| Healthy soul food may seem like a oxymoron at fist | | | | establishments. Most have eliminated animal fats in |
| glance, but this is one of the fastest growing cuisines in | | | | their cooking. Most have replaced traditional |
| America. The history of soul food stretches all the | | | | seasonings like fat back, ham hocks and bacon from |
| way back to the Pre-civil war period. It's one of the | | | | their recipes. Still more have gone even further and |
| most popular cuisines originated in America. Originated | | | | have included salad bars in the restaurants, a move |
| in the south by slaves who were forced to eat what | | | | unheard of a few years ago. With these changes the |
| the masters or slave owners didn't want to eat. By | | | | industry hopes to attract more health conscious |
| using creative cooking methods and seasonings many | | | | African Americans back to this southern comfort food. |
| of the recipes have turned into culinary delights, | | | | Many were forced to leave because of the health |
| especially in the south. | | | | concerns associated with the traditional recipes of the |
| But one drawback to the rich, robust southern dishes | | | | past. |
| have been the health issues. The traditional versuib | | | | As the consumer demand grows, this movement is |
| involved using large amounts of salt, fat and calorie | | | | predicted to grow. The large food manufacturing |
| loading ingredients. While these made the taste | | | | companies are starting to get into the act and is |
| irresistible, the health concerns continued to mount. And | | | | expected to introduce packaged versions like frozen |
| with today's health conscious consumers, these | | | | and canned, in the near future. Even they see the |
| problems could no longer be ignored. Now the healthy | | | | profit potential of this untapped market. More websites |
| version is a fast growing solution to this growing | | | | are springing up to catch this growing demand as well. |
| consumer demand. | | | | All this new attention can only benefit the soul food |
| More soul food restaurants are starting to get the | | | | recipe consumer - and that's the healthiest idea of all. |
| message and including healthier menus in their | | | | |