Nutrition
Rice and beans, mofongo and pernil: how to eat Puerto Rican food and still reach your goal
You do not have to give up Puerto Rican food to lose weight or build muscle: how to serve rice, beans, root vegetables, mofongo and pernil using your hand.
One of the most common fears when someone starts taking care of themselves is thinking that rice and beans are over. They are not. Puerto Rican food can be part of a plan that works: what changes is how much you serve yourself, how it is cooked and what you put next to it.
Short answer: keep eating your food, but build the IsraFit plate: half vegetables or salad, a quarter protein (chicken, fish, lean meat or pernil without the crispy skin) and a quarter carbs (rice, beans or root vegetables). A cupped hand of rice is half to three quarters of a cup. Fried foods, like mofongo or tostones, count as carbs and as fat.
How do I measure each food with my hand?
These portions are per meal. Women use one of each and men two, just like in the hand method.
| Food | Counts as | One portion |
|---|---|---|
| White rice or rice with pigeon peas | Carbohydrate | 1 cupped hand (½ to ¾ cup) |
| Stewed beans | Carbohydrate (with some protein) | 1 cupped hand |
| Boiled root vegetables: cassava, sweet potato, yam, green bananas | Carbohydrate | 1 cupped hand |
| Sweet plantains, tostones, mofongo | Carbohydrate and fat | 1 cupped hand, and no other added fat |
| Stewed chicken, chicken breast, fish | Protein | 1 palm |
| Pernil or pork chop | Protein (and fat if it has the skin) | 1 palm, without the skin |
| Salad, green beans, vegetables | Vegetables | 1 fist or more |
| Avocado | Fat | 1 thumb (about 2 or 3 slices) |
How many calories does each portion have?
Approximate values from USDA FoodData Central, prepared without extra oil. Stewed, fried or with more fat, they go up.
| Food | Portion | Calories | Carbs | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooked white rice | ½ cup | 100 | 22 g | 2 g |
| Boiled pink beans | ½ cup | 125 | 24 g | 8 g |
| Tostones (fried green plantain) | 100 g (about 3.5 oz) | 310 | 49 g | 1.5 g |
| Baked sweet potato | 100 g (about 3.5 oz) | 90 | 21 g | 2 g |
| Roasted chicken breast, skinless | 4 oz (a palm) | 185 | 0 g | 35 g |
| Avocado | 30 g (a thumb) | 50 | 2.5 g | 0.5 g |
Look at the tostones: the same amount of fried plantain has about three times the calories of baked sweet potato. That is why fried food counts as both carbs and fat.
Can I eat rice and beans and lose weight?
It is a good combination: rice gives you energy and beans bring fiber and some protein. The problem is almost never the dish, it is the mountain of rice. A trick that works: more beans and less rice. They fill you up more and help you reach your protein for the day.
Tip: the first week, serve your rice with a measuring cup. That way you learn what your portion looks like, and after that you can serve it by eye.
What about mofongo, tostones and sweet plantains?
- Mofongo has fried plantain, garlic and fat, so it is both your carb and your fat. If you order it at a restaurant, share it or eat half, and have it with salad and a protein like chicken, shrimp or fish.
- Tostones and sweet plantains at home come out great in the oven or the air fryer, with a little oil.
- Boiled root vegetables (cassava, sweet potato, yam, green bananas) are a great option: add a splash of olive oil instead of a lot of butter.
How do I eat pernil at parties?
Pernil is protein; what adds a lot of calories is the crispy skin and the fat. Serve yourself a palm of the meat and enjoy a small piece of the skin if you want, without it being half the plate. At Christmas, birthdays and parties use the 80/20 rule: if you eat well 80% of the time, the other 20% you can enjoy without guilt. What counts is what you do almost every day.
What adds calories without me noticing?
- Drinks: sodas, malta, sugary juices and coffee with a lot of sugar. Switch to water, water with lemon or unsweetened coffee.
- Snacking while you cook or going back for seconds out of habit. Wait a few minutes before serving yourself again: your body takes time to feel full.
- Fried street food (alcapurrias, bacalaítos, pastelillos): enjoy it once in a while, not every day.
IsraFit's free Food Guide has the proteins, the carbs (root vegetables included) and the fats with their portions, easy snacks and a shopping list.
Sources
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Healthy Eating Plate. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu
- Precision Nutrition. Calorie Control Guide (hand portion method). precisionnutrition.com
- USDA FoodData Central (U.S. Department of Agriculture). fdc.nal.usda.gov
This article is general information. It does not replace the advice of your doctor or a health professional. If you have an injury, a health condition or are pregnant, check with your doctor before you start. The eating advice is general and is not a clinical nutrition plan: for that, see a licensed dietitian. Our articles are based on the sources we link and show their update date; if you see an error, write to info@isra.fit and we will fix it.