Cantona, Puebla

One day, while looking for interesting places for us to visit, in or nearby the city of Puebla, I came across a fascinating looking place named Cantona. As it turns out, Cantona was an important trading hub between Mexico City and Veracruz. Though what struck me most about Cantona, was its size. The surface area of Cantona is about 4.6 miles² (12 km²). To give you a better idea, it's about 2,240 football fields. Speaking about sports, Cantona also has 24 ball game courts that have been discovered (more than any other mesoamerican site).

Spelling Cards

Click on post to download PDF

Is a child that you know having trouble spelling and switching letters around?

I developed these spelling cards for my daughters, particularly so they can spell words with those pesky letters: p,q,b,d... On those letters, I added a small illustration reminding them of a word that begins with that letter. That way if they have to spell "door" they know that "dice and "door" begin with the same sound therefore, that letter is correct to use. For P, B, & D,  I used words that have the same beginning sound in both English and Spanish (baby/bebé, dice/dado, pizza/pizza).

Pancakes o Hotcakes de Avena

Versión sin huevo

Quizá te estas preguntando ¿Que tienen que ver los pancakes (o hotcakes) con México? En mi caso, nada y todo. Lo que pasa es que en México no hay diners (pronunciado: dainers). La mayoría de los restaurantes usan mezclas pre-hechas que, a los americanos, quienes estamos acostumbrados a riquísimos pancakes que pedimos en diners o que hacemos en casa, no más no nos gustan (bueno, yo no viajaría a México para comer pancakes, jaja). Pero después de vivir aquí un rato, se antojan...

Oatmeal Pancakes

Pictured: Egg-free version

What do Pancakes have to do with Mexico you may ask. Well nothing and everything. You see, here in Mexico there are no "diners". Most restaurants use pre-made mixes which Americans, who are used to really good pancakes either from diners or at home, will not appreciate (then again, shame on you if you travel to Mexico for vacation and order pancakes, lol). But after living here for a while, you just crave pancakes once and a while.

This recipe is not only delicious, but also healthy and versatile. The main ingredient is oatmeal, it's wheat free (gluten free if you use certified ingredients), vegetarian (vegan optional) and can be nut free if you use hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of almonds. Plus there are no added starches.

The person who originally gave me this recipe a few years ago was my Mexican great grandma (who just turned 90 by the way). I've modified it a bit since then. Of course traditional pancakes are made with wheat flour, but you will have a hard time telling the difference. They are husband approved (my pickiest of critics)...

Hi… My name is Christina.

In a nut shell, I was born in the US. I am of Mexican decent. Studied Graphic Design. Met my future husband at work. Got married. Had two kids. Moved to Mexico, where we are living now, and loving it.

I love my kids and husband, art, cooking, gardening, photography, reading, discovering, traveling, and watching T.V.

This blog, Mexico Naturally, will be about that natural side of Mexico. It's places, it's people, it's food. I will also include recipes (both allergy friendly and hive-causing - didn't I mention that my two girls have food allergies?) as well as my aforementioned loves.

Please read on and enjoy. Thanks.

Christina