Joe Boudreaux

12/17/2007 8:59 PM UTC

Hey, Cinnamon, I've found A LOT of very healthy recipes using collards! They can be finely chopped and used in salads. I use them in wraps as Mary and Paul suggested in their book, The Collard Patch. You cut out the heavy stems, wilt them slightly in the microwave (or not), put them on a tortilla, add the other ingredients you wish, and roll it into a wrap. I love them this way! You can get more ideas from their Collards Notebook which you can download from this section. Joe

Mary Cheatham

12/17/2007 7:53 PM UTC

Thank you, Cinnamon, for your great question. Willie Crawford recommends using smoked necks of turkeys instead of fatback or salt meat. Actually collard greens, blackeyed peas, and sweet potatoes are healthy chocies. Our cookbook THE COLLARD PATCH is all about making soul foods very tasty and keeping them healthy. We flavor with onions, chicken broth (homemade that is not too salty), garlic, red pepper,black pepper, etc. We limit the amounts of salt and fats in our food and look for other souces of taste. Here is another hint: in recipes calling for butter (not desserts) substitute olive oil for half the butter.

Cinnamon McCann/FFH

12/12/2007 5:13 PM UTC

Mary, I loooove soul food, but we know that it may not be the health choice. Do you have any ideas as to how to cook soul food healthy without losing the soul and good taste?