“The secret society of soul food cooks set out to embrace and love all those who touched a wood bowl or tin cup filled with the likes of what she held in her soul to bear that day.” (Wikipedia, soul food cooks) Soul food is comfort. I remember coming home to the best-smelling house on the block; the whole house would be filled with the aromas of the best fried chicken, greens with ham hocks, creamy macaroni and cheese, fluffy corn bread, flaky peach cobblers. My mother spared no expense to cook and provide the best-tasting food she could think of. Little did she know in the process she was creating an unhealthy movement in her family that would remain for generations. In the name of love and necessity. our ancestors did what they could to keep “good days” on the table and in our memories. They also passed the torch of the sedentary lifestyle, obesity, heart disease, hypertension, and multiple cancers. I later watched in horror as the effects took its toll on my immediate family and my community. By age thirty, I began to evaluate my life’s food choices and my horrible diet. After making necessary but painful changes and adding daily exercise, I lost over seventy-five pounds in one year. This was the beginning of healing my soul. I wrote the Good Days to pass on to my future generations who are caught in the struggle of not knowing the basics of healthy shopping, cooking, proper food storage, and safe food temperatures. I wrote this book for those who feel they were never taught another style of cooking, for those who have no cooking experience, and for those who want to change unhealthy eating but have no idea how to stop the cycle of eating processed foods or prepackaged foods. I gratefully introduce Healing My Soul, The Good Days Cookbook volume 1. My recipes are simple and creative. I introduce several new vegetables, brown rice varieties, Lavash bread (which is simply making your own low fat/low sodium crackers), vegetable soup, vegetable stir-fry, and vegetable and fruit filled salad.
