Imagine -- roasted chicken with cornbread stuffing, macaroni and cheese, and pecan pie -- without the fat and cholesterol these dishes usually contain. Sound too good to be true? This new and innovative cookbook conquers the seemingly impossible, trimming the fat, sugar, and salt from popular soul recipes and offering a sparkling variety of taste alternatives to traditional dishes.

Replacing salt pork, bacon grease, and lard with smoked turkey, fresh herbs, sizzling pepper bases, and aromatics like fresh ginger, lemon peel, and chili peppers, food journalist Danella Carter reinvents this classic cuisine without sacraficing taste. Her emphasis on foods that are already low in fat -- leafy greens, cornbread, milk -- provides a satisfying, simple transition from Old Soul to New Soul.

Free of red meat and pork, Down Home Wholesome offers an array of over 300 vibrant and appealing dishes, such as:
-- Baked Collards with Smoked Hen
-- Country Chicken with Cornmeal Waffles
-- Buttermilk Soup with Cornbread Croutons
-- Raspberry Cobbler

Each of these tantalizing recipes also includes a nutritional analysis that counts calories, fat, carbohydrates, and sodium. Adding to the warmth of the book are the author's reminiscences of three generations of family cooks. In Down Home Wholesome, Carter trims the fat from traditional home cooking and leaves us with exciting cuisine feeding body and soul.