Cinco de Mayo (May 5th)

Take the opportunity to explore another country on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), an important holiday in Mexico, and among Mexican-Canadians.

Some Facts to Share About Mexico:

• Corn is the major food grown in Mexico. Is corn a vegetable or a grain? (A grain).
• Mexico has a warm climate. They can grow food all year round and we get a lot of our vegetables and fruit in Canada from Mexico, especially in the winter when it’s too cold for us to grow many foods.
• One of Mexico’s favourite foods is the avocado. They need a warm climate to grow. Do avocados grow on the ground or on trees? (Trees).
• In Mexico they speak Spanish. They say Hola for “hello” and Por Favor for “please”.

Some Foods to Include From Mexico:

• Make homemade tortillas and top or fill them with refried beans, cheese and veggies. See our fun recipe for Bean Heads.
• Make guacamole and serve in ‘avocado boats’ (the hollowed out shells) alongside cucumbers and low-sodium corn chips for dipping.
• Make homemade salsa. See our recipe section.
• Make Horchata, a traditional Mexican drink made from rice.
• Try a new vegetable with the children. Jicama (pronounced Hick-a-mah) is crunchy and a little sweet. Remember not to pressure children who are not keen to taste! Allow them to explore it in other ways like with the Mystery Food Box game.

More Resources

Explore whether there are any Mexican or Latin American families in your centre and whether they would like to participate by making a special recipe, showing photos of their country or passing along a new song. For a lot more Mexican recipe ideas, check out this website: https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/recipes