How to Create a Healthy Soul Food Plate — Guide and Recipes:-
Soul Food is the traditional cuisine of African Americans
Sometimes referred to simply as “Southern cuisine,” African Americans who left the South during the Great Migration in the early to mid-20th century brought self-consumption to the north and the rest of America the early to mid-20th century.
Food ranges from simple family dishes of rice and beans, fried chicken and collard greens with ham hocks to tables of seasoned yams, pork chops, gumbo, black-eyed peas, macaroni cheese , cornbread, sweet potato pie and filled with peaches at macaroni and cheese, cornbread, sweet potato pie, and peach cobbler.
Soul food is an important part of Black food culture and often evokes strong feelings of family, home and togetherness.
This article explains the basics of soul food, finds out if it’s healthy, and offers simple tips to maximize the nutritional value of soul food.
Is soul food healthy?
The Southern diet, often associated with soul food, contains organ meats, cured meats, eggs, fried foods, saturated fats and sugary drinks.
This diet is linked to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, stroke and depression.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), African Americans ages 18–49 are twice as likely to die from heart disease as white Americans. Black Americans ages 35–54 also have a 50% higher likelihood of high blood pressure than white Americans.
Although socioeconomic differences play an important role in these disproportionate disease rates, dietary choices may also contribute.
However, it doesn’t mean that all food is bad. Nutritious foods and leafy greens are a staple of soul food.
SUMMARY :
Many of the factors commonly associated with organic foods are associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including heart disease. However, the tradition’s emphasis on healthy foods can make soul food more nutritious.
A guide to maintaining a healthy food culture, soul food includes many heritage, traditions and practices passed down from generation to generation.
In fact, making small modifications to recipes and cooking methods may help boost dishes’ nutrient profiles while maintaining flavor, richness, and cultural traditions.
Choose more plant-based foods
The traditional African diet is vegetarian and included a variety of fruits and vegetables such as leafy greens, okra, watermelon, steamed rice and black-eyed peas.
In traditional societies, meat — when consumed at all — was eaten in very small quantities and often as a seasoning
Diets that include plenty of plant foods are associated with more moderate body weights and decreased disease risk (
Furthermore, a meta-analysis in people who ate leafy green and cruciferous vegetables, such as collard greens, kale, turnip greens, and cabbage, indicated a 15.8% reduced risk of heart disease, compared with a control group
Tips to increase your intake of plant foods
Here are some tips to increase your intake of plant foods:
- Start by making small changes. Don’t try to overhaul your entire diet overnight. Instead, start by making small changes, such as adding a side salad to your lunch or having a veggie burger instead of a beef burger for dinner.
- Stock your kitchen with plant-based foods. When you have plant-based foods on hand, you’re more likely to eat them. Stock your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
- Cook more plant-based meals at home. Eating out can be a challenge if you’re trying to increase your intake of plant foods. Instead, cook more meals at home. There are many delicious and easy plant-based recipes available online.
- Experiment with new flavors. There are so many different plant-based foods out there, so don’t be afraid to experiment with new flavors. Try different fruits, vegetables, and spices to find what you like.
- Make it fun. Eating more plant-based foods shouldn’t be a chore. Make it fun by trying new recipes, cooking with friends, or having plant-based potlucks.
- Add vegetables to everything. You can add vegetables to almost any dish, so get creative. Try adding chopped vegetables to your pasta sauce, stir-fries, soups, and sandwiches.
- Make a veggie burger your go-to fast food option. Veggie burgers are a great way to get your protein fix without eating meat. There are many different veggie burgers available, so you’re sure to find one that you like.
- Have a plant-based breakfast. Starting your day off with a plant-based breakfast is a great way to set yourself up for success. Try oatmeal with fruit, yogurt with granola, or a smoothie.
- Keep healthy snacks on hand. Having healthy snacks on hand will help you avoid unhealthy choices when you’re feeling hungry. Try fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, or trail mix.
U.S. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that people make at least half of their cereal intake whole grains.
Whole grains are grains, including bran, germ and endosperm. They play a role in weight management, gut health, and even prevention of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colorectal, pancreatic, and stomach cancers.
Examples of whole grains are whole wheat, brown rice, oats, sorghum, millet, fonio, and barley.
Some soul food entrées like macaroni and cheese, cornbread, and rice dishes are made from refined grains, which have had their nutrient-dense bran and germ removed during processing and are thus not as nutritious as their whole grain counterparts.
Tips to enjoy more whole grains
Replace whole grains with their fried counterparts. For example, choose whole wheat flour over white flour or whole wheat flour over plain flour. Use brown rice, sorghum, millet, or fonio instead of white rice. Once cooked, alternate whole grain flour with whole wheat flour and teff, wheat flour and sorghum flour. Choose packaged foods with whole grains as the first or second ingredient in the list. Add veggies, herbs and spices.
In addition to containing high sodium processed meats like ham hocks, soul food often uses seasoned salt, garlic salt, and cajun seasoning. These foods and spices contribute to the overall amount of sodium you consume.
Excessive sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and premature death
Evidence suggests that African Americans are more sensitive to the blood-pressure-lowering effects of decreased salt intake. Reducing your dietary sodium intake may result in a 4–8 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure — the top number on a reading
Seasoning foods with aromatic veggies like onions, garlic, and celery, as well as herbs and spices, not only reduces sodium content but also boosts the antioxidant content and flavor (13Trusted Source).
Tips to replace salt
Try solid low-sodium spices like barbere from Ethiopia or harissa from Tunisia. Use herbs and spices instead of salt. Add fresh vegetables at the end of cooking and dried vegetables at the beginning. Buy fresh, frozen, or salt-free canned vegetables, or wash high-sodium canned vegetables before using. Avoid salting table foods, especially before tasting them.
Make your own seasoning blend by mixing:
2 tablespoons (14 grams) of black pepper
1 tablespoon (5.5 grams) of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon (7 grams) of paprika
1 tablespoon (6 grams) of onion powder
1 tablespoon (10 grams) of garlic powder
1 ground bay leaf
Change your cooking methods
Cooking methods affect both the nutrient composition of a meal and disease risk.
Observational studies in postmenopausal women associate fried foods like fried chicken, fried fish, and fried potatoes with a higher risk of all-cause and heart-related mortality (14Trusted Source).
High heat cooking methods, such as frying, baking, roasting, and grilling, may introduce chemicals like acrylamide heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (15, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).
HCAs and PAHs are associated with an increased risk of cancer. They may also increase diabetes risk
While boiling and stewing are healthy alternatives for cooking meats, grains, and vegetables, they may result in a loss of nutrients like vitamin C, lutein, and beta carotene
If you opt for boiling or stewing, you can still glean some of the lost nutrients by adding the nutrient-rich liquid — or potlikker — into other dishes.
Tips for healthy cooking methods
Remove visible fat and remove any charred parts before eating. When cooking starchy foods, aim for a golden color rather than a dark brown or extremely crispy exterior. Soak the meat in citrus or juice, vinegar, onions, herbs, or spices. Steam, stir, stir or blanch vegetables instead of roasting them. If you are making roasted vegetables, use the remaining healthy potlicker as a gravy or dipping sauce for corn bread. You can also use this juice in other recipes. Pre-cook the meat in the microwave and finish on the grill. Ditch the deep fryer and recreate your favorite meals by using the oven or air cooker. If you must deep fry foods, choose oils with a high smoke content, such as canola, peanut, and avocado oils.
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