Who doesn’t like Soul Food?

The old way of cooking soul food resulted in health problems for many African Americans, like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Dishes are being prepared very differently these days because of all the negative health consequences of the old methods. Advanced cooking methods and healthier ingredients are being used now to make dishes that are lighter and leaner.

This is not the same as your grandmothers soul food, which was full of unhealthy animal fat. This newer approach attempts to maintain the hearty flavors and satisfying textures produced by the older methods. What you want is to make the great classic dishes without harming your health.

For one thing, modern soul food meals don’t include the classic, artery-clogging fatback...