EURweb |
GLENN ELLIS' STRATEGIES FOR WELL-BEING: Watermelon is Real Soul Food
*Countless times when conducting workshops and seminars, I have had to remind people that Soul Food is not the culture of African Americans, but their history. You see, the Soul Food diet was the result of the “menu” made available to enslaved Africans.
As slaves, African Americans would "make do" with the ingredients at hand. The fresh vegetables found in Africa were replaced by the throwaway foods from the plantation house. Their vegetables were the tops of turnips and beets and dandelions. Soon they were cooking with new types of greens: collards, kale, cress, mustard, and pokeweed. African American slaves also developed recipes which used discarded meat from the plantation, such as pig’s feet, beef tongue or tail, ham hocks, chitterlings (pig small intestines), pig ears, hog jowls, tripe and skin. Cooks added onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to enhance the flavors. Many African Americans depended on catching their own meat, and wild game such as raccoon, possum, turtle and rabbit was, until the 1950s, very popular fare on the African American table.
The slave diet began to evolve when slaves entered the plantation houses as cooks. Suddenly southern cooking took on new meaning. Fried chicken began to appear on the tables, sweet potatoes sat next to the boiled white potato. Regional foods like apples, peaches and berries, nuts and grains, soon became puddings and pies.
Nothing was ever wasted in the African American kitchen. Leftover fish became croquettes (by adding an egg, cornmeal or flour, seasonings and breaded then deep-fried). Stale bread became bread pudding, and each part of the pig had its own special dish. Even the liquid from the boiled vegetables was turned into "pot likker" which was used as a type of gravy or as a drink in and of itself.
Soon the slave's cuisine became known as "good times" food. After long hours working in the fields or up at the house, the evening meal was a time for families to get together.
Soul food was traditionally cooked and seasoned with pork products. Fried dishes were usually cooked with either lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is high in trans fats. Some older cookbooks encouraged readers to add a stick of butter to their lard to give their fried chicken extra flavor.
Frequent consumption of these ingredients without significant exercise or activity can contribute to disproportionately high occurrences of obesity, hypertension, cardiac/circulatory problems and/or diabetes, often resulting in a shortened lifespan. Additionally, trans fat consumption is a known contributor to cardiovascular disease. In light of health information that shows the connection between Soul Food and the numerous diseases that African Americans suffer from disproportionately, many have begun to move away from this way of eating.
But, let’s not “throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
Watermelon, has taken a bad rap, and is included in the grouping of Soul Food that is either unhealthy, or embarassing. But, to be sure, watermelon is a part of both history and culure. Not to mention that it is good for you.
Historians say watermelons first grew in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa. They were a source of water for thirsty traders, who began to sell the seeds in cities along the ancient Mediterranean trade routes.
Cultivation of watermelon spread throughout Africa and, by the 1600s, watermelon made its way to Great Britain, Spain, China and beyond. Watermelon arrived in North America courtesy of European colonists and African slaves. During the Civil War, the Confederate Army boiled down watermelons as a source of sugar and molasses.
A hundred years ago, the famous missionary-explorer, David Livingstone, settled the question of its origin. He found large tracts in central Africa literally covered with watermelons growing truly wild.
Grown in 96 countries, from China, the world's leading producer, to Africa, Egypt, and the United States; it's a warm weather favorite. It is low in calories -- only about 51 per cup -- and it will give you a nutritious does of vitamins A and C, potassium and the antioxidant lycopene.
Watermelon is the fresh food champ when it comes to lycopene -- even beating out fresh tomatoes. This naturally occurring chemical gives many fruits and vegetables their red color and is known to fight prostate cancer. Although canned tomato products are highest in lycopene, watermelon beat out all other fresh fruits or vegetables.
Watermelon helps fight cholesterol, and contains potassium, a mineral that battles high blood pressure and stroke. All that adds up to first-rate heart protection.
If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, fill yourself up, and stay on your diet, slice up a watermelon. Experts know foods with high water content help you lose weight, and watermelon is staggering 92 percent water. What's more, one slice contains only a single gram of fat. So don't pass up dessert just because you're watching your weight -- make room for the watermelon.
Watermelon is not only great on a hot summer day; it may also help with the inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis.
The next chance you get to eat water melon, remember its’ benefits:
• Protects prostate
• Promotes weight loss
• Lowers cholesterol
• Controls blood pressure
• Helps stop strokes
•
Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!
Glenn Ellis is a Health Advocacy Communications Specialist and an active media contributor nationally and internationally on health related topics, particularly relevant to the African-American community. E-mail me at info@glennellis.com. For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com
Share and Bookmark |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
.jpg)
