Soul food, vegetarian style

I read this article in Chicago Defender , an African-American culture weekly newspaper, from September that discusses why African-Americans should consider becoming vegetarians.

It seems as though the article could really apply to any nationality in terms of vegetarianism being a healthier choice, but it’s an interesting focus on African-Americans.

The article cites health problems associated with African-Americans, such as heart diseases, diabetes and lack of healthy eating as a result of “embracing foods with lots of grease, fat and salt.” It introduces the idea that African-Americans could liver longer and be healthier if they considered going veg.

Roniece Weaver, a dietician who developed the Soul Food Pyramid , said “What (vegetarians) are integrating into their diet are the things we lack the most.” She mentions that African-Americans eat collard greens, but those greens lose their vegetable-ness after they are cooked in fat.

Also in the article, Fabiola Gaines, another dietician, says African-Americans, based on their diets, must ease into becoming vegetarians. “Years of them eating chicken, fish and beef and now telling you all you can eat is soy protein and vegetables, and you look at the tradition of the African-American diet, that’s going to be virtually impossible initially. But if (they) slowly reduce that portion of chicken, fish and beef, and increase the portions of vegetables that they have in a meal, slowly give them tofu recipes that taste good…once they see they don’t need as much meat, (they) can then start seeing a change.”

For African-Americans in Austin looking to go veg but retain the soul food cravings, Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse has a vegan soul food plate that sounds delicious: marinated collard greens, organic red and black beans and homemade vegan cornbread. The restaurant has other soul-food type fixins also. Check it out: menu.asp