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
- Remove the large stems from the
collard greens, mustard greens and kale
and cut the leaves into bite-size pieces. - 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. - 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
pa
rtnershipw
ith
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.
n
dishes that were loaded with salt and fat,