier; either way, I liked the slightly tart flavor and red coloring it adds)
- Verdolagas, beans, & butternut squash soup (This…was underwhelming. Verdolagas are purslane greens, which have a bright, lemony flavor. I think the problem is that this soup ALSO contains tomatillos – which look like green tomatoes in husks – that have the same flavor profile. The result was too tart and watery for my liking. If I try this again, I’d want to reduce the amount of both ingredients so that the beans and the butternut can have a chance to shine through and contribute their earthy and sweet flavors.)
- Hibiscus flower tacos (I know, I know – this sounds weird! I thought so when I first read this. But then I had taquitos de Jamaica when I stayed in Morelia for a few weeks, and they were incredibly delicious! Jamaica - pronounced Ha-MAI-ka – is often used to make tea and other beverages. But, when soaked, the dry flowers also take on a rather meaty texture, and when caramelized they are tart and a little chewy - a great match to a bit of creamy cheese, avocado or fresh greens, and crunchy tortillas. This recipe has potatoes for some reason, and soft tortillas, which sounded too starchy. So I removed the former and doubled the amount of Jamaica flower, used a pinch of dried chipotle instead of the saucy sort to avoid overwhelming the flowers, toasted the tortillas, and piled the ingredients on top to make tostadas.)
- Soldadera beans (In this dish, named after the ladies of the Mexican revolution, pinto or other beans are cooked in beer with peppers, tomato, chipotle chiles, and other spices. They note that you can add a little liquid smoke for a “cooked over the campfire” flavor – though, having tried that: Go easy!)
- Black velvet beans (Black beans flavored with chipotle chiles, citrus juice, epazote – an herb popular in Mexican bean dishes – and, if you can get them, which I could not, dried avocado leaves. The flavor combination is quite different from the garlic-and-onion focused Cuban black beans I usually make. Goes well with sopes.)
- Scrambled egg and nopalito tacos (The slightly tart prickly pear chunks make a nice contrast with fluffy eggs. A good brunch or lunch dish)
Recipes I’ve used for inspiration
- Classic nopalito salad (Includes cherry tomatoes and queso fresco. I kind of combined this with a similar recipe in the Frida Kahlo cookbook, and added fresh oregano from my garden)
- Portobello fajitas (Meaty portobello mushrooms make a great beef substitute in fajitas, and are WAY easier to transport safely when I’m doing camp cooking for my fieldwork team. I didn’t use the tomato or tomato paste used here, though, and made a spice blend with paprika, dried chipotle, and oregano, plus fresh minced garlic.)
- Coyolxauhqui bowl (Haha – can you tell I was excited to find prickly pear in the markets once I moved to California? Here they are combined with beans over brown rice with salsa…but I like to make beans and nopales into tacos instead.)
Also, I can credit this book with reintroducing me to the terrific organization Native Seeds/SEARCH! I had encountered them when my family briefly moved to Arizona when I was in middle school. I thought their mission of preserving and promoting native crop varieties, particularly those grown by the local Tohono O’odham people, was really interesting, and even used one of their yellow bean varieties in a science fair project. But this cookbook alerted me to the fact that they now have a website from which you can buy not just seeds for your garden (which are probably not ideal outside the Southwest) but ingredients for the kitchen as well, including beans, spices, mesquite seed flour, prickly pear fruit jellies, and more. Check the website out, it’s cool!: https://www.nativeseeds.org
September 18, 2015
I received an advanced digital copy of this book.
I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. My husband is of Mexican heritage from immigrant parents. My MiL grew up on a ranch in rural Mexico, so cooking traditional foods was innate to her upbringing. We've all learned from that, including this German-Irish girl who married into the family.
This book is like having a wise abuelita showing you the traditional ways to cook and heal. I am thankful for this knowledge and for the preservation of these foodways.
I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. My husband is of Mexican heritage from immigrant parents. My MiL grew up on a ranch in rural Mexico, so cooking traditional foods was innate to her upbringing. We've all learned from that, including this German-Irish girl who married into the family.
This book is like having a wise abuelita showing you the traditional ways to cook and heal. I am thankful for this knowledge and for the preservation of these foodways.
July 15, 2020
The recipes we've tried look luscious but have been only moderately successful on average, with some fails and some wins. I want to make more from this book though!
Be warned that you will be asked to buy half a dozen different kinds of dried chilies to make most of the recipes; each recipe tends to involve at least 2-3 different kinds.
Be warned that you will be asked to buy half a dozen different kinds of dried chilies to make most of the recipes; each recipe tends to involve at least 2-3 different kinds.
March 20, 2019
The recipes are so delicious, healthy, authentic, and environmentally friendly. I just wish this was in Spanish so I could give it to my friends and family in Mexico.
Somehow similar to what you would find in http://mmmole.com but with history about our traditions and a healthier approach. Great for vegans, vegetarians, or just people who enjoy real Mexican food.
Somehow similar to what you would find in http://mmmole.com but with history about our traditions and a healthier approach. Great for vegans, vegetarians, or just people who enjoy real Mexican food.
March 24, 2016
Interesting & informative re: food politics but a little too advanced for me.
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April 8, 2016641.5636 C169 2015
January 22, 2017
Their introduction is incredible and their recipes are delicious.
January 8, 2018
This cookbook takes us by way of food, down a pathway of social justice. Good reading and good food!
September 28, 2018
Some very flavorful Mexican vegan options here. I enjoyed the concept of a lot of recipes, but didn't find any regular go-tos.
January 5, 2025
This is a mostly vegan cookbook. There are a lot of nonvegan recipes, but a lot of it really just boils down to the usage of eggs, honey, butter, etc. in ways that aren't actually too tough to work around.
Their editor(s) didn't do the best work, as I noticed a few typos here and there. EX: "tight-fighting lid" instead of "tight-fitting lid."
The overall presentation of this cookbook is great. The typography is excellent and I think the pictures are outstanding. The first 40 pages introduce readers to why the cookbook came about and there is also some historical background provided here. Personally, I found a lot of it interesting, but I'm sure many out there want to get straight to the recipes. I enjoyed the additional notes added onto a good deal of the recipes.
Be warned that there are some ingredients used in these recipes that will likely be VERY difficult to come by, especially if you live in an area where there are no Mexican markets or the like. They do provide GREAT substitutions though, which was nice.
I have yet to throw down in the kitchen and make these recipes exactly as presented, but, as a Mexican, I have eaten and made a great deal of these dishes. Most of these recipes are about as traditional as it gets. If you're unacquainted with the culture, you'll probably be surprised to see things like tacos de jamaica (hibiscus).
As a bonus, they even present a few ideas for a day's menu. Really nice touch.
Their editor(s) didn't do the best work, as I noticed a few typos here and there. EX: "tight-fighting lid" instead of "tight-fitting lid."
The overall presentation of this cookbook is great. The typography is excellent and I think the pictures are outstanding. The first 40 pages introduce readers to why the cookbook came about and there is also some historical background provided here. Personally, I found a lot of it interesting, but I'm sure many out there want to get straight to the recipes. I enjoyed the additional notes added onto a good deal of the recipes.
Be warned that there are some ingredients used in these recipes that will likely be VERY difficult to come by, especially if you live in an area where there are no Mexican markets or the like. They do provide GREAT substitutions though, which was nice.
I have yet to throw down in the kitchen and make these recipes exactly as presented, but, as a Mexican, I have eaten and made a great deal of these dishes. Most of these recipes are about as traditional as it gets. If you're unacquainted with the culture, you'll probably be surprised to see things like tacos de jamaica (hibiscus).
As a bonus, they even present a few ideas for a day's menu. Really nice touch.
July 16, 2020
In the US southwest, cookbooks, collected recipes by nuevomexicanos, tejanos, and californios, have been compendiums of resistance. Many of these cookbooks have been collected by women, the kitchen had been a female space and these books an available form of subversive resistance as food is culture. Moreover, these books stood against colonial erasure, against the melting pot, against the unbalanced diet that the overuse of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and white flour has brought health problems to many people. Cookbooks such as these even go back to the post-invasion Mexica codices detailing different kinds of tamales. Decolonize Your Diet is a modern culmination of the goals of many of the historic cookbooks. The goal of being mindful of health, reconnecting food to the spirituality and the earth, and preserving the ingredients and diets that have worked for thousands of years in Cemanahuac. Some recipes are new and inspired as they replace unhealthy ingredients with healthier vegetarian and native origin alternatives.
December 13, 2023
This recipes in this cookbook are based on corn, beans, squash, greens (preferably wild), seeds, and cactus. The recipes reflect the heritage of Mexican-American culture and food before processed foods became the mainstay of what we eat today. This reader liked the decolonization perspective. The native foods of Mexico and the southwest was frowned upon because when this region was colonized the Church associated much of the food with the Indigenous spiritual practices which was considered uneorthy because the Native people were not Christians. This cookbook refocuses attention on the healthy aspect of a plant-based diet.
May 18, 2021
Very interesting read. Quite a few recipes that I am excited to try and since I live in OK, most of the ingredients shouldn't be too hard to come by. However if you live out of the US or in the northern states, you might find it very difficult to find many of the ingredients. I'm not sure that I buy into the GMO hate, but most of everything else in the book I agree with.
I think the most interesting thing I learned in this book was that Tamales are an indigenous food that come in a ton of savory and sweet flavors.
I think the most interesting thing I learned in this book was that Tamales are an indigenous food that come in a ton of savory and sweet flavors.
July 10, 2021
It's rare that I will actually read the preamble in a cookbook. I usually skip all the mumbo-jumbo and go straight to the recipes. But this book offered important context and personal stories, leading up to the explanation for why they are encouraging folks to "decolonize your diet." It's well worth the read. Some of the ingredients are very specific to the southwestern US and Mexico, and can be difficult to find in northern climates, but the recipes I was able to do were excellent.
November 17, 2023
Made sopes with mushrooms & corn, spicy-salty peanuts, and chilaquiles with bean sauce. I loved the indigenous, natural focus of the recipes and the stories behind them. Many of the ingredients will be difficult to obtain unless you live in the southwest or a big city with a thriving Hispanic population, so I would have liked substitutes or more recommendations on legit, sustainable sources (I don't love having to ship everything due to the environmental impact).
July 13, 2023
I usually don’t rate and review cookbooks, but this one was incredible. I loved the discussion of decolonizing our diets and having an emphasize on heathland and plant-based eating. The recipes are a great mix of pre-Colonization Mesoamerica and heathy Westernized cuisine.
October 14, 2024
This was a great read! Gave me lots of great ideas on dishes I didn't even know were out there. And the drawings were gorgeous! Highly recommend of you're liking for non-meat delicious Latinx recipes.
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