Soul Food Recipes - Healthy 4 Point Checklist

Soul food recipes continue to have a reputation as a health concern for many people. Especially if your family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes or strokes. The traditional way of preparing this tasty food is slowly fading away into the sunset of history because of the growing concern of consumers today.

Our current health care system is unpredictable at best and financially crippling at worst. As a result more people have started taking their health care as a personal responsibility more than ever, and that includes diet or what they eat. To meet this growing demand for tastier food without the health hazards, here's a checklist to guide you to cooking & eating healthier soul food. By using this list you'll find you don't have to give up all of your favorite southern dishes. But you'll have to change your cooking and preparation habits as well as cutting back or eliminating those health threatening ingredients for healthier substitutions.

You're fortunate because most of these suggestions have had time to go through the testing phase, This is where not only health officials have tested them but more importantly consumes who have taste tested them. Most have found these alternatives not only satisfying to the taste buds, but to the body as well. Many have reported improved health, better control of their weight, the desire to exercise more and general overall health improvements. All this by eating a better diet and eliminating health hazardous food.

They found they didn't have to cut out the soul food. But they had to cut out the fat back in the collard greens. Cut back or eliminate the salt in the vegetable and on the meats and cut back or eliminate the deep fried foods.

Here's A 4 Point Checklist To Remind You To Eat Healthy Soul Food.

Point 1: Instead of Frying In Lard or Animal Fat Use: Peanut Oil or cooking spray.

Point 2: Instead of Deep Frying Pan Fry Sautee Stir Fry Bake Or Roast

Point 3: Instead of Flavoring Vegetables with fat back, ham hocks or bacon Use: Smoked turkey necks Turkey ham Turkey bacon Turkey sausage

Point 4: Instead of Cooking With Table Salt Use: Kosher Salt Sea Salt Lemon Juice Lime Juice Natural Herbs and Spices Instead of Pork Products Use Smoked turkey Turkey ham Turkey bacon Ground Turkey

By following this short checklist, you're reminded to eat healthier. To meet the need to reduce the high rate of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other ailments this 4 point checklist will serve to combat this growing problem. In addition, the hope is that it helps to inspire healthier soul food recipes in the future from book publishers, restaurants and cooks.

Chef Tre Wilcox prepares a Tuna dish from the Power To End Stroke Healthy Soul Food Cookbook

Chef Tre Wilcox prepares Big Eye Tuna with Tomato Foam. This dish was inspired by another recipe in "Soul Food", a cookbook from the American Heart Association. He's offering this recipe to support the Power to End Stroke campaign. For more information www.powertoendstroke.org

Special Food Recipes

Brucecakes

This is the recipe I make a few times a week for my husband as well as others who may choose to partake in our special foods diet.

½ cup sugar;

1 ¾ cup flour;

1 TBS Stevia;

¾ cup Pure Cocoa with no additions - Pure Hersheys or other pure cocoas;

1 1/2 tspns of baking powder;

1 1/2 tspns of baking soda;

1 tspn salt;

1/8 -¼ cup of ground flax mixed with 1 cup of hot water;

1 cup water or so;

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil;

1-2 tspns vanilla extract or almond extract;

Bake at 350 degrees about 30 mins.

I have cut the amount of sugar added to this recipe adding Stevia as well as regular sugar. The flour may be ½ white and ½ wheat or ½ rye and ½ white or ½ tapioca or sorghum or any number of flour combinations. Gluten and its Allergies are growing daily and people now more than ever have begun to watch what flours cakes or breads are made from. Other flours other than white and wheat take more time to bake so baking time will be longer for other types of flours and they must be baked at a lower temperature because they tend to brown easily. 325 instead of 350 would be better if you are using a gluten free flour and watch the cake carefully for browning. Keep your flours is good, tight air-free containers. We are not a gluten free family but for those of you who are these tips are noteworthy as I have tried recipes using the bean/sorghum flours. I can also tell you to write the recipe down if you have successfully tried it and if it is to your liking. Don't give up if it fails the first time you make it. This type of cooking is trial and error and don't be discouraged.

I add all the dry ingredients and now we come to the flax or egg substitute. Flax is very sticky when added to hot water and we want the cohesion for our ingredients. We take one cup of hot water added to 1/8 or ¼ cup of flax. I microwave them together and stir. This is quite "sticky" and good for our ingredients to cohere. Remember, eggs are very light, but our cake will not be as light as egg cake. Our cakes will be more dense. Just as the dark breads or German or Czech breads are more dense and heavy, they line the stomach moreso than white light flour breads. Using white flour, however, the cake never crumbles as the other flours may. Along with our flax we add our olive oil, extract and more water until you like the consistency. You can make a thinner liquid cake or a heavier batter cake. I make big cupcakes baked at about 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Icing

1 ½ cups of powder sugar

1-2 Tbspns Stevia

2/3 cup Pure Hersheys or other Pure cocoa

¼ -½ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼/-½ cup of water

1-2 tspns of vanilla or almond extract

When a recipe says milk I substitute water. For people who are not allergic you may use rice milk, soy milk, etc. However, there are many, many substitutes for eggs. Did you know:

Original Knox gelatine may substitute for eggs?

Ground Flaxseed with hot water?

Tofu whipped can also substitute for eggs.

¼ cup of tofu = 1 egg;

1 pkg of Knox + 1 cup BOILING water is 3TBSPS=1 egg;

(you can freeze and unthaw as you cook/bake)

Pureed fruits can be replaced for oils and butters but watch cooking time, etc.;

½ cup mashed banana for one egg;

¼ cup applesauce or pureed fruit = one egg;

1 TBSPN flaxseed + 3 TBSPN water - blend for 2-3 minutes for boil for l0 minutes= one egg;

1 teaspoon soy flour plus 1 tablespoon water = 1 egg;

Mashed beans, mashed potatoes or nut butters (with a bit of water) can be substituted for eggs;

A popular substitute for eggs is Ener-G (calcium lactate, calcium carbonate, potato starch, tapioca flour, calcium carbonate and citric acid);

Healthy psyllium husk mixed with l/4 cup water=1 egg (psyllium - lines the stomach-extremely gelatinous);

Soy lecithin and water =1 egg;

Tapioca starch can be used instead of Ener-G;

2 tspns baking powder + 2 tspns water = 1 egg/

Here is a list of "hidden" words for milk in our foods:

Casein, whey, caseinate, calcium caseinate, acidophilus, hydrolyzed milk protein, lactalbumin, lactate, lacto- globulin, lactose and potassium caseinate.

Here is a list of "hidden" words for eggs in our foods:

Albumin, livetin, ovaglubin egg albumin, ovamucin, ovumucoid, ovovitellin, lysozyme, or egg whites, egg yolks, egg solids, or egg powder.

Xanthum gum seems to be indispensable when it comes to cooking/baking without wheat or gluten. It is derived from bacteria in corn sugar and it lends structure and texture to baked goods and it is a good thickener.

However, I have also read this product may upset the colon or stomach.

Did you know 1 ½ cups of flaxseed = ½ cup of butter?

For people who have flour allergies, it would be wise to make a flour blend and keep it in a container and use the blend as a substitute for 1:1 cup for any recipe.

Tofu

Tofu is a bland tasting compressed soy product, so remember, when cooking or baking with tofu, spice your meals. It has the tendency to adopt whatever it is being cooked with so you have to spice your recipe accordingly and tofu will adopt to its spices. For instance, when making chili tofu instead of meat chili, add
Tofu instead of meat but put in more chili spices than you ordinarily would and cook longer.

Tofu Cheesecake

1 ¼ cups graham crackers squashed into crumbs

3TBS sugar or Stevia

¼ cup butter, margarine, Extra Virgin Olive Oil or any substitute above for fats

2 16oz. Of firm tofu

3 Tbspn lemon juice

1-2 Tbspn vanilla

½ tspn salt if you wish

½ cup oil or substitutes mentioned above

½ cup honey

1 cup sugar of 5 Tablespoons Stevia

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix graham crackers, sugar and butter together until well blended.

Press into a 9 inch spring form pan. Bake 8-l0 minutes until firm.

Let cool. Blend tofu and rest of ingredients in a blender or food

Processor until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into the baked pie
Shell. Bake for 40 minutes until just set.
Topping

If you wish you can top with any fruit sauce or fresh or frozen fruit.

Oven Food Recipes - Cooking Food Using Powerful Ovens

The major inventions in the field of home appliances that are used in the kitchen are the ovens. These ovens work with the help of microwaves and are very much faster in the rate and speed of cooking purposes. There are many oven food recipes that are available in order to cook those foods in the oven.

Many people just buy the appliance and just have them at home without using them much. The reason for this is that the people do not know how to make proper usage of the appliance. Some do not know how to cook food in them. If so, what are all the foods that can be cooked using an oven?

There are various recipes that are available and the procedure is also available along with the recipe on how to cook the food and how to make use of the microwave oven. The oven cooks or boils the food with the help of micro waves that are generated inside the oven.

These micro waves are generated with the help of the specialized set up that is designed inside the micro wave oven. When electrical power is supplied to the equipment, the waves get generated and the food gets cooked up.

One may think that the microwaves are very much harmful to the health of the humans. This thought of a person is hundred percent true. The micro waves are quite harmful to the human body. They may even lead to the damage of the DNA genetic material of the human body.

Yes, this can happen when our body is exposed to the harmful microwaves. But this does not occur when foods are cooked using the microwaves. This is because the waves heats up the container in which the food is placed. They do not enter the food material and do not harm the human body. The ovens are to be handled with due care and sincerity.

Even a small amount of over load of supply or shortage of supply may lead to disastrous effects. They are really complicated appliances. Only boiling type foods can be cooked using the microwave ovens.

Or even baking can be done using them. The only disadvantage is that toasts cannot be made using these microwave ovens simply because they are too powerful and will just burn the toast completely. But when it comes to cooking some nice roasted ribs this is the tool to use.

Simple Savers (226): Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way

Minute Recipe: Basil Cheese Dip. Born in Lyon, France, Jacques demonstrates his regional versions of fried and poached eggs as he makes the classic salad Frisée aux Lardons. Then, with thoughts of summer, he makes Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato and Anchovy Sauce. In a sweet ending, Jacques talks about spending time with his granddaughter while he makes an impressive-looking -- but simple to assemble -- Chocolate Cups and Chocolate Rocher with Hazelnuts and Cornflakes.

Home Cooked Dog Food Recipes

Cooking food for your family is a certainly a treat. But do you know that even your dog loves home cooked goodies as well? Give your dog something healthy to eat. Here are some easy-to-follow home cooked dog food recipes.

Chicken Stock

Heat four table spoons of corn oil in a skillet. Add the pre-cut chicken necks and backs. Cook it until brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Pour a cup of water on the same pan over medium heat. Put in some cabbage and carrots. Add the cooked chicken. Bring it to a boil. Strain the chicken and vegetables to obtain the chicken stock. You can add the stock to rice or oats. Dogs will enjoy other home cooked dog food recipes served with this.

Beef and Vegetables Mix

Chop two pounds of beef. Mix it with a bag of ground beef. Cook beef in a pan with three tablespoons of oil. Add some mixed vegetables. Stir fry. Turkey and pork can be used alternately with beef. Leftovers can be stored in a refrigerator. Just microwave it before serving. This probably is one of the easiest home cooked dog food recipes you can prepare.

Dog Biscuits

With a pastry cutter, cream margarine and flour in a large bowl. In a smaller container, dissolve garlic powder and powdered milk with water. Whisk in an egg. Add it gradually to the creamed flour and margarine mix. Knead on a floured surface for about four minutes. Roll the dough until it is half an inch thick. Cut the biscuits using the desired cookie cutter. Bake for 40 minutes at 325 Fahrenheit.

Your dog will surely like these home cooked dog food recipes [http://healthy-dog-food-recipes.blogspot.com/2007/09/good-homemade-dog-food-recipes.html]. Why not try them today?