Southern Celebrations, Healthy Comfort Foods

As a lifelong Southerner, I have a solid appreciation for comfort foods. My shopping trip on Wednesday turned into a trip down memory lane after I got carried away with a Southern summer dinner that took me back to my roots.

I say I’m from Huntsville, but I’m really from a little down across the river from Huntsville, Lacey’s Spring. The man who lived behind us owned cattle, so I never remember looking out my window and not seeing cows. I love the space. I love the country and being able to run around.

One of my fondest memories growing up was those summer nights when my dad would cook out the homegrown vegetables and hamburgers and my mom would make blackberry cobbler with the wild blackberries growing in the hollow (“hallah”) between my house and my grandmothers.

So the other night at , I couldn’t resist the urge to throw myself my own little summer night dinner. I got banana peppers and green beans, squash and eggplant to grill and even blackberries to eat even though I don’t have the slightest idea how to make cobbler. I suppose blackberries and Splenda will just have to do. No complaints there, though. 

It made me wonder: We classify “comfort foods” as high fat, high calorie and artery hardening. My comfort foods are actually healthier than my regular foods. I got organic veggies. My makeshift cobbler included low-fat Redy Whip and Splenda.