The author, motivational speaker, and former co-host of The Chew shared tips to help us get through the holidays with our waistlines intact!
I can’t quite believe it’s been four years since I got to speak with Carla Hall, former co-host of The Chew and author of three cookbooks.
It was on the occasion of the publication of the third of those tomes, “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration,” that we chatted, during the summer of 2018. There were pieces of that phone conversation that I’ve carried with me ever since, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget. In fact, I know that I’m taking a lesson Carla taught me into this holiday season!
“I gained 20 pounds in the first month [of hosting The Chew]. Child, I secretly wanted that show to be cancelled,” Hall joked.
She said that she found herself indulging in the entire plates of food that were being prepared on the show, as well as those that would be delivered to her table, compliments of the chef, when she was out dining at restaurants in New York City.
“Then, I went out to eat with the editor of “Food & Wine,” Dana Cowin,” Hall recalled. “She didn’t finish her food, and I said ‘Oh, you didn’t like it?’ She said ‘I loved it, but I can only taste it because I eat so much food.’ And so I’ve learned to taste! I can take a bite, and then say “ok, I’m good.” Nothing is going to be better than that first bite!”
That last missive — “Nothing is going to be better than that first bite.” — is helping me during my renewed health trek. Dark chocolate M&Ms helped get me through the various shelter-in-place orders of 2020 and 2021, but I don’t plan on carrying all of the resulting, excess flesh into 2023!
During that conversation with Hall, I also learned the difference between what she calls “everyday food” and “celebration food” that the host says many communities, including African Americans, have come to embrace a little too much, leading to chronic health problems like diabetes and hypertension. She details her thoughts, along with strategies and recipes to follow that allow individuals and families to strike a good balance, in “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration.”
“We’re not working the same way that my great great grandmother worked,” Hall said. “We became wealthy and we have a lot more disposable income, and that food that we were having maybe four times a year, we started having it once a week. We have a very different lifestyle, now. We’re very sedentary, but we still have that connection to the food. We can’t continue to eat the same way, every day.”
Don’t our COVID bellies know it!
Check out my 2018 feature on Hall, and pick up a copy of that cookbook. Her recipes, along with her thoughts, strategies, and sense of humor are contagious, and come shining through in its pages. It’ll make a great holiday gift!
Pick up a copy of “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration.”
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