When you decide to embrace a lectin-free lifestyle, one of the hardest aspects is the thought of giving up the foods you love, like delicious Mexican food recipes and comfort foods, even though you know your body will feel 100 times better for doing so. But here’s the thing – you don’t actually have to give up your favorite foods.
Why?
Because you’re fortunate to live in a time in history where there are so many clever, new ways to put a healthy twist on an old recipe.
One cuisine that captures the hearts of the masses here in the U.S. is Mexican food. Unfortunately, if you take a close look at Mexican food recipes, you see there are a lot of lectins to be found in many of the most common dishes, including:
- Beans
- Rice
- Corn
- Wheat
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
But hey, that’s okay. Dr. Gundry’s got your back. No lectins? No worries! All you need to do is learn how to make your favorite Mexican food recipes in a slightly different way. You can get more great ideas with our lectin free recipes.
How to Make Low-Lectin Mexican Food Recipes
1. Guacamole
Avocados are king, and Dr. Gundry agrees. So, what’s wrong with traditional guac? Well, traditionally, guacamole in Mexican food recipes contain tomatoes and peppers. But here’s a delicious recipe that doesn’t!
Ingredients
4 ripe Haas avocados- 1 red onion, minced
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 crushed raw garlic clove
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ⅛ tsp pepper
- 1 Tbsp hot sauce
What to do
In a bowl, mash your avocados. Add the rest of your ingredients, and mix until well-combined. Serve immediately.
2. Tortilla Chips
These little guys are also known as “corn chips” and if corn is in your name, that’s a pretty big lectin flag. But you can’t have guac without chips! You can easily purchase some of these yummy coconut flour tortilla chips from Dr. Gundry’s grocery list to keep on hand – or, you can make your own from a recipe by nurturemygut.com’s Ester Perez.
Ingredients
2 cups blanched almond flour- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion granules
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp egg whites (from 1 large pastured or omega-3 egg)
What to do
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Whisk dry ingredients until all lumps are gone. Add egg whites and mix well. Form a disk with dough.
- Roll dough between 2 large sheets of parchment paper to 1/8” thin. Cut triangles using a pizza cutter.
- Gently separate the pieces, so they don’t touch, using a spatula.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden. Allow the chips to cool. Makes up to four servings
3. Tortillas for Burritos, Enchiladas, Tacos, and Quesadillas
The secret to some of the best Mexican food recipes lies in having a good tortilla. But when you can only choose between wheat or corn, you will find yourself in a lectin dilemma, especially if you’re lectin-free or low-lectin.
Never fear: these tortillas are not only delicious but they’re also super easy to make. Say hello to lectin-free cassava flour! And to this recipe by one of our friends, The Lectin Free Mama.
Image courtesy of Lectin Free Mama
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup salted French or Italian butter, melted
- 1 cup warm water
- 1.5 cups cassava flour
What to do
- Whisk the melted butter and warm water together. Add the flour, and work the dough with your hands. When it no longer sticks to your hands (and isn’t crumbly), it’s in a good place. You should be able to form a firm dough ball that can sit in the bowl without sticking to the sides. Add more water, or more flour, as necessary.
- Divide the dough into 2 oz. portions, and roll into balls.
- Place one ball of dough at a time between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll out with a rolling pin until it reaches “tortilla thinness.”
- Preheat a nonstick skillet to medium-high heat. DO NOT OIL OR GREASE.
- Ever so slowly and carefully, peel back the parchment paper from the rolled out dough. Be careful not to rip the dough apart. Then, flip the tortilla over onto the parchment paper you just peeled off, and peel back the other piece the same way. The tortilla should now be lightly resting on a piece of parchment paper.
- Make sure your skillet has preheated for at least 3 minutes. Bring your tortilla on your piece of parchment paper over to the heated skillet, and “flip” it onto the skillet, then gently lift the parchment paper.
- Let the tortilla cook until air bubbles start to form, about 1.5 minutes. Then flip the tortilla over and cook the other side for 30 seconds – 1 minute more. Both sides should have slightly browned air bubbles.
- Your tortillas will come off the skillet dry. Now, you need to create a cozy sauna for your tortillas, so they’re soft and pliable.
- Turn your oven on the “keep warm” setting and place a plate on the middle rack. Get a clean dish towel and run just enough water over it so that it’s damp, but not dripping water. As soon as each tortilla is finished, stack it onto the plate and re-cover the plate with the damp towel.
Read our lectin free mama interview.
4. Mexican Rice
If there’s one side item you simply must have with every Mexican dish, it’s Mexican rice. But Mexican rice is basically made of lectin-rich tomatoes and refined, starchy rice. But that’s okay because this low-lectin recipe is just as delicious. You can also test how long it takes your friends to realize that their rice is actually not rice at all – but cauliflower. Speaking of which, read about cauliflower rice vs rice.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of cauliflower rice
- 1/4 cup chicken stock (from pasture-raised chicken) or veggie stock
- 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cumin
What to do
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add cauliflower rice.
- Add stock a little at a time and simmer (covered). The stock will not be absorbed as it is with regular rice, and you don’t want to drown it. Steam this way until you reach a rice-like consistency, approx. 10 minutes. The “rice” should be tender, but not mushy.
- Once the rice is tender, take it off the heat. Fluff with a fork.
- Mix in all of your spices.
- Serve.
5. Nachos
You may be set with your tortilla chips and lectin-free guac, but nachos are also laced with tomato salsa, a rich cheesy sauce, and sour cream. All things we don’t want. So here’s a twist that will still have you coming back for more lectin-free nachos.
Ingredients for creamy “cheese” sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup peeled, cubed sweet potato
- 1 medium carrot, chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
What to do:
- Boil sweet potatoes and carrots until tender.
- Then blend them with all remaining ingredients.
- Warm the “cheese” slowly on the stove and be careful not to let it boil. Stir continuously
- Serve over lectin-free tortilla chips, and finish with your lectin-free guacamole and a dollop of coconut yogurt in place of sour cream (it works).
You may also want to add meat to your nachos. You’ll want to use grass-fed ground beef. Here’s a great seasoning mix that you can make in advance and store on your spice rack.
Ingredients for nacho/taco seasoning:
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper (optional)
Low-Lectin Olé!
There is no denying that Mexican food recipes are delicious. But if they make you feel unwell after you eat, that’s just not a healthy way to live.
Whether you’re on a low-lectin or a lectin-free food program, Mexican food recipes are definitely not out of your reach. With a few tweaks here and there, you can still enjoy those spicy, creamy, cheesy, crunchy textures that you dream about.
Why not invite your friends around for a fiesta and take back control of what you’re putting into your body?
