This February 2015

It baffles me that February is Heart Month and we cheering Go Red all the while will celebrate Black History Month with Soul Food spreads & luncheons at work, church, etc. Shouldn't while we are celebrating the accomplishments & achievements of history makers in our culture, we might educate our future about healthier ways of cooking the food black enslaved ancestors? The information is out there. Many of us cook soul food dishes based on r recipes at home.

I remember a few years ago a church I know was celebrating its Go Red Sunday. The ladies had on pretty red dresses, suits, hats & other accessories. Many of the gentlemen had red ties & pocket squares commemorate the day. The Nurses Guild was set up to give free blood pressure readings and pass out heart-healthy pamphlets after service. Also after service, the church partook in a family-style meal cooked by all the families. I saw what was being served and wanted to scream.. Beans with ham hock, greens & cabbage with fatback swimming in it with cornbread that almost looked like pound cake were served with fried chicken & pork chops. Then I overheard one lady ask the lady who made the beans,
      "I thought you didn't cook with ham hock anymore".
     "I don't cook with it at my house. I use smoked turkey wings. But you know these folks ain't trying to eat nothing like that", the bean maker said.
I want to cuss at that point. Did she poll everyone in the church and they said no to the healthier recipes? No, she didn't poll anybody. She didn't want to go out on a limb and help the congregation's heart, blood pressure & waistline with a lighter fare. She would rather serve this

and not rock the boat by bringing this.

I bet the Nurse's Guild saw some very high BP readings that Sunday. 

Well, readers, I am rocking the boat. As a nutritional consultant, I am tired of being perplexed by this occurrence. What food people put in their bodies is my business. So this February, I am posting healthier Soul Food recipes on this blog. All recipes will be foods I know how to make personally provided from sources I trust. I will even have meatless & dessert posts also. I'm not saying Soul Food is bad. It's not but we need to learn to cook it in lighter ways. Black people are not slaves anymore. Black people or anyone for that matter, don't have to eat like slaves anymore either.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

10 Years Ago…

Fruit Plate with Pineapple Yogurt

I became a business owner on the 2^nd. I own a small Medical Nutrition company. I provide eating plans and nutritional education to people with diseases such as Cancer, Cardiac Diseases, Diabetes & HIV/AIDS. I do some work in Weight Loss (family, friends, or in conjunction with other diseases) but not as much as I used to. 1) Being plus size (still losing weight) it gets a tad weird to explain. 2) Most importantly, people are too fickle and want quick & easy. That aspect make my money not stable. Oh yes the pictures are sample of the meals I have made.

Low-Sodium Beef Stew

I wanted to be depressed about it because this was not "the dream". When I graduated almost a year before I had plans to work for WIC, Head Start or a local hospital. Then within the year go back to school and get my Masters in Dietetics and become a Registered Dietitian. By now I should be working on my PH. D and working towards being a college professor of Nutrition at an area college.

Pecan Crusted Catfish (Hattie's Inspired)

Then after talking about it with my BFF (Thank You for listening) I had to realize it was not the Dream but daggum is not a Nightmare.

I started my business because of four reasons

1. The cloud of grief from my grandfather’s death had lifted and I could clearly saw working away from home could cause a problem. My mother was still working and my grandmother was starting not to be able to handle my brother by herself.
2. I was Broke. I mean no money. I was going on interviews but no one was calling back.
3. I was Bored. I was watching so many trivial TV shows. Are the Court Shows still on? What about Jerry Springer? My sleeping habits were gross. I would lock up after my mother left at 7:30 am. My grandmother & brother didn't get up before 10, 11 am then. So I would sleep when they slept so I wouldn't disturb them.
4. I was going Stupid. I was having problems with simple words like emotions & schedule. I felt like everything I had learn was gone. I was also dating the worst boyfriend I had ever had. By the end of June he just started getting on my nerves and I couldn't understand why I was dating this dummy.

Oh and all my reasons were correlated.

Chicken Minestrone Soup

The only thing constant was people asking me to do a “Diet Plan” for them. Most of them wanted to just lose weight. I didn't want to because I thought counting calories was boring. Then a close loved one got ill and needed my help in understanding what the Doctors were talking about nutritionally. So in helping her I discovered I really like the work. I decided to make a living basically “Helping People Understand Nutrition”.

Spinach-Cranberry Salad with Orange Duck Dressing

And that is the reward. Knowing that I have help many in the choice of foods, preparation of foods, and their breakdown to be integrated by the body. When an 11 year old comes in weighing 185 lbs. with Type II Diabetes, counting calories is not boring. It’s lifesaving.

Spinach & Mushroom Hash Brown Stack (IHOP Inspired)

When someone is too tired from chemo to understand that he needs to eat an apple pie and drink a milkshake with the burger & fries to keep his weight stable, late night researching information is not near as bad. When life keeps happening (relatives getting sick, household responsibilities changing, appointments get slow (sometimes none at all that week), and even the world moving at the pace it is), I have flexibility to handle it and only have to answer to my only boss, God about how things are going to pan out.  

So how can I be upset at actually living my “Big Picture” dream? I've always wanted to help people. That is what I am doing.

Crab Salad in a Herbal Yogurt Dressing

Life keeps happening but God still has a plan in mind. Thanks D. S. You've given me a job, released me for total poverty, educated me, and put me on a great path that I never imagined. A path that will lead to the Lord's Ultimate goal for me. God gave you to me and I love you with all my heart.

Alright back to work. Monthly budget needs to be tweaked a bit. I think I need to buy printer ink. :-)

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms