Easy Healthy Soul Food Recipes

Pinterent Juli 22, 2023 Comment

Soul food is delicious, but it’s not exactly the healthiest. This healthy soul bowl recipe is a healthier and more nutritious version of a few classic soul food favorites. It’s packed with lean protein and fiber that will keep you full for hours. So enjoy all the flavors and textures of soul food without any of the guilt!

Welcome to the first inaugural BOWL VERZUZ! This week is round 3 of the head-to-head battle with my husband, Chef Kenneth Temple. Each week we are given the same featured ingredient, and we must build a bowl around that ingredient. This week’s featured ingredient – fonio.

Every Friday in January, we will share our submissions, and we need you to vote on the best bowl by leaving a message in the comments below. My submission for this week’s battle is Healthy Soul Bowl, which incorporates remakes on a ton of our southern favorites. While Kenneth’s delicious Yasa Chicken Bowl can be found here. If you like mine, leave a message below. If his bowl is your favorite, leave a comment on his page.

Easy High Protein Recipes

Kenneth’s Yassa Bowl Bowl: Chicken and caramelized onions coated in a sweet and spicy sauce, paired with pickled carrots and served over fonio.

Is it a vegetable? A pasta shape? Someone’s really bad attempt at saying ‘phone’ in Italian? The answer is none of the above. Fonio is a grain native to West Africa and has started to gain popularity in the United States in recent years for its host of health benefits. The gluten-free superfood is packed with nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and significantly more protein than most grains.

If couscous and quinoa had a baby, it would be fonio. The flavor is deliciously nutty, and the texture is light and fluffy when cooked. Because the grain is still relatively new to the States, it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out where to buy fonio. You can find fonio at The Fresh Market, Whole Foods, or online through various retailers.

Recipes To Try From Tanya Holland's New California Soul Cookbook

This Healthy Soul Bowl can be divided into four main components: roasted sweet potatoes, Creole spiced chicken bites, collard greens, and fonio grits. Let’s break down how to make each component and finish with the assembly of this delicious dish.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss the diced sweet potatoes with melted butter until fully coated. Then, sprinkle them with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt, and toss until coated.

Pour the potatoes onto a foil-lined baking sheet in a single flat layer. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. In a small bowl, microwave the maple syrup and thyme for 20-30 seconds. Stir in the pecans, then set aside.

Healthy Soul Food Recipes

Remove the potatoes from the oven and use a spatula to release them from the foil. Pour the pecan mixture over the potatoes and use a spatula to flip so that all the potatoes get coated. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Creole Spiced Chicken Bites: Add buttermilk and hot sauce to a large food storage bag. Seal and shake it up to blend. Then, add chicken to the bag and seal it. Place in the fridge to marinate for 2-24 hours. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.

In a small bowl, whisk together the Creole seasoning, baking powder, and salt, then set aside. When the chicken is done marinating, drain off any excess marinade using a colander and season it with the spice blend. Use tongs to ensure all chicken pieces are fully coated.

Vegan Soul Food Recipes

Spray a foil-lined sheet pan with cooking spray. Transfer the chicken to the sheet pan and spread the pieces out evenly. Lightly spray with cooking spray and bake for 6 minutes, then turn, spray and bake for a further 6 minutes or until golden.

Sauteed Collard Greens: Wash collard leaves until clean. Cut off woodsy stems. Stack a few leaves and roll them into a tight cylinder, then cut crosswise into very thin ribbons. Repeat until finished.

Add oil to a large skillet oven over high heat, then add onion and stir for 2 minutes. Next, add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add the collards to the pan in batches and cook down. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5-7 minutes when all the collards are in. Then, remove from the heat.

Healthy Recipes In 30 Minutes Or Less

Fonio Grits: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the vegetable broth or water to a boil. Add the garlic and stir in the fonio. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and cook for 3 more minutes or until the grains are tender.

Soul Bowl Assembly: Divide the fonio grits evenly into 4 bowls. Top with collard greens followed by sweet potatoes. Finally, add in the chicken bites and serve with a side of hot sauce. Enjoy!

Growing up, soul food played an integral role in my culinary journey. With the help of my great-grandmother, I started cooking when I was six years old. Soul food dishes are still the ones that make me feel the most at home in the kitchen and make my heart happy.

Soul Food Collard Greens Recipe

To sum up soul food in the best way that I can, it’s a type of cuisine with roots in the rural South that has been passed down through many generations of African-American families. Chef Millie Peartree said it best when she said, “while not all Southern food is considered soul food, all soul food is definitely Southern.”

I’ve paid homage to my Southern roots in this dish while adding my own lightened-up take on classic soul food favorites like fried chicken, candied yams, and grits. This healthy soul bowl recipe is made with all the delicious flavors of the dishes you grew up with, but with a slightly healthier twist, you can feel good about. It’s a win-win!

Storing this dish is a breeze if you find yourself with leftovers (lucky you!) or want to make a few extra servings to enjoy throughout the week. You’re going to want to store each of the components –sweet potatoes, chicken bites, fonio grits, and collard greens– separately to ensure the best results.

Vegan Soul Food Cookbook: 20 Easy, Healthy And Delicious Plant Based Soul Food Recipes For Body And Soul (cooking For Optimal Health Book 18) (english Edition) Ebook

Once you’ve allowed the dish to cool and have transferred the different foods to individual airtight containers, you can store them as follows:

Of course! To make a vegan soul bowl, all you have to do is make a few simple swaps. Replace the chicken with mushrooms, then swap out the heavy cream and butter for plant-based alternatives. If using mushrooms instead of chicken, you can also leave out the buttermilk step.

While I definitely recommend trying this dish with collard greens (it’s amazing), you have a few easy options if you want to switch it up. Some of the most common alternatives to collard greens include swiss chard, turnip greens, mustard greens, and spinach.

Healthy Soul Food: The Guilt Free Way To Eat Your Favorite Comfort Food

Absolutely! You can prep all of your ingredients a day in advance if needed. If you’re prepping ahead of time, make sure you allow additional time to marinate the chicken in buttermilk.

This soul bowl recipe packs in a ton of flavor all on its own, but no soul food dish is complete without hot sauce. In my opinion, this is really the only topping you need, but feel free to add some fresh herbs or pickled onions for an extra pop of color and flavor.

Sometimes preparing healthy meals can seem overwhelming. That’s why it’s my goal to provide simple, healthy recipes without sacrificing flavor! Let me show you just how easy it can be to cook delicious meals for yourself and your family while still staying on track.

Quick, Healthy Dinner Recipes To Make In 30 Minutes Or Less

I hope this recipe has inspired you to get cooking. Also, try some of my other delicious bowl recipes, Sunshine Clementine Smoothie Bowland Jerk Soul Bowl – you won’t be disappointed! Remember to come back and leave me a five-star review when you do.

**The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Southern Candied Yams (soul Food Recipe)

Welcome! I’m Meiko, a Dallas-based food blogger who loves to share life and culture through food. There are no strangers around these parts only good eats. Let’s get to know each other better!Combine lemon pepper shrimp, tender greens, okra, sweet potato, and fluffy rice for the ultimate soul food flavors in a bowl! Originally published January 2019. Last updated February 2023.

Another blessed Black History Month is upon us, which means a new roundup of recipes from your favorite Black food bloggers all over the world! My beautiful soul food power bowls are part of an amazing annual culinary round up. If you're looking for a quick and easy