I can think of two alternative foods which measure up quite well to their more common equivalents: poke weed and lambsquarters. Poke weed makes a wonderful potherb. There are, however some individuals who react to it, getting itching in the mouth. Lambsquarters, on the other hand, is simply delightful. When we fix it we never get complaints, unless the person complaining just doesn't like greens.
I suspect in ancient days there was a whole lot more traffic going between North and South America than we generally think of. The Aztec and Incan empires had regular trade routes. There are indications that Aztec traders made it all the way into parts of what is now the American West.
When our family was studying Spanish, in order to serve in Mexico, we were befriended by a Nicaraguan family. The wife taught my wife to make a typical Nicaraguan tamale, called a Nacatamal. Later, when we relocated into an Aztec area, my wife shared some with an Aztec friend. When she told her friend that Nicaraguans called them nacatamales, our Aztec friend looked startled. She informed us that nacatamal is Aztec for "meat tamale." We mentioned this to our Nicaraguan friends. They responded that they never knew what the term meant. They simple used it when referring to that food.
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