April 17, 2015
Hannah James
Strictly traditional Southwestern American Indian diets are extremely well-rounded and healthy. This is due to the fact that their highly active lifestyles called for it. Traditionally, the men would hunt and the women would cook and take care of the children. Both gender roles needed good diets to keep them healthy year-round. Over the decades, European influence has turned the diets of Southwestern Natives to become less healthy. More traditional meals, like a Navajo taco (often called fry bread), are now fried in oil as opposed to baked in the oven. This adds more trans fats and sugars into the meal. As American tribes are a large part of American history, they're diet progression as followed the same as the average Americans: becoming more and more unhealthy as the years go on. Dessert fry bread is personally my favorite Native dish. It's toppings include honey or agave nectar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate. Bellow is the current recipe most people use to create Navajo tacos*:
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1⁄2 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
3⁄4 cup water
canola oil, for frying
Directions
Mix together flour, dry milk, baking powder, and salt. Add
shortening and rub mixture with fingers till coarse crumbs form.
Add water and stir with a fork till dough clings together.
Knead on a lightly floured surface till smooth (2-3
minutes).
Divide into 6 portions and keep covered with plastic wrap.
Shape each into a 6-7 inch circle.
In a 9x2 inch pan or electric skillet, heat 3/4 inch canola
oil to 375 degrees. Fry each piece of dough till it is puffy and golden brown,
turning once with tongs.
Keep warm in 200 degree oven on baking sheets lined with
paper towels till ready to serve.
Add any desired toppings to the fry-bread. This can include what we consider "traditional" taco toppings or other, more dessert-like, toppings.
 |
| Completed Fry Bread |
My personal diet also follows the tract that most Americans are on: not very healthy. While I am a vegetarian, that does not make me any healthier than my peers who are not. I love greasy foods like fries and drinks with empty calories like pop. One thing I can say about my personal diet is I never got into the "fad" diets many have fallen into. You'll never find me on an all kale diet or going through a "juice detox".
In the book, Water for Chocolate, emotion and health are closely tied to food. The emotions Tita and other characters feel are emoted through the food they eat and the food they eat affects their physical and mental health. For example, Tita and Mama Elena have never gotten along because of Mama's desire to keep Tita unwed. When Tita tries to cook for her mother, she refuses to eat the meal because anything Tita cooks for her tastes "bitter". This bitter tastes shows us the relationship between the two characters.
*Recipe and directions for Navajo Fry Bread courtesy of Food.Com (click link to see full recipe)
"Native American Food." Native American Food. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.indians.org/articles/native-american-food.html>.
I think it is so interesting that the traditional Southwestern American Indian diet is healthy, but European influence has altered the diet and made it less healthy. That is the same situation for the Chinese diet that I chose to study, and for the same reason. The foods are fried instead of traditionally baked. Just like in the Southwestern American Indian diet, the Chinese diet also has specific gender roles in order for the traditional diet to fully take place. I think it is fascinating that the diets we chose to study are so similar!
ReplyDeleteI like how you included your favorite native dish along with your personal diet. It kept me interested because I can relate to your chose of foods. I also liked how you tied your post into the book we are reading, Like Water for Chocolate. Your interpretation of the characters emotions affected by the food they eat helps me think about the book in a different way. Great job!