Food Network Magazine - (04)April 2020

ew Orleans—home to

beignets, gumbo and

jambalaya—is not

exactly a mecca of healthy

eating. Lifelong resident

Courtney Clark grew up in the

Lower Ninth Ward watching

friends and family cook

and then tragedy struck: By age 35, she had

lost her mom and her husband to heart

disease. She was desperate to save others

from a similar fate.

Enter Backyard Gardeners Network,

a nonprofit that maintains community

gardens and teaches locals how to think

differently about their diets. Courtney

joined the team five years ago, and

now she runs a 10-week course called

Food as Medicine. In the class she teaches

participants how to read nutrition labels,

eat more plant-based foods and adjust their

cooking (like making their own low-sodium

Creole seasoning). Many of her students

have lost weight, lessened or stopped

medications and shifted their way of eating

entirely. “It’s hard trying to change the

minds of people who have been cooking

one way for all of their lives,” she admits.

“But to hear a lady in her late 60s say, ‘This

is the first time I’m tasting an avocado,

and I love it,’...that’s what I live for. We’re

gathering people around good, fresh food

that’s not going to give them a heart attack,”

she says. Here’s Courtney’s healthy take on

a classic Southern side.

SOUTHERN BRAISED GREENS

ACTIVE: 20 min l TOTAL: 45 min l SERVES: 6 to 8

2 pounds collard greens

2 pounds mustard greens

2 pounds dinosaur kale

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup vegetable stock

(or use water)

1 tablespoon no-salt

Creole seasoning

2 teaspoons curry powder

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Kosher salt

1. Remove the large stems from the
   collard greens, mustard greens and kale
   and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces.


2. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot
   over medium heat. Add all the onions
   and cook until softened and translucent,
   3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook
   for another minute, or until softened.


3. Add the stock, Creole seasoning,
   curry powder, paprika and ½ teaspoon
   salt. Start adding the greens in batches,
   letting them wilt slightly before adding
   more; it may take about 10 minutes
   to get all the greens to fit. Cover and
   simmer, stirring halfway through, until
   the greens are wilted and tender, about
   25 minutes. Season with salt, if desired.

Hold the po’boy! A community-minded chef

is bringing a new kind of cooking to the Big Easy.

In

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rtnershipw

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To learn more about

Backyard Gardeners Network,

visit jjill.com/inspiredwomen.

36 FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE ●APRIL 2020

in the know

CLARK PHOTO: CHLOE MALLETT. FOOD PHOTO: RALPH SMITH; FOOD STYLING: ADRIENNE ANDERSON.

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dishes that were loaded with salt and fat,