Mom's Caribbean and Americas Soulfood Cooking for Excellent Health and a Long Life (Caribbean and American Soul Food)

The various dishes presented in this book are not only delicious but are just the right type of recipes for the conscientious weight-watcher.  The vitamin and mineral content (not the numerical amount but the type) of most recipes are included and will help give an idea of the nutritional value of each particular dish.  The calorie content’s effect of a particular dish will depend on how much and how often one eats.  Most of these recipes are low or moderate calorie and can be increased in caloric content by adding more of particular ingredients, such as more meat or fish if that is required.  Yet, these dishes are exactly the type of recipes that incorporates a style of cooking where substitutes found in some foods makes the use of additional ingredients unnecessary.  For example, when cooking meat in soups where fat, is already part of the meat, butter or oil may not be used.

How Your Health can be Improved Greatly

The type and amount of food a person consumes is essential in the maintenance of excellent health.  The number of years a person lives without unnatural obstacles to long life is also important and there is no doubt that the amount and type of food a person eats contributes to good health, strength and longevity.  “Food is the staff of life,” according to a Caribbean saying.   There is much truth to that saying and it answers the question concerning why so many people from parts of the Caribbean, where Caribbean cuisine dominates, live past one hundred years and continue to maintain their physical well being, beauty, strength and their ability to do physical work.

My grand aunt, Mrs. Alcee B. lived past 100 years into her 120’s.  Her siblings also lived to be very old, including my grandfather who was hit by a van at 97 years old, while walking to the grocery shop on an errand in 1976.  At 97 years old, he was still strong, tough and agile as well as very studious.  He spent hours editing and copying old manuscripts and notebooks from material he had written in pen and ink.  He also worked his land and planted his garden.  Ancestors, such as grandfathers, grandmothers, grand aunts and grand uncles, along with many, many others in the Caribbean and elsewhere have handed down great gifts from the past.  Cooking is one such gift which passes down the knowledge of those who knew that great recipes and the proper nutrition is essential to good health.  The addition of the proper ingredients also helps, therefore, items that are not necessary are not used in a meal.  The type and style of cooking in this book is the basic style of cooking used by people in the Caribbean and is related to the styles of cooking of people around the world.  The Caribbean cook is careful in the addition or removal of ingredients.  Such skill and attitude is based on the care that he or she has for those who consume the meal he or she prepares, so that those who savor it can return for more.  This book was written in that great tradition.

Splendid cooking, eat heartily and may you have a long and healthy life.