texasmesquite

Southern dishes get a healthy makeover

By Bernice Torregrossa
Contributor - The Galveston County Daily News Published June 18, 2008


With more than a week of Juneteenth events wrapping up Thursday, there have been many opportunities to pair this Southern-based holiday with traditional Southern foods. But, just as Juneteenth has expanded from a local observance to a worldwide celebration, classic Southern dishes are evolving to meet modern concepts of healthy eating.

Juneteenth, an official state holiday in Texas since 1980, is the only holiday with roots in Galveston. It commemorates the arrival, on June 19, 1865, of Union troops in Galveston with news that the Civil War had ended and all slaves were free.

While some aspects of Juneteenth observances remain historically accurate, such as the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation from the steps of Ashton Villa on Thursday morning, others have sprung up that reflect modern influences. The same is true of much of the food associated with Juneteenth and other Southern celebrations.

The tastes of the South, with their emphasis on fried dishes, vegetables with liberal pork seasonings and heavy desserts, has come under scrutiny by almost all the major health-promoting organizations. The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association and the American Stroke Association have all produced cookbooks recently aimed at avoiding some of the unhealthy ingredients and techniques in traditional dishes while preserving the flavor that makes these dishes such favorites.

The American Heart Association has recently published a new cookbook, “The Best of Healthy Soul Food Recipes,” that features 50 recipes culled from the first two issues of its supermarket magazine, “Healthy Soul Food Recipes.” All the recipes follow the American Heart Association’s dietary recommendations for sodium and fat intake, and the cookbook includes information on stroke risk factors, a personal risk assessment tool and recommendations for stroke prevention. The cookbook is dedicated to the memory of Yolanda King, who served as national ambassador of the Power to End Stroke awareness program.

The American Diabetes Association has produced five cookbooks revamping Southern staples, all by best-selling cookbook authors and dietitians Roneice Weaver and Fabiola Demps Gains. Weaver, developer of the “soul food pyramid,” a food guide pyramid adapted for traditional Southern tastes, fills the latest cookbook, an updated edition of “The New Soul Food Cookbook for People with Diabetes,” with helpful tips, such as eating dinner on seven-inch plates for better portion control.

Wilbert Jones, a French-trained chef and food scientist, admits that not all of his favorites can be modified. In “The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook,” he writes, “I am sorry to say, I have completely tossed certain unavoidably unhealthy foods such as pecan pie and anything made with chicken livers.” That still leaves almost a hundred recipes for him to modify, including biscuits, smothered chicken, cheese grits and vegetables.

While many of Jones’ modifications are familiar to anyone trying to cut fat and cholesterol from favorite recipes — he advocates oven-frying, substituting egg whites for whole eggs and swapping applesauce or mashed bananas for oil in baked goods — he also shares his nonsodium seasoning recipe for soul food seasoning, an ingredient in many of his meat and vegetable recipes.

All these cookbooks have one objective in common: keeping families healthy, every day. That’s something to celebrate!

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Unfried Hush Puppies

Nonstick cooking spray 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal 1/4 cup self-rising flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 2 cups skim milk 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly coat an 18-mini-muffin pan with cooking spray.

Mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Fold in the onion, parsley, milk, egg white and water.

Pour the batter into prepared muffin pan, filling cups 3/4 full.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 18 hush puppies.

Nutritional information per hush puppy: 60 calories, 272 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, <1 g fat

— Recipe courtesy of “The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook: How to Cut the Fat but Keep the Flavor,” by Wilbert Jones, Carol Publishing, 1997

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Smothered Chicken

Nonstick cooking spray 3 tablespoons flour 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 tablespoon fresh garlic 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds 1 tablespoon soul food seasoning (see below) 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Thoroughly mix the flour with about four tablespoons of water to make a thin sauce.

In a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, brown the chicken breasts. Remove from pan.

In the same pan, heat the flour mixture over medium-low heat, stirring continuously for about 10 minutes until a smooth sauce forms. Stir in onion, garlic, soul food seasoning, pepper and two cups of water. Add the chicken. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

Makes six servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 160 calories, 40 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 26 g protein, 3 g fat

— Recipe courtesy of “The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook: How to Cut the Fat but Keep the Flavor,” by Wilbert Jones, Carol Publishing, 1997

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Soul Food Seasoning

1 tablespoon ground red pepper (cayenne) 3 tablespoons garlic powder 3 tablespoons onion powder 1 tablespoon dark chili powder 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon ground thyme 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and store in sealed container.

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String Bean Salad

1 pound string beans, steamed until tender 1/2 cup diced tomato 1/2 cup diced cucumber 1/4 cup diced green bell pepper 1/4 cup diced onion 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

In a large bowl, combine the string beans, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and onion.

In a cup, combine the mustard and vinegar.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well.

Chill in the refrigerator for one or more hours before serving. Makes six servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 45 calories, 9 g carbohydrate, 124 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g fat, 2 g protein

— Recipe courtesy of “The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook: How to Cut the Fat but Keep the Flavor,” by Wilbert Jones, Carol Publishing, 1997

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Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup sugar 1 cup unsweetened applesauce 4 egg whites 2 tablespoons lemon extract 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 1 1/2 cups skim milk 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons lemon zest 1/2 cup no-sugar-added lemon preserves or orange marmalade Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

With an electric mixer, beat the sugar and applesauce. Mix in the egg whites and lemon extract. Add the flour and milk alternately, using the flour first and last. Mix in the baking powder.

Pour the cake batter into a 10-inch tube pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and bake about 1 1/2 hours.

Cool cake for 20 minutes and remove from pan.

Heat the lemon zest and preserves in a saucepan until melted and drizzle over cake. Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 215 calories, 29 g carbohydrate, <1 g fat, 56 mg sodium, 4 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol

— Recipe courtesy of “The Healthy Soul Food Cookbook: How to Cut the Fat but Keep the Flavor,” by Wilbert Jones, Carol Publishing, 1997