How to make good 'ol southern comfort food healthier?

savannahhuey

So we live in Louisiana. We love spicy, salty, deep fried, gravy-covered Cajun foods. The problem?? It put an extra 50 lbs on me!! Husband is set in his ways on his food, but I am BIG on sneaking healthy foods into what my family eats. Any suggestions would be helpful. Luckily we aren't all that picky, well the kids are Husband is a southern boy through and through though, so any "healthy" southern dish recipes would be GREATLY appreciated!!

TheDoctorDana

I know how you feel being southern bred myself. I do not have any recipes but I heard Paula Deen has lightened up some of her recipes. I found this site: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_category/category/the_deen_bros_take_it_lighter
but have not made anything from it yet. Sorry I couldn't be more help

savannahhuey

U helped! I found a few suppers I'm going to try. Thanks!

headofphat

This thread is blasphemus!

farmers_daughter

This thread is blasphemus!

And so is the size of my *kitten*, because of the foods she's talking about!!!!! :bigsmile:

I'm really big on Bobby Dean and his method of madness

guinevere96

My entire family is southern comfort food addicts all the way, my mother can do amazing things with a frying pan. but frankly, just switching from fried to baked chicken helped my mother and I lose a collective 20 pounds. I know exactly where you're coming from, its just all so good!

mbennett024

I've started baking chicken and potatoes instead of frying, once you get good at it you can make em crispy and delicious. I also use whole wheat flour instead of white flour and reduce the amount of sugar in my tea and add extra lemon.

PennyVonDread

I'm pretty sure Paula Dean's son has a whole series of tv episodes and cookbooks devoted to this. Maybe "Not my Mama's Cooking" or something like that, I don't remember.

Joji_Bean

You can add cauliflower to either mashed potatoes or macaroni and cheese and take out some of the potatoes/milk and butter. I promise you'll never be able to taste the difference. Try cutting sweet potatoes into fry shapes, tossing in olive oil and baking. Also, baked Brussel sprouts in the oven tossed in olive oil and soy sauce are quiet satisfying. Also try using vegan shortening or coconut oil instead of Crisco or lard. Good luck

SlightlyMadman

Black-eyed peas and collard greens! Of course, both of those are traditionally served with a lot of fatty meat, but they're still quite good on their own. Add some liquid smoke for flavor if you want to cut out the ham hocks. I like to put TVP in my black-eyed peas, but I know that's not for everyone, so you could always put some leaner meats in.

ShellyBell999

Mmmmm...............gravy :bigsmile:

PixieGoddess

I'm from Mississippi, and my Colorado-native fiance demands my delicious Southern cookin' all the time! Some things:
-I switched from sweet tea to fruit-flavored unsweet tea. I NEVER thought I would, but it's actually really good when made like a friend taught me: Put 1 bag of a fruit-flavored tea and 2 bags of a regular black tea in your kettle, fill with water, bring to a boil, let it steep 5min, then drain into your pitcher. Refill the kettle, bring it to a boil, let it steep 5min, and drain again. This is a half-gallon of pure delicious.
-I still fry chicken, but I don't double-batter and don't DEEP fry, just pan fry. Cut the chicken into smaller pieces (like strips or nuggets) to get them to cook better. I put Tony's in the flour to give them a little kick.
-We use a low-cal butter and 1% milk, so that helps with things like mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese. Similarly, when I make things like potato soup, lasagna, or shephard's pie, I get low-fat versions of all the cheeses and creams and stuff, use whole wheat lasagna noodles, and sub ground turkey for beef. (Except in potato soup - nothing but bacon will do!)
-As someone else mentioned, there are still plenty of Southern veggies that are yummy and healthy, my faves being black-eyed peas and lima beans. Cut back (or preferably, out) the cheese/mayo/dressing on top, and instead just season with salt and pepper or Mrs.Dash.
-I like to toss chopped squash, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, and almonds with olive oil and garlic and just throw it in the oven to bake.

I'll see if I can think of any more. Looking forward to seeing others' ideas too!

pinkledoodledoo

I'd recommend just good old fashioned portion control. You won't get nearly as much fried chicken as you would grilled chicken for the calories but if you have to eat those foods then controlling portions is your best bet. Well, that and collard greens.

RedHotMamaGirl

My fiance and I are both born and bred southerners, and he's vegan. We eat collard greens and cornbread at least 3 times a month. Cornbread can be made low fat, with applesauce, as can most baked goods. The cookbook for The Flying Biscuit Restaurant has the best vegan Collard Green Recipe I have ever tried. Meat eaters won't know what him 'em!! But we make them the easy way, in "no chicken" bouillon and water. Also, all of our tea is sweetened w/ Splenda, but I don't recommend that for kids. Stevia is a safe sweetner for tea.

We make gravy w/ soysage and almond milk, but I still don't think it's super low fat. We've started making gravy w/ smoked almonds, in the vita mix blender, which works great. It's not low fat, but it is a lot of protein, and better for your heart than sausage gravy is. Gravy can also be made w/ pureed navy beans and liquid smoke. My grandparents make "fried" chicken in the oven now, i think they use cornflake crust. But really, in good southern tradition, we experiment w/ diferent gravies and then pour them over tempeh and tofu marinated and baked. You could do the same with meat.

Also, about gravies, use cornstarch to thicken, not as much flour and oil. And the longer you cook the roux (flour cooking in hot oil) the more flavor is brought forth. My meat eater friends actually love my soysage gravy once I get them to try it. Soy sauce (or tamari) and Bragg's amino acids do wonders for flavoing food. And though I grew up drinking it like water, nobody worried about their health needs to be drinking Coca cola. Not kids, not my hubby, no one.

When I sub cauliflower in anything, I always roast it in a tiny bit of olive oil and with some garlic. If I'm using herbs in the recipe, I'll throw some of those in the oven while I'm roasting the cauliflower. I have found that roasted cauliflower always tastes better than boiled cauliflower when I sub it in recipes.

minizebu

At one point I had a copy of Enola Prudhomme's Low-Calorie Cajun Cooking. (She is the sister of Chef Paul Prudhomme.) She took classic Cajun dishes and tried to lighten them up.

In truth, I didn't use the cookbook much, and I don't recall many specifics. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost it, as it is not in our cookbook case now.

If you happen to see a cheap used copy sometime, you might give it a whirl.

Good luck with your quest!

jellybeanhed313

Baking instead of frying. Less salt(if that's a problem). Skip the butter/oil or cut the amount in half, it usually doesn't affect the taste much. As for gravy, try pureed cooked veggies or beans as most or part of it. Works great as a thickener in soups or stews too. And HIDDEN VEGGIES!!! Which is always a good thing!

jellybeanhed313

My fiance and I are both born and bred southerners, and he's vegan. We eat collard greens and cornbread at least 3 times a month. Cornbread can be made low fat, with applesauce, as can most baked goods. The cookbook for The Flying Biscuit Restaurant has the best vegan Collard Green Recipe I have ever tried. Meat eaters won't know what him 'em!! But we make them the easy way, in "no chicken" bouillon and water. Also, all of our tea is sweetened w/ Splenda, but I don't recommend that for kids. Stevia is a safe sweetner for tea.

We make gravy w/ soysage and almond milk, but I still don't think it's super low fat. We've started making gravy w/ smoked almonds, in the vita mix blender, which works great. It's not low fat, but it is a lot of protein, and better for your heart than sausage gravy is. Gravy can also be made w/ pureed navy beans and liquid smoke. My grandparents make "fried" chicken in the oven now, i think they use cornflake crust. But really, in good southern tradition, we experiment w/ diferent gravies and then pour them over tempeh and tofu marinated and baked. You could do the same with meat.

Also, about gravies, use cornstarch to thicken, not as much flour and oil. And the longer you cook the roux (flour cooking in hot oil) the more flavor is brought forth. My meat eater friends actually love my soysage gravy once I get them to try it. Soy sauce (or tamari) and Bragg's amino acids do wonders for flavoing food. And though I grew up drinking it like water, nobody worried about their health needs to be drinking Coca cola. Not kids, not my hubby, no one.

When I sub cauliflower in anything, I always roast it in a tiny bit of olive oil and with some garlic. If I'm using herbs in the recipe, I'll throw some of those in the oven while I'm roasting the cauliflower. I have found that roasted cauliflower always tastes better than boiled cauliflower when I sub it in recipes.

Great tips! Thanks!!

maz504

As a born and bred Louisiana gal I have to tell you, I don't really want "healthy" comfort food. I'd rather just eat less of the good stuff.

missiontofitness

You can always substitute breading for panko. It's delicious, and doesn't require a ton of oil to crisp up! I can usually get away with just a teaspoon or a little more.

headofphat

This thread is blasphemus!

And so is the size of my *kitten*, because of the foods she's talking about!!!!! :bigsmile:

I'm really big on Bobby Dean and his method of madness

Aaahhh...we can't blame the food. :huh: