Taco Taco Burrito Burrito

Life can be hard. Happiness can be fleeting. And that’s fine. But these are reasons why it is important to look for joyful occasions to celebrate whenever one can. Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. For some, it’s an excuse to sit around and drink margaritas and beer all day.

I actually had a bottle of tequila and another bottle of mezcal set aside for the occasion. And I had plenty of limes. But there was no drinking for me. There’s a lot going on the work and family fronts, so I needed to keep my wits about me. And on top of that, today I’m seeing the doctor for my annual check up.

Despite months and months of moderation, and a bit of semi-regular exercise, I’ve fallen off the wagon for the past several weeks. Hopefully, it’s not enough to completely derail my progress. But we’ll see.

Still, I couldn’t let May fifth slide by without some form of acknowledgement, so Little Miss Fussy and I had a very moderate lunch at my favorite local taqueria. And then for dinner, we made our favorite quick and easy burritos at home. In total, that was two tacos and two burritos over the course of the day. But that’s only half the story.

Mexican food is delicious, but it can also be super heavy.

Little Miss Fussy is a great dining companion. Like me, she really enjoys food. Unlike me, she tries to be careful and not eat too much. We’ve been exploring the menu at La Mexicana together over the course of several months, and over time we have triangulated our way to the perfect amount of food for the two of us.

When left to my own devices, I order way too many things. It’s fun to have so many different dishes to taste. However, it’s less fun to feel over full. So Little Miss Fussy helps to keep me on the straight and narrow.

What’s unfortunate is that the perfect amount of food for the two of us is barely any food at all.

Our combined order is two tacos and one bean and cheese burrito. I told you it was paltry. Especially because those tacos are super small. Really you could down each in three bites. But they come on double tortillas. And our favorite meat fillings are especially rich. The La Mexicana carnitas and lengua are just so delicious.

So we take each taco and divide it in two. I’ll slide out the bottom tortilla, grab the pieces of meat that are the most free of onions and cilantro, and build Little Miss Fussy a mini mini taco. I suppose if technically we’re ordering two tacos, and splitting them in half, we are each only eating one taco.

The burrito is an extra large flour tortilla filled with refried beans and shredded cheese. Talk about rich foods, this is right up there. And man, is it tasty without anything else on it or in it. But it’s also really freaking heavy. So I cut it in half, and we each enjoy the flavors of the burrito without having to face its potential gut busting consequences.

Could I sit down and devour a plate of ten tacos? Sure. On one hand that would be a ton of fun. But it wouldn’t feel great. Although, eating sensibly doesn’t always feel great either.

I want more. Not because I’m hungry for more. I’m not. But I want more because the food is so delicious, and who knows the next time I’ll be back. Even still, I recognize that even splitting one more taco would move me from a pleasant feeling of satiety to being overly full. It would be nice if the body and the brain could get on the same page when it came to eating, hunger, and desire.

Later that night, I would have a little more when it came to dinner time. Because it was still Cinco de Mayo, and one of our convenience meals is vegetarian burritos thanks to a few pantry staples from Trader Joe’s.

– Handmade Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas
– Fancy Shredded Mexican Style Cheese Blend
– Canned organic black beans
– Hatch Valley Salsa
– Soy Chorizo
– Avocado
– Lime

Everything gets warmed through, wrapped up, and scarfed down. Tortillas must be warmed. Seriously people. Not steaming tortillas before using them for wraps is like making someone a pasta dish without boiling the noodles. This may have to be the subject of another post, because it’s something I see far too often.

One of these burritos is plenty, especially if served with a vegetable on the side. I made a little frozen broccoli and tried to give it a little Mexican flair with garlic, oregano, smoked hot pepper, and lime juice. There’s also a bottle of Cholula hot sauce on the table for both the vegetables and the burrito. Sure, that doesn’t come from Trader Joe’s, but so it goes.

All told, it was a two taco and two burrito day. Although technically one could argue that I only ate a burrito and a half, and split those two tacos with my daughter. But “taco taco burrito burrito” sounds better thanks to Trey and Matt, and their indelible off-color wit. And like I said, we have to take joy where we can find it.

Okay. Wish me luck with the doctor.