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The Mexican diet, with its ubiquitous tortillas, corn masa, beans and rice, not to mention the very popular cane-sweetened Coca-Cola and aguas frescas, nearly guarantees that the low-carbohydrate diet will never catch on south of the border. While he cannot have a proper Mexican meal, the low-carb dieter does not have to give up the flavor of Mexico.

"Low-carb" tortillas have now come on to the market in the US. Imitation food such as Tofurky or low-fat vinaigrette is usually quite bad, and in the interest of avoiding it, I instead offer six recipes made without tortillas or corn masa: three traditional dishes, one restaurant item, and two Mexican-inspired novelties. One of the novel recipes is a cross between the cabbage roll or golabek familiar to those of Eastern European heritage and classic baked enchiladas. Neither the imitators nor I have come up with a low-carbohydrate tamale, and similarly, the Atkins dieter looking for a bowl of posole on a cold winter's night is out of luck.

It is also worth noting that most Mexican stews, posole aside, are low-carb without any modification. Chile con carne, barbacoa, and tinga both come to mind. A good cookbook will give may options: I'll get you started with the recipes given below:

(1) Machaca and Eggs
(2) Ceviche
(3) Queso Fundido
(4) Steak Diablo
(5) Carne Asada ala Gringo
(6) Golabki, Enchilada style

Traditional Dishes
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(1) Machaca (or Carne Seca) and Eggs.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/3 cup machaca or carne seca
1/2 bell pepper, in strips or large dice
1/2 medium onion, in rings or large dice
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tomato, in large dice
oil for pan-frying; lard for true and lethal authenticity.
Sauce of your choice for garnish.
salt, pepper, and oregano to taste

Preparation:

Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper in skillet until tender. Add tomato, spices, and machaca and cook for yet another minute. Whisk eggs as for scrambling, add to pan, cook until done.

If prepared machaca or carne seca are not available, try this recipe from the El Charro Cafe Cookbook:

Boil 4-6 pounds of shredded roast beef (leftovers are fine) in 3 quarts of water to which 1/4 cup garlic puree has been added. Skim the froth, reduce the heat, and simmer for 2 hours. Drain.

To dry the meat, combine the juice of two limes with another quarter cup of garlic puree. Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius), spread the meat in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet, and sprinkle with the lime-garlic

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