Accusations coming from most nutritionists point to McDonald’s and other members of the fast-food fraternity and to aggressive advertisers ensnaring the eating public into a high-fat, upsized daily diet.
Corlie Jackson understands the rationale of those arguments, but she also insists that slavery and other factors that have historically contributed to unhealthy diets can’t be overlooked.
Way before the influence of commercial culprits, the African-American diet — composed, to a large extent, of high-carb starches and fat cuts of meat — led to obesity.
Despite research providing proof that high fat intake is a cause of high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, African Americans, and also Latinos, often continue to follow a similar eating pattern simply because they’re attached to the foods they learned about from previous generations.
But Jackson and other representatives of St. Vincent’s House are working with the University of Texas Medical Branch to change this.
Jackson’s husband, Michael, is director of the nonprofit social service agency.
With funding from a National Institutes of Health grant, they’re attempting to persuade residents of the community to rethink their long-held approaches to food.
This requires, among other things, explaining conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure may be preventable by following a healthy diet.
One of the missions of the Well Care Initiative is to inform people they can play a role in preventing disease and that indeed, maintaining good health is something doable.
Corlie feels she’s up to the challenge of helping others alter their diets and still stick with the kinds of dishes they love. She’s confident about this because she’s already worked out those issues in her own household.
She knows you can’t take out a component like fat from a recipe and expect the resulting dish to be as satisfying as the original. That’s why she keeps working with redo recipes, trying to figure out exactly what makes the prototype dish so satisfying and how a health-conscious cook can create an appropriate clone.
In order to up the satisfaction level of a bowl of greens — that never seem quite so comforting once the fat’s been removed — Corlie has found that adding seasoned meat tenderizer and bacon tend to do the trick.
She’s also discovered that you can substitute crumbled soy protein for hamburger in items like stuffed peppers if you add sufficient seasoning.
And here’s some advice: Don’t tell the diners what they’ve eaten until after they compliment you on how good the meal was.
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STUFFED PEPPERS
4 large green peppers
Adobe seasoning to taste
1 medium red pepper
1 cup onions, finely diced
1 medium fresh tomato, finely diced or can of petite diced tomatoes 15 oz.
1 cup fresh cilantro, finely diced
1/2 cup jalapeño peppers, finely diced
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 bag soy crumbles
1 bay leaf, whole
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Worcestershire sauce
A1 steak sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups rice
1/4 cup Marsala wine (optional)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, fancy
Dash paprika
Sauté onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf and soy crumbles in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add Marsala wine, Worcestershire and A1 steak sauces to taste.
Prepare the rice.Bring water to boil in large saucepan; add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, chicken/tomato bouillon cube. Add rice. Bring rice/water to boil, skim off starch; add lid. Remove from heat and let finish cooking. Rice should swell two times its size.
In bowl, mix fresh or can tomatoes, cilantro, red pepper, jalapeños with sauté soy mixture into rice. Remove the bay leaf.
Prepare green peppers. Cut off the top of the green peppers, clean out seeds and sprinkle in Adobe seasoning. Save the tops for garnish (optional). Stuff peppers and cook for 45 minutes at 375 F. Melt cheese on top of peppers 5 minutes before done.
Remove from oven and dash with paprika.
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QUICK MESQUITE LOW-FAT SUPER MOIST CORN MUFFINS
1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix
2 eggs, whites only
1 15 oz. can cream corn
2 dashes mesquite smoke flavor
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup 1 percent milk
Pam Butter tasting baking spray
Preheat oven to 400 F as directed. Grease the muffin pans with Pam cooking spray.
Add all the ingredients together. Batter will be lumpy. For maximum crown on muffins, let batter rest for 3-4 minutes before filling pan.
Fill muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes six to nine muffins depending on size.
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NO-FAT BACK GREENS
3 cups water
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons seasoned meat tenderizer
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
Dash liquid smoke
Balsamic vinegar to taste
White vinegar to taste
1/2 cup bacon chips, artificially flavored
2 pounds greens (collard, mustard, kale or mix)
Place water, vegetable bouillon, cayenne and black pepper and garlic and onion powders into large saucepan. Bring to boil.
Prepare greens by washing thoroughly, removing stems and brown spots.
Tear or slice leaves into bite-sized pieces.
Layer greens in seasoned water by adding seasoned meat tenderizer, chopped onions, crushed garlic and bacon chips liberally. Repeat layering until all greens are in the saucepan.
Bring to boil, stir; and then add Worcestershire sauce, a dash of liquid smoke, balsamic and white vinegar to taste. Let greens cook 30-40 minutes or until tender.
Makes five 1 cup servings.
Note: If on sodium restricted diet, check nutritional information on bouillon and bacon chips. Decrease proportions or eliminate bouillon as recommended.
