When Sherry, the co-owner of the We Are Back Women’s blog site, asked me to compete in Oprah’s national search for her next TV host, I leaped at the opportunity. I went on the O’ website to find out more about the contest and immediately set about writing a script.

I had planned to compete as a cooking show host, and aimed to hook her by making a unique version of one of her favorite foods – Mac ‘n cheese. We happen to share a passion for Delilah Winder’s dish, only mine is much healthier than the one Oprah crowned with one of her “best of” awards a few years ago.

Healthy enough to actually have your “Cake and Eat It Too” (the name of the segment I’d like to produce), the hook to my Mac ‘n cheese is that unlike Delilah’s dish - or our grandmother’s versions – mine is only about half the calories.

Not that I’m knocking Delilah. I’ve been loving her soul food for more than two decades, and it reminds me a lot of my grandmother’s, which was always delicious but fattening. And if most of us ate that type of food every day, we’d be worse off than we already are. As it stands now ladies, black women are some of the heftiest gals on the planet and for real, for real?

Who really wants to weigh a ton?

Since so many of us need to become more health-conscious, my show would have the same focus as this blog “Healthy Southern Comforts,” which is about  making soul food healthier.

I love soul food, and Philadelphia features several restaurants that specialize in southern-inspired cuisine. Each spot’s a gem in its own right and each has its own specialties. The Bynum  Brothers, who own Relish in the city’s West Oak Lane section, make seafood Mac ‘n cheese that’ll  knock your socks off, while Ms. Tootsie’s in South Philadelphia really hooks up fish. Down at Delilah’s in the Reading Terminal Market in Center City, just about anything they make is great. I love all of these restaurants, but the key to eating their food is moderation. I’m also equally as committed to finding ways to make healthier versions of soul food at home!

In the end, I wasn’t able to compete for Oprah. After a day of shooting, we decided the lighting still wasn’t quite up to par. But I’m still committed to the idea of creating some type of healthy cooking show.  Next time.

 Healthy Mac ‘N Cheese

Note: This dish tastes nothing like your grandmother’s, but it’s just as satisfying, twice as healthy and has only half the calories.

Ingredients

6 cups boiling water

1 tsp butter

1 box of penne  or bowtie pasta

1 ½ cups of shaved Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

2 bags baby spinach, rinsed and washed

1 box grape tomatoes, rinsed and halved

½ cup heirloom tomatoes, rinsed and halved

1 tsp finely grated chili pepper or ½ tsp red pepper flakes (more if you want more fire)

1/8 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed washed and finely chopped (save a few sprigs for garnish)

¼  cup fresh parsley, rinsed and densely chopped (save a few sprigs for garnish)

3 cloves fresh garlic, skinned, rinsed and chopped

Directions

Bring water to a rolling boil and add butter.

Boil pasta until cooked al dente (6-8 minutes or until slightly firm. Do not over cook!).

Add spinach atop the pasta in a colander during the last 15 seconds of cooking (just enough to wilt), thoroughly drain both and rinse with hot water.

Toss pasta with half the olive oil, mix in the spinach and set aside

Take the remaining olive oil and heat on low.

Toss in garlic and when slightly brown, add cilantro and chili pepper, and toss for another minute.

Add parsley and toss, but as soon as it wilts, remove the pan from the heat.

Toss with pasta and add remaining ingredients, plus 2/3 of the cheese, making sure that everything is mixed all the way through.

Garnish with remaining cheese and sprigs of cilantro and parsley.

Serve at any temperature.

Related posts:

1. The magic of pasta
2. Healthy Mac ‘n Cheese

We all love it.  But guess what? It really doesn’t love us back. In fact, Mac ‘n Cheese made the traditional way is truly not good for us because there’s too much cheese and fat, and it’s difficult to digest. Our youngest daughter would eat Mac ‘n  Cheese day and night if we’d let her. We don’t because as soon as she eats too much of it, she gets a giant-sized tummy ache because it just sits in her belly like a rock. It’s also a major source of constipation in some people. While we may all think that Mac ‘n Cheese comforts us, what it actually does is line our insides with oil, fat and mucous.

Sounds pretty disgusting, right? Well it is, and surprisingly enough there are other ways to satisfy our Mac ‘n Cheese cravings for about half the calories.

First of all, the traditional recipes usually call for four different cheeses plus cow’s milk and tons of butter plus white flour.  If you make it the way my family always did, you made a white sauce first and then added the cheeses. So, slowly but surely, I am weaning my family from that type of Mac ‘n Cheese. Although it has taken a while, they are getting used to my healthier version, which takes far less time to make and is much easier to digest.

I start with whole-wheat pasta, which has more fiber than white macaroni. I cut out the white sauce and only use two cheeses, one which is lower in fat, and add spinach. I admit that it took some getting used to by my family, particularly the pickiest eater who hates to eat anything green. Now, they all say they like this way of making pasta. Plus “Baby girl” doesn’t get a bellyache after she chows down on her second and third helpings.

Healthy Mac ‘n Cheese

Ingredients

One box of whole wheat penne  pasta or your favorite

1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup low-fat grated Cheddar cheese

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 cups of fresh baby spinach

1 tbsp fresh grated garlic

1/8  cup virgin olive oil

Directions

Bring 4-6 quarts of water to a rolling boil.

Add pasta and cover (leaving the lid open a crack to prevent it from boiling over). Cook for approximately 10 minutes and drain. Pasta should be soft and chewy but not mushy.

While the pasta is still hot, add baby spinach ( the heat will wilt it).

Toss with salt, pepper, cheeses, garlic and olive oil, and serve immediately.

Related posts:

1. Good ole Mac ‘n Cheese
2. Heart-healthy beans
3. Get heart-healthy and lose weight