Food Patterns of the Southwest

Abstract

The foods that may be considered typical of the Southwest are pinto beans, tortillas made from flour, or lime-treated corn, and chile–either fresh, frozen, canned or in the powdered form. These foods need to be included, when practical, in planning therapeutic diets. The usual dietary deficiencies that must be considered are protein, calcium, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid. Frying is a common method of food preparation so that patients on certain types of diets will need to be instructed in other methods of cooking. The problem of an adequate diet for normal or therapeutic situations is partly economic but largely a matter of education. Emphasis must be placed on teaching the correct value of the foods now used, the choice of correct food to supplement these and how to make substitutions in therapeutic diets.