Southern cooking - oh my!

All over town, you can find the new cookbook by Christy Jordan called Southern Plate. It looks fabulous and I congratulate her on a job well done! Much as I love Southern cooking, I don't indulge in it much myself. I think it is because I see Southern cooking as inherently unhealthy! Need some bacon fat? How about some more butter? Maybe you begin to see what I mean... I love bacon! I really do! I no longer buy it regularly though. I try to stick to a minimally processed ham but it really does not equal bacon. It is just healthier for us all. I love butter too. I used it last night when I made mashed potatoes for dinner. The other thing I added to the mix? Feta cheese! Yum! Somehow the two things go oh so well together!

With all the challenges my DH presents in terms of his diet, it would be nearly impossible for me to make most things from the Southern Plate. No beef, no beans, no msg, low sodium, low fat and very balanced for a diabetic diet. Last night was balsamic chicken and feta mashed potatoes. I needed a green veggie but did not have any on hand. Tonight will probably be homemade pizza which lets us control fat and sodium. Other favorites in heavy rotation, though not necessarily grouped, curried chicken, rice, vegetable soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, fajitas (beef for the kids and chicken for DH), pumpkin pancakes, french toast, bbq chicken quesadillas with pineapple.