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Paula Deen has been part of the Food Network family for a decade and is known for her traditional Southern cooking. Her television show began back in 2002 and is still existent.  It has become one of the best shows on television and one of my mom’s favorite cooking TV shows, Paula’s Home Cooking. Another famous food show and one of her most recent endeavors is Paula’s Best Dishes, which debuted in 2008 and has been a success. She has also written numerous cookbooks for audiences of all age groups.  One of her latest works is a  children’s cookbook titled: Lunch Box Set and her monthly published magazine Cooking with Paula Deen

Not everything has been a total success for Paula Deen. In addition to suffering with agoraphobia (panic attacks)at a very young age, she also had to deal with her husband leaving her and her two children. She also had to cope with the death of her parents before she was 23. Deen had to work hard in order to accomplish all her goals not only for herself but for her children. Having her children as motivation has led her to accomplish what she has today. Dedication and responsibility have been major factors that attribute to her success.

Paula Deen has expanded her horizons and created a webpage www.pauladeen.com in which she thoroughly elaborates her recipes for stay at home moms, school teachers, aspiring chefs, catering companies and many other audiences. It's a very accessible and easy to manage webpage. It's user friendly and is constantly updated with the changing holiday seasons to give readers new ideas. At the same time, it provides recipes and tips to bring to the kitchen. Deen’s shows are very educational.  They give insight on her cooking techniques and what ingredients to use.  These shows do not only target chefs and housewives as expected but also single men who live on their own. She is very thorough in explaining her recipes that even men can put it into practice. Deen has a section called “Kitchen Basics” where you can find all sorts of things like canning 101, how to set a table, and tips to make cooking an easy and enjoyable experience. One of my favorite sections is Dinner in 30 minutes which has quick and easy-to-make lists of recipes when you are short on time. She is very dedicated and is always providing new and creative recipes for upcoming holidays. Paula Deen not only makes gourmet food but also makes healthy and tasty menus for children. Your next meal is just a click away.  

As I was skimming through her website, I came across a section by the Deen Bros (Paula’s sons) which encourages healthy eating by cutting the fat and calories from Deen’s original recipes without taking away the flavor. Most people would think that these types of recipes are bland, given the fact that they use healthier ingredients that are reduced in fat and sometimes flavorless. I actually decided to take the challenge and cooked one of their renewed recipes. I cooked the Lighter Chicken Fried Steak for my family without telling them it was a reduced fat recipe. They substituted some ingredients and replaced them with things such as egg whites, fat-free milk and reduced-sodium chicken broth, with which were able to cut off 264 calories and 31g of fat from the original recipe. The recipe was a total success and my family did not even notice they were eating a healthier meal and since then, my mom and I try to look for healthier recipes to cook for the family.  

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