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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly

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Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small

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Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

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Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, doctor Joy Hard and Bradford,

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Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or

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Speaker 1: to find a therapist in your area, visit our website

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Speaker 1: at Therapy Forflackgirls dot com. While I hope you love

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Speaker 1: listening to and learning from the podcast, it is not

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Speaker 1: meant to be a substitute for a relationship with a

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Speaker 1: licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so much for

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Speaker 1: joining me her session for sixty six Therapy for Black

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Speaker 1: Girls Podcast. We'll get right into our conversation after a

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Speaker 1: word from our sponsors. When you think about the Black

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Speaker 1: American experience, soul food is interwoven throughout its fabric. It

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Speaker 1: carries stories and traditions across generations and mark's memories, share

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Speaker 1: with people you love, and through the years, its definition

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Speaker 1: has evolved and even been misunderstood by those who don't

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Speaker 1: understand its significance. Today, we're unpacking all of that with

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Speaker 1: Sierra Reese. Sierra is a culinary creator and entrepreneur focused

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Speaker 1: on Black American food ways, soul food, and African diaspora cuisine.

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Speaker 1: You may know her from social media, where she shares recipes,

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Speaker 1: cultural context, and fresh takes that make soul food feel

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Speaker 1: both rooted and tradition and part of everyday life. We

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Speaker 1: talk about what soul food really means, how she balances

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Speaker 1: tradition with experimentation, and why food can be such a

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Speaker 1: powerful too for preserving culture and identity. If something resonates

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Speaker 1: with you while enjoying our conversation, please share with us

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Speaker 1: on social media using the hashtag TVG in session, or

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Speaker 1: join us over in our patreons to talk more about

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Speaker 1: the episode. You can join us at community at Therapy

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Speaker 1: for Blackgirls dot com. Here's our conversation. Well, thank you

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Speaker 1: so much for joining us today, Sierra, Thank you.

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Speaker 2: I'm happy to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

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Speaker 1: I'm excited to chat with you, and I want to

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Speaker 1: start our conversation today with the question that we ask

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Speaker 1: as a part of all of my hiring of interviews

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Speaker 1: here at Therapy for Black Girls. Can't get hired without

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Speaker 1: answering this question. So what is your choice?

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Speaker 2: Sweet or savory? Grits? Oh? I think when I want grits,

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Speaker 2: I always go for savory grits, but I support all

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Speaker 2: sweet grits people, okay, because I just like a porridge.

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Speaker 2: I'm a porridge girl. Like I love a oh, I

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Speaker 2: love a millet. I love a grit. So when I

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Speaker 2: want a sweet grit as like a little treat, I

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Speaker 2: will have it and not be a shame. But when

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Speaker 2: I just want like grit scrits, I will go for

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Speaker 2: a sav regrant. But I do not shame sweet grits people.

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Speaker 2: Everyone is walking here.

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Speaker 1: Oh, grits are welcome.

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Speaker 2: We love it, we love it.

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Speaker 1: These are often very contentious questions.

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Speaker 2: What though, why are we fighting? We have bigger issues.

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Speaker 2: Why are we fighting over grits.

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Speaker 1: It feels like people are very tied to their way

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Speaker 1: of grits, which I think says a lot.

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Speaker 2: So just a fun mash, I hear it. I want

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Speaker 2: to create space for everyone's preferences, truly.

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Speaker 1: So tell us more about your journey. What has it

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Speaker 1: been like to go from studying hospitality or Georgia State

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Speaker 1: to getting your NBA in Madrid and now being a

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Speaker 1: voice for Black American food culture.

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Speaker 2: Oh man, oh my god, I call me is a

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Speaker 2: voice for black American food culture, it's like, ah, scary,

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Speaker 2: but oh my god, I would say, like the last

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Speaker 2: this is the last year of my twenties. Also, like

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Speaker 2: I used to do youth work, so I had a

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Speaker 2: kid literally call me a geriatric gen Z once and

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Speaker 2: I was offended when it't happen, And now I've just

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Speaker 2: owned it, which I'm like, Okay, cool, I'm like the

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Speaker 2: gen Z big cousin. But definitely, looking back at the

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Speaker 2: last ten years, I've been reflecting a lot on my

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Speaker 2: twenties and this year, it's just so much change has happened,

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Speaker 2: especially when you think of just like how crucial and

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Speaker 2: how important your twenties are until like your identity formation. Definitely,

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Speaker 2: everything that's happening right now makes complete sense to me,

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Speaker 2: because I know other people don't know how I got

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Speaker 2: to this point yet, but for me, I'm like, this

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Speaker 2: makes complete sense, Like every step makes sense. Like I

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Speaker 2: was just thinking this morning about what was like a

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Speaker 2: really key turning point for me and just my understanding

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Speaker 2: of my own culture. Because I grew up in the suburbs,

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Speaker 2: I am a classic suburban black girl second gen My

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Speaker 2: mom grew up in the suburbs. Both my parents went

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Speaker 2: to college. My dad went to an IVY. Like our

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Speaker 2: family sport is Lacrosse. We are very suburban. So but

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Speaker 2: I don't want to go into the whole like tragic

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Speaker 2: suburban black girls story because I think we've I want

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Speaker 2: to see more people talk about it those experiences, but

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Speaker 2: I think we've heard it. But more so that is

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Speaker 2: a very specific kind of like childhood trauma to say,

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Speaker 2: to be a black girl in the suburbs, and for me,

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Speaker 2: it was a lot of being put into boxes that

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Speaker 2: didn't make sense for me. And I understand why people

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Speaker 2: put me in those boxes, but I didn't really get why,

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Speaker 2: like it never felt right. I was born and raised

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Speaker 2: in New Jersey, grew up going to high school in

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Speaker 2: South Jersey, and once I got to the end of

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Speaker 2: my high school career, I was like, I got to

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Speaker 2: get out of here, picked up and ran, went to

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Speaker 2: Georgia State, went down to Atlanta, and that just changed

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Speaker 2: everything for me. It just opened up kind of my

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Speaker 2: world of what blackness looks like for me, what that

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Speaker 2: means as well as it was the first time I

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Speaker 2: really got the opportunity to learn about my own culture

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Speaker 2: in an academic context and a comprehensive academic context, Like

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Speaker 2: this morning, I was just thinking about when I was

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Speaker 2: taking African American Studies. I did four straight years of

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Speaker 2: African American Studies at Georgia State. The only reason I

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Speaker 2: didn't get a minor in it I was one class

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Speaker 2: shorid of a miner, but I would have had to

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Speaker 2: take another semester so I wouldn't have graduated on time,

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Speaker 2: so I decided not to. But my very first class

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Speaker 2: was with doctor Lisa Shannon, who is an icon at

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Speaker 2: Georgia State, and that changed everything, Like everything the way

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Speaker 2: I moved through the world and the way I experience life,

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Speaker 2: Like taking African American Studies when I was eighteen nineteen

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Speaker 2: just colored all of that in a different light. And

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Speaker 2: it's definitely changed the way I approach thing because I'm

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Speaker 2: always approaching my life choices from the perspective of like,

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Speaker 2: I know what had to happen for me to be

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Speaker 2: in this position. I know what had to happen for

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Speaker 2: me to be able to do to do my bachelor's

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Speaker 2: degree at an outstate institution. I know what had to

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Speaker 2: happen for me to be able to go get my

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Speaker 2: masters in another country. There's so many things on the

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Speaker 2: back end, so many sacrifices that had to be made

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Speaker 2: for me to be who I am now, and I'm

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Speaker 2: just always moving understanding that I'm standing on the shoulders

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Speaker 2: of giants. It's never just about me. And I think

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Speaker 2: with this whole conversation around soul food and Black American

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Speaker 2: cuisine in the future of it, I'm always moving in

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Speaker 2: that direction of like, I know what it took for

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Speaker 2: me to have the level of education and knowledge that

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Speaker 2: I have, and i want to make sure that I'm

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Speaker 2: not wasting it. If it makes sense, I've known all

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Speaker 2: kinds of sidequests over the last ten years, all kinds

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Speaker 2: of interesting, weird, unique experiences that when I say them

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Speaker 2: to people, it doesn't make sense in its own container,

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Speaker 2: but in the grand story of Sierra Nicole and who

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Speaker 2: I am, it all just makes sense. So this moment

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Speaker 2: happening was definitely not an accident. It was just like

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Speaker 2: good timing for me. So yeah, it's been fun.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I can definitely see I mean, without even

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Speaker 1: knowing the story behind all the sad quests, I can

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Speaker 1: see how like going there being a hospitality major but

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Speaker 1: also being very immersed in African American studies, then leads

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Speaker 1: to this person who is now really deeply interested in

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Speaker 1: soul food and like Black American culture and what it

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Speaker 1: looks like to preserve this.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure, and definitely on the soul food front specifically,

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Speaker 2: I think the big turning point for me and my

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Speaker 2: own learning and understanding because I grew up in a

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Speaker 2: food household. Like my dad. He did the hospitality program

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Speaker 2: at Cornell. A chef. He's breaking kitchens, he caters mostly

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Speaker 2: now is like a side gig. But we're just like

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Speaker 2: a foody household. Like I had a Whole Food's mom

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Speaker 2: when I was a kid. She used to take me

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Speaker 2: over to the cheese section of Whole Foods and try

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Speaker 2: different cheeses, and then we got to know the lady,

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Speaker 2: the cheesemonger behind the counter, so I would call her

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Speaker 2: the cheese Ley. I never knew this lady's name. She

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Speaker 2: will always be the cheese lady in six year old

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Speaker 2: meus head, in twenty nine year old meus head. But

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Speaker 2: just I loved food and I had a family that

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Speaker 2: supported my curiosity about food, and I think the big

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Speaker 2: turning point for me in redirecting that into understanding Black

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Speaker 2: American food ways was high on the Hog when that

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Speaker 2: came out, and I think twenty twenty one. I think

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Speaker 2: it was twenty twenty one, I'm not sure, but that

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Speaker 2: blew open a whole bunch of things for me, and

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Speaker 2: it really forced me to kind of question my understanding

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Speaker 2: of history around food and wanting to learn more and

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Speaker 2: then what does that look like for me coming up

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Speaker 2: into adulthood. And this whole journey on social media has

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Speaker 2: just been a very recent kind of understanding of food

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Speaker 2: for me because I was living abroad, and I was

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Speaker 2: a Black American living abroad, so people are trying to

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Speaker 2: contextualize you in a whole different way. I'm at an

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Speaker 2: international institution. Pretty much all of my classmates, I was

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Speaker 2: their very first black friends, so it wasn't even like

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Speaker 2: I'm African from the continent. I'm Black from the United

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Speaker 2: States of America, and outside of the United States, americanness

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Speaker 2: equals whiteness. So for people to come and meet me

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Speaker 2: and I'm telling them, like, I don't eat that on Thanksgiving.

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Speaker 2: Actually I've never seen that in my life was just

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Speaker 2: a lot for them to understand and contextualize. And that

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Speaker 2: also forced me to say it with my own relationship

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Speaker 2: with our food and with my identity.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, So your journey has now converged, at

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Speaker 1: least in put to your writings on the Daily Conbria,

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Speaker 1: which is yours Stu Sick. So what is your north

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Speaker 1: store for your work? How are you hoping people engage

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Speaker 1: with your writing?

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Speaker 2: My north star, especially now that I've just moved back

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Speaker 2: to the States. It's a big one, but I want

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Speaker 2: to fundamentally change the way the world engages with American

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Speaker 2: food and understand American food. It's just very tiring when

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Speaker 2: you're living outside the country and the understanding of what

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Speaker 2: Americans eat is Hamburger's, French fries, hot dogs, McDonald's fast food,

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Speaker 2: and then I show up to the community picnic with

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Speaker 2: chicken biscuits and they're like, what is that? You know?

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Speaker 2: So I was just sitting with that people outside of

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Speaker 2: the US. And it's partially our own fault because American

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Speaker 2: imperialism and the way that works, We've fed the world

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Speaker 2: a very specific vision of what americanness looks like and

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Speaker 2: American identity, and then even when it comes to black

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Speaker 2: American identity, like the kinds of things that have made

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Speaker 2: it out of the country are a very specific version

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Speaker 2: of Black americanness. So the world only understands us from

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Speaker 2: the things that we've chosen to put out into the world.

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Speaker 2: So when you meet real Americans in the wild and

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Speaker 2: out and about abroad in Europe, in Latin America, wherever,

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Speaker 2: they're trying to take their expectation and place it on you,

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Speaker 2: and it might not always fit. And I started to

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Speaker 2: feel that way about our food. So I found myself

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Speaker 2: abroad being this like culinary diplomat, where where I was

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Speaker 2: just finding these opportunities with my friends and my classmates

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Speaker 2: to introduce them to things that I would eat on holidays,

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Speaker 2: things I would eat growing up, my own learnings and

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Speaker 2: understandings of what Black American food is in cuisine, and

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Speaker 2: my learning from High on the Hog, and coming back

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Speaker 2: from that, I was really like, this needs to change

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Speaker 2: for me. It's just very played out understanding of who

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Speaker 2: Americans are and the things that we eat, and I

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Speaker 2: want to see that shift and change, and I think

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Speaker 2: it's very much possible. We've seen other major chefs do

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Speaker 2: this with other cuisines, like Jose Andris is known for

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Speaker 2: this with Spanish cuisine. He's the person who pretty much

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Speaker 2: brought Spanish cuisine to the United States and invested his

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Speaker 2: life's work into that. And I think that's possible in

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Speaker 2: reverse when it comes to American food. But in knowing that,

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Speaker 2: I know that that's a process that starts at home,

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Speaker 2: that starts with my own food and my own relationship

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Speaker 2: with black American food. I went to an international private

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Speaker 2: school from my MBI in Madrid, and I would realize

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Speaker 2: when I would go to my Mexican classmates house, there's

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Speaker 2: always toward theas or I go to my Indian friend's house,

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Speaker 2: there's always dull, there was always rice. I always knew

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Speaker 2: what to expect when I was going to their house.

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Speaker 2: But I would go home and look at what I

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Speaker 2: have meal preped in the fridge, and it was always

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Speaker 2: Asian food. And I was just sitting with that. I

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Speaker 2: was like, I know, what if it's an our cuisine.

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Speaker 2: I know we have all of these things. Why am

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Speaker 2: I not making these all the time? Why am I

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Speaker 2: making this every day? And I was like, oh wait,

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Speaker 2: like I should explore why I'm not making this? And

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Speaker 2: I started thinking for all the questions, Okay, what's the

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Speaker 2: why it takes too long to make? Okay, it's not healthy,

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Speaker 2: it's this and it's that, and I started working through

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Speaker 2: all the different questions around, like what makes soul food

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Speaker 2: something that we don't typically associate with eating every day?

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Speaker 2: And typically the two things are the time consumption of it,

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Speaker 2: how long it takes to make, and that it's considered

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Speaker 2: not healthy, which now I've figured out the why around

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Speaker 2: that and how it came to be. But I've been

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Speaker 2: doing this own unpacking for myself. I'm like, Okay, how

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Speaker 2: can I make this for my self to eat every day?

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Speaker 2: And then I had friends and family fly in in

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Speaker 2: December for my graduation. My best friend and I are

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Speaker 2: sitting in my apartment and I was like, hey, I

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Speaker 2: think next year with my content, because I just started

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Speaker 2: doing content around like life last year. It was a

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Speaker 2: project that me and my one of my best friends

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Speaker 2: were doing. Who's from Columbia but he's living in Spain,

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Speaker 2: and I was teaching him all these different Black American

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Speaker 2: recipes and he said, you need to put these recipes

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Speaker 2: online in Spanish. So all of my early content from

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Speaker 2: May until June is completely in Spanish. I speak Spanish

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Speaker 2: self taught, and then I ended up pivoting back to

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Speaker 2: the more English speaking market. But I was engaging with

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Speaker 2: our food through trying to teach it to someone I

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Speaker 2: care about who would never engage with it. And I

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Speaker 2: also went through a health radio a couple years ago.

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Speaker 2: I gained fifty pounds of the pandemic, I lost fifty pounds.

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Speaker 2: But I was also like an Astley growing up. I

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Speaker 2: know my body pretty well. I had a whole food's mom,

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Speaker 2: So I've always been really interested in health and wellness

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Speaker 2: and food, and then having to gain and lose weight

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Speaker 2: forced me to have an even deeper understanding of nutrition

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Speaker 2: and the impact of my body. So I told my

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Speaker 2: friend in my apartment at the time, I'm like, hey,

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Speaker 2: I think I want to make an e book of

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Speaker 2: just how to take soul food recipes, take everything I

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Speaker 2: know about soul food and how to make it healthier.

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Speaker 2: And I was just waiting for the right time. Always

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Speaker 2: approaching social media from the perspective of marketing, and a

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Speaker 2: lot of times with marketing, timing has a lot to

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Speaker 2: do with that. So I was just waiting for the

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Speaker 2: time to kind of play around with this idea online.

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Speaker 2: And another creator named Mkay Alan Granderson, He's a writer.

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Speaker 2: He proposed this conversation around how soul food isn't just

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Speaker 2: mac and cheese and fried chicken and all these things

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Speaker 2: that we associated with. It's also black eyed peas. It's

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Speaker 2: also different kinds of car green, this field pease, it's

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Speaker 2: wild to sparagus. It's all these things. And that was

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Speaker 2: when I was like, Okay, this is the opening. And

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Speaker 2: then I posted my video bouncing off of his idea

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Speaker 2: and tagging him and crediting him, and it just went

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Speaker 2: and it took off from there. And because I already

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Speaker 2: have the plan in place, I'd just been able to

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Speaker 2: execute and keep going and just keep going. And I'm

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Speaker 2: going to keep going. But I had to have the plan,

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Speaker 2: and then I waited for the right time, and I've

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Speaker 2: just been taking it from there. But overall, it's this

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Speaker 2: wanting to the world to see americanness and American food differently,

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Speaker 2: but knowing that that starts at home, and it starts

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Speaker 2: with fundamentally changing the way that Black Americans engage with

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Speaker 2: Black American food, cuisine, and culture. So that's a long

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Speaker 2: way to answer that question, but.

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Speaker 1: No, I appreciated that, and it left me with a

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Speaker 1: couple of thoughts. So, as you were talking about if

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Speaker 1: you visited Indian friends' home, or Mexican friends home, what

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Speaker 1: they would have. I was trying to think, oh, what

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Speaker 1: would I consider like a staple of a Black American home,

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Speaker 1: So in your mind, like what would some of those

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Speaker 1: things be.

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Speaker 2: Everyone should have corn bread ready, everybody should have corn bread.

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Speaker 2: If I was like having a friend over and I

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Speaker 2: just had things in the fridge and I'm like, oh,

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Speaker 2: you hunger, you want something, it would likely be like

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Speaker 2: some kind of roast protein or roast chicken, or if

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Speaker 2: they want something more snacky like canned fish, sardines, mackerels,

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Speaker 2: just any kind of canned type fish, canned salmon, but yeah,

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Speaker 2: some kind of roast chicken or like salmon cakes are

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Speaker 2: super easy. And then a rice and bean dish, like

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Speaker 2: even across the Americas, when you travel through the Americas

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Speaker 2: and you're just understanding how we're all connected because of colonialism,

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Speaker 2: everyone's gonna have a rice and beans. Everyone has some

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Speaker 2: kind of like cook down vegetable. Like we're very the

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Speaker 2: same in that. And that's what I enjoy the most

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Speaker 2: about traveling on this side of the planet, is you

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Speaker 2: really understand the way in which we're all connected in

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Speaker 2: that way. So, yeah, always having like a rice and

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Speaker 2: beans type dish ready. Either it's a hopin John or

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Speaker 2: it's a red beans or rice whatever, it's just there.

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Speaker 2: And then typically greens just like in the fridge. And

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Speaker 2: I've played around all different kinds of greens recipes. I've

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Speaker 2: tried greens recipes with coconut milk, which is really good,

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Speaker 2: coconut milk, doing vegan versions, doing more Asian versions. Greens

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Speaker 2: are so versatile because they're so thick, and you can

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Speaker 2: play around with a lot of different things, and they

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Speaker 2: hold really well in the fridge because of their density.

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Speaker 2: So I think everybody cheft a rice and beans ready

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Speaker 2: at all times, like it's a complete protein. You can

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Speaker 2: it warms up really well, holds really well. So ricein beans,

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Speaker 2: some kind of roast chicken, salmon cake maybe, and like

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Speaker 2: a green just ready. And then corn bread corn bread

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Speaker 2: because you can make cornbread once and it's good all weak,

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Speaker 2: and you can do a bunch of different things with

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Speaker 2: corn bread. You can make corn bread, milk, you can

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Speaker 2: so I saw somebody do a corn bread latte. They

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Speaker 2: tag me in. People are even getting creative. It has

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Speaker 2: been so fun and people tag me in these really

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Speaker 2: cool recipes. Every single day. I'm like oh, or now,

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Speaker 2: this is great, I love it here. But those would

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Speaker 2: be the things that I would say, I rush, you

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Speaker 2: just have all the time because they're very nutritious and

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Speaker 2: they hold well for multiple days in the fridge and

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Speaker 2: keep their entirety nice nice.

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Speaker 1: So you talked about like two different reasons why you

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Speaker 1: think we don't necessarily engage with this food all the time,

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Speaker 1: one being the time it takes to cook. But also

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Speaker 1: the thing I want to more often dig into is

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Speaker 1: this idea that it's unhealthy, right, and that I think

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Speaker 1: has led to a lot of stigma around our thoughts

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Speaker 1: and our relationship to soul food. So can you talk

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Speaker 1: more about that stigma and like how we got to

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Speaker 1: that place? Oh?

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Speaker 2: So, you know, as everything in America tends to do,

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Speaker 2: it all comes down to racism, unfortunately, and the more

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Speaker 2: I've learned about our own food, the more I mourn

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Speaker 2: the what could have been if racism have gone in

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Speaker 2: the way. But I think now where we are as

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Speaker 2: a people in the community, we have a really huge

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Speaker 2: opportunity to change that. So basically what happened now food

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Speaker 2: is not what we always called it soul food. The

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Speaker 2: term came out around the nineteen sixties during the Black

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Speaker 2: Power movement, where soul, the word soul like soul music,

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Speaker 2: was used to just describe Black identity and black power.

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Speaker 2: Before that, it was just like black food. It was

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Speaker 2: just country cooking, you know. But then we started using

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Speaker 2: soul food as a way to empower our relationship with

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Speaker 2: our food. Where things really started to take a change

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Speaker 2: was the Great Migration. So more than six million Black

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Speaker 2: Americans left the South between nineteen ten and nineteen seventy,

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Speaker 2: fleeing political persecution, seeking economic opportunity, and just like violence,

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Speaker 2: it was really dangerous to live in the South. And

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Speaker 2: a couple of things happened out of the Great Migration.

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Speaker 2: The first big thing that occurred was that we switched

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Speaker 2: as a community from being subsistence farmers to being wage

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Speaker 2: workers in these urban areas. So what's really interesting is

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Speaker 2: like if you read The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty,

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Speaker 2: he kind of talks about how European enslavers where they

395
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Speaker 2: were going for specific things. Different West African groups had

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00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,720
Speaker 2: very different skills. So once the Transatlantic slave trade was

397
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,119
Speaker 2: up and moving, they weren't just like going up and

398
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Speaker 2: down the coast and just grabbing whoever they're going to

399
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Speaker 2: Senegal because they know Senegal in the Sanagambian region is

400
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Speaker 2: great rice producers, and that low country area between Charleston

401
00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,080
Speaker 2: and Savannah, that Golgachi corridor is a rice producing region,

402
00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:27,199
Speaker 2: So they're pulling people from there. There's different regions that

403
00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,919
Speaker 2: are better at mining, better at metallurgy. They weren't just

404
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 2: grabbing people. They were picking people with very specific skills

405
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Speaker 2: and agriculture and farming, and our relationship with the land

406
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,560
Speaker 2: was something that West Africans were very in tune with

407
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Speaker 2: that are oppressors were not, and they needed that skill

408
00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 2: set in order to support the American economy. So we

409
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,400
Speaker 2: were these group of people who knew how to work

410
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Speaker 2: the land, who knew how to live with the land,

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Speaker 2: and we were living very rurally as subsistence. Farms were

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Speaker 2: growing around, food were raising, animals were hunting. But crow happens,

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Speaker 2: the nay Deer period, the Great Migration happens. People have

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Speaker 2: to start moving. So I'm a descendant of the Great Migration.

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Speaker 2: My folks came out of Virginia and South Carolina. They

416
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Speaker 2: moved up to New York, settled in Harlem. I grew

417
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Speaker 2: up in New Jersey. I was born in New Jersey.

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Speaker 2: So we start moving to these areas that don't have

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Speaker 2: a bunch of fresh land, that don't have access to

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Speaker 2: fresh food or fresh vegetables, and we're just left with

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00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:29,200
Speaker 2: the resources that are available to us in New York, Chicago,

422
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,680
Speaker 2: Los Angeles, Denver, all of these places where we ended

423
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,920
Speaker 2: up having to go just to have a better opportunity,

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00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:36,760
Speaker 2: and that changed the way we eat. And I started

425
00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:38,720
Speaker 2: playing around with this idea a couple of weeks ago

426
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Speaker 2: about what are the comparisons between the Great Migration and

427
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:48,520
Speaker 2: the experiences of refugees, refugees fleeing war, fleeing political persecution,

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Speaker 2: and how displacement impacts nutrition. And I was reading this

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00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,359
Speaker 2: one paper. I wish I remember the name where research

430
00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,120
Speaker 2: was conducted, and I forgot the name of the town,

431
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,399
Speaker 2: but it's near like Stone Mountain, outside of Atlanta. But

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Speaker 2: there's just a population of refugee resettlements in this town.

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00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,680
Speaker 2: And they were interviewing adolescents about what are the things

434
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,760
Speaker 2: that you were eating very often prior to having to

435
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,000
Speaker 2: be displaced in the United States, and what are you

436
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 2: eating more of now? And the top three things that

437
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,560
Speaker 2: these kids were eating less of was rice, beans and

438
00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,240
Speaker 2: potatoes three into very nutrient dense crops that are very

439
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,760
Speaker 2: common in the Americas to grow and very common across

440
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,119
Speaker 2: diets in the Americas, and they were like, what are

441
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,239
Speaker 2: you eating more of? They're eating more pizza, not very

442
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,720
Speaker 2: nutrient dees, not very healthy. And the same thing happened

443
00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,760
Speaker 2: with the Great Migration when you compare it as like

444
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:38,760
Speaker 2: a refugee store. We were fleeing, so our nutrition changed

445
00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,800
Speaker 2: because we had to move and we weren't living on

446
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:42,680
Speaker 2: the land anymore. We didn't have access to the same

447
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:44,639
Speaker 2: kinds of resources, so we just had to make do.

448
00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:50,160
Speaker 2: And it created this flattening of our understanding of what

449
00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,560
Speaker 2: soul food is because we could only recreate the things

450
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,600
Speaker 2: based on the kinds of things that we had access to,

451
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,520
Speaker 2: and that ended up being mag and cheese and a

452
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 2: being fried chicken, and ended up being lots of processed foods,

453
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:07,040
Speaker 2: and just we had less access to fresh vegetables because

454
00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,520
Speaker 2: we weren't living with and on the land like our

455
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,359
Speaker 2: ancestors had been doing. And then you start bringing on

456
00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:16,840
Speaker 2: in all these other things like redlining and food deserts

457
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:19,640
Speaker 2: is starting to come out of popularity as a word.

458
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,879
Speaker 2: People are now more using food apartheid, but which was

459
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 2: coined by Karen Washington, So it speaks more to the

460
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 2: fact that food resources have been like politically and strategically

461
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,720
Speaker 2: barred from black people. It's not like, oh, black people

462
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:33,439
Speaker 2: just ended up in this area that had nothing. It

463
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,600
Speaker 2: was like, no, we could have these things. But racism

464
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,080
Speaker 2: got in the way and has made it specifically that

465
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,000
Speaker 2: we can't have them. So that's just what happened. We

466
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,280
Speaker 2: weren't living with the land anymore. We didn't have relationship

467
00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:47,520
Speaker 2: with nature. We had been stripped of our skills for

468
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,120
Speaker 2: the sake of capitalism, and then it impacted our health

469
00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,320
Speaker 2: in the same way that when refugees have to move

470
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,440
Speaker 2: and adapt to a new country as they're fleeing war,

471
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,639
Speaker 2: and it changes the way they eat and it changes

472
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,520
Speaker 2: the access to certain kinds of ingredi that they were

473
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,080
Speaker 2: used to having. The same thing happened to Black Americans.

474
00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,800
Speaker 2: We had to adapt to We had to adapt our

475
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,280
Speaker 2: cuisine to being in new environments, which we had done before.

476
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,240
Speaker 2: The Transatlantic slave trade was the exact same thing. The

477
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,080
Speaker 2: reason we call sweet potatoes zams is because a really

478
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 2: am if you've ever seen it's like a really big

479
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,399
Speaker 2: white like tuberroot's huge when people are making like pounded

480
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:21,359
Speaker 2: dam foo food, those kinds of things that are common

481
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,160
Speaker 2: in West African cuisine. We call candy jams sweet potatoes

482
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,679
Speaker 2: that because it was the closest kind of produce, the

483
00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,520
Speaker 2: closest thing to something that we had back home that

484
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 2: we could find, and that's why we call them. M

485
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,679
Speaker 2: Sweet potatoes aren't an actual yam. They look nothing alike.

486
00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 2: They function completely differently as ingredients. So but it was

487
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,119
Speaker 2: just us making do with what we have. That's what

488
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,960
Speaker 2: we've always done as a people, so we're always adapting

489
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,359
Speaker 2: our cuisine. And then now looking forward, it's like, okay,

490
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,680
Speaker 2: knowing all of this, knowing our food has been flattened

491
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:55,159
Speaker 2: in our understanding of it. Because I get a lot

492
00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,800
Speaker 2: of people who come in my comments on my original

493
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,440
Speaker 2: video saying Black American should eat soul food every day, saying, well,

494
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,240
Speaker 2: we never stopped eating soul food. We've always been eating it.

495
00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,800
Speaker 2: But a lot of folks who are still living rurally

496
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,320
Speaker 2: in the South, they might have more access to like land,

497
00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:10,479
Speaker 2: and a lot of those traditions have been preserved. So

498
00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 2: there was just like a flattening of our understanding of

499
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 2: what the food was and now moving forward, it's just

500
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:18,360
Speaker 2: looking back in order to go forward sankofa. If you're

501
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 2: familiar with the concept, it's like, what were we doing

502
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,280
Speaker 2: prior to this thing happening to us? What did our

503
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,879
Speaker 2: eating parents look like? How did that impact our nutrition?

504
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,479
Speaker 2: And then how do we bring that back into the

505
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,680
Speaker 2: future of the way that we eat? And I think

506
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,520
Speaker 2: that's what my work is trying to do. What I'm

507
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:34,320
Speaker 2: trying to get at.

508
00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:48,400
Speaker 1: More from our conversation after the break and in your mind,

509
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 1: where is that right? Because I think you're right, like

510
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,399
Speaker 1: we have had a history of kind of making do

511
00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:54,200
Speaker 1: with what we have.

512
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:55,159
Speaker 2: And turning it.

513
00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 1: It's in something miraculous, right, there's very good tastes that

514
00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 1: come from us figure out how to make it do

515
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,800
Speaker 1: what it does. But we do also know that there

516
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,000
Speaker 1: are health impacts, right, and that we do need to

517
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,280
Speaker 1: be mindful of those kinds of things. And so what

518
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,479
Speaker 1: does it look like to kind of reclaim and like

519
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,520
Speaker 1: mail all of those things together into the future of

520
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 1: what our history with food looks like.

521
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,359
Speaker 2: I think a big part of it is education, and

522
00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,240
Speaker 2: it's what's really important for me is that I'm using

523
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,399
Speaker 2: the district like I said, I'm geriatric, gen Z. I'm

524
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 2: using the distribution strategy that makes sense for people my

525
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,080
Speaker 2: age and younger, which is the Internet. At one point

526
00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:34,680
Speaker 2: in time, it was literature, it was books, it was newspapers,

527
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:39,120
Speaker 2: it was PhD dissertations, whatever. At the point in time

528
00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:41,560
Speaker 2: it was cable television. But now it's the Internet, it's

529
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 2: short form platforms, and that is where people are getting

530
00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,760
Speaker 2: a lot of their information, a lot of their news,

531
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 2: just anything that they want to go deeper on. People

532
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,480
Speaker 2: are checking short form platforms first. But education, at the

533
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:57,280
Speaker 2: same time becomes in the world that we live in,

534
00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 2: is a privilege in a lot of ways, being able

535
00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:03,080
Speaker 2: to have access to certain kinds of education, being able

536
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,240
Speaker 2: to have access to certain people who can teach you

537
00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:11,200
Speaker 2: certain things. And I think nutrition as a whole and

538
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,879
Speaker 2: what food does for our body and our relationship with

539
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:19,080
Speaker 2: food unfortunately becomes like an educational gap that needs to

540
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:22,280
Speaker 2: be filled as well as a food access gap. There's

541
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,639
Speaker 2: still lots of Black Americans who don't have access to

542
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 2: fresh foods and vegetables, who don't have access to a

543
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,040
Speaker 2: local grocery store or farmer's market or somewhere where they

544
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:34,920
Speaker 2: can get real fresh food. But if you do or

545
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,720
Speaker 2: r someone who has access to those things, then it's

546
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:40,919
Speaker 2: like an understanding of what does this thing do for

547
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,520
Speaker 2: me in my body. So for me, when I was

548
00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,159
Speaker 2: on my health journey, one of the things that I

549
00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:50,000
Speaker 2: was struggling with was pre diabetes, right, and diabetes also

550
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:51,960
Speaker 2: runs in my family, so it's just something I'm always

551
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,080
Speaker 2: going to have to be mindful of. But in that process,

552
00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:57,000
Speaker 2: I was learning more about the way food breaks down

553
00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:00,359
Speaker 2: in my body and the way starts is down in

554
00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:02,280
Speaker 2: your body. And we always when we say sugar, we

555
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,320
Speaker 2: think like candy, we think like sweet drinks, we think pastries.

556
00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,439
Speaker 2: But also rice is a sugar. Now, there's nothing wrong

557
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,920
Speaker 2: with rice. Rice isn't a bad thing. I don't believe

558
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 2: in moralizing food. You will never hear me go and

559
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 2: say this is bad, this is good. I will always

560
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,199
Speaker 2: just present this is what this thing is, and this

561
00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 2: is what this thing is, and they both do different

562
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:21,919
Speaker 2: things and it's up to you to decide what you

563
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 2: want to do with it. So I will never moralize

564
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,639
Speaker 2: a food. But then I started getting into okay, rice

565
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,400
Speaker 2: rice breaks down in my body a certain way. As

566
00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,639
Speaker 2: someone who processes sugar differently, what does brown rice do

567
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:36,760
Speaker 2: versus white rice? How does that break down? Brown rice

568
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,879
Speaker 2: breaks down a little bit slower, White rice breaks down faster.

569
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 2: So it means it's going to spike your blood sugar

570
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,920
Speaker 2: a little b quicker. Blood shugar spikes aren't bad. They're

571
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,680
Speaker 2: supposed to happen, but if you're someone who needs to

572
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:48,719
Speaker 2: be more mindful of their blood sugar, you have to

573
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 2: know that ahead of time. So then it's okay, how

574
00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 2: do I make it so that the spike isn't as bad? Oh,

575
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,000
Speaker 2: you can eat fiber before you actually have your rice,

576
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,360
Speaker 2: and then that helps mellow the spike out so it's

577
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,120
Speaker 2: not as high and so that it keeps you more

578
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,560
Speaker 2: stabilized throughout the day when you're processing it. And this

579
00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:08,720
Speaker 2: is like how the food is breaking down your body.

580
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:10,479
Speaker 2: So I'm going through this process of like learning this

581
00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 2: on my own, working with my doctor, working with my dietitian,

582
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,440
Speaker 2: of just understanding glycemic index and understand just like how

583
00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,840
Speaker 2: food impacts my body as somebody who doesn't break down sugar. Well,

584
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:23,600
Speaker 2: but I don't think that's something that most people know

585
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,760
Speaker 2: about how the food impacts your body. And that's why

586
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,119
Speaker 2: protein is such a big thing now. Because protein helps

587
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,240
Speaker 2: your satiation, it helps you stay fuller. So now everybody

588
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,560
Speaker 2: wants to be on the protein with a protein wagon,

589
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,480
Speaker 2: but don't eat a ton of protein without fiber or

590
00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 2: else you're gonna be real constipated like that caught fun.

591
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 2: Eat the fiber please. So there's I think a gap

592
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 2: in nutrition education when it comes to just like higher

593
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:49,240
Speaker 2: level understandings of nutrition and the everyday person. And I

594
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 2: think that's a really great space that content creators phil.

595
00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:54,880
Speaker 2: I was listening to Deontay Kyle talk to ft Signifier

596
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,280
Speaker 2: their interview a couple of weeks ago, and Fdu was

597
00:28:57,320 --> 00:28:59,520
Speaker 2: talking about how he doesn't really feel like he's doing

598
00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:04,479
Speaker 2: anything new or special. He's just taking things from people

599
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:08,240
Speaker 2: with PhDs and Africanama studies or African American studies and

600
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,040
Speaker 2: then putting them on YouTube and putting them on TikTok

601
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,280
Speaker 2: or whatever platform he's using. So it's this great middleman

602
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,680
Speaker 2: because it's like this trickle down effect that actually works,

603
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,000
Speaker 2: not like trickle down economics, but it's this trickle down

604
00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,440
Speaker 2: effective information that's happening where like you have these high

605
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,880
Speaker 2: level understandings of a hard concept. Content creators are filling

606
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,640
Speaker 2: this gap and understanding how to sell the concept to

607
00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:30,600
Speaker 2: everybody else, and then that information is making its way

608
00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,000
Speaker 2: through the world. So I think that's the space that

609
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,440
Speaker 2: I'm filling when it comes to nutrition in relation to

610
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,640
Speaker 2: soul food. Is that one knowing what I know about

611
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:41,760
Speaker 2: our cuisine, knowing what the roots of our cuisine. And

612
00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:43,480
Speaker 2: that's also a big part that a lot of people

613
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:48,360
Speaker 2: don't realize, is that the roots of Black American cuisine

614
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:50,840
Speaker 2: are very nutritious and the same way that most global

615
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 2: cuisines are quite healthy. It's once you start modifying too

616
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 2: much that things start to get out of hand and

617
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,120
Speaker 2: we're eating like celebration meals, like things you should have

618
00:29:59,160 --> 00:30:01,240
Speaker 2: once a week, once a mo all the time, and

619
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 2: associating it with that most cuisines are very healthy, very

620
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,480
Speaker 2: nutritionally done. Black American cuisine is very nutritionally dense. Black

621
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 2: eyed peas are very good for you. Rice is great

622
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 2: for you, Chicken is good for you, Shellfish is good

623
00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 2: for you. Like all of these things provide nutrition to

624
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 2: your body, and it's for me. With my content, I'm

625
00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:19,960
Speaker 2: trying to reframe that. Say you go to your doctor

626
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,360
Speaker 2: or dietitian, they're like, oh, you should try the Mediterranean diet.

627
00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:23,760
Speaker 2: Then you can push back and say, why are you

628
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,080
Speaker 2: recommending that? Because I'm I lived over there. They're really

629
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,880
Speaker 2: not eating anything special. Those folks eat. They have a

630
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,200
Speaker 2: cigarette and an espresso for breakfast. I'm supposed to look

631
00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,840
Speaker 2: at you like you're the pinnacle of health. I'm not

632
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,960
Speaker 2: with that. So it's why is that the standard. It's

633
00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,200
Speaker 2: this decolonization also of our understanding of our own food

634
00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:46,720
Speaker 2: and realizing like all of these things that our ancestors

635
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,400
Speaker 2: were eating are very nutritious. If you saw black panther.

636
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 2: There's the joke that in Baku mates about oh, we're vegetarians.

637
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,600
Speaker 2: Most of those West African tribes their studies to show

638
00:30:55,600 --> 00:30:58,680
Speaker 2: that most of them were vegetarian. They weren't eating meat.

639
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 2: So it's just trying to frame health and nutrition, but

640
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:05,960
Speaker 2: putting our food at the center of it. I'm not

641
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 2: going to put Mediterranean food or these very white ideals

642
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:13,280
Speaker 2: of what health and wellness looks like at the center.

643
00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:15,480
Speaker 2: I'm putting Black cuisines at the center. I'm putting Black

644
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:18,719
Speaker 2: American traditional country cooking at the center of it. I'm

645
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 2: putting West African cooking of the center of it. That's

646
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,600
Speaker 2: what I'm trying to do so it's like people are already

647
00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,720
Speaker 2: doing this on the internet. I'm just packaging it differently,

648
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,440
Speaker 2: and I think that's what's working. It's like it feels

649
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,040
Speaker 2: more approachable, it feels like it makes more sense to

650
00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:33,840
Speaker 2: a lot of folks. So that's what I'm trying to

651
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:36,000
Speaker 2: keep going because and I'm going to ride that wave

652
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 2: until that one runs out, and then I'll find another

653
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:39,440
Speaker 2: wave to ride.

654
00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: I appreciate the story from Black Panther Imbaku was one

655
00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:48,040
Speaker 1: of my favorite black me too, But I do think

656
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,600
Speaker 1: it introduces this not new but new maybe for people

657
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 1: who are talking about this idea of plant based so

658
00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,280
Speaker 1: food right and now you're talking about actually that is

659
00:31:57,320 --> 00:31:59,280
Speaker 1: a thing that is coming back right like because with

660
00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,240
Speaker 1: African try, we're already using plants, right and so talk

661
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,520
Speaker 1: to us about these plant based ideas around like how

662
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:07,920
Speaker 1: to integrate that with soul food and what does that

663
00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,000
Speaker 1: look like in practice.

664
00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 2: So there's a couple of people who have been working

665
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:13,840
Speaker 2: on this now I want to say decades, but for

666
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,640
Speaker 2: a long time already. Bryan Terry is a great resource

667
00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,680
Speaker 2: for that. Jane Claiborne Sweet Potato sol If anyone will

668
00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 2: watch here they're both vegans, and I keep up with

669
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,959
Speaker 2: vegans and I follow vegans, but I am not vegan

670
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,160
Speaker 2: just because, especially with what I'm trying to do again,

671
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 2: social media is marketing. You have to sell an idea.

672
00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 2: As soon as you say vegan, people fifty percent of

673
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,280
Speaker 2: your audience turns their braining off. There's nothing wrong with

674
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,560
Speaker 2: being vegan at all. And honestly, there's a lot of

675
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 2: vegan creators that I follow who have amazing recipes that

676
00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:49,280
Speaker 2: helped me put more plant based things into my die.

677
00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,280
Speaker 2: Like there's this one crater Afia who is amazing eat

678
00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,360
Speaker 2: with a fia, but she shows all these different plant

679
00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 2: based recipes from Ghana and the way they're using grains

680
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:02,680
Speaker 2: and cons and roots and two words. And I'm finding

681
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 2: her for years on my personal page, and I just

682
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,680
Speaker 2: followed her on my professional page, Like she's just such

683
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,000
Speaker 2: a beautiful representation. It's so different from what we see

684
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 2: of West African cuisine. And I really appreciate her content

685
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 2: and I'm always very inspired by it. But there are

686
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 2: people who have been doing the work on the vegan front.

687
00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,760
Speaker 2: What I'm trying to help do is create more of

688
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:24,440
Speaker 2: a middleman just because being vegan is really hard. As

689
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,880
Speaker 2: someone who floated in and out of vegetarian veganism between

690
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:31,200
Speaker 2: like age twelve and twenty two, it is a very

691
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 2: difficult thing to do, like emotionally and socially, Like it's

692
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,719
Speaker 2: hard to be a vegan and people know that. So

693
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,560
Speaker 2: from a marketing perspective, I think veganism is a great resource,

694
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 2: but it is very difficult to do, and I'm trying

695
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,040
Speaker 2: to find this middle ground that feels authentic. So I

696
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:51,680
Speaker 2: look to recipes on continent that makes sense and fit

697
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,040
Speaker 2: into this style of diet, as well as things that

698
00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:56,760
Speaker 2: we do here, like I've just posted a video about

699
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:59,959
Speaker 2: salmon cakes talking about the nutrition in salmon and how

700
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 2: can salmon just like makes your life easier, Like it

701
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,320
Speaker 2: fits these two buckets that I'm working with when it

702
00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:05,720
Speaker 2: comes to soul food, like how do we make it

703
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,719
Speaker 2: easier to make every day? How is it nutritious? And

704
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,560
Speaker 2: salmon cakes are a great option in that salmon has

705
00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:15,000
Speaker 2: is high omega threes, it's a great source of protein,

706
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:17,600
Speaker 2: so it helps keep you full, and also there's vegetables

707
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,680
Speaker 2: in it, so that's adding nutrition. And at the same

708
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:21,319
Speaker 2: time it's a canned product, like you don't have to

709
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,359
Speaker 2: cook it. When you're making a salmon cake, you can

710
00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:25,120
Speaker 2: get it from a can, so that makes it easier.

711
00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:30,480
Speaker 2: So I think looking to vegan people is very helpful,

712
00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:33,239
Speaker 2: but I don't set them as my standard just because

713
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,680
Speaker 2: a lot of people do not want to be vegan unfortunately.

714
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,520
Speaker 2: Is it more sustainable for the planet, yeah, is it

715
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:41,400
Speaker 2: good for your body, yes, But at the core of it,

716
00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:44,440
Speaker 2: it's just like eating more whole foods, eating more vegetables,

717
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:45,920
Speaker 2: That's what the core of it. So I'm always going

718
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:50,400
Speaker 2: to promote like, you should be eating more vegetables, more produce,

719
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:54,880
Speaker 2: more plants in general, but and maybe incorporating a vegan

720
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,960
Speaker 2: meal once a week, twice a week into your routine,

721
00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 2: into your meal prep, af you meal prep. I'm not

722
00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 2: going to be like everybody should go be vegan because

723
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,560
Speaker 2: that kind of feels like an extreme in some ways.

724
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,760
Speaker 2: But they are good resources to check out. Definitely Bryant Terry,

725
00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:10,759
Speaker 2: for sure, He's been in the game for a long

726
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,920
Speaker 2: time talking about food access, talking about health and wellness

727
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:16,040
Speaker 2: and all these things. But there are people who've been

728
00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 2: doing the work, So that's not my work. Get it.

729
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:31,319
Speaker 1: Got it more from our conversation after the break so

730
00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,080
Speaker 1: talk to us about the Black American safri too that

731
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,719
Speaker 1: you have come up with, and how we might be

732
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,160
Speaker 1: able to inquiverate that into our diets as well or

733
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:40,160
Speaker 1: our recipe book.

734
00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:42,759
Speaker 2: I've definitely got a lot of feedback on that one

735
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:46,040
Speaker 2: that was interesting. But I was more coming from the

736
00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:48,319
Speaker 2: place and I have other recipes in the pipeline that

737
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:50,799
Speaker 2: are like this of trying to make these adaptations. But

738
00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,880
Speaker 2: I was coming from this place of Okay, this is

739
00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:56,799
Speaker 2: a thing that our fellow brothers and sisters who have

740
00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,879
Speaker 2: similar ethnic mixes to us across the Americas do. It's

741
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:04,240
Speaker 2: super common, and looking to our cuisine, I was like, Okay,

742
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:06,080
Speaker 2: we don't do this thing where we take a bunch

743
00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 2: of vegetables and we blend them down with like oil

744
00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:10,880
Speaker 2: and seasonings or whatever, and we put it in everything.

745
00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:13,840
Speaker 2: Puerto Ricans are putting their selfuri throw on everything. Jamaicans

746
00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,879
Speaker 2: are putting their green seasoning in everything. We don't really

747
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,400
Speaker 2: have that. The closest is the Holy Trinity, which is

748
00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:21,600
Speaker 2: more common around Louisiana, which is that bell pepper, celery onion,

749
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:23,680
Speaker 2: and that to take on a mirrorpoa, which is a

750
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,240
Speaker 2: French technique. Of course, that makes sense. Louisiana are French,

751
00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,359
Speaker 2: but even in Europe, like I remember, if you want

752
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:31,359
Speaker 2: to make a payea in Spain, you have to make

753
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,600
Speaker 2: a sulfuri tho, which is a different kind of version,

754
00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:35,880
Speaker 2: but than the ones in the Americas. They don't blend

755
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,200
Speaker 2: it up necessarily, but it's about the same. So I

756
00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:41,520
Speaker 2: was just looking at these things that exist around the

757
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,520
Speaker 2: world that are in cuisine, and I was like, Okay,

758
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,120
Speaker 2: this is something that's similar to how do we take

759
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,080
Speaker 2: it a step further and make it a standard in

760
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:50,960
Speaker 2: the cuisine? So I was like, okay, what if we

761
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 2: did this. Hey, guys, I have this idea. Look at

762
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,040
Speaker 2: all these people who also do this thing. Maybe we

763
00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,520
Speaker 2: should try doing it. I'm not saying everybody has to.

764
00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,799
Speaker 2: If you don't want to, you don't need to, but

765
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 2: I think it could be cool if you do. And

766
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,920
Speaker 2: I had started playing around with it in my own recipes,

767
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,439
Speaker 2: and I was like, oh, I'm going to keep doing

768
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:10,200
Speaker 2: this because we've already seen it be tried and true

769
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 2: in other cultures and seen it work. There's a reason

770
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,960
Speaker 2: they've been making me so forty thousand things for however

771
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,759
Speaker 2: knows how long. So I was like, we could also

772
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,239
Speaker 2: do the same thing. And then it's also coming from

773
00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 2: this place of cuisine is supposed to be creative. It's

774
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:32,359
Speaker 2: supposed to be adaptive. Like no tradition survives when it's stagnant,

775
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,799
Speaker 2: you know, you always need people trying to push things

776
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:40,359
Speaker 2: forward while maintaining tradition and maintaining its authenticity. And that

777
00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,040
Speaker 2: was where I was coming from with that perspective, because

778
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:46,000
Speaker 2: it was just bringing us into a technique I was

779
00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:48,480
Speaker 2: already being done by people who are similar to us,

780
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:50,920
Speaker 2: and what it would look like for us to do

781
00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 2: that and to adopt that. So the response has been awesome,

782
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,400
Speaker 2: and people have been making their own, have been tagging me,

783
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:58,759
Speaker 2: And I also think what's really cool about it is

784
00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,920
Speaker 2: that it gives your food kind of a signature taste

785
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:04,759
Speaker 2: that's just yours. Because maybe somebody in your family likes

786
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:08,359
Speaker 2: time but you like rosemary. Maybe someone likes Lari's all

787
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:10,319
Speaker 2: purpose s easing, but somebody likes a different one. So

788
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:13,160
Speaker 2: everyone's food. You create this like signature taste to your

789
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:16,080
Speaker 2: own cuisine, and then if you decide to have kids

790
00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:18,000
Speaker 2: and you want to pass that down, then they're learning

791
00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:20,640
Speaker 2: like your technique. They know how to make it taste

792
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:22,560
Speaker 2: like your moms or your grandma's or whatever. And I

793
00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:25,279
Speaker 2: thought that that was a really cool preservation technique of

794
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,239
Speaker 2: how we preserve our recipes going forward. So I've been

795
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,720
Speaker 2: using it. I think some of the feedback I've gotten

796
00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:34,959
Speaker 2: is that, well, one people don't really get They didn't

797
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,760
Speaker 2: get it. They were like, well, we have the Holy Trinity.

798
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,080
Speaker 2: I'm like, yes, I know, I said that, but this

799
00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:41,880
Speaker 2: is just a little bit different. If you just like,

800
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,160
Speaker 2: stay with me, just walk with me on this one,

801
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:48,200
Speaker 2: some folks, we're not feeling that. Some people were like, well,

802
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:50,040
Speaker 2: let them do their thing over there. Why do we

803
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:51,600
Speaker 2: have to? And I was like, I'm not trying for

804
00:38:51,719 --> 00:38:55,040
Speaker 2: us to be them. I think we offer the world

805
00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:56,640
Speaker 2: so many amazing things as it. I don't think we

806
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:58,399
Speaker 2: have to be anyone other than ourselves. But I think

807
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,400
Speaker 2: we can play around with different ideas is and different concepts.

808
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,600
Speaker 2: What's wrong with them. That's what food is for, for

809
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,239
Speaker 2: us to be creative and to have fun with it.

810
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:06,880
Speaker 2: And then a lot of people were confused as to

811
00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:09,319
Speaker 2: why I used the Spanish word, and I just had

812
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:12,480
Speaker 2: to be like, this is my life experience. You know,

813
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:16,600
Speaker 2: I'm an international person. I'm bilingual. I taught myself Spanish,

814
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:18,160
Speaker 2: and they're like, well, are you dominic. I'm like, no,

815
00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:21,160
Speaker 2: I'm Black American. I just taught myself a language that honestly,

816
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,440
Speaker 2: everyone should be learning Spanish if you live in America

817
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,600
Speaker 2: right now. I'm not gonna lie. It's a very helpful

818
00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,520
Speaker 2: resource to have having that in your back pocket. But

819
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:31,600
Speaker 2: I I just speak the language. I have a lot

820
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,160
Speaker 2: of Latin American friends. I've traveled in Spanish speaking countries.

821
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:38,160
Speaker 2: It makes sense that this is just my experience. You know,

822
00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:40,440
Speaker 2: there would be no mac and cheese had James Hemmings

823
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,800
Speaker 2: not gone to France with Thomas Jefferson and then brought

824
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,640
Speaker 2: that technique back here, and then boom, we have mac

825
00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,359
Speaker 2: and cheek. So I honest see the French fighting us

826
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:49,719
Speaker 2: for mac and cheese. They're not It's ours. It's an

827
00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:53,560
Speaker 2: American thing. So cuisine itself is just this. It's meant

828
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,440
Speaker 2: to be fluid and influenced by all different kinds of

829
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,920
Speaker 2: cultures and all different kinds of life experiences. That's the point.

830
00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:02,600
Speaker 2: That's how we got to the food that we have now.

831
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:06,600
Speaker 2: Black Americans are a mix of West African, indigenous, and

832
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:09,160
Speaker 2: European influences. That's how our food was built, and I'm

833
00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,759
Speaker 2: just trying to do the same thing with some different influences.

834
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,360
Speaker 2: But I'm really excited that other people feel excited about it.

835
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,239
Speaker 2: I'm really excited that people are actually making it. I'm

836
00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:19,279
Speaker 2: always surprised when I'm like, oh wow, y'all really listen

837
00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:23,480
Speaker 2: to me, like okay, cool, great. But I definitely have

838
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:25,319
Speaker 2: more ideas I want to play around with on that

839
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:27,600
Speaker 2: front of like looking at what other people are doing

840
00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:29,239
Speaker 2: and what would it look like for us as Black

841
00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:32,640
Speaker 2: Americans to also adopt something that makes sense for us.

842
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:35,040
Speaker 1: And your recipe for people who have not had a

843
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:38,239
Speaker 1: chance to take it out for this was what So.

844
00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:42,279
Speaker 2: I took white onion, celery, and bell pepper, which is

845
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:46,160
Speaker 2: the holy Trinity. I also added garlic. There's one recipe

846
00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:47,720
Speaker 2: I have out there where I forgot to add garlic,

847
00:40:47,719 --> 00:40:49,239
Speaker 2: and I told people, I was like, I shot four

848
00:40:49,239 --> 00:40:52,200
Speaker 2: recipes this day. I'm so sorry I forgot garlic. And

849
00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:55,040
Speaker 2: then some kind of fresh herb like a rosemary or

850
00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:58,080
Speaker 2: a time and olive oil and that's just like the

851
00:40:58,160 --> 00:41:02,200
Speaker 2: base and then and whatever your choice of seasonings is.

852
00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:03,960
Speaker 2: I have an all purpose seasoning that I like, but

853
00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:06,400
Speaker 2: if you like more spice, you can do a pepper

854
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:10,360
Speaker 2: in there. You can add some cayenne or paprika or something.

855
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,840
Speaker 2: So from there you can be more creative based on

856
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,839
Speaker 2: your flavor profile. Put that on a blender, blend it up,

857
00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:19,680
Speaker 2: and then it can be used.

858
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:19,799
Speaker 1: Oh.

859
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,759
Speaker 2: I also put a little bit of acid in there,

860
00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,920
Speaker 2: either lemon or apple cider vinegar, and then I store

861
00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,200
Speaker 2: that in freeze little cubes like the super cubes, or

862
00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:30,120
Speaker 2: I store it in the frise like a glass container.

863
00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:32,040
Speaker 2: And I'll use that as like a marinad if I'm

864
00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:34,520
Speaker 2: making fish, or if I'm making chicken or something, or

865
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:36,200
Speaker 2: if I'm doing a soup or a stew like a

866
00:41:36,239 --> 00:41:38,960
Speaker 2: black eyed peas like a red beaan. I have a

867
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:40,880
Speaker 2: black eyed pean lentil soup I just did the other day.

868
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:43,400
Speaker 2: I'll just put like a little tablespood of it in

869
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 2: their rice. Also, I've been using it. I've been playing

870
00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:48,000
Speaker 2: around with it in so many different recipes and it's

871
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,040
Speaker 2: been so versatile in such a great resource to use.

872
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:52,960
Speaker 2: But that's the base. It's like the blended holy trinity,

873
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,640
Speaker 2: some herbs, oil and seasoning.

874
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,600
Speaker 1: So you already talked about several foods that you feel

875
00:41:57,640 --> 00:41:59,600
Speaker 1: like we can kind of reclaim and kind of play

876
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,880
Speaker 1: with more in terms of Black Eyed daily recipes and

877
00:42:01,960 --> 00:42:04,480
Speaker 1: daily food So you talked about samon, you talked about

878
00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,479
Speaker 1: rice and peas, you talked about beans, you talked about

879
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,400
Speaker 1: like greens. Are there other foods that you feel like

880
00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,279
Speaker 1: need to be put back on the table as not

881
00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:14,799
Speaker 1: something that we eat only on special occasions or for

882
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:17,520
Speaker 1: celebration meals, but that could actually be a part of

883
00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:18,680
Speaker 1: our regular diets.

884
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:22,400
Speaker 2: To be honest, I think that is the core of it.

885
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:26,200
Speaker 2: It's the greens, beans, lean proteins at a minimum. That's

886
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:29,080
Speaker 2: what I think should be what should be the standard

887
00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:34,360
Speaker 2: going forward. It's less so specific foods to me though,

888
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:36,120
Speaker 2: Like there's things like I want to see more people

889
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:38,080
Speaker 2: doing like black Eyes DoD black eyed peas every single

890
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:40,960
Speaker 2: Week's just like a pot of beans every single week,

891
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,080
Speaker 2: a pot of rice every week. But it's more so

892
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,879
Speaker 2: like an ideology that I want to see more people doing.

893
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,080
Speaker 2: I think a book that every Black American should have

894
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:50,359
Speaker 2: in their household is The Taste of Country Cooking by

895
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:52,600
Speaker 2: Edna Lewis. I was reading it the other day and

896
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:54,279
Speaker 2: I literally had to like just put it down and

897
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,040
Speaker 2: stand with my thoughts for a second, because it's not

898
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:00,360
Speaker 2: that is a religious text for me. It's not just

899
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,120
Speaker 2: a cookbook with recipes, just the ideology. And if you

900
00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:06,720
Speaker 2: don't know who Edna Lewis is, she's what people consider

901
00:43:07,239 --> 00:43:10,839
Speaker 2: mother of the modern farm to table movement for black

902
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:16,440
Speaker 2: folks specifically, and her work speaks to her experience growing

903
00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,879
Speaker 2: up in Freetown, Virginia, which was a free settlement for

904
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,719
Speaker 2: freedom slave people founded by I think her father and

905
00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:25,839
Speaker 2: some of his family members and friends, and just how

906
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:27,799
Speaker 2: they would eat and how they would live with the land.

907
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,800
Speaker 2: And it goes back to what I was saying earlier

908
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:35,520
Speaker 2: about how during the Transatlantic slave trade, Europeans knew exactly

909
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,040
Speaker 2: who they were pulling for what tasks, Like we are

910
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:40,880
Speaker 2: a people who are meant to live with the land,

911
00:43:41,040 --> 00:43:43,319
Speaker 2: live on the land, and like work the land, like

912
00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:45,400
Speaker 2: we just we are so in tune with nature as

913
00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:48,640
Speaker 2: a people. And this book Tastes of Country Cooking speaks

914
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,799
Speaker 2: to that so amazingly. Like I was just reading this

915
00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:54,440
Speaker 2: one section, the section on spring, because she splits it

916
00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:58,040
Speaker 2: up into seasons, talking about like seasonal cooking and how

917
00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:00,240
Speaker 2: not everything is available all year. That's not a normal

918
00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:03,719
Speaker 2: way to eat. That's a capitalistic way to eat. That

919
00:44:03,719 --> 00:44:05,920
Speaker 2: you can get tomatoes all year long, that you can

920
00:44:05,920 --> 00:44:08,400
Speaker 2: get certain kinds of the greens all year long. That's

921
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:12,279
Speaker 2: not normal. Is it convenient, Yes, it is convenient, but

922
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:13,960
Speaker 2: it is not a normal way to eat. We should

923
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:17,080
Speaker 2: all be eating seasonally. Now that's difficult because farmer's markets

924
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,880
Speaker 2: are quite expensive. All food is expensive right now. But

925
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,400
Speaker 2: it can be very difficult to do. But that's the

926
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,040
Speaker 2: way we're supposed to eating. And taste of country cooking

927
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:27,239
Speaker 2: just takes you through, like not just the way they're

928
00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:30,080
Speaker 2: making these meals, but their philosophy around them, Like in

929
00:44:30,120 --> 00:44:32,560
Speaker 2: the spring section, and the Loos is talking about how

930
00:44:32,560 --> 00:44:35,880
Speaker 2: there were certain crops you could only like plant during

931
00:44:35,920 --> 00:44:38,040
Speaker 2: certain signs of the zodiac, and then some of them

932
00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:40,000
Speaker 2: can only be harvested when under a full moon, and

933
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:41,800
Speaker 2: some had to be harvested at night when there was

934
00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:43,560
Speaker 2: a new moon and it was completely dark. Like that

935
00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:49,200
Speaker 2: is a level of just intuition with nature that for

936
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:52,440
Speaker 2: me is so amazing, and I mourn the fact that

937
00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:56,440
Speaker 2: we don't as a collective have that relationship with nature

938
00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:58,880
Speaker 2: as much anymore. My first job out of college, I

939
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:01,640
Speaker 2: worked live on a Hippi commune basically, but I worked

940
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:03,680
Speaker 2: as an outo education teacher, so I took kids like

941
00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,200
Speaker 2: hiking and stuff all day and it was just such

942
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:09,160
Speaker 2: a cool job to just be outside and just be

943
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,440
Speaker 2: by the creek, be with the trees, be and just

944
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:16,359
Speaker 2: share and teach and educate. But it's something that you

945
00:45:16,400 --> 00:45:19,040
Speaker 2: look at like and say, you know, black people don't

946
00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,040
Speaker 2: do that. We don't go outside, we don't spend time

947
00:45:21,120 --> 00:45:23,799
Speaker 2: with nature. And being in that job was a big

948
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:26,600
Speaker 2: pushback on that to say, actually, yes, being in nature

949
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 2: is actually our birthright. It is one of the things

950
00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:30,759
Speaker 2: we know how to do best. And I have lots

951
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,080
Speaker 2: of colleagues. While I'm not in education and youth work anymore,

952
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,480
Speaker 2: I have lots of colleagues who are still doing amazing

953
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:39,799
Speaker 2: work in that space. It's genuinely like an intuitive kind

954
00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:42,600
Speaker 2: of thing. I want Black Americans specifically to come back

955
00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:46,920
Speaker 2: to this fact that we have this very intuitive spiritual

956
00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:51,680
Speaker 2: relationship with the land that was taken from us forcibly.

957
00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,400
Speaker 2: We were forced out off of our land because of racism,

958
00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:58,080
Speaker 2: and I want to see more people coming back to

959
00:45:58,239 --> 00:46:00,279
Speaker 2: that understanding. Like my mom is a gardener. She has

960
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,520
Speaker 2: a massive gardener at her house, and she also makes

961
00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,320
Speaker 2: beginner gardening content, so she comments on all my videos

962
00:46:06,360 --> 00:46:09,160
Speaker 2: from her page saying you could grow this, which is

963
00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:11,440
Speaker 2: very cute. But that's what I want to see. Like

964
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:13,640
Speaker 2: I love seeing my mom in the garden. How happy

965
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,040
Speaker 2: it makes her be with her cabbages and be with

966
00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:18,719
Speaker 2: her peppers, and be with her cucumbers, and when like

967
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,000
Speaker 2: summer harvest comes, how excited she is to take pictures

968
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,440
Speaker 2: and show us like what she grew, and how happy

969
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:26,680
Speaker 2: it makes her to like give things away on Facebook.

970
00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:28,120
Speaker 2: I want to see us coming more back to that

971
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:30,960
Speaker 2: understanding that we are a people who is who are

972
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,520
Speaker 2: meant to be with nature and meant to be intue

973
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:35,319
Speaker 2: with nature, and that's the relationship we should be having

974
00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:37,600
Speaker 2: with our food at that level of intuition. And that's

975
00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:40,880
Speaker 2: why I appreciate that book so much, Taste of Country

976
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:43,759
Speaker 2: Cooking by Enda Lewis, because it shows like, this is

977
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:45,920
Speaker 2: who we are as a people, This is the relationship

978
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:48,000
Speaker 2: we're supposed to have with our food, like this very

979
00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:51,200
Speaker 2: intuitive relationship. So I would say, if you can pick

980
00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:54,799
Speaker 2: up that book, get that book, take your time reading it,

981
00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:57,759
Speaker 2: but really understand, like what they're doing that is what

982
00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,759
Speaker 2: I want to see more people trying to find way

983
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:01,560
Speaker 2: back to whether you live early or you live in

984
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:04,560
Speaker 2: a city, just that intuitive relationship we have with our

985
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:07,560
Speaker 2: food and our traditions. Yeah, I love it.

986
00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:09,600
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for this here. It has been

987
00:47:09,640 --> 00:47:11,959
Speaker 1: so much fun to chat with you. Tell us more

988
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,719
Speaker 1: about where we can stay connected with you. Any new

989
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,160
Speaker 1: exciting projects that are coming up for us, just to

990
00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:17,960
Speaker 1: pay attention to.

991
00:47:18,520 --> 00:47:21,120
Speaker 2: Oh Man, I am so on a major life transition

992
00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:24,800
Speaker 2: since I was not living in the country for two years.

993
00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:28,040
Speaker 2: So I'm going through a lot right now, but it's

994
00:47:28,040 --> 00:47:31,160
Speaker 2: been a lot of fun. Still expect lots of fun

995
00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:33,480
Speaker 2: short form content for me. I do also have some

996
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:36,040
Speaker 2: long form content available on YouTube, so you can find

997
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:39,240
Speaker 2: me on TikTok at Cierra Reese on Instagram and YouTube

998
00:47:39,239 --> 00:47:41,960
Speaker 2: as sier Nicole. I also have a newsletter called The

999
00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:45,279
Speaker 2: Daily corn Bread on substack where I share recipes, I

1000
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:48,040
Speaker 2: share stories, I talk about just life and living abroad

1001
00:47:48,120 --> 00:47:50,720
Speaker 2: as well as sharing recipes. I also do a shopping

1002
00:47:50,719 --> 00:47:53,400
Speaker 2: list every single week just to help make it easier

1003
00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:55,680
Speaker 2: for people to figure out what they're going to eat

1004
00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:57,239
Speaker 2: for the week. I want to bring down as many

1005
00:47:57,239 --> 00:47:59,279
Speaker 2: barriers to eating soul food every day as I can

1006
00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:01,520
Speaker 2: as much as I can, so I do have a

1007
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:04,640
Speaker 2: shopping list and then yeah, this year has been folding

1008
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:07,479
Speaker 2: really interestingly. I have big ideas and things that I

1009
00:48:07,520 --> 00:48:09,560
Speaker 2: am going to do that I can't speak on yet

1010
00:48:09,600 --> 00:48:12,160
Speaker 2: because I am a little superstitious, But they're going to

1011
00:48:12,239 --> 00:48:14,759
Speaker 2: be really cool and really fun that I can guarantee you.

1012
00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:18,960
Speaker 2: And being more visible has brought lots of new and

1013
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:22,160
Speaker 2: interesting opportunities in my way. So by December, like later

1014
00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:24,279
Speaker 2: this year, I have no clue where we're going to be,

1015
00:48:24,719 --> 00:48:26,960
Speaker 2: but I'm excited. I think it's gonna be a lot

1016
00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:29,480
Speaker 2: of fun, and I'm just excited for more people to

1017
00:48:29,560 --> 00:48:31,759
Speaker 2: just like come along on the ride and be a

1018
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:33,640
Speaker 2: part of this. I'm happy to see more people just

1019
00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:37,040
Speaker 2: in their kitchen eating, being with their community and just

1020
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:39,080
Speaker 2: learn it more and being proud, Like I'm proud. I'm

1021
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,360
Speaker 2: very proud. You will never make me feel bad for

1022
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:44,759
Speaker 2: being a black girl, for being a Black American girl ever, never.

1023
00:48:44,920 --> 00:48:46,680
Speaker 2: So I just want people to feel proud in their

1024
00:48:46,680 --> 00:48:48,640
Speaker 2: food and their culture and the way they eat.

1025
00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:51,879
Speaker 1: We will definitely stay tuned and make sure to share

1026
00:48:51,920 --> 00:48:53,840
Speaker 1: all of that information in the show. Neils, Thank you

1027
00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:55,640
Speaker 1: so much for sending some time with us today.

1028
00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:56,400
Speaker 2: Thank you.

1029
00:49:00,560 --> 00:49:02,440
Speaker 1: I'm so glad Sierra was able to join us for

1030
00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:05,520
Speaker 1: today's conversation to learn more about her and her work.

1031
00:49:05,640 --> 00:49:07,520
Speaker 1: If you should have visited the show notes at Therapy

1032
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:11,000
Speaker 1: for Blackgirls dot com slash session for sixty six and

1033
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:13,040
Speaker 1: don't forget to text this episode to two of your

1034
00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:15,480
Speaker 1: girls right now and tell them to check it out.

1035
00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:17,640
Speaker 1: Did you know that you could leave us a voicemail

1036
00:49:17,680 --> 00:49:21,359
Speaker 1: with your questions or suggestions for the podcast. Let us

1037
00:49:21,400 --> 00:49:23,320
Speaker 1: know what's on your mind and drop us a message

1038
00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:26,000
Speaker 1: at Memo dot fm slash Therapy for Black Girls and

1039
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:28,640
Speaker 1: we just might feature it on the podcast. If you're

1040
00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:31,360
Speaker 1: looking for a therapist in your area, visit our therapist

1041
00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:35,560
Speaker 1: directory at Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash directory. Don't

1042
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:38,040
Speaker 1: forget to follow us on Instagram at Therapy for Black

1043
00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:40,160
Speaker 1: Girls and come on over and join us in our

1044
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:43,840
Speaker 1: Patreon for exclusive updates, behind the scenes content and much more.

1045
00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:46,920
Speaker 1: You can join us at community dot Therapy for Blackgirls

1046
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:51,359
Speaker 1: dot com. This episode was produced by Elise Ellis, Indetubu

1047
00:49:51,480 --> 00:49:55,319
Speaker 1: and Tyree Rush. Editing was done by Dennison Bradford. Thank

1048
00:49:55,400 --> 00:49:57,640
Speaker 1: y'all so much for joining me again this week. I

1049
00:49:57,719 --> 00:50:00,839
Speaker 1: look forward to continuing this conversation with you all real soon.

1050
00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:03,040
Speaker 2: Take a care, m