Black Foodways, Big Flavor & the Power of Food as Medicine
- Sep 1
- 9 min read
There’s something about September.
The days start getting a little shorter. The air gets that little crispness in the morning. Sweet potatoes start showing up everywhere. Greens come back around. And before you know it, somebody is standing in the kitchen saying:
“Baby, you hungry?”
And you already know the answer.
Because in Black families, food has never just been about filling your stomach.
Food is how we welcome you.
Food is how we celebrate.
Food is how we grieve.
Food is how we remember.
Food is how we take care of each other.
And sometimes, food is how somebody tells you they love you without ever saying the words.
“Take this plate home.”
You know the one.
The plate wrapped in foil.
The container you didn’t ask for.
The leftovers that somehow become tomorrow’s lunch.
That’s love.
And that’s why the conversation around food, health and wellness has to include culture.
At Diaspora Groceries, we believe food is more than a commodity. It is part of our health, our economic power, our culture and our communities.
This September, we’re celebrating the foods that connect us to our roots while exploring how we can make the meals we love work harder for our health.
Because here’s the truth:
We don’t have to give up our culture to eat well.
We can keep the flavor.
We can keep the memories.
We can keep Grandma’s recipes.
And we can make some new traditions along the way.
🌱 FOOD AS MEDICINE: LET’S TALK ABOUT IT
First things first: food is not a replacement for medical care, medication or your healthcare provider.
But what we eat can be an important part of supporting our health.
And there’s some exciting research happening around culturally relevant approaches to healthy eating.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Nutritious Eating With Soul (NEW Soul) research has explored whether traditional African American foodways can be adapted into healthier eating patterns without stripping away the culture and flavors people love.
That’s a conversation we can get behind.
Because sometimes nutrition advice sounds like:
“Don’t eat that.”
“Don’t eat this.”
“Stop eating soul food.”
And we’re like…
Hold up.
You can come for the extra salt.
You can come for the heavy frying.
You can come for the excessive saturated fat.
But don’t come for our greens.
Don’t come for our sweet potatoes.
Don’t come for our black-eyed peas.
Don’t come for our beans.
Don’t come for our okra.
Don’t come for the foods that carry our stories.
The better question is:
How do we make the food we love even more nourishing?
The NHLBI has specifically developed heart-healthier versions of traditional African American dishes using strategies such as reducing sodium and saturated fat, baking instead of frying, and using herbs and spices to build flavor.
That’s a makeover we can work with.
🌍✨ SAVE THE DATE! ✨🌍
DIASPORA GROCERIES CARES SUMMIT
📅 Wednesday, November 4, 2026
📍 LADWP Crenshaw Community Room
Join us for a powerful day centered around food, wellness, culture, entrepreneurship, and community.
We’re bringing together community leaders, food entrepreneurs, wellness advocates, chefs, farmers, and changemakers to talk about how we can use food as medicine and food as a pathway to economic empowerment.
🌱 Food Sovereignty
🥬 Food as Medicine
🛍️ Black Food Entrepreneurs
💰 Economic Empowerment
🤎 Culture & Community
🌾 Food Access & Wellness
More details and ticket information coming soon!
Mark your calendar. Bring your people.
This is Diaspora. This is community. This is our future.
SEPTEMBER’S STAR: THE SWEET POTATO
Let’s give the sweet potato its flowers.
Sweet potatoes have been a staple in African American cooking for generations, showing up in everything from savory dishes to sweet potato pie.
And September is the perfect time to put this beautiful root vegetable front and center.
Instead of thinking of sweet potatoes only as something covered in brown sugar and marshmallows, let’s let them shine on their own.
Roasted.
Mashed.
In a soup.
In a bowl.
With greens.
With black-eyed peas.
With a little cinnamon.
With a little heat.
Sweet potatoes can do the whole thing.
🍂 THE DIASPORA HARVEST BOWL
Sweet Potato & Black-Eyed Pea Harvest Bowl
This is our September recipe because it brings together some of the foods that make a Diaspora table feel like home.
Sweet potatoes.
Black-eyed peas.
Greens.
Peppers.
Onions.
And plenty of seasoning.
🛒 Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas
2 cups collard greens or kale, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon cumin
Black pepper, to taste
A small amount of salt, to taste
Fresh parsley or cilantro
Lemon or lime wedges
Optional Tahini-Lemon Dressing
2 tablespoons tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1–2 tablespoons water
A pinch of garlic powder
Black pepper
👩🏾🍳 Let’s Get Cooking
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Toss the sweet potatoes, bell pepper and red onion with olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin and black pepper.
Roast for about 25–30 minutes, turning everything halfway through.
While your vegetables are roasting, warm your black-eyed peas.
Then sauté your greens until they’re tender.
Now comes the fun part.
Build your bowl.
Sweet potatoes.
Black-eyed peas.
Greens.
Peppers.
Onions.
Fresh herbs.
A squeeze of lemon or lime.
And that creamy tahini dressing if you’re feeling fancy.
That’s not a sad “healthy meal.”
That’s a plate.
A beautiful, filling, culturally inspired plate.
And it’s got color.
Because we’re eating with our eyes too.
🫘 BLACK-EYED PEAS: MORE THAN A NEW YEAR’S TRADITION
Some foods deserve to be eaten all year long.
Black-eyed peas are one of them.
They’re traditionally associated with dishes such as Hoppin’ John and are deeply connected to African American foodways. Research examining African American and Caribbean food patterns has also found that legumes—including black-eyed peas and beans—can make meaningful contributions to fiber and other nutrients.
So let’s bring them out of the January corner.
🍚 Quick Diaspora Hoppin’ John
You’ll need:
1½ cups cooked black-eyed peas
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 small onion
1 bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon thyme
Black pepper
Green onions
Hot sauce, optional
Sauté your onion, pepper and garlic.
Add your tomatoes, black-eyed peas and seasonings.
Let everything simmer together for 10–15 minutes.
Fold in your rice.
Finish with green onions.
Add hot sauce if that’s how you get down.
Serve with greens.
Now you have dinner.
And tomorrow?
You’ve got lunch.
That’s what we call a win.
🥬 GREENS ARE NOT JUST A SIDE DISH
Let’s settle this right now.
Greens can be the main event.
Collards.
Mustards.
Turnips.
Kale.
Whatever your family calls them, greens have earned their place at the table.
The trick is making them flavorful without automatically loading them up with salt, fatty meats or excessive added fat.
The NHLBI’s heart-health guidance for traditional African American dishes recommends techniques such as using vegetables, herbs and spices to build flavor while reducing high-fat meats and excess salt.
Try this:
Sauté your greens with:
Garlic
Onion
Crushed red pepper
Smoked paprika
Black pepper
A splash of low-sodium broth
A little olive oil
Finish with vinegar or lemon.
Flavor doesn’t have to come from a ham hock.
And yes, somebody’s auntie might disagree.
Let her season her greens.
You season yours.
🌽 OKRA, CORN & TOMATO SKILLET
Now we’re getting into something special.
Okra.
Corn.
Tomatoes.
Three ingredients that know how to make a skillet taste like somebody’s grandmother is nearby.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh okra, sliced
2 cups corn
2 large tomatoes, diced
½ onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Smoked paprika
Black pepper
Cayenne, optional
Directions
Heat your skillet.
Add olive oil, onion and bell pepper.
Add the okra and let it brown.
Add corn and tomatoes.
Season generously with smoked paprika and black pepper.
Add cayenne if you like some heat.
Cook until everything comes together.
Serve over brown rice or enjoy it straight from the skillet.
Don’t be stingy with the seasoning.
We’re making food, not punishment.
🍑 PEACH & PECAN OAT CRISP
Now listen.
We’re not saying dessert has to disappear because we’re talking about wellness.
Absolutely not.
We’re just giving dessert some balance.
Ingredients
4 peaches, sliced
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter
Pinch of salt
Place your peaches in a baking dish.
Mix the oats, pecans, cinnamon, flour, maple syrup, oil and salt.
Sprinkle the mixture over the peaches.
Bake at 375°F for 25–30 minutes.
Serve warm.
And if somebody puts a little vanilla ice cream on top?
Listen.
We’re not judging.
🥜 THE HUMBLE PEANUT
Sometimes the simplest foods have the biggest stories.
Peanuts have a long history within African American food culture, and the culinary traditions surrounding them remind us how Black cooks have continually created something meaningful from what was available.
Try this easy snack:
Spiced Roasted Peanuts
Combine:
Unsalted peanuts
Cinnamon
Smoked paprika
A tiny pinch of cayenne
A small amount of maple syrup
Roast until fragrant.
Let them cool.
Put them in a container.
Keep them in your bag.
Because sometimes the difference between making a good food choice and grabbing whatever is closest is simply:
planning ahead.
❤️ WE DON’T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HEALTH AND SOUL
Let’s have a real conversation.
Healthy eating shouldn’t mean pretending your family never ate fried chicken.
It shouldn’t mean pretending mac and cheese isn’t delicious.
And it shouldn’t mean telling people that their culture is the problem.
The research tells us something important: culturally adapted soul-food approaches can help people move toward healthier eating patterns while maintaining familiar foods and traditions.
That’s powerful.
Because culture matters.
Food preferences are influenced by family, community, geography, history, economics and tradition. Research with African American adults has also identified cost, access, convenience and cultural traditions as important considerations when people are trying to eat healthier.
So maybe the answer isn’t:
“Stop eating soul food.”
Maybe the answer is:
“Let’s nourish our soul food.”
Use more vegetables.
Use more beans.
Add fruit.
Experiment with whole grains.
Reduce sodium.
Use herbs and spices.
Bake sometimes.
Grill sometimes.
Roast sometimes.
And when you want that fried chicken?
Enjoy it as part of an overall eating pattern that works for you.
Balance is a beautiful thing.
🌍 FOOD IS ALSO ABOUT ACCESS
Here’s where the conversation gets bigger than our kitchen.
Because telling somebody to “eat healthier” doesn’t mean much if the nearest grocery store is miles away.
It doesn’t mean much if fresh produce is expensive.
It doesn’t mean much if someone works two jobs and doesn’t have an hour to cook.
It doesn’t mean much if culturally familiar foods aren’t available.
Food equity means looking at the entire system.
Who grows the food?
Who sells it?
Who can afford it?
Who has access to it?
Who gets to build wealth from it?
Who gets left out?
At Diaspora Groceries, we believe these questions belong in the same conversation as wellness.
Because food is personal.
But food systems are structural.
And if we want healthier communities, we need healthier food systems.
👩🏾🌾 SUPPORT A FARMER THIS FALL
Here’s a September challenge for you:
Buy something directly from a farmer.
Visit a farmers market.
Join a CSA.
Buy from a Black farmer.
Support a neighborhood garden.
Purchase from a local food entrepreneur.
Even one purchase can start a different relationship with the food on your plate.
And when you meet the person who grew your food?
Ask them:
“What’s in season?”
Then buy that.
You might discover something you’ve never cooked before.
🌱 THE GLOBAL SEED CHALLENGE
And speaking of growing…
What are you planting?
The Global Seed Challenge is about more than putting a seed into soil.
It’s about recognizing that every community has the ability to grow something.
Food.
Knowledge.
Entrepreneurship.
Health.
Opportunity.
Connection.
A seed can be tiny.
But the possibilities aren’t.
This September, we challenge you to:
🌱 Plant something.
🌱 Save a seed.
🌱 Share a seed.
🌱 Learn about a culturally important crop.
🌱 Support a farmer.
🌱 Teach a young person where food comes from.
🌱 Share what you grow with someone else.
Because sometimes a movement starts with something you can hold between two fingers.
🍽️ THE SEPTEMBER TABLE
So here’s what we’re putting on our table this month:
Sweet potatoes.
Black-eyed peas.
Greens.
Okra.
Corn.
Tomatoes.
Peaches.
Pecans.
But we’re also putting something else on the table:
Conversation.
Let’s talk about our health.
Let’s talk about our farmers.
Let’s talk about food access.
Let’s talk about Black food businesses.
Let’s talk about the stories behind our recipes.
Let’s talk about what we’re passing down to our children.
Because recipes aren’t just instructions.
They’re history.
🖤 THE LAST BITE
There is a reason food brings us together.
Because around a table, we remember.
We laugh.
We tell stories.
We argue over who makes the best macaroni and cheese.
We ask who made the sweet potato pie.
We sneak something off the stove.
We pack leftovers.
We tell somebody:
“Take this with you.”
That’s culture.
That’s community.
That’s love.
And that’s the spirit of Diaspora Groceries.
We believe food can connect us to our past while helping us build a healthier future.
We believe Black farmers deserve access to opportunity.
We believe food entrepreneurs deserve resources.
We believe communities deserve access to nourishing food.
We believe our traditions deserve to be celebrated—not erased.
And we believe the future of food can be healthier, more equitable and more connected to the people who grow, cook and share it.
So this September…
Cook something that reminds you of home.
Try a new vegetable.
Call your auntie for the recipe.
Support a farmer.
Plant something.
Share your plate.
And whatever you do—
Don’t forget the seasoning.
Because we’re building healthier communities…
but we’re still gonna make it taste good. ❤️
🌱 GROW WITH US
Diaspora Groceries
Food Equity • Wellness • Entrepreneurship • Food as Medicine
Learn more, get involved and support our work at:
Diaspora Groceries
Food-as-medicine information is provided for educational purposes and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. If you have a medical condition or specific dietary needs, consult your healthcare professional.
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