Page 35 - SYTYGIB_Aztec

They liked their dishes SpIcY and would often use chilli peppers to turn up the heat. Given how hot some chillies can be, you might have had to keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case. Unfortunately, fire extinguishers weren’t terribly common in Aztec times.
On a cooler note, Aztec kids would also have eaten tomatoes, beans, onions and avocados. Always good if you don’t fancy a burning belly.
Chillies
tomatoes
onions
beans
avocados
Doyoueverwish . . .
you could find something new to eat?
Are you fed up with the same old burgers, pizzas and things you’ve fished out of your nose? Well, one Aztec food tradition probably wouldn’t be of much use to you on the adventurous front.
The Tamale Feast was celebrated every eight years – and for seven days in the run up to it people fasted. No algae cakes and tadpoles for them (which sounds like a relief).
During this period, they were only allowed to eat tamales. But these ones had to be completely plain
– no salt, no chilli, no seasoning and NOOOOOOOO filling. Not even a tiny flea. If you were caught slipping even a sneaky little slug in there to liven it up a bit you would be punished. Think you could get away with it? Be careful – the superstitious Aztecs believed those who broke the rules but weren’t caught would break out in ZITS!
After seven days the feast could finally begin, and people would dress up as animals, birds and insects. During the festivities, a basin filled with snakes and frogs was placed in front of an image of the rain god Tlaloc. Then dancers called Mazateca each grabbed a frog or snake with their mouth . . . and swallowed them!
Suddenly those plain old tamales don’t sound quite so bad after all.
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diet