Dating a Mexican?

Hey there,

I know, the title of the post is weird..

Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone in here is dating a Mexican/Hispanic man (or woman)?  If so, what are their eating habits like?

My boyfriend just loves anything that's not processed--fruits and veggies.. He's the skinniest, leanest thing and I can see why.. He's been a huge help for me in eating healthier and choosing the right produce to buy... He's also not afraid of the kitchen and makes some great salsa..

Just curious if anyone was in the same boat, a weird boat at that.

r_newt-  That's great that your boyfriend helped you through an ED.. He must be a keeper.

Mine is from way south Mexico, Oaxaca (I've heard Oaxacans don't have the best reputation, though).  Anyway, he spent the first 20 years of his life (he's 26) in Mexico.. His family didn't/doesn't have a lot of money, so homegrown and fresh food was pretty much all they had.  It's just so nice compared to other boyfriends i've had.. If I were to be dating one of them still, i'd be living off cheetos, pizza and mountain dew!! Not to mention i'd be a whale!! SPeaking of the taco stand, there's one in a nearby town and the "taquero" makes the best tacos ever!! Carne, cilantro and onions... I love 'em!  They're pretty small, so I eat like five..

Dbackerfan- I've never been to a Mexican restaurant where they make guacamole right at the table.. That would be neat, though.  I live in a small city that doesn't have a large number of hispanics or restaurants, so i'm sure that has something to do with it.

pinthin was is really necessary to call the original poster dumb, ridiculous and ignorant all in one post? all she was doing was pointing out the fact that her boyfriend comes from a different culture than her and that she is impressed with his awesome sounding eating habits. just because you were already aware of the different food preferences of other cultures, that doesn't mean everyone here is. sure doesn't make the OP dumb for wanting to discuss it.

and do you even know what stereotypical means? paganmist used stereotypical correctly. if someone says all african american people love fried chicken that is a stereotype, just like saying all cops eat donuts all day, or all irish are drunks. saying she was raised on the stereotypical african american diet doesn't mean she is saying that she thinks all african americans eat those things, but it just happens that she was raised on the foods that are what most people consider the stereotype. and i believe she happens to be african american herself, so i doubt she needs you explaining her culture to her. maybe before calling people dumb you should educate yourself a bit.  

Jules187-- I appreciate you saying something to pinthin.. I however messaged her after I read her post.  I wasn't too happy with being called ignorant.. But, I took care of it and we're all good now.. Thanks, though!!

Also, do you really think i'm african american??? LOL.  I'm as white as can be... That's funny.  Maybe I missed something, though.. So it could just be me being slow...

 no problem guera, and i don't think you are african american, i was talking about paganmist. she was the one who said she ate a stereotypical diet and was also called dumb by pinthin. 

Ok... I didn't go back and read through all the posts, so I was a little confused.  My bad!

my husband is puerto rican, and a few days ago we talked about how almost every kid in the population looks overweight or "chubby" because people feed them fast food and processed food all the time.

he said that he doesn't remember going out to eat but maybe once a month or every two months or so when he was growing up.  his mother cooked fresh vegetables and lean meats at almost every meal.  she never cooked out of the box or ordered take-out. 
i think culture has a lot to do with people and their average size. americans who grew up eating fast food are going to feed their kids fast food, and the trend of obesity continues. other cultures grow up eating leaner meats, fresh fruit/veggies, and fresh meals from their kitchens prepared by their parents.  these people will most likely grow up to carry the same eating habits on to their children. 

another factor is time.  if mothers are staying home to keep the kids, they have plenty of TIME to prepare meals from scratch.  mothers who work have to take short-cuts and sometimes substitute things from time to time. 

i'm a full-time mom/employee.  i try my best to make fresh food and keep my daughter out of the drive-thru.

maldonado-- Your hubby is a stud!!!!!

sammi your shoe pics ummmmmmm did i miss something or is this your collection of shoes cause i found the pics odd but none the less lol your cute and so is the hubby!

I'm mexican and have lived half of my life in Mexico (Jalisco) and the other half in the states. And in Mexico people are more active (mainly because the working class i.e. my family dont own cars) mode of transport is public, so there's a lot of walking. Food is very important andmostly home made (fresh veggies and stuff) processed stuff Mc D's and other stuff is either too expensive or is only reserved for Sundays when everyone goes out on paseo.

I was a skinny kid and became larger when I moved here. Theres is a bounty of choices and thats what makes this country great! The draw back is it makes it harder to make the healthier choice because everything is ready and fast for pick up. We live to work and time is never enough.

Great on dating a Mexican we all are born knowing the secret to great salsa! LOL

Maldonando, I am really digging the Nike's collection!

that is PART of my collection.  i can't post them all because i can only have 12 pictures...and i need to have at least one picture of myself and one of the hubby! :) i'm just obsessed with sneakers...

mmmm... pozole. [drool]

home-made mexican food is the best, unless it's laden in grease. but it's great because the ingredients are so simple and you know exactly what's in your food. like chicken tacos. corn tortilla, shredded chicken, lettuce, tomato, avocado. well, something like that. but you knooooww.

I think this thread is hilarious.  My father was a Mexican and my husband a Mexican.  They do like their fresh fruits and vegetables but everything is cooked in soooo much grease.  I really have never eaten any Mexican dish made by my family that wasn't just full of grease (and it is usually lard.)  In my family and my husbands family anyway,  red meat  is eaten almost every single day.   Its not considered a meal unless meat is part of it.  If you dont have meat on the table (especially when company comes over)  it would mean you were too poor to have it....or at least it would be looked upon that way.  I could go on and on about this...my husband would never eat any of the healthy stuff I try to cook for me and the kids, he insists on cooking it himself because to him it doesnt taste good unless there is plenty of grease.  And he refuses to drink milk (so does my father) and so do most of the Mexican relatives (meaning relatives that actually live in Mexico) that  I have.

And in the town where my dad comes from and the town where  my husband comes from, I can  honestly honestly say, that AT LEAST 85% of the women are VERY overweight, in fact it is considered a sign of being well off if the women in the family are heavier.  They always talked about how skinny me and my sisters were (and we werent, we were very very solid weights and not the least bit skinny) and they would talk about my mom behind her back saying she didnt feed us right.

Now this is just my experience, apparently, from all the other posts I am reading...this is not the norm.

lareina--from what I know, that sort of way of life including the cooking is pretty old-fashioned. my mom says her great-grandmother used to use lard in everything, but that tradition stopped at her grandmother's generation. I know of plenty mexican dishes that substitute poultry in place of of red meat. what you're talking about--dishes laden in grease--isn't totally uncommon, but the things I've had at least in Sonora seemed relatively healthy and not very fattening to me.

I've live In Germany = Fatting food but they walk all the time.

Greece much healthier eating, watch all that olive oil til your use to it. They don't have all the fast food and processed stuff. Still moving more then we do.

Italy - Pasta! yum! Still more active everyday.

France - more food- more walking

I think our problem maybe all the process food and not enough moving.

I have 2 mexican friends and they are overweight and dibetic. I think if any nationally lives in the u.s. it's  a choice how they eat. Remember most are american citizens and have the same foods around them as the rest of us.  My family is 2 nd generation German and we  shop and eat at the same places as everyone else.  why not ask you Bf about his eating habits? Is he amercian born ? Born and raised in Mexico?  Of course different cultures have their own fav food. Half our family is polish so xmas eve is traditional polish dinner. If your worried about cooking for him look online for some dishes you can bake or pick up some cook books.

Hola guera (that's my nickname too)

My boyfriend is British but I'm Mexican-American (Texas born, as were my parents, grandparents etc...)
Anyway, having been brought up with a Tex-Mex culture, I've always been ridiculously fond of not so healthy foods, particularly deep fried Tex-Mex foods.
I've always struggled to maintain a weight of 120lbs (I'm 5'4").
My weight range has fluctuated over the past 10 years from 115 - 135.
What I've found most difficult is leaving food on my plate when I'm no longer hungry. It's still an obstacle as I feel obligated to finish every last bite, even though I know I'm too full to go on. In my culture, some parents encourage their children to eat everything on their plate in effort to avoid causing wasteful tendancies. While I know that moderation is key, it's still difficult to this day to kick the habit of over-eating, especially when you have so much temptation around you (ESPECIALLY in south Texas ;)
Visiting his health-conscious family for the past year has really opened my eyes to alternate possibilities in meal preparation. I'm learning to cook with fresher ingredients and leaner meats so I can still enjoy some of my favorite Tex-Mex foods without some of the consequences that come with it.

Heh. My BF is from an Ecuadorian family but grew up in the States. He grew up a latchkey kid with fast food and terrible habits. He likes traditional food but can't cook (he was trained to be quite traditional in his gender roles, funny that he wound up with a radical feminist). His eating habits are much worse than mine (or should I say, my new ones - we used to be on exactly the same high-fat page).

We both love Hispanic food of all stripes (Mexican, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, you name it) but we only eat it at restaurants! However, fresh fruit and veggies, not so much. I have more of an instinct to reach for it than he does. He is a bread and rice fiend. (He grew up eating spaghetti with a side of rice, no joke).

My ex was born raised in Mexico.  He says he hadnt had a burito until he came to the US.  I thought it was strange how he could have beans and rice at literally every dinner.  He also ws huge on fresh vegetables not because they were healthy per say but because that was how he cooked.

I dont mean to suggest someone from Mexico like him represents the country eating habits anymore then someone from NewYorkCity or Amarillo TX represents the way US citizens eat but that was just my experience.  My mom whos parents were Italy born thought it was funny that people labelled Italian cooking as one thing when there was Sicilian cooking, northern Itraly cuisine, etc but dont ask me I just know my moms cooking as "Italian cooking".

My Peruvian husband eats any meal as long as it has rice!  Preferably with potatoes.  When I lived in Peru there was hardly any processed food available, and everyone had a maid/cook to prepare meals, so why bother with convenience.  Now that we live in the States,  no maid to cook, he is getting a little pot belly.  Here, he eats everything, but complains about all of it.

Hi Guera,

I am married to a Mexican guy.  He has a fantastic appetite and never seems to gain an ounce.  He loves to eat healthy foods, mostly Mexican food though.  But if I cook any other type of food (i.e. anything that is not spicy), he will eat it as long as it's smothered in salsa (not store bought, has to be home made).