Sylvia’s Moves To Add Health to Soul Food Smorgasbord

For many years, the long-standing diet for many in the black community has consisted of deep fried chicken, collard greens, homemade macaroni and cheese, and sweet cornbread – and don’t forget the piece of sweet potato pie or 7-Up cake for dessert.The soul food smorgasbord is known for its rich ingredients. Meat fried in cooking grease, vegetables boiled with fatback and ham hocks, and salt are used in nearly every dish. Many people feel that such foods contribute to the decaying health of the community, causing some to suffer from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem is looking to change such negative ideas about soul food and to promote healthy eating. Partnering with North General Hospital, the restaurant is launching a healthy cooking class program in the schools of Harlem.“I noticed how much obesity and diabetes were in the community,” the granddaughter of Sylvia’s founder Sylvia Woods, Tren’ness Woods, told The New York Sun. “I want to help young people, and we can do that by going into the classrooms,” she said.Ms. Woods came up with the idea in honor of her grandmother’s 80th birthday. The children of central and east Harlem have the country’s highest rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.The program is a four- to six-week curriculum that includes healthy cooking demonstrations, nutritional education, and the history of the restaurant.“The schools and students have been very responsive to the idea,” Ms. Woods said.“We are going to start in the high schools. Our goal is to begin this semester and then by the fall move into the elementary and middle schools,” she said.The promotion of healthy eating began more than 10 years ago at the restaurant, when it made changes to the menu such as halting the use of MSG, including grilled chicken and fish and roasted chicken, cooking the vegetables without pork or fat, and reducing the amount of sodium. “We do stay true to our items,” Ms. Woods said. “We just found an easier and healthier way to make them.”North General Hospital has been attempting to raise awareness of obesity and diabetes in the community, organizing health fairs and implementing school-based clinics with weight-management groups for teenagers.“We’ve built an environment that is obese,” a dietician for North General Hospital, Kathy Nonas, said. “We are hoping to introduce healthy cooking to a group of kids who have had limited opportunities to cook well with cultural foods.”The fight against diabetes and obesity is also familiar to Sylvia Woods’s family. Tren’ness Woods said her 16-year-old niece has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and her maternal grandmother is a diabetic.One of Ms. Woods’s cousins, Lindsey Williams, beat obesity: He once weighed 400 pounds, but he lost 220 pounds in a year and a half.“I was tired of being tired,” Mr. Williams said. “I chose to lose the weight because I wanted to live.”The slimmed-down author of the new cookbook “Neo Soul” (Avery), Mr. Williams said he is committed to helping others make healthier food choices.“I love my culture and the food represents it so much,” he said. “I want people to know that they can change their cooking methods and procedures. Instead of deep frying, pan-fry your meat. Instead of boiling your vegetables, saute them. It’s just healthy and it tastes good,” he said.

Sylvia’s Moves To Add Health to Soul Food Smorgasbord

Sylvia’s Moves To Add Health to Soul Food Smorgasbord

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