How to Create a Healthy Soul Food Plate — Guide and Recipes

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 Soul food is the traditional cuisine of African Americans (1

Trusted Source).

Sometimes simply referred to as “Southern food,” soul food was carried to the North and rest of the United States by African Americans leaving the South during the Great Migration of the early to mid-20th century.

Meals range from simple family dinners of rice and beans, fried chicken, and collard greens with ham hocks to tables loaded with candied yams, smothered pork chops, gumbo, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, cornbread, sweet potato pie, and peach cobbler.

Soul food is an integral part of Black food culture and often evokes strong feelings of home, family, and togetherness.

This article explains the basics of soul food, explores whether it’s healthy, and provides simple tips to boost the nutrition of soul food dishes.

The Southern diet, which is often associated with soul food, contains organ meats, processed meats, eggs, fried foods, added fats, and sweetened beverages.

This eating pattern is tied to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, stroke, and mental decline (2Trusted Source3Trusted Source).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), African Americans ages 18–49 are twice as likely to die from heart disease as white Americans. Black Americans ages 35–54 also have a 50% higher likelihood of high blood pressure than white Americans (4Trusted Source).

While social and economic disparities play a significant role in these disproportionate disease rates, dietary choices may also contribute.

However, this doesn’t mean that all soul food is unhealthy. Nutrient-rich dishes and leafy green vegetables are also staples of soul food.

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