"Mexican Eating Schedule"

Something I've found very interesting (and it's taken me a while to adapt) is the different schedule for the meals between Mexico and USA... Here in USA everybody seems to "be done eating" so early.... In Mexico... it isn't like that at all (I must admit that the American way it's healthier though, but it's still a difficult adjustment)

Here is a common schedule in Mexico:


7:00 a.m. - Desayuno (Breakfast) - probably some toast, fruit, yogurt, milk and banana shake or orange juice (any of those options)

9:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Almuerzo (something similar to brunch) - This is where the good stuff comes: A good example of almuerzo would be "chilaquiles" (wedges of corn tortilla - fried with onions and garlic, green or red salsa), The dish is topped with cheese (typically "queso fresco") and/or Mexican style sour cream ("crema Mexicana"), also some eggs on the side, refried beans and coffee to drink. We can also have "tamales", "tacos mañaneros" (morning tacos), "barbacoa" (meat roasted in an oven, traditionally dug in the ground) and many other things like that.

1:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Comida (Lunch) - It's usually more abundant than in other countries, and it commonly starts with "sopa aguada"  ( it's like a clear soup, more like a broth) and/or salad, then the main dish ("arroz y guisado") it usually consists of rice and some type of meat -chicken, pork, beef, fish, anything! this is where the "mole" and "picadillo, cortadillo, chiles rellenos, etc" come in. To drink you would have "agua fresca" (it's a delicious and very refreshing fruit drink, which fruit? well, it can be cucumber, lime, watermelon, cantaloupe, mango, tamarind, "horchata" -which is made with rice- and many others)


5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Merienda (Like an afternoon or evening snack) where we usually have "pan dulce" (traditional Mexican pastry) and coffee, milk or chocolate milk.


9:00 - 10:00 p.m. (or later) - Cena (Dinner) You can enjoy "taquitos" (very common to eat taquitos from the stands on the streets, no hard shells by the way, I knew those when I came to the USA), "tostadas", "tortas" or anything you like... It is very common to see people having dinner outside their houses or in the informal "establishments" of the streets of Mexico, Coke is also a very common drink in Mexico (even when it's not exactly a Mexican tradition) unfortunately it has INVADED our country.... Pepsi is seen as a "bad imitation" of Coke there... so, it is not as popular.

You will also find that there are "street stands" all day long, those that are specifically for dinner usually open at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. and close at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning... Trust me, there will be people eating at that time!

 Picture above: My hubby enjoying the "Mexican experience" at a night taco stand in Mexico.

So, there you have it.... A brief example of what our "eating" day would look like... Of course you don't HAVE to have it all... In my home we didn't really use to have "Merienda" but... it's a very traditional Mexican "thing"

I am soooo hungry now!

Paloma.