Overtown Cookbook "Cooks Up" Healthy Diet Change

MIAMI (CBS4) - Students at Booker T. Washington in Miami spent the school year cooking up all the foods they love with no guilt in mind.  Students in the school's culinary program are part of the Overtown Cookbook project aimed at changing eating habits and modifying African-American and Caribbean dishes to make them healthy.

EXTRA: Read some recipes from the Overtown Cookbook (PDF)

"I am glad that we could still eat the same food but feel good about it and be healthy," said Brittany Jean one of the students involved in the program.

The students are taking on new eating habits, which they are so passionate about that they have compiled dozens of traditional recipes like Bahamian Mac N Cheese, collard greens and curry chicken just to name a few. The recipes have been tweaked with the help of Florida International University nutrition students to make them healthy. Those modified recipes were then published in the Overtown Cookbook which has 36 recipes; the students' goal for this year was to have 50 recipes.

The objective of the project is to decrease the number of people who die from diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure in Overtown.

Anthony Jennings is not only a teacher at the school but he is also one of the book's co founders. He says if people cooked and ate according to the recipes in the book it could save lives.

"We must change the eating patterns," said Jennings.

Modification and substitution is key said Jennings who is confident that the community will catch on and still eat what they love minus the calories.

The Overtown Cookbook is available at Amazon.com or visit the project's website.