Some holidays are best celebrated with food, and Cinco de Mayo is definitely one of those holidays. Corn tortillas, pico de gallo, tasty green pea guacamole and chili chicken tortilla soup was prepared and shared during the cooking demo on May 5 at The WELL.

Nutrition peer health educators Jen Chua and Emilie Avila led the cooking demo. Chua is a graduating dietetics major and Avila is a biochemistry and dietetics double major.

Avila began by presenting a pop quiz to the audience, asking questions about nutrition and the history of Cinco de Mayo.

“I like to think of it as a day to celebrate Mexican culture and the awesome food,” Avila said.

They offered advice for preparing recipes, explained why some ingredients can be more nutritious and even debunked the myth that all canned food is bad for people.

“The reason that canned food gets a bad rap is because of the added salt,” Avila said. “It’s less expensive, it’s a low cost option. If you buy low sodium options, it’s really almost the same.”

Chua agreed with an exception.

“Don’t buy if it’s dented- especially if it has tomatoes inside,” Chua said.

During the demo, they invited students to help add ingredients and roll their own tortillas. After the food was ready, they allowed the audience to sample everything.

Esmeralda Espinoza, an undeclared freshman, enjoyed trying the recipes.

“It’s great,” Espinoza said of the samples. “It was the first time I’ve seen making guacamole with peas, it tastes good.”

She also thought the presentation was informative and taught a lot about the holiday and the recipes.

“I like to know about fresh ingredients and nutrition,” Espinoza said.

Karina Ramos, a French major, also thought the demonstration was useful.

“It gave me some new ideas on what to make,” Ramos said. “I really like this soup- I got seconds.”

Ramos appreciated the simplicity in preparing the authentic recipes.

“The corn tortilla’s super easy,” Ramos said. “I thought it would be hard.”

It was clear by their enthusiasm Chua and Avila enjoy hosting cooking demos and are knowledgeable about food nutrition. Chua also led a cooking demo for St. Patty’s Day and loves to share her passion for preparing nutritious meals.

“I got to learn how to make new things,” Chua said. “I got to practice at home but my kids are sick of it.”

Both Avila and Chua explained how to prepare each dish in easy-to-follow steps . They suggested alternative ways to cook that are more economically friendly for college students who may be living on a budget, such as using a small blender to replace larger appliances that do the same thing.

“We’re gonna do it the college student way,” Avila said. “We want these recipes to be as accessible to you guys as possible.”