PITTSBURGH — Emily Crusan, a registered dietitian at Allegheny Health Network, is a fan of the chickpea. Also known as garbanzo beans, like all legumes, they have many health benefits. Legumes are nutritionally “very well-rounded,” she said.

“Legumes are a great plant source of protein in the diet, and are also a good source of unsaturated fats” — healthy fats — Crusan said.

Legumes contain minerals including folate, iron and magnesium, as well as antioxidants that have preventative and protective health effects. They outdo meat as a protein source in that they also contain fiber. (Meat has none.)

Like a lot of Mexican food fans, I could stuff my face with tacos every day of the week and consider myself wonderfully fed.

But you’ve got to shake it up every now and again to keep flavors fresh and interesting at meal time, I suppose. Especially if the ingredients you reach for again and again — in this case, chili peppers, onions, tomatoes and corn tortillas — don’t vary much.

Enchiladas offer a more “saucy” version of the humble, folded taco.