Taco photo by Hannah Kaminsky

By Nadely Requena, VRG Intern

When I first became vegetarian in 10th grade at the age of 16, I very quickly began to feel disconnected from the people around me and my culture. Growing up in a Mexican household meant that meat was always placed at the center of the table. So, when I chose to not partake in eating meat, it very much felt as if I was leaving my roots and everything I had been taught to follow.

Looking back, 4 and a half years later and now being vegan, my experience and outlook has definitely changed in terms of me feeling connected to my upbringing. My early views were brought upon because I had no guidance, support from my family, and in general, lacked education on alternative diets. I never knew anything other than eating meat because that was the only diet I knew growing up.

As time has continued, I’ve met plenty of people sharing my diet and through conversations, I realized I’m not the only one who encountered these struggles.

Julia Comino, a vegan VRG intern, expressed feelings of disconnection from her Italian family when she became vegetarian at age 13, also dealing with her allergies to gluten and soy. Now, as she’s gotten more comfortable with the cuisine, she’s learned to make alternatives of classic dishes she loves. She continued by saying how cooking alternative Latin American dishes makes her feel more connected to her boyfriend’s Chilean family.

I spoke with VRG volunteer and registered dietitian, Rosemary Lopez, who shared her great love for Latin American cuisine as it makes her feel closer to her family’s traditions. She has been vegetarian for over a year now and continues to find different ways to “veganize” the delicious Mexican dishes she grew up with.

“I feel like eating in the traditional ways that my family (taught me) and (partaking in) the generations (of passing down recipes) … is very meaningful to me,” Lopez said. “I’ve been eating this way since I was little. It’s a whole event. From cooking to putting your ingredients together to actually eating the food. It’s definitely very meaningful to me to be eating these foods every single day.”

Manuel Cortes, the recent winner of The Vegetarian Resource Group’s New York City Scholarship, also expressed his struggles and triumphs with being vegetarian since 6th grade.

“(Cooking Latin American food is even more sentimental) especially with me not being born here,” Cortes said. “I feel like it connects me back (to my Honduran culture) … a lot of the foods that my parents make and my grandparents (are) … years of tradition, which is amazing. But because of me, they get to switch things up and … play around with recipes to cater (to my diet). So, not only does it connect me to my culture, but my family also gets (to try new things and create new memories) because of my lifestyle.”

Hearing just from a few people with alternative diets definitely made me feel like I wasn’t alone with my struggles. It’s natural to not feel the same after doing something for years, but realize that there’s also nothing stopping you from swapping out a couple of ingredients.

Over the years, I’ve learned and experimented with Latin American foods that seemed exotic to me at first. With each dish, I would substitute the animal products or change the measurements depending on the taste. Sometimes it would turn out to be very flavorful, and even better than the original dish, and others, I would just kindly tell myself that we would do better next time.

Given my limited, but valuable, culinary experience I, along with the contribution of others, made a list of our favorite Latin American dishes, desserts, and drinks with possible fillings, substitutions, and combinations. Enjoy!

Main Dishes:

• Tacos & Gorditas (possible fillings)
  • Base: refried beans, squash, zucchinis, mushroom, plant-based meat alternatives, chickpeas, potatoes, jackfruit
  • Toppings: vegan shredded cheese, tomato, lettuce, cilantro, onion
  • Extra: salsa
• Burritos (possible fillings)
  • Base: rice, beans (refried pinto or regular pinto), squash, zucchinis, mushroom, plant based-meat alternatives, chickpeas, potatoes, jackfruit
  • Extra: lettuce, vegan shredded cheese, avocado, potatoes, tomato
• Tostadas
  • Base: refried pinto beans
  • Toppings: vegan shredded cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato
• Quesadillas
  • Flour tortilla
  • Vegan cheese
  • Extra: bell pepper
• Tamales (possible fillings & combinations)
  • Pumpkin
  • Refried beans
  • Black beans and onions
  • Sweet corn
  • Potatoes
  • Refried pinto beans and vegan cheese
  • Jackfruit with tomato, cilantro, and onion
  • Vegan cheese and jalapeños
  • Plant-based meat
• Enchiladas (possible fillings & combinations)
  • Vegan cheese
  • Vegan cheese with spinach
  • Vegan cheese with chickpeas
  • Vegan cheese with refried pinto beans
  • Plant-based meat
  • Toppings: plant based sour cream, avocado, pico de gallo, salsa
• Posole (traditional Mexican stew)
  • Base: vegetable stock, hominy corn
  • Extra: lettuce, cabbage, chili peppers, onion, garlic, avocado, salsa or limes
• Soups
  • Base: beans or lentils
  • Extra: zucchini, carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, cilantro
• Chilaquiles (traditional Mexican breakfast dish)
  • Base: tortillas chips (roast or fry), egg substitute (such as Just Egg)
  • Extra: beans, lettuce, avocado, cilantro
• Salad of…
  • Nopale (cactus)
  • Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Toppings: tomato, avocado, black/pinto beans, chickpeas, corn, shredded vegan cheese, tofu
• Sopa de frijoles (traditional Honduran bean soup)
  • Base: black/pinto beans
  • Toppings: cilantro, tomato, onion, avocado
• Baleadas (traditional Honduran breakfast tacos)
  • Base: flour tortilla, egg substitute (such as Just Egg), refried pinto beans
  • Toppings: avocado, shredded vegan cheese
• Empanadas (traditional baked/fried bread with filling) – (possible fillings & combinations)
  • Tempeh, onion, potatoes, bell peppers
  • Potatoes with bell peppers
  • Sweet potato with black beans
  • Vegan cheese
  • Cashew
  • Jelly (like strawberry) with vegan cream cheese
  • Apple and vegan caramelized milk
• Chalupas (traditional Mexican flat, but heavier taco) – (possible fillings)
  • Base: potatoes, refried beans
  • Toppings: avocado, vegan cheese, tomato, cilantro, lettuce, vegan sour cream
• Arroz con Gandules (traditional Puerto Rican rice and beans)
  • Base: rice and beans (pigeon peas)
  • Toppings: Cilantro
• Arepas (traditional Colombian and Venezuelan cornmeal cake) – (possible fillings)
  • Arepas – naturally vegan, changes with filling
  • Fillings: black/pinto beans, vegan cheese, avocado, cilantro, tomato, corn, plantains, jackfruit
• Mole (traditional Mexican sauce traditionally poured over meat) –
  • Vegetable stock
  • Meat alternatives: mushrooms, jackfruit, sweet or regular potato, plant-based meat
  • Sides: rice

Dips (all naturally vegan, traditional ingredients listed):

• Chimole (traditional Salvadoran salsa)
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Lime juice
  • Peppers
  • Cilantro
• Pico de Gallo (traditional Mexican salsa)
  • Guacamole
  • Tomato
  • Onion
  • Jalapeños
  • Cilantro
• Sofrito (red or green salsa)
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Peppers
  • Cilantro
• Corn or mango salsa
  • Sweet corn/mango
  • Onion
  • Jalapeño
  • Cilantro
  • Lime

Desserts:

• Manjar (traditional Chilean name, but is more known as dulce de leche, or caramelized milk)
  • Alternatives: plant-based milk (it’s popular to use coconut milk), organic brown sugar, coconut cream
• Churros (traditional Latin American fried dough)
  • Alternatives: plant-based milk, egg substitute (such as Just Egg), organic brown sugar or white sugar
• Conchas (traditional Mexican sweet bread roll)
  • Alternatives: plant-based milk, egg substitute (such as Just Egg, aquafaba, chickpea or garbanzo bean juice), organic brown sugar or white sugar
  • Fillings: sweet potato
• Pastelitos de Queso (traditional Cuban cream cheese pastry)
  • Fillings: Miyoko’s cottage cheese, vegan Greek yogurt, hummus, silken tofu
• Pastelitos de Espinaca (traditional Argentinian spinach empanadas)
  • Fillings: vegan cheese, spinach

Drinks (most natural drinks are vegan, listed are most popular ones):

• Agua de horchata (traditional Mexican rice water)
  • Use plant-based milk to make it vegan
• Agua de Jamaica (traditional Mexican and Jamaican hibiscus tea)
  • Use organic cane sugar to make it vegan
• Agua de Tamarindo (traditional Mexican tamarind drink)
  • Use organic cane sugar to make it vegan

You may also be interested in

https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/information_in_Spanish.htm

https://www.vrg.org/journal/CookingAndRecipes.htm#cr-ethnic-cuisine

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.