With the latest media coverage of Paula Deen’s dismissal from Food Network and dropped partnerships with Walmart, Random House, Target, and eight other large companies due to her racist commentary, I got to thinking of all of the lessons and notoriety Deen has taught us throughout the years. As a former Food Network intern, this topic is just too juicy to pass up!
(Enjoy the various foodgrams from the past few weeks that friends and/or I have enjoyed all over NYC from ice cream on Governor’s Island and oysters in the West Village to bacon-wrapped dates in Greenpoint, BK and cheese fries in SoHo!)
–Fried food is good to the taste…but bad for health reasons and for the feminine figure!
When Paula emerged onto the national scene with her own Food Network show in 2002, her claim to fame was authentic southern cuisine that she had been cooking for years, first out of her home, then out of Savannah and Mississippi restaurants.
However, with fame and fortune came criticism over her unapologetic use of fat, salt, and sugar in her unhealthy recipes. She especially faced harsh objections to her cookbook, Lunch-Box Set, which was aimed at children! Barbara Walters criticized her, saying, “You tell kids to have cheesecake for breakfast. You tell them to have chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch. And french fries. Doesn’t it bother you that you’re adding to this?”. And Barbara wasn’t the only big name speaking out. Celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain, commented in 2011 that he “would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s OK to eat food that is killing us.”
In January 2012, Deen made waves in the public eye with the admission of her type 2 diabetes diagnosis. With this health scare, she committed to lightening up her signature comfort foods, and began to lose weight.
Her health conscious changes can inspire us all to be mindful of what we put into our bodies and can spark us to take good physical care of ourselves.
–Kindness and acceptance of all people is crucial
With the latest headlines about her racist comments and ignorant apologies! we can learn how critical it is to be tolerant and accepting of all people, no matter what their race, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity may be. One’s livelihood can depend on it – hate crimes imprison people, and racial profiling and discrimination, like Deen’s, fires people. You may not like people, lord knows I don’t love everyone I encounter, but you can and should put on your phony Paula Deen smile and carry on with politeness and cordiality to live a respectable life.
Hoping you all enjoy your Fourth of July holiday weekend! I plan to make some updates to the blog over the weekend, so be sure to be on the lookout for those! Until then, remember to take care of your bodies and watch what you sa
