Create a Healthy Soul Food Meal
Soul food is often linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
Yet, soul food can be made much healthier by emphasizing the nutritious parts of each dish.
Collard greens, kale, turnip greens, and cabbage, reduce the risk of heart disease. If you stew these vegetables, use the nutrient-rich, leftover potlikker as a gravy or dipping sauce for cornbread. You can also incorporate this liquid into other dishes.
Soul foods often use seasoned salt, garlic salt, and cajun seasoning. These spices contain sodium (salt). Excessive sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
To reduce your salt intake, use herbs and spices instead. Add fresh herbs toward the end of cooking and dry herbs at the start.
Make Your Own Salt-Free Seasoning Blend
- 2 tablespoons of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 tablespoon of garlic powder
- 1 ground bay leaf
If you’re interested in making healthy soul food, check out Soul Food Makeover—Heart Healthy African American Recipes. It includes recipes for stew, chicken gumbo, smothered greens, cornbread, sweet potato pie, macaroni and cheese, and more. Published by the National Institutes of Health, you can download the booklet at African American Recipes.
