New school soul food has gone from unhealthy to healthier, thanks to growing consumer demand. Today’s soul food isn’t your great-grandmother’s…not even your grandmother’s soul food! Soul food recipes have traditionally led the way when it comes to comfort food. When the holidays and other special occasions roll around, you’ll find that most African-Americans enjoy this holiday meal. But the one drawback to this delicious treat that has drawn the most attention is the health risks.
With growing health concerns in the African-American community, the demand for healthier alternatives to traditional soul food continues to grow. As deliciously filling as the meals our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used to prepare, they were often packed with high-calorie ingredients like
1. Cream.
2. Loaded with butter.
3. Radiesthesia in sugar.
4. Fried in bacon.
5. Seasoned with bacon and knuckle.
These items, as tasty as they are, have later been shown to cause high blood pressure, diabetes, and other healthy foods. To combat this problem, more soul food recipes continue to lean towards healthier, lighter ingredients while maintaining traditional flavor and satisfaction. For example, instead of using traditional table salt, many recipes call for healthier alternatives, such as salt substitutes, kosher salt, or sea salt. All of this helps reduce health-threatening sodium, which has been linked to high blood pressure and diabetes.
Other alternatives have also been shown to reduce the health risk of soul food. For example, flavoring vegetables with smoked turkey helps you avoid using fat or ham knuckles. Both contain high amounts of salt and fat. Using smoked turkey helps add smoky flavor to vegetables without the unhealthy fat and salt content.
To help reduce the fat content and other health risks associated with deep frying, consider marinating your chicken. Then coat it in flour or cornmeal and fry it in the oven instead of frying it in fatty oils. This will still give your chicken that savory crunch we all love without the health risk of fried chicken.
Another suggestion or alternative to frying the chicken is to consider frying it in a pan. For example, simply coat your pan with cooking spray. Next, place the marinated chicken in the pan and cook on both sides until done. This easy recipe can also include chopped onions, bell peppers and mushrooms and a dash of lemon juice to add an extra kick to the dish.
Here are a few examples of how you can add a healthy element to your soul food recipes without sacrificing flavor and satisfaction. I will continue to provide you with more ideas and tips in the future that will not only taste good but be good for you.