Black History Month- WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!

Welcome to my health lesson inspired by the food associated with my Black American Culture in honor of Black History Month...

Fried Chicken... Mac and Cheese... Candied Yams(Sweet potatoes)...

All of these foods are well emerged Black culture recipes especially on holidays and Sunday dinners. Some people even make them randomly at times. Your skills in cooking are judged by the taste of these food items. It's serious business. Lol. I love and enjoy every single last one of these food choices but they should be consumed in moderation. The honest truth is that there is large amounts of Fat, Sugar, and Salt with very little nutritional value... Yeah, you are hitting every food group but the nutrition of it is practically gone or takes up a great portion of your daily value/calories.

One Fried Chicken Breast is 294 calories (1/5 of the caloric value of the day), 96mg Cholesterol (32% Daily Value (DV)),and 311mg Sodium (Salt) (13% DV). This is just one portion of a meal so just 1 of 9 portions of your your meals in day. This is too much salt and fat. Eating this in moderation like once every two weeks or a month is reasonable but definitely not everyday or every week.

Baked Mac and Cheese, depending on the ingredients,is about 468 calories (about 1/3 caloric daily value) 25g Fat, and 42g of carbs for one cup serving. Wayyyy too much in every single category. This should be enjoyed pobably only on holidays. Too much for a weekly indulgence, save for a special time.

Candied Yams, one serving, is about 397 calories out of 1600-2000 you suppose to eat in a day. It has 7.9g of fat and 79.4g carbs (26%DV). The sugar content alone in this dish is too much. Definitely, a side to save for a special occasion. I learned later in life the sweet potato is pretty good served mashed, whipped, and as a substitute for white potatoes which has more of a nutritional value.

All of these foods are good to taste and for the soul no two ways about that especially for the Black Community. But they are not good for you. Point. Blank. Period. They should serve as a tease or on a cheat day of yours. Not a weekly and definitely not a daily basis. The truth is some people do have these more often than they should and develop the illnesses that plague our Black community such as High blood pressure related to high salt intake, Diabetes related to increased sugar intake, and Heart disease that leads to strokes and heart attacks related to increased fat intake. We have to change this curse. There are other food items and ways to prepare food other than the tradition. Yea, back then they didn't know as much as we know now. So when you know better, you do better, to become better... WE ARE WHAT WE EAT...