New Soul Food Recipes for the Holiday Season

Thanksgiving celebrations, holiday gatherings, Pastors' Anniversaries, Women's and Men's Day Celebrations, Sorority and Fraternity meetings, National Community Conventions and family reunions are all well-known community gatherings that take place during the holidays that have food as its centerpiece. So often "menus" for such gatherings feature soul food mainstays like fried chicken, catfish, macaroni and cheese, potato salad and collard greens. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has created a new tool to assist in planning healthy meals without sacrificing flavor for the next church, community or holiday gathering. This month, the ADA will publish THE FAMILY STYLE SOUL FOOD DIABETES COOKBOOK, its fourth cookbook by well-known dietitians Fabiola D. Gaines and Roniece A. Weaver. The popular authors are joined this time by Dietitian Rojean L. Williams and Executive Chef Shawn Fralin to serve up healthy varieties of traditional soul food dishes the entire family will love. "As the holidays approach, we feel our new Family Style Soul Food Cookbook makes an excellent resource in bringing the family together with delicious and nutritious meals," states Ms. Lee Romano Sequeira, Director - Book Promotions, Rights & Special Sales for the American Diabetes Association. "While being a beneficial tool for families, churches and community organizations, the Family Style Soul Food Diabetes Cookbook also shows how to prepare the traditional soul food favorites, but in a new, exciting and healthy way."Today's African Americans have new health concerns not shared by their ancestors. With 3.2 million Africans Americans suffering from medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and obesity and children showing risks of diabetes at a younger age due to excessive amounts of high-fat and high-sugar foods, "it has become apparent to us that there is a need to evaluate the nutritional content of soul food and to find exciting ways to improve its nutritional value while maintaining culture and tradition," say the cookbook authors. SOURCE OF THIS STORY