Eating Tex Mex cuisine has many benefits, most of which are related to our physical health. Some though, have nothing to do with eating and everything with our emotional wellness.

Read below to learn what we mean.

1. Tex Mex cuisine can be extremely healthy. Take ceviche, just as one example, this dish of raw fish (often scallops or shrimp) is marinated in lime juice and then given terrific flavor with spices such as garlic, chili, salt, cilantro, even peppercorn. One serviing is just 140 calories and five grams of fat.
2. Tex Mex is full of beans (in a very good way)! Skip the refried beans and opt for white beans or black beans. They’re delicious and pack lots of protein and fiber.
3. Tex Mex food comes with plenty of colorful, tasty, and good-for-you vegetables. Think red and green peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, chilies, corn, and more. Delicious!
4. Beef is mouthwatering, but the results of eating too much red meat can be anything but. Yet swapping beef for fish or chicken in your taco, burrito, fajitas, etc. is good for you and just as scrumptious.
5. Traditional Mexican food (which made its way north to Texas as Mexicans moved to Texas and then morphed into the Tex Mex cuisine we love today), actually goes easy on the meat: meat is a garnish, not the main part of a meal. What do Mexicans eat instead of beef in their burritos? Beans and rice. Good beans (such as black beans) and slow-cooked rice, the hearty kind, not the fried rice we love (but which doesn’t really love us back).

But there are more benefits to eating Tex Mex cuisine than just better health. Eating Tex Mex can improve your social and emotional life. Why?

Because few people eat Tex Mex food alone! Think about it: when was the last time you went to a Tex Mex restaurant by yourself? (That solo jaunt to the Taco Bell drive-in window doesn’t count because Taco Bell doesn’t serve real Tex Mex—or even real Mexican – food.) Eating with others allows you to connect, bond, learn from each other -- and even plan future activities together. You’ll undoubtedly laugh. You’ll undoubtedly discuss the day’s events, possibly even current events. (You could actually learn something!)

People truly do need people and eating Tex Mex food with family or with friends (or with both) is good for a healthy heart – and a healthy soul.

Enjoy all the physical and emotional benefits of eating delicious Tex Mex cuisine by eating at a Mattito’s near you. Come on in today!

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