Mexican Snack Foods: What You Won't Find at Your Local Mexican Restaurant

There is more to Mexican food than flour tortillas, rice and beans and the typical heavy fare. Beyond these meals, Mexicans also make all kinds of delicious snack foods that will excite your adventurous palate, especially if you are fond of spicy food. It's a good idea to know what you're ordering if you decide to buy something from a local snack stand if you're in southern California or southern Texas. Below is what you should expect to find in three of my favorite Mexican snack foods.

Paletas
These are basically your typical Popsicles, but what makes them unique from what you'd typically find at your local grocery store ice scream aisle is the assortment of flavors. You'll find tropical flavors like mango, Pina Colada, and coconut with actual pieces of coconut in the popsicle. You'll find Mexican flavors like "Orchata" which is a common cinnamon flavored Mexican rice drink, or my favorite, tamarindo, which comes from the sweet tamarind tree. It's tangy and sweet. For those who want something more American, there are also flavors like cookies and cream. With actual ground up pieces of Oreos in the mix, you're sure to find this flavor delightful, especially when you find chunks of the frozen cream filling and cookie bits in every bite. For nut lovers, there are usually pecan/walnut flavors. Each bite contains bits of ground up nut. I've also had cappuccino flavored paletas, vanilla with raisins, strawberry, lime and guava.

Corn in a cup
The name says it all. It's exactly that: cooked corn inside a cup. But if you're not used to this version of corn, you'll be surprised at the other ingredients. The corn is also mixed with lime, chili powder, cream, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, butter, crumbly white cheese, paprika, cayenne, chopped fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper. It's delicious! Mexicans also have a corn on the cob that is similar to the corn in a cup. When you ask for it, be adventurous and say you want all the seasonings! While it varies by maker, most of the time they have butter, lime, chili powder and Parmesan along with other seasonings.

Fruit cup
It sounds pretty boring right? I thought so too, until I saw that it wasn't what I'd gotten at a McDonald's drive through. These Mexican fruit cups are filled with fruits like strawberries, cucumber, melons, pineapple, jicama and watermelon. Then the whole cup is doused in lime juice and sprinkled with a chili powder concoction that has a hint of salt and sugar and spicy ingredients. Some fruit stands even allow you to choose the fruit you want.