Mayan Food

Mayan Diet

Plants

• Corn*
• Chilies
• Tomatoes
• Black Beans
• Avocado
• Sweet Potato 
• Squash 

Meat

• Manatee
• Armadillo
• Tapir
• Guinea Pig
• Turtle
• Wild Turkey
• Monkeys
• Hairless Dogs
• Boar
• Deer

*Corn, also known as maiz (MAI-ZE), was a significant dietary staple to the Mayan culture. So significant, that the Mayan people, "...believed that the gods created people out of white and yellow corn, so rituals surrounding corn carried deep conotations of the gratitude the Mayans felt towards the gods and the sacred crop," (link listed below).Corn was made into a variety of foods, such as: tortillas (ground corn was made into a flour-like powder), popcorn, and even beer! 

**NOTE: The crops grown by the Mayans varied from place to place, so this list is just an example of a typical Mayan farm**

DELICIOUS GUACAMOLE RECIPE

Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
8 dashes hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, seeded, and small-diced

Directions

• Cut the avocados in 1/2
• Remove the pits, and scoop the flesh out of their shells into a large bowl. (I use my hands)
•  Immediately add the lemon juice, hot pepper sauce, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and toss well.
•  Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados in the bowl until they are finely diced. 
• Add the tomatoes.
•  Mix well and taste for salt and pepper
• ENJOY!

                 

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/guacamole-recipe.html?oc=linkback