Healthy Southern Foods? Is there such a thing?

I could be wrong but I believe
water crest sandwiches and cucumbers
are big back there. Never been to the south.
My G.ma was Texan as is my hubby so I
haven't first hand experience.

My relatives are from the South, spread out from Texas through Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama & Mississippi (although I was born in D.C. and grew up there). I love vegetables traditionally included in Southern cooking, like corn on the cob, okra, black eyed peas, and collard greens. I just blanch or boil them and add salt and skip the heart-attack-special breading and frying. Just writing this makes me want a piece of my grandmother's cornbread with some black eyed peas, LOL.

Hi there,

I'm a born and raised southern California girl but I lived in Tennesse for a year and I totally understand the whole southern comfort thing, I gained 60lbs living there after one year!! Check out these links, they have helped me to convert some of my favorite recipes into a much healthier and cleaner option :-)

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating/food-substitution-chart/

http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-recipe-substitutions/

Just a few substitutions and tweaks and you'll be back to enjoying your fav things in no time! I just made fried pickels the other day yum yum yum (Start using coconut oil and virgin olive oil asap and drop the canola, vegetable oils is a huge help! Calorie wise they may be the same but things like this will change your body for the better you will see)

In most cake recipes, you can cut the sugar by 1/3 and have it come out just fine. Most pies as well can have the sugar cut -- the crust doesn't need it, and you'll get used to the lower-sugar fillings and come to appreciate the natural sweetness of the fruit. My mother has an amazing and delicious lower-sugar pound cake recipe. Frankly I would rather cook real food and restrict myself to one small piece than cook something with splenda.

You can also have your favorites in small quantities with a lower-cal side. For example, maybe you just loooove fried chicken. So have ... one piece, eat it slowly, enjoy it, and have a salad as your side. Mix and match so that you're not pairing your high-cal side dish with your high-cal main dish -- like if you're going to have a piece of cheesy bread on the side, have a grilled chicken instead.

Track all your food first so you can see if you can fit in a small amount of comfort food along with the rest of your diet.

Paula Deen's son Bobby has a cookbook called "Not My Mama's cooking" where he takes the full fattening type recipes and turns them into better healthy ones!! He also has a show on the Food network!!

I am trying to redo all that I am use to cooking!!! I love the yellow squash casserole and that was not that hard to remake over!!

I live in Texas, so I grew up on fried pork chops, chicken, and mashed potatoes.

1. Stew is a great, cheap way to eat a healthy, filling meal. Plus it's only limited by your imagination!

2. Greens. Cheap, healthy, and there are some great recipes out there.


I'm sure there are others, try googling, "healthy southern dishes"

Idk if this was mentioned but I think there are lighter
sponge cakes that are used with jello and cool whip but
better yet angel food cake w/ fresh strawberries.

It's very easy to fit the calories for this cake into your day; we make it using the coffee.

King Arthur Flour's Original Cake-Pan Cake


This wartime cake has survived the intervening years for several reasons: it contains no cholesterol, it can be put together right in the pan it's baked in, and it is a dark, moist and delicious chocolate cake, despite being only about 138 calories per 2" square serving (or small wedge, from a round pan). And, if you make it with canola oil, it also contains a minimum of saturated fat. Over the years, this has been one of King Arthur Flour's most requested recipes.

Follow our step-by-step photos for making this cake at
our blog, Baking Banter.


1 1/2 cups (6 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) vinegar
1/3 cup (2 5/8 ounces) vegetable oil
1 cup (8 ounces) cold water (original recipe), coffee (next inspiration), milk (later inspiration), or 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup rum (latest inspiration)

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Measure all the dry ingredients into an 8" or 9" round or square cake pan; if you use an 8" pan, make sure it's at least 2" deep. Blend the ingredients together thoroughly with a fork or whisk and scoop out three holes, or indentations.

Pour the vanilla into the first hole, the vinegar into the second, and the vegetable oil into the third.

Take the cup of cold liquid (water, coffee, milk, etc.) and pour it directly over everything in the pan. Note: If you've used espresso powder, adding coffee will make this a mocha cake. Stir all the ingredients together with your fork until they are well blended.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve right from the pan; warm from the oven, this Cake-Pan Cake is wonderful with a big glass of milk (skim, of course!) Once cool, frost with this simple chocolate frosting, if desired: Heat 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips with 1/2 cup half & half until the chips melt. Stir until smooth, and pour/spread over the cake. Yield: 12 to 16 servings.

This recipe reprinted from The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. II, No. 5, March 1991 issue.

Nutrition information per serving (60g): 188 calories, 2g protein, 28g carbohydrates, 7g fat, 1g fiber, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 203mg sodium, 17g sugars, 0mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 2mg calcium.