A North Philadelphia stroke prevention organization luncheon puts a healthy ‘twist’ on familiar meals
The Frazier Family Coalition is a collaborative project with Temple Health and Jefferson Health, aimed at preventing strokes and conditions that carry a higher stroke risk, like diabetes.
Philadelphians who want to eat healthier don’t have to sacrifice taste or money to do so.
Demonstrating how to prepare familiar dishes that pack in flavor with less fat and salt is the focus of regular “lunch and learn” events by the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Prevention and Education, a North Philadelphia-based stroke prevention organization.
On Thursday, the organization hosted participants from around the city for their latest themed luncheon: “Soul food with a twist.”
The menu was entirely plant-based, incorporating traditional soul food ingredients into a variety of dishes.
Choices included black-eyed pea salad, grits, and cooked greens. The group also sampled japchae, a Korean dish that includes noodles made out of sweet potato — a staple of soul food recipes. A Tuscan kale salad was seasoned with herbs and spices used in African cuisines.
“We tried to bring old and new to our participants,” said Neva White, executive director at the Frazier Family Coalition. Soul food traces its roots in part to heavily plant-based African cuisines, she said: “We tried to bring the education to our participants that you can have fun, you can eat healthy — taking people back to that plant-based mindset.”
The Frazier Family Coalition is a collaborative project with Temple Health and Jefferson Health, aimed at preventing strokes and conditions that carry a higher stroke risk, like diabetes and high blood pressure. For Thursday’s event, the coalition partnered with the diabetes prevention organization Sugga Mamas.
The coalition’s twice-monthly “lunch and learn” events are often themed around regional cuisines or cultures and encourage participants to replicate recipes at home.
Most lunch and learn participants are over age 50, and many are dealing with diabetes or other chronic conditions.
“The key is easy recipes,” White said. “People are looking for quick, easy, inexpensive ways to eat healthy, and that’s what we provide for them.”