I live in the south...but I want to eat healthy

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  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    As a fellow person living in the south (I will never, ever call myself a "southerner" :laugh: ), I have to agree with you--healthy options (depending on where you are) can be hard to find. I live in an extremely small town, where everything is "Southern cooked" and basically, really unhealthy. If I drive 15 minutes to the more "trendy" and populated area, that's where the healthier stuff is. Where exactly do you live, if you don't mind me asking? I may be able to point you to some stores that have healthier options. :smile:

    If you're looking for a cookbook, I'd recommend browsing Barnes & Noble's clearance section. They usually have tons of cookbooks on clearance, suited to many different tastes (healthy, vegetarian, various regional staples, etc.). I've gotten a couple there for less than $5. :smile: Plus you can always browse their normal-priced ones as well for ideas, or try to find a good equivalent for cheaper online. I've also gotten some great ideas from a magazine I browse there, I think it's called Clean Eating? Or Clean Living? I can't remember, sorry.

    Someone said something about farmer's markets year round--that's definitely a myth. I live in Florida, and in my area, we have no "farmer's markets"--we have some nasty fruit stands where people either take the garbage from the back of grocery stores and try to re-sell it, or their stand is crawling with fruit flies, fruit is rotted, etc. I have to travel a long distance for some good produce, unfortunately.

    I live in Tennessee. Yeah, we are farmers here but unless you drive out of the way, you won't find the good stuff. I usually stick to the freezer steamables. But a good tasting tomato is hard to come by. Unless you grow it yourself...which is what I will be doing next year.
  • insidemelookingout
    insidemelookingout Posts: 34
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    First of all, Florida is not the South. We don't claim you.


    *snort* To be fair, a lot of the time Florida doesn't claim us,either.

    True fact. and by south i meant proximity-wise. Although living in NORTH FLORIDA...we're practically considered part of Georgia which I think qualifies as the "south"

    I lived in Destin (Panhandle of FL) and that was always refered to as "Lower Alabama".

    Very Southern indeed!
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    Mississippi girl here! I feel your pain! Lots of great suggestions already! My suggestion is for the picky eaters.... I worked at a daycare for several years and every Friday we did a cooking class... I found that children are much more inclined to eat something they were a part of making. It gives them ownership of the dish. I don't know the ages of the 2, so it may be harder with younger ones. We had ages 4 and up in our after-school program. Their favorite thing to do was crack eggs =) It can get a little messy at times but it is so much fun! Good Luck my dear!

    I think we are going to start cooking together. They are old enough...6, 9, 10, and 13. Great idea!
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    I maintain that the notion that "healthy options are hard to find" and "everything is fried/coated in butter/sauce/topped with fatback" is BOGUS. Who is force-feeding you this stuff?

    Take control of your food. You don't have to eat at Lizards Thicket, Cracker Barrel and Bojangles every meal. They have fresh vegetables at Piggly Wiggly, too.



    *edited to admit that I am cranky and over-caffeinated today.

    I'm cranky myself. Wish I had more caffeine but I've switched to water for the day. :) Problem is...grocery store veggies aren't that great. We eat fairly healthy mostly...but I guess I'm in a rut and need to expand my recipes. :)
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    Good morning,
    I moved to Bowling Green, KY about 4 1/2 yrs ago. There are over 300 restaurants in Bowling Green, making it number two in the nation of the most restaurants per capita! Los Angeles is number one. Unreal.
    Anyway, while there are many dishes here in the South that are fried (like dill pickles, REALLY??) or full of carbs and added butter, Southerners do eat and love their greens (turnip, collard, kale, etc.) which are nutritional powerhouses (as long as you don't add the bacon fat, ahem... ). The Hungry Girl web site has many healthy made over Southern dishes that are so good and quite easy to prepare.
    Others have mentioned farmer's markets. From May until the end of October Bowling Green has three in different parts of the city and there are always numerous little vegetables stands just about everywhere you look. There is a large Amish and Mennonite population around here and they sell the best organic produce and their prices are the most reasonable.
    Long story short, it may take a little bit of extra effort to eat healthy these days, but it is really easily done and eventually it becomes habit. Make it an adventure and involve your children, they will enjoy it!
    Best wishes to you :flowerforyou:

    Howdy neighbor...I'm about 45 minutes from you :) I need to go visit the amish produce. Yummy foods!
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    Im SE Texas born and raised. Nobody has ever made me eat junk. We have salad and sandwich restaurants in the same abundance as burger joints. if you're using being Southern as an excuse or crutch, you arent trying too hard.

    Wow...you have helped me tremendously.
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    awww but now you can totally use your kids as an excuse to eat right. plus youre the mom so you can be all like CAUSE I SAID SO TINY BTCHES. or, you know, no tv.

    wait kids dont care about tv now, right? take away something else electronic.
    That's my new saying "Cause I said so tiny *****es!" LOL like this!
  • missbrittany23
    missbrittany23 Posts: 39 Member
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    I live in the south also and i know exactly what you mean, everything is fried or smothered in something which = weight gain and calorie packed meals. While they taste good most meals are very unhealthy. Growing up all i would eat is meat, and i never would even give vetegables a chance unless it was vetegables like broc. and cheese which isnt the healthiest because its loaded with cheese. My mom tried to make me eat vetegables and other foods and not meat all the time, i loved meat. I was over weight then but never too overweight where i was obese which wouldnt be hard for me because im 5'2. I grew up in the country side where there are farms. So, back then fast food wasnt a problem for me because city limits or (town ) was at least 20- 25 miles away. When I started college I met my boyfriend (now husband) and extremely unhealthy lifestyle started. At the beginning of college I was tipping the scales at about 155 -160 but i had muscular legs and arms. I was in town alot because of college which means i ate alot of fast food and chips between classes when I didnt have time to go get lunch or snack. All my husband and I dates consisted of eating out where ever and whenever pretty much because they are not any other activies mainly because the town is small. Four years of unhealthy eating and lack of activity I gained 48 pounds. I didnt notice the weight at first until this past year I took a picture of myself. When you look in the mirror you see yourself in a certain way ... It took one picture to show me what i should have seen all along. Regardless, of where im from I had to change my diet. I love vetegables now and even though i still love meat I choose leaner meats now instead of beef or pork. I only eat beef or pork once a week or less sometimes. It takes time to change but in the end I think its worth the change.
  • kayfrog
    kayfrog Posts: 109 Member
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    Was born and raised in Arkansas (live in NC now) and never ate that much fried food because I just didn't like it... so how did I get fat!? Hmm, could it be all the junk that I bought from the stores or the take out I bought? You can make healthy choices anywhere.

    skinnytaste.com is awesome, as others have said.

    Also, I can't eat greens without bacon. Sorry, that stuff is bitter and rancid without that extra flavor :P
  • love2cycle
    love2cycle Posts: 448 Member
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    How does living in the south mean you have to eat poorly? Last I checked, there's no butter and fried chicken quota we're forced to meet, and we have farmers markets open 10 months out of the year, for cryin' out loud. :happy:


    Here's some healthy takes on some traditional southern dishes, though:
    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_southern_recipes

    And it's kind of cheesy, but I've watched a couple episodes of Not My Momma's Meals on Food network, and which ever spawn of Paula Deen that is seems to make tasty looking versions of his mom's recipes.

    Actually, I heard on the news yesterday that the south is ranked number 1 as far as obesity goes. I don't know how they come up with these ridiculous findings, but there it is.
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    Apparently when you cross the Mason-Dixon line willpower and good judgement regarding food choices just fly out of the window! It's magical!


    yo_andi, don't be a d!ck. These boards are for support, not sarcasm.
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    No healthy foods in the South huh? How odd.
  • laughingdani
    laughingdani Posts: 2,275 Member
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    Being raised Southern myself, and currently living in South Alabama, I think it's more about breaking bad eating habits rather than not having access to healthy food. We have access to almost anything and everything if we look hard enough.
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    Being raised Southern myself, and currently living in South Alabama, I think it's more about breaking bad eating habits rather than not having access to healthy food. We have access to almost anything and everything if we look hard enough.

    Amen! Exactly!
  • nae4nola
    nae4nola Posts: 7
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    Since "Southern Living" is all about food, fellowship and fun, it is hard to rid yourself of bad habits when it comes to food choices. Yes, there is healthy food everywhere. It just seems that in "The South", there is always a party, a festival, a football game, a dinner party to go to and these gatherings are always loaded with the most ridiculously, mouth watering, delicious,(clog your arteries up) type food. I am convinced that it is much harder to form good eating habits in "The South". Your first battle is mental, not physical. Once you have won the mental battle and have disciplined yourself beyond belief, then the physical battle is won without as much effort as you would imagine.

    I just had to posts my thoughts here since "The South" was mentioned...

    I too live in the South - New Orleans, LA. When I say South, I mean the proper South according to Southerners: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and North & South Carolina respectively. What one may refer to as "The South" is really not according to direction, or any previous wars fought or treaties made. You can find that stuff on Wikipedia. The South is a culture and lifestyle. What constitutes "The South" has changed a bit over the years and not according to geography or history, but consistency in culture, food, socialization and lifestyle. Many will argue other states are "Southern States". As they may state their case, it is within the above states mentioned in which a majority mutually agrees on what is truly "The South" in modern day. If the majority doesn't claim you as a part of "The South", then it really doesn't matter what the history books or maps say. It's all perception. The majority's perception that is. That being said, you can individually be a "Southerner" and live in New York. True "Southerners" have trouble ridding themselves of the qualities that make themselves "Southerners" in the first place. You may will find these warm, hospitable, food and fun loving people in your neighborhood. :happy:
  • mello
    mello Posts: 817 Member
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    Louisiana girl here, and when everyone keeps asking me what my "secret" to losing weight has been, I can honestly answer, "I stopped eating out"

    I get exactly what you are saying, we are raised on comfort foods so we crave it. Sure, fresh peaches are in season....and I'm working on the transitional lifestyle to learn to enjoy them in a much healther way, but my gut instinct is to make a peach cobbler and eat a huge bowl of it on top of 2 cups of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream!!!!:noway: I'm in a VERY rural area, there are no farmers markets to speak of, but thankfully the people that grow large gardens love to bring their extra to you just to share. There is not the first restaurant in my hometown that does not deep fry everything or drown it in butter sauce. Yet there is a fast food joint on every corner. Because I know myself and my triggers, I simply had to just stop eating out and get in the kitchen and cook. We went from eating out several times a week, to maybe once every two weeks. My motto is that if I'm going to spend the money and extra calories to eat out, it had better be worth it!!

    I too use the Cooking Light cookbook, I subscribe to Eating Well magazine and I go to many of the sites that others are listing here. It's not easy at first, but all my best to you. And HUGE kudos to you for teaching your children health!!
  • amandal15
    amandal15 Posts: 108 Member
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    Louisiana girl here, and when everyone keeps asking me what my "secret" to losing weight has been, I can honestly answer, "I stopped eating out"

    I get exactly what you are saying, we are raised on comfort foods so we crave it. Sure, fresh peaches are in season....and I'm working on the transitional lifestyle to learn to enjoy them in a much healther way, but my gut instinct is to make a peach cobbler and eat a huge bowl of it on top of 2 cups of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream!!!!:noway: I'm in a VERY rural area, there are no farmers markets to speak of, but thankfully the people that grow large gardens love to bring their extra to you just to share. There is not the first restaurant in my hometown that does not deep fry everything or drown it in butter sauce. Yet there is a fast food joint on every corner. Because I know myself and my triggers, I simply had to just stop eating out and get in the kitchen and cook. We went from eating out several times a week, to maybe once every two weeks. My motto is that if I'm going to spend the money and extra calories to eat out, it had better be worth it!!

    I too use the Cooking Light cookbook, I subscribe to Eating Well magazine and I go to many of the sites that others are listing here. It's not easy at first, but all my best to you. And HUGE kudos to you for teaching your children health!!

    you had me at blue bell homemade vanilla ice cream...but for me it is blackberry cobbler. :)
  • TheDrBuchanan
    TheDrBuchanan Posts: 89 Member
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    Check out the Meal Makeover Moms!

    They have a website, podcast, and cookbook (No Whine with Dinner) and their focus is to take bad-for-you recipes and remake them into healthy recipes to feed a family with children (even desserts!!). They are genius!!
  • keeks8281
    keeks8281 Posts: 53
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    You can eat healthy or eat terrible anywhere. It is YOUR CHOICE. I'm sorry, but using the place you live as the reason you can't eat healthy is a crutch. Sorry if that's harsh. No one is making you eat certain things. It is your choice what you fill your body with.
  • nae4nola
    nae4nola Posts: 7
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    You can eat healthy or eat terrible anywhere. It is YOUR CHOICE. I'm sorry, but using the place you live as the reason you can't eat healthy is a crutch. Sorry if that's harsh. No one is making you eat certain things. It is your choice what you fill your body with.

    She is absolutely right. However, in The South, sometimes that CHOICE means you have to starve yourself at gatherings, appear rude for not eating the food they have prepared and everyone knows that is a blow to any Southern host. You have to wash the BBQ sauce off the chicken before eating it, not participate in cultural events like the Jambalaya Festival, Boudin Festival, etc. It other words, dieting in the South is really NOT fun! Literally.

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