Soul food restaurants around the country continue to face a major challenge that's growing everyday.
The challenge is causing many restaurants to go out of business.
That challenge of providing tasty, satisfying dishes like fried chicken, peach cobbler and other southern cuisine favorites - without the health risk.
"The term healthy soul food continues to flow from the growing number of health conscious customers coming into my soul food restaurant ".
says one challenged restaurant owner.
I'm constantly looking for new ways to prepare my signature dishes in a healthier way without losing the taste and feeling of satisfaction my customers demand.
The badge of honor southern recipes have always had was for the tasty, satisfying and filling qualities it possessed.
This gave a sense of value to many of it's African American cash strapped customers, because the food stayed with the person eating it longer than the average food did.
The draw back of many of the menu items was the health risk of consuming the tasty southern food.
Many who over indulged in the popular African American recipes fell into obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes other health ailments.
Because of the health risk, soul food restaurants experienced a drop in business over the last few years, according to a recent restaurant industry report.
To reverse this trend, more restaurants are looking seriously into preparing more healthy southern dishes to it's patrons.
Restaurants are starting to realize if they want to stay in business they'd better find a way to not only serve tasty, satisfying food, but they'd better find healthier ways to do it.
Although this presents a problem to many restaurant owners, this can also offer open door opportunities to creative minded entrepreneurs in the food industry.
Restaurants who can't or won't adapt will quickly be replaced by those who can and will.
That's the quiet revolution taking place in the business now.
African Americans continue to have the largest number of health related ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, all attributed to diet.
Soul Food restaurants are also discovering if they want to attract the younger crowd to their establishments and keep them coming back, they'll have to serve healthier meals.
That's the challenge, because when you think healthy you automatically think tasteless and bland.
That's the marketing challenge facing restaurants who specialize in food for the soul, as many fans affectionately call it.
Healthy soul food seems like an oxymoron, but more and more creative cooks continue to turn this daunting challenge into a pleasant and health preserving reality for more people.
The reward for their trouble? The sound of their cash registers ringing.