While many people have comfort foods they say are “good for their soul,” the term “soul food” specifically refers to the food traditions that originated with enslaved individuals of African ancestry living in the American South. Traditional foods and recipes have been passed down through generations and have gained popularity across races and cultures.
Heart and Soul. Many of the common ingredients in soul food are excellent, nutritious dietary choices—although preparation methods do not always support cardiometabolic health.
➧ Greens: There are many, many kinds of leafy greens in the world, and all of them are nutritious. Some of the most common in soul food cooking are cabbage, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens. Leafy greens provide fiber, folate, vitamins A, C, and K, iron, and calcium. Typically, the darker the color, the more nutritious a leafy vegetable is.
➧ Black-eyed peas: These legumes (which are actually beans, not peas) originated in West Africa. They are an excellent source of protein, folate, vitamin A, vitamin K, manganese, magnesium, and copper, and a good source of iron, calcium, potassium, and zinc. One cup contains over eight grams of fiber—nearly a third of the average daily recommended intake. (You’ll find a recipe for Cold Black-Eyed Pea Salad on page 7.)
➧ Yams/sweet potatoes: Yams and sweet potatoes are both popular in soul food. Yams, which are less sweet and starchier than sweet potatoes, are a food African natives would have been familiar with from their homelands. Both have plenty of fiber along with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A and C, manganese, copper, potassium, and thiamin. Roast these tubers to bring out their natural sweetness and serve them as a starch rather than a vegetable.
Preparation. The prominence of fatty cuts of pork in many soul food dishes means their saturated fat content is high compared to their unsaturated fat content, which is undesirable when it comes to protecting your heart health. Substituting liquid plant oils or leaner cuts of meat can help improve that fat ratio. Smoked turkey leg, although a processed meat, is a tasty—and healthier—substitution for fatback, bacon, or ham hock in collard greens, for example, and liquid smoke or some soy sauce can add some of that processed-meat flavor to Hoppin’ John (a black-eyed pea dish) and other recipes.
➧ Go for Green. All kinds of greens are a great dietary choice.
➧ Limit salt. Focus on other spices, aromatics, and flavors.
➧ Bet on Beans. Make bean, peanut, and lentil-based dishes in place of meat dishes for some of your meals.
➧ Watch the Animal Fats. Reduce your use of animal fat like fatty cuts of pork. Or, better yet, replace it with plant oils.
Soul food dishes also are often high in salt. Eating salt increase sodium in the body, which can raise blood pressure and risk for heart attack and stroke. Decreasing salt and increasing spices and other flavorful ingredients (like hot pepper, garlic, onion, vinegar, and herbs) can make these dishes better for your health without sacrificing flavor.
Popular soul food greens (especially collard greens) have tough, sturdy leaves that are often boiled or sauteed for long periods of time to soften. This destroys much of the vitamin C and causes other water-soluble nutrients to leach out into the water. To get the most out of these nutritious foods, keep the flavorful liquid (called pot likkur in some parts of the South) as part of the final dish, or use it as broth to flavor other dishes.
Deep frying, another popular cooking method used in soul food, is a problem if the fat used for frying is a high saturated fat/low unsaturated fat source, like lard or bacon grease. But frying in liquid plant oil adds heart-healthy unsaturated fatty acids without too many saturated fatty acids. (Just be aware that frying can add a lot of calories if the oil remains in the food, so drain well and keep portions small.)
The large amounts of sugar in dishes like sweet-potato pie, sweet corn bread, and “red drink” (bright-red punch reminiscent of the hibiscus tea brewed in Africa) is not a healthy addition.
To enjoy soul food dishes in the context of a healthy dietary pattern, focus on greens, okra, and other non-starchy vegetables; make traditional dishes based on beans, peanuts, and black-eyed peas more frequently than meat dishes; replace salt with other spices; keep frequency and portions of sweets to a minimum; and use plant-based oils in place of lard and bacon fat.