Cooking Collard Greens with Chef Lee
Legendary foodie Chef Lee, now of Boston’s City Fresh Foods, cooked collard greens at the Boston Local Food Festival Oct. 2. He said that he buys his greens from farms in New Hampshire. Chef Lee said that he no longer cooks his greens with pigs feet, making his dish a healthier, vegetarian soul food option.
It’s great that more folks of color are thinking about “green cooking” and getting into starting their own gardens because the other “food options” like fast food restaurants in our communities are unacceptable. We also need to spend more time looking at the indirect marketing tactics of these restaurants in our communities. Recently I wrote a piece for theGrio on KFC’s PR meltdown with its Double Down sandwich which only gives a small spotlight to the bigger problem of food marketing.
In the last year, I have also taken steps to make better lifestyle choices. When I did my IJJ fellowship on food and environmental justice, I started to think more about why I should eat less meat. I not only eat more vegetarian meals, but I have incorporated more exercising into my daily routine. Everyday you can find me either running outdoors, doing the elliptical or practicing yoga. All of these healthy lifestyle choices have helped me lose weight, feel great and enable me to have a better sense of myself and a better environment.