I love Mexican food (who doesn’t)! A deconstructed taco bowl is one of my favourite dishes, as are nachos (with my own healthy twist), but I always use fresh ingredients, free-range/grass-fed meat or beans and MY OWN MEXICAN SEASONING. Why? To avoid the preservatives, additives, colours and flavours found in popular supermarket brands.

What are food additives?

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavour or enhance its taste and appearance. Examples of food additives include:

• Anti-caking agents – which stop ingredients from becoming lumpy.
• Emulsifiers – stop fats from clumping together.
• Colours – add or improve colour.
• Thickeners and vegetable gums – enhance texture.
• Stabilisers and firming agents – maintain even food dispersion.
• Preservatives – prevent the food from spoiling.
• Glazing agent – improves appearance (i.e. shine on supermarket apples).

What do I avoid them? 

Some food additives can cause reactions in sensitive people. Common reactions include:

• Digestive disorders – diarrhoea, constipation and colicky pains
• Nervous disorders – hyperactivity, insomnia and irritability
• Respiratory problems – asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis
• Skin problems – hives, itching, rashes and swelling.

Whilst I’m not one of those people who are sensitive to food additives, I figure I’m better off without them. As such, I do my best to avoid them and as such, store bought Mexican seasoning was one of the things to go.

What I’m trying to avoid?

Below I’ve copied and pasted the ingredients list of a popular supermarket brand of seasoning:

Chilli pepper, salt, maltodextrin, spice, onion powder, corn starch, yellow corn flour. Contains less than 2% of: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, silicon dioxide (anti caking agent), sunflower and/or cottonseed oil, natural flavour, ethoxyquin (preservative).

And here is a list of ingredients found in my MYO Mexican Seasoning: 

Chilli flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, paprika, cumin, sea salt, cinnamon and clove.

Spot the difference? 

Some people think making your own Mexican Seasoning is a whole lot of hard work, they’re wrong. They also think it’s expensive? Not at all (especially if you buy in bulk). All you need is a glass jar and one my simple recipe… MYO Mexican Seasoning here.

Do you make your own Mexican seasoning? Is it something you would consider?