A feature article for Louisiana Cookin’ magazine highlighting heart-healthy Creole, a strict style guide was used to format the well-researched article and edit the recipes collected from my high-profile sources. A quote from this spread was used for the Table of Contents page of the February 2009 issue, and it was listed as the first feature story for that month.

(Excerpts from “Modern Creole: Good for Your Heart & Soul)

It’s not often that two simple words can create strong vivid imagery and sensory awakenings. But say the words “Creole cooking” to anyone who’s ever had the transcendental experience of tasting it, and that person immediately feels a distinct hankering for the mind-blowing, kick-in-the-mouth flavor of Creole food, and with good reason.

Tantalizing and sinful, one of the greatest pleasures in life is a good old-fashioned Creole meal, legendary for its ability to put a little Euro-Caribbean port city on the international map.

Creamy, decadent sauces, mysterious spice blends, and hot bread that crackles and steams when the crisp crust is broken–all of these are staples of Creole cruisine, much to our simultaneous pleasure and detriment.

And like most of the tastiest forms of food to go down the gullet, traditional Creole, obviously, may not be the healthiest style of preparation. Derived from French cooking, it’s a method steeped in as much butter as it is in history …

A New Approach to Cooking

…Creole recipes are once again in a state of a great evolution. The public has become increasingly aware of its health. These days, trapped behind paper-piled desks in air-conditioned buildings, many of us are more prone to exercising our mouths or minds than our bodies.

Our level of physical activity–hectic as our lives may be with the kids’ soccer practices, housecleaning, and running back and forth between business and personal appointments–is still simply not up to par with our horseback-riding, field-laboring, clothes-scrubbing ancestors …

… Now that heart disease has been identified and is often avoidable, it makes a great deal of sense to keep our tickers in tip-top shape. Giving up tobacco, exercising, and eating right all play a part in thwarting cardiovascular problems, and so does eating healthfully. But could Louisianians go bland and boiled after a lifetime of Creole goodness?

Luckily, they don’t have to! Chefs are now recognizing the need to focus on heart health and are finding ways to do so without sacrificing flavor.

The answer is not to cut down, but to add more–more produce, more (and better) grains, more variety in meats, and more options in lean protein. And in being the resourceful folks we are, we’re seeking and finding substitutes, adding new tastes, and again reworking age-old traditions … all the wile maintaining what has made the Creole cooking style adored for hundreds of years–in-your-face flavor that puts a smile on your mug, contentment in your soul, and now, a good feeling in your heart.

Want the unabridged print version and some healthy recipes to add to your repertoire? Download the whole story here.