Cajun Healthy

Good-for-you Southern food from the author of Cajun Low-Carb, including shrimp and okra gumbo, crawfish etouffee, pain perdu, and more.   Delicious food has always been a part of the Cajun joie de vivre. But people traditionally associate it with high-fat, high-calorie dishes, which don’t complement a heart-healthy lifestyle. Certified culinary professional Chef Jude W. Theriot has broken apart the myth that Cajun cooking can’t be low in fat and calories and still remain tasty with his fifth cookbook, Cajun Healthy.   The secret behind Theriot’s approach is not to rely so heavily on ingredient substitutes. Instead, he focuses on maintaining many of the ingredients from the original recipes and simply altering the amounts used of those that pose health risks. Some substitutes are used but only in the interest of preserving the consistency, coloring, and presentation of the dish. This means the full-bodied flavor of each recipe still comes from the same spices, sauces, meats, and kitchen staples that have made Cajun cooking such a delicacy.   Among the more than two hundred recipes in this volume are standards of the Louisiana kitchen, like gumbos, jambalayas, etouffees, as well as new features from his family kitchen just teeming with Cajun influences. Theriot has added a little something special to each of his dishes to make them unique and fresh to even the most well-trained Cajun palate. In addition, he always offers his standard lagniappe of helpful hints for the kitchen and even a little background for each dish’s development.