The Mija Chronicles

Mexican food and culture, on both sides of the border

The pre-hispanic parfait: Yogurt with mamey, amaranth, chia and raw oats

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“Pre-hispanic” is the term used to signify the period before the Spaniards arrived in Mexico. Even though that was around 500 years ago, several pre-hispanic foods (not to mention entire pre-hispanic dishes) are still readily available and widely eaten here.

To learn more, you could check out the Facebook page, in Spanish, devoted to pre-hispanic foods. It’s run by Adriana Legaspi, who commented here yesterday. I recently also stumbled on a surprisingly thorough Wikipedia page that lists a bunch of pre-hispanic foods — it’s a great resource for beginners. (What I haven’t found, incidentally, is the correct style for the word pre-hispanic. Is it capitalized? With hyphen or without? Someone help a writer out.)

The great thing is that pretty much every pre-hispanic food is quite healthy. I’ve been on a no-sugar and no-white flour diet for about a week now, which limits my usual meal options. No pasta, no tortas, and forget about conchas for breakfast. The diet isn’t a lose-weight diet, by the way, but a “feel healthy” diet. I’m hoping it’ll clear up some lingering health issues.

Yesterday morning, inspired by the bag of puffed amaranth I bought at a macrobiotic store in Roma last week, and a jar of chía seeds, both of which are pre-hispanic, I decided to make a breakfast parfait, layered with mamey (also PH) and some organic yogurt. It was the best breakfast I’ve had since I started my diet. The keys were the pumpkin-y, cherry-esque mamey, obviously, and the yogurt too — it’s luscious and full-fat, and Greek-like in consistency. I bought it at an organic grocery store in Condesa a week ago.

Here’s the very simple recipe, if you’re inclined to make one yourself. You can also add cocoa nibs if you want to want to give it that extra pre-hispanic boost.

Yogurt parfait with mamey, amaranth, chia and raw oats
Serves 1

Ingredients

Good-quality plain yogurt (preferably sugar free)
1/2 of a medium-sized mamey, cut into pieces
Raw oats
Chía seeds
Puffed amaranth
Flax seeds

Spoon about 1/4 cup of yogurt into a glass. Add your dry ingredients, then the mamey. Repeat. Top with one last dollop of yogurt, and a sprinkle of oats, chia, amaranth and flax. Serve.

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Comments

  1. Precolumbian dishes, ingredients and way of cooking are still present in mexican everyday food. But people is confused nowadays what was originally mexican or before the spaniards came to conquer México, and the the fusion with the french influence of the Maximilian days and the ingredients that nao de china and Filipinas bring to the pacific coast.
    I lead a prehispanic tour and cooking class in Malinalco México Lesley! where people go (1,1/2 hr driving from Mexico city) in aweekends to the town where Moctezuma was when he recieved the news of the spanish in Veracruz, and we visit the 1542 convent, then the musem and then the market that is the most similar now than inn precolonial time. We choose the food and go to prepare it CON TUS MANOS CON MI GUIA, have lunch after that and a prehispanic beverage like pulque or muicle. 4 hours experience.
    You and your firends have to come one day!
    look in http://www.facebook.com/Gastronomia.prehispanica

  3. Leslie,

    This looks so good and healthy. I just bought a bag of organic, puffed amaranth. And I made yogurt. And I have a ripe mango on the counter — it’s mango season where we live — so I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Kathleen

    • You’re welcome! Glad I could help. One of these days I’m going to make my own yogurt, too… it’s on my Kitchen To Do list, after corn tortillas.

    • Desdemona: Guessing you’re joking? Xoloitzcuintle is the Mexican hairless dog. Even though they’re not exactly attractive to look at, in my humble opinion, people don’t eat them here. They’re pets.

  7. Just traveled to Puebla and was introduced to Agua de Limon con Chia and now am an ardent fan, such that I brought my carry-on filled with bags of it. Thanks for posting this recipe, now I know there are more recipes for this wonderful seed.
    Yummy!