We all love some good down home Southern cooking, right? Nothing beats fried chicken or biscuits and gravy. Those types of food are my favorite but I usually stay away from making them too often because of the whole unhealthy factor. I know there are healthy ways to make the food I love but I never knew how. Well, my life changed when I got to witness Chef Virginia Willis at the Best Buy Suite at Type A Conference. 
Chef Virginia Willis gave us some tricks to cooking, some recipes to try and some down home Southern comfort. She recently wrote a new cook book that I can not wait to get home and cook ALL the recipes, her cook book is called “Lighten Up, Yall.” It’s a recipe book full of our Southern favorites that are packed with flavor but made with a healthier, more wholesome ingredients and techniques. 
“This is not a book about saying “no.” This is a book about saying “yes!” This book is about what you can have, not what you can’t. This book is about real food and clean eating. This book is about food that tastes good. It’s packed with tips and techniques for sensible eating and ways to succeed. Each recipe has the nutritional information you need to make good decisions. This is not a a diet book. I’m not a nurtitionist, dietitian, or a doctor. I am a French trained Southern chef.”
A couple products that she used in her demonstrations were Nutri Ninja to make Apple Pie Smoothies. Not only were the smoothies to die for, but it was amazing to see the Ninja in action. The blender on the machine is no joke and to quote Chef Virginia Willis, “it could blend a tire to pieces.”
Another product that was used to make sweet potato fries was the Philips Air Fryer. I had not heard about this magical machine until this weekend. Made witih Rapid Air technology, this multicooker allows you to fry, bake, roast and grill foods using only a tablespoon or less of oil. I saw it make the sweet potato fries in 16 minutes flat. Add this to your Best Buy registry asap.
I’m looking forward to getting home and diving into her cookbook. I’ll be sharing recipes that I love with you over the next couple of weeks.
Do you cook Southern food or stay away from it?
Thanks for the post. It seems like quite an interesting cookbook to have. Good read.