Customer Reviews

Neo Soul: Taking Soul Food to a Whole 'Nutha Level

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I saw Lindsey Williams featured in Newsweek and I went immediately and bought this book for a friend of mine. She's been trying to find ways to lighten up her down-home cooking and I thought this was right up her alley.

We paged through the book together and checked out the recipes - which are fantastic. Mr. Williams' personal story was also a highlight, as were tidbits like celebrity favorites. My friend recognized familiar recipes immediately and was pleased her new cookbook.

Naturally, being health conscious, we looked at the nutritional information. That's when we started to get confused.

For one, the calorie and fat counts for some of the desserts were very high. I know - it's DESSERT! If the re-done version was still bad, I figured it must mean the "original" version must have been far worse. And I know you don't eat it all the time, anyway. But I've never seen a "light" cookbook feature a recipe with 4 sticks of butter in the ingredient list. As tempting as the pound cake sounds, I'm afraid it would be something I couldn't eat on my plan.

Secondly, I'm convinced that the nutritional counts are inaccurate. Some recipes had 40 or 50+ grams of fat in them - which is just astronomical for one serving. The calorie count would seem appropriate for a serving, but fat (and sometimes sodium) seemed like it might actually apply to the whole dish. There were so many great LIGHT recipes that we looked at, scanning the ingredient list only to find healthy ingredients but non-attractive nutritional counts. It didn't make sense.

It's such a good cookbook with really great re-mixes of traditional recipes. Even after the confusion, my friend still liked the book. I just wish I could pick Mr. Williams' brain over some of the recipes & techniques.........Why not reduce the amount of high-fat coconut in the coconut cake recipe? Why actually FRY the fried apples when there are other ways to cook them without 3 cups of oil? Do we really have to use 4 sticks of butter in the pound cake or is there a way we can sub out some calories? Why would chicken & peaches have 24g of fat?

Bottom line: the book has some fantastic recipes. I would just recommend for those who are nutritionally aware to do your own calculations (and maybe make a few more of your own substitutions) and I'm sure the numbers won't look so bad.

I had high hopes for this cookbook after hearing his
interview on NPR so I got one the next day. I was worried
when just glancing through I found a number of recipies
starting with two sticks of butter; even Paula Deen only
calls for one and she doesn't claim to be making healthy
food. I took it to work so that I could have a co-worker
who is a better cook than I am look at it and she pointed
out that most of the recipies are high in fat and that he
managed to make a Lemon and Garlic Tofu with 630 calories
and 48g of fat per serving with 1/2 a stick of butter and
1/4 a cup of olive oil. His Uptown Buscuits are 235 cal. &
14g of fat per bisquit. With breakdowns like that; I
think I'll have better luck just making it the old fashioned
way and cutting down on the serving sizes.

Other books have been written on soul food but here's something with a difference: it comes from the godson of Harlem's soul food cook Sylvia Woods and adds a healthy twist to a cuisine often associated with unhealthy fats. Author Lindsay Williams struggled with weight all his life and had to make some drastic changes when at 400 pounds he found food affecting his health. NEO SOUL reflects these changes, which caused him to lose more than half his weight, and provides readers with a new brand of healthy soul cooking which retains the ethnicity without the dangers.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

Lyndey Williams is a remarkable person who has come a long way. His journey from unhealthy and obese to fit and eating well is fantastic. His word is just as good as anybodies because he has been "there." I purchased two cookbooks, 1 for me and 1 for my mother. We tried numerous recipes and they turned out great. With these recipes you can substitute the high fat without substituting the great flavor. If you aren't looking for low fat try regular Syvlia's Soul Food in Harlem, hands down some of the greatest soul food available.

This book was very encouraging. I've eaten in Sylvia's Restaurants in Atlanta and New York and the food was GRRRRREAT!!!!!!! Being a Southerner I know the challenges of resisting good old down home stick to your ribs cooking! I love books like this one and Pattie LaBelle's Lite Cuisine because many of the recipes offer good options for making food that taste good and at the same time is good for you. I think that this book can stimulate the thought processes regarding changing how you prepare the standard recipes you typically eat at home. Most people cook a standard rotation of menus in their homes. Books like this make you think about healthy options and how to substitute ingredients for your meals at home.

Lindsey Williams has written a fine little cookbook. I've had the pleasure of eating at his grandmother's restaurant a few times and I know the family has good, southern cooking in their genes! Lindsey has taken many old favorites and updated them, offering healthy substitutions. I enjoyed the book (including his personal story) and I highly recommend NEO SOUL to all of you.

this Book is written by Lindsey williams the grandson of the Great Sylvia Woods who is the Queen of soul food in harlem. Williams talks about how He had to cut back after His weight had blown up&He needed&wanted to make a change.He is a cook Himself&has this Book which has some tight Concepts with making meals that cut down on Fat,but are still good.a real good Soul Food Book.

I was simply blown away by the amazing recipes and just how easy most of them are to make. The added benefit for all of us is the low-fat, healthy approach Mr. Williams brings to his recipes. This is a wonderful gift, excellent price, and a solid addition for anyone's recipe library.

We were honored to get to visit with "Miz Sylvia" and family at their Hemingway SC home over the holidays, and Lindsey had an advance copy there - he kindly allowed us to take a sneak peek. I promptly pre-ordered a copy as soon as I had computer access. This is what I consider good country cooking, made much healthier by a gentleman who knows his subject matter very well. Our activity levels may not allow us to eat like "field-hands" anymore, but that doesn't dim our desire for the traditional country-style foods. Bravo, Lindsey!

Book gives good ideas but nothing new - recylced old ideas - the author gives too much personal information - good for him that he lost weight but enough already ~!