All I can tell you is that there is no one more southern than me...I thought all all veggies tasted like bacaon fat or fat back....and I never ever believed that I would like any food except the true southern foods...but I started slowly and instead of one quater cup of bacon fat, I added less and less and one day I woke up and realised that all those veggies had a taste of their own.surprise surprise....just do it a little at a time....and try this website........I found it at the Special Diet forum..

Here is a link that might be useful: Healthy Foods

Hi Emma--sorry to hear about your health problems, but congrats to you for deciding to change your diet and FIGHT BACK!

I skipped the heart attacks (*crosses fingers*) but was diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol 2 1/2 years ago. At first I tried just living like I always had (I'm a Mississippi girl :) and taking the meds, but I felt awful, so I started experimenting.

I bought a book called _Reversing Diabetes_, and it HAS reversed mine. I've lost 50 pounds and come off ALL my meds. You want high (complex) carbs and fiber, low fat and protien (hard on those kidneys!).

SOOO--I relearned to cook by taking a favorite food and playing with it. Cornbread? It's already whole grain (especially if you don't use the cornmeal "mix"), so use fat-free buttermilk in place of whole-fat regular milk and just spray your skillet with some olive oil in a spritzer. You'll still get the crispy crust, but with LOTS less bad stuff.

As Ruthieg says, go a bit at a time. Soon you'll not only automatically make the healthy changes, but you'll actually LIKE the food better.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

So how are you doing? I keep coming back to see if you have returned or commented...are you making the changes?