One type of soul food is called down-home healthy. Adrian E. Miller, author of “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time,” explained to Epicurious, “The idea there is that you take traditional soul food preparations and you try to lighten them up on the calories, the salt, the fat.” For example, instead of using smoked or salted pork, you would use smoked turkey. You might grill or bake instead of the traditional fry.”

A second type of soul food is upscale soul food, which uses fancier ingredients such as heritage meats and purebred breeds of pork, turkey, beef, and lamb. These animals have free rein in their environment and only eat a natural diet. Heritage meats have more flavor and nutrition, and they’re more expensive.

The third type of soul food is vegan soul food. While this may be surprising, the food enslaved Africans ate in America was mostly plant-based, with only a little meat. Registered dietitian Jessica Jones of wellness brand Food Heaven Made Easy told Bon Appetit Management Company, “Enslaved African people brought several seeds from their homeland for planting, all present in African American soul food today. Think okra, black-eyed peas, and watermelon. Soul food includes plant-based staples such as kale, collards, mustard greens, and sweet potatoes.”