In 2013, first lady Michelle Obama launched an initiative aimed at increasing available information about nutritious meals and decision-making when it comes to food. In a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and their MyPlate icon, Mrs. Obama reached out to media outlets across the States for their help in flagging healthy MyPlate recipes. Now, media outlets like Pinterest have entire pages dedicated to recipes that fit within MyPlate guidelines.

The MyPlate icon, aimed at increasing healthy eating across the States, is a product of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

One thought I had as I was sorting through all of these meals and the MyPlate website was how foods from other cultures are represented within this initiative. A quick scan of the banner images for the ChooseMyPlate.gov site reveals that traditional U.S. staples constitute the vast majority of advertising for this tool. For instance, veggies shown include lettuce and eggplants, while fruit suggestions include berries, apples, and bananas. In the Grains Group, Brown Rice, Muesli, Oatmeal, Popcorn, Quinoa, and various breads are featured. However, corn and corn variants (staples in the Mexican diet) are merely represented by “Whole Grain Cornmeal,” which is not hyperlinked to any resources like the rest of the grain suggestions are. On the Protein Foods tab, a southern meal of beans and cornbread is featured, along with suggestions to eat more poultry  and fish (like Atlantic and Pacific mackerel). There are no mentions of goat meat, beef tongue, sheep, or other proteins common to Mexican dishes.

On the Pinterest page, there seem to be more links to multicultural cuisines, including an “Indian-inspired” board and another labeled “Italian-inspired.” Further down on the page, I did stumble across a “Mexican-inspired” board, which included Americanized takes on Mexican enchiladas, tacos, and tortas.

20-Minute Chicken Enchiladas | CookingLight.com #protein #dairy #vegetables #grain #myplate:
“20-Minute Chicken Enchiladas” from Cooking Light that follow MyPlate Standards

A healthy take on elote called for an ear of corn, 1 lime, low-fat mayo, chili powder, Parmesan cheese, and nonfat plain Yogurt.

Mexican Grilled Corn
“Mexican Grilled Corn“

According to one article,  elote is traditionally made with grilled corm, Cotija cheese, Mexican crema, mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro, and powdered chili. All in all, the Americanized recipe seems to be pretty similar, with a few differences in the use of lime, Yogurt, and Parmesan cheese. These MyPlate recipes are really useful, though their adherence to traditional Mexican cuisine and demonstration of how Mexican food can fit into eating guidelines are both weak overall.

However, I will say that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has taken a step forward in providing MyPlate explanations in Spanish, though the recipes section is pretty thin, and draws from dishes across a range of Spanish-speaking countries (including Andalusian Gazpacho and Argentinian Churrasco) with very few references to traditional Mexican dishes.

While the launch of the MyPlate icon and subsequent indexing initiatives is a great start to forging a healthier United States, there are still gaps that need to be filled, especially when it comes to government representations of Mexican food. This government-sponsored endorsement of some dishes as “healthier” than others reminds me quite a lot of what we’ve read in Pilcher’s Planet Taco, wherein the Mexican Government’s desire to shape culture led to their pronunciation of some elite dishes as “authentic,” with other indigenous favorites going ignored. I always get cautious whenever I see government-sponsored culinary initiatives, mainly because there are so many great foods out there that it is hard to create any system that fairly represents them all. In the future, I’d like to see more front-page mentions of Mexican foods and how they can fit into the MyPlate standards. When using foodways to educate, it’s important that certain cuisines are not overlooked in the effort to establish overarching “healthy eating” narratives.