New Meal Box Delivers Vegan Versions of Classic Black Southern Dishes

Plant-based meal delivery service MamaSezz has partnered with health coach Deitra Dennis to create a new prepared meal bundle and diet-change program that features vegan versions of soul food classics. The Back to the Root Meal Bundle features 49 servings of vegan meals such as breakfast sausage, high-protein burger, jerk lentils, and Aunt Mary’s Chicken Salad, along with heat-and-eat instructions and suggested ways to serve the meals—which feature an African diaspora flavor profile. All meals are also free of oil, gluten, wheat, peanuts, and sesame.

“The Back to the Root Bundle gives people an introduction to plant-based eating,” Dennis said. “You get the root of your meal in one package, like a plant-based Hamburger Helper, and then we have tips to help you build endless possibilities around it.” 

Additionally, the Back to the Root 2-Week Jumpstart Program is offered to customers interested in more hands-on coaching about the plant-based lifestyle. In addition to the meal bundle, participants receive daily email messages, three live group coaching sessions, a Jumpstart Journal, a six-part video training series, and two live online cooking classes. Dennis developed the Back to the Root concept and program over many years, drawing from her medical experience, family and community traditions, and health coaching practice. The impact of COVID-19 on communities of color accelerated her work to bring vegan versions of Black American Southern cooking to a wider audience.

“Prior to enslavement, the African diet was plant-based,” Dennis said. “The original soul food is plant-based. We are literally getting back to our roots as we start to eat this way. In fact, most ancestral foodways around the world are plant-based. What we see is that getting back to our roots can improve your health.”