1 *HOMe£ « 1 w^ i T*4 l.t* *^S 5^* ^ ^^ w M'BwMmwM mi mmmm mmmmmmm Ctef s. «an Chunnb iKi mmmww juwnBif«BMji r Blii t> i 1/ »'-/*»swifat*;: NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH National Cancer Institute 31ACKAMERICANDj£ r Fat isvitalforthebodyto function, butmany . BlackAmericanseatmorethan is needed. Too much fatcan increaseour riskforcertain diseases. ?f TheNationalCancerInstitute estimatesthataboutone-thirdofall cancerdeaths maybe relatedtothe food weeat. Somestudiesshowthatdietshigh in fatand lowin fibermaybelinked to cancers ofthecolon-, breast, andprostate. Theseare theleadingcausesofcancerdeaths amongBlackAmericans. ?f Diets'lowin fatmayreducetheseriskswhile theyhelp us to controlweight. Losingexcessweight, ifwe are overweight, helps to lowerhigh blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, two ofthe major riskfactors forheartdisease. Cuttingbackon fat, especiallysaturatedfat, andcholesterol isveryimportantfor loweringbloodcholesterol levels. Andifyourdoctoradvises,,cuttingbackonsalt andsodium can help lowerhigh blood pressure to reduce theriskofstroke. ?f These "downhome" recipes showhowwecan enjoyfoods thatare lowerin fat, saturatedfat, cholesterol, andsodium; higherin fiber; and promotegoodhealth.Andthat's goodnews! M6^v\&\ >'ijwM OFFICE OF MlNO&lTY HEALTH ResourceCenter CallTcli-Free 1-800-444-6472 Ml ;:i«<Eik ikiniiswfti jrfCfeiefs' .a'w A Publicationafthe National Cancer Institute DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH U.S. : HUMAN '••AND SERVICES PublicHealthService National InstitutesofHealth'. Things sure aren'twhat theywere. When we were kids, growing up with our brothers and sisters, we thought nothing ofgetting up before dawn to walk miles along back country ;'..-' roads pickingwild blackberries or going to the little fresh vegetable market and buying butter beans and mustards We and then back the many miles to a big breakfast. didn't eat standing up or in a rush; we all sat at the table, savoring the food and the warmth ofthe kitchen. Then it was offagain to help with the chores or oh the longwalk to school and back. Those were considered healthy habits. . Nowadays, who walks any distanceor eats with the care we did? Now, ft seems that our modern lifestyle.contributes to ill health; thatwe exercise too little and eat too much ofthewrong things and that this contributes to our getting sick What's more,,statistics tell us that black folks have a higher than average risk compared to others ofgetting heart disease, cancer and other diet-relateddiseases and dying from them. Now that's,bad news. But those same health professionals tell us there's somethingwe can do to help change that, and that's the good news. We can eat right. And that doesn't mean giving up • our.wonderful "soul food." Not at all; By making the right food choices forourselves and our kids when we cook "down home-style," we'can reduce the.risk ofgetting those diseases in the first place. That's pretty important information., We're concerned and, in our small way, we feel we can help. The health folks have told us whatto do, we'd like to help show you i howto do it. M ¥ K m I •.!,' followtheDietary GuidelinesforAmericans* & Eatavarietyoffoods. » Maintain healthyweight. 9 Chooseadietlowin fat, saturatedfat, andcholesterol. o Chooseadietwith plentyofvegetables, fruits, and grainproducts! Br Usesugars onlyin moderation. & Usesaltandsodiumonlyin moderation. ® Ifyoudrinkalcoholicbeverages, dosoin moderation. • We jlfllv you follow the dietaryguidelines. like to think they'll helpstartyou on the roadto goodhealth. Here's toyourhealth andhappiness. . Leah Chase & Chef Proprietor. JohnnyRivers, C.E.C.,A.A.C. DookyChase's Restaurant ExecutiveChef, Resorts NewOrleans, Louisiana Walt DisneyWorld Orlando, Florida *foracopyoftheDietaryGuidelinesforAmericans, contacttheConsumer InformationCenter, Department514-4, Pueblo,Colorado81009. CHI5I A M Born in New Orleans in 1923, Leah was reared in a little town across the lake called Madisonville, Louisiana. She was the top ofthe line ofeleven children and though while growing up, she'd do "anything to keep out ofthe kitchen," she learned all she knows bywatching her mother and sisters whip up the family meals. Most ofwhat the Chase family ate came from the rich variety of ' ' vegetables Leah's daddy grew in the familygarden. In 1942, at the age ofeighteen, Leah returned to New Orleans and found herselfwaiting tables in the French Quarter ofthe city. Not onlydid Leah love it, shewanted to own and run her own restaurant. "I didn't intend to do any cooking at first," Leah remembers, "but,you see, I had so many ideas in my head about food andwhat to serve, and I've been in the kitchen ever since." Her creative cuisine and legendary Creole gumbo made Dooky Chase's, her family-owned restaurant, into a national treasure. She uses . her skill and experience to toss together the cultures ofthe French, the Spanish, a littleAmerican Indian andAfrican into . her pot. "You have to put all your love in that pot," says the master chef. Leah attributes the good health ofher family to the limited meat in-their diet. "We were poor, but.my mother never had anysick children because when we were coming up, the.beans, the cabbage, and the greens were the mainstay. We had lots of 'em." An active member in the community, Leah often cooks up food for housing units and homeless shelters. Her only advice is not to limit your creativity byfollowing anyhard rules. "Rules don't no more make a cook than sermons make a saint," she says. 4 Ifyou askhim what his favorite dish is, JohnnyRivers will tell you it's "whatever I'm preparing at the time," but hewasn't always so enthusiastic about the art ofcooking. Born in 1948, Johnny grew up in Orlando, Florida, where his parentswere steering him toward acareer in medicine. After brieflystuding pre-med at Emory College, Johnny's interests turned toward the culinary arts. Ever since hewas thirteen, he had - worked in kitchens part-time. "I foundI was •.''•'' • . . pretty good at doing a lot ofthings with food,"Johnny remembers. He also found . himselfcaptivated by the "tall chefhats and the clangingofthe steel knives. Andthe rest is history." He traveled abroad to Europe and later across the States learning the tricks ofthe trade as ' he went. He finally settled back in Florida in 1970 and went to work forWalt DisneyWorld Resorts. His talents and achievements as an Executive Chefwith . ; Walt Disney have sincewon him world fame and countless culinary awards.and medals. Today,Johnny devotes much ofhis time lecturing and conducting seminars. afOurtd the country as wellas helpingyoung people to get started in the art ofcooking. He's especially concerned . about the poor diet ofthe Black community. "We grew : | up through-a culture eating a lot ofpork and alot of cheaper cuts ofmeat," Johnnysays. "But now we're coming up on the year 2000 and we don't have any more excuses not to eat right. Black "'/•'.": folks need to get serious about their diets and .'.-. we can do that and have fun with it, too." — \,; "Above all, use seasonings. Use a variety of herbs and spices instead of salt and usethem often. Instead ofsalt in your greens, add fresh green pepper and basil. When cooking black eyed peas, add Spanish onion and crushed black pepper. Add To pepper first, then play baseball, you've got to taste. You'll have a ball and bat. To cook discover a new, intense flavor in all lowfat, you have to have lowfat your main dishes." ingredients. These ingredients Leah Chase . help you cut back on V saturated fat and cholesterol "Always use lowfat (1% 2% or fat), skim, nonfat dry, as well. or evaporated skim milkfor cooking instead ofwhole milk or . cream- It makes little difference to the taste, but abig difference to your health." —Johnny Rivers