Heart-Healthy Cooking Tip

Heavily seasoned foods aren't healthy, but what's a Southern cook like me to do? I can deal with limiting fried and red meats, but vegetables like green beans, greens (turnip, kale, mustard, and collards), and legumes (black-eyed peas, cornfield peas, pinto beans, etc.) need some sort of seasoning, and vegetable oil just doesn't give much flavor.

I came up with a solution years ago in the mission field. I was doing a semester interim in the Southern Philippines, teaching missionary children. The principal's wife had me over for dinner, and she used beef stock to season her soups and vegetables. She made it healthier by putting it in the refrigerator to cool completely and then skimming off the tallow that forms at the top. This is the part that causes so many of the problems, like clogging arteries. I liked it better than meat grease and have been using it ever since. Cooking this way also has fewer calories.

It's simple to do. Any time you boil beef, like stew beef, or bake a roast, save the broth in small jars. I save the ones jellies, etc. come in for just this purpose because they're smaller, but half-pint canning jars would also work. Freeze some of it for later use. It doesn't take much broth, and you can experiment to get the amount you prefer. Part of a beef bouillion cube can be added if you like even more flavor. It may take a little getting used to at first, but I think you'll come to like it better the way I do.

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