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Southern food certainly carries a stereotype, but I feel like that's turning around a little. There are great Southern chefs who are finding ways to showcase our traditional recipes in deliciously healthy ways. For me, the key is to use fresh fruits and vegetables and cut some of the butter and fat without sacrificing the yumminess of the dish.

I try and eat good. On the road, that's next to impossible. And we eat a lot of unhealthy things when we're in Texas - that's what you do there.

For me, I love the flavors of Southern food, and people usually think of Southern food as heavy and fattening, but it doesn't have to be.

I'm from South Georgia, so my mom, she always cooked some dang good food when I was growing up.

I am a Southern girl at heart, so I have a pulled pork sandwich and Key lime pie every day. It's a problem.

In the South, the food is outstanding. Down south, we eat to get full, and the people up north, they don't do that.

Being on the road is no excuse for having a poor diet. I don't like fast food, but if I have to, I'll order three plain grilled chicken sandwiches and throw out the buns.

Any Southerner is spoiled when it comes to food.

I know when you think about the South, you think about fried foods, but we eat a tremendous amount of vegetables. I have my own garden, so vegetables have always been a big part of my life. I love broccoli. I love fresh beets. It's not all about the fried chicken and the biscuits.

When I was growing up in Mississippi - it was good Southern food... but I also grew up with a Greek family; when other kids were eating fried okra, we were eating steamed artichokes. So I think it played a big part in my healthy cooking.