Let's Get Cooking! Start the New Year Right with a Free Healthy Soul Food Cookbook

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthier Traditions Cookbook: Soul Food, a healthy twist on traditional Southern dishes, features 17 classic recipes and is available for complimentary download today. The cookbook, a collaboration of Transamerica Center for Health Studies® (TCHS) with the Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP), helps promote making simple ingredient substitutions to classic Southern dishes that increase nutritional value while keeping the soulful heartiness of favorite southern dishes. Each recipe was adapted and tested by two nutritionists to ensure an increase in nutritional value and decrease in caloric value.

Recipes in the cookbook include Red Beans and Rice, Gumbo, Pan-fried Catfish, Smothered Pork Chops, and, leaving room for dessert, classics like Peach Cobbler. Each recipe includes a breakdown of the calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber and protein content of the dish. In addition, how-to videos that highlight the preparation of some of the dishes are available on TCHS's website and YouTube channel.

"This is the third cookbook we have prepared and, consistent with our values, these recipes identify easy steps people can take to improve health and wellness in their day-to-day lives," said Hector De La Torre, executive director of TCHS. "We have maintained the integrity of the dish while making healthier versions. For example, we had nutritionists make simple substitutions like swapping out regular flour for whole wheat flour in cornbread, and replacing bacon while keeping the smoky flavor with paprika in collard greens."

With many people starting New Year's resolutions and others trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle, finding recipes that are both nutritious and flavorful can help to empower positive choices. Soul Food and Southern cuisine have a history as rich as their flavors, and this cookbook includes interesting facts about Soul Food history, in addition to helpful nutrition facts.

"Our patients are always asking for ways to eat healthier, and this cookbook was a great way to highlight the health benefits of certain foods," said Sherril Rieux, M.D., from the Association of Black Women Physicians. "For example, red beans are high in fiber, which is good for both heart and gut health, while black-eyed peas are high in folate, a vitamin that aids in cell production. The calcium in a serving of collard greens also contains a quarter of the recommended daily allotment."

The Healthier Traditions cookbook complements other ABWP initiatives like its wellness workshops, which are organized, implemented and facilitated by physician volunteers. The series is offered in community forums to educate families about diabetes, hypertension, asthma, HIV/AIDS, obesity, and general health and wellness issues. These workshops serve as a bridge between health providers to empower individuals to be more active participants in their own health care.

TCHS and ABWP remain committed to empowering consumers to achieve the best outcomes in their personal health and wellness. Please visit our website to download this cookbook for free and browse our previous cookbooks, American Classic and Traditional Mexican.

ABOUT TRANSAMERICA CENTER FOR HEALTH STUDIES®

Transamerica Center for Health Studies ^® (TCHS) is a division of Transamerica Institute, ^® a national non-profit, private foundation. TCHS informs the national healthcare conversation by bringing clarity to the complex decision-making regarding health coverage and personal health and wellness. TCHS is focused on empowering consumers and employers so that they can achieve the best value and protection from their health coverage, as well as the best outcomes in their personal health and wellness.

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK WOMEN PHYSICIANS

The Association of Black Women Physicians (ABWP) is an organized network of African-American women physicians committed to the improvement of public health and welfare, through the advancement of knowledge concerning women and community health. ABWP is a nonprofit organization supporting projects that improve the health and wellness concerns of traditionally under-served communities and assisting in eliminating health disparities. ABWP also endeavors to enhance the personal and professional quality of life for present and future African-American women physicians.

CONTACT: Madeleine Reul, mreul@webershandwick.com

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SOURCE Transamerica Center for Health Studies