A Cookbook With a Cause
Stringer’s foray into publishing aims to tackle East Harlem health.

Tracee M. Herbaugh

New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood is known for its calorie-heavy foods like fried chicken, General Tso’s chicken and empanadas. But if all goes according to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s plan, things are about to change.
As part of his “Go Green” initiative, Stringer released a new cookbook this week promoting healthy eating in East Harlem, a neighborhood with high diabetes and obesity rates and not enough access to nutritious food.

The book, The Go Green East Harlem Cookbook, features healthy recipes for soul food staples such as collard greens, sweet potatoes and succotash. More than 65 restaurateurs, chefs and residents contributed recipes, which were evaluated by experts from the Integrative Nutrition Institute, a nutrition school affiliated with Teachers College at Columbia University. The book can be purchased at Barnes and Noble for $17.95.

“It’s a great book with great recipes, but also it’s a love story about a community fighting to come back and make itself healthy and stronger,” Stringer said. “The community embraced this project and wanted to make this book a real treasure of East Harlem.”

In the book’s foreword, Stringer wrote that residents are 10 times more likely to suffer from diabetes than their neighbors 40 blocks to the south on the Upper East Side.

Dr. Adam Aponte, who gives weight loss advice in the book, called this phenomenon a “fully preventable tragedy.”

“Some parts of East Harlem have more fast food restaurants than supermarkets or produce stands,” Aponte said in a statement. “As a result, at North General Hospital we’ve starting seeing 7-year-olds who are developing diabetes.”

The Go Green initiative was launched by Stringer last year to combat the various health problems that plague the neighborhood.

As for Stringer’s cooking habits, he admittedly does not. While he declined to choose a favorite recipe, Stringer called the “takeout tips” section, advice which he provided, the “best part of the book.”

Vegetable Stir-Fry
Community Board 11, Wanda Latchman

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
dash of lemon pepper
3 medium carrots, cut small
2 medium green peppers, sliced
3 stalks celery, cut small
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups fresh broccoli
1 teaspoon soy sauce

1. Heat oil in a large wok. Add garlic and lemon pepper. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until garlic turns golden.
2. Add carrots, green peppers, celery, onions and 2 tablespoons of water.
3. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add broccoli. Cook until tender (do not overcook).
4. Add soy sauce and serve.

Serves 4-6

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