Southern comfort food queen Paula Deen took a beating last week when she revealed she has Type 2 diabetes, three years after her diagnosis, and an endorsement deal with diabetes drugmaker Novo Nordisk.

Listening to the fallout from the Food Network personality’s announcement, a person might think all Southerners eat is fried chicken, Twinkie pie and bacon-and-fried-egg-topped burgers between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Not so, say Southern chefs and cookbook authors, who counter that the extremes make good television but don’t reflect the cuisine or how Southerners eat today.

“Over the top sells. This is what the Food Network wants. This is what Paula is serving up. I don’t think she’s maligning Southern food. I think she is misrepresenting Southern food,” says Chapel Hill cookbook author Jean Anderson, who wrote the award-winning “A Love Affair with Southern Cooking.”

“There are many Southern recipes, classic recipes, traditional recipes, that are nutritious, that are not overloaded with sugar, butter or eggs,” Anderson says.

For example: Fish muddles with fish, tomatoes and onions. That classic dessert of ambrosia made with fresh oranges, fresh pineapple and freshly grated coconut. The Southern love affair with pickling all kinds of fruits and vegetables, a process that adds no fat. Vegetable dishes celebrated during our yearlong growing season: long-simmered greens, field peas over rice, juicy tomato sandwiches.

“Vegetables are so important in the South,” says Charleston author Matt Lee, who with his brother, Ted, co-wrote “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern.”

“Edna Lewis was doing that back in the 1970s.You would think the more educated foodies would have absorbed that information. But the enduring image of fatty, lardy Southern down-home cooking has been the dominant image of the foods of the South.”

Adds Ted: “It’s so hard to sell a television show on delicious Southern vegetables. Lord, we have tried.”

If all this attention to Southern food has any silver lining, Atlanta cookbook author Virginia Willis, author of “Basic to Brilliant, Y’all,” hopes it is this: “It’s been exciting that all these people have been talking about Southern food. It’s an opportunity to educate.”

Go lighter and stay Southern

Replace the smoky flavor that bacon or ham offers by using roasted Serrano peppers. – Blake Hartwick, chef at Something Classic catering company in Charlotte

Another ingredient that can add smokiness to dishes: smoked Spanish paprika. – Matt and Ted Lee

If you must have meat as seasoning, use smoked turkey wings or necks. Or try a little bit of smoked salt. – Virginia Willis

If you must have pork, use a country ham slice instead of a ham hock. It’s leaner and smaller. – Jean Anderson

Try flavoring vegetables with sautéed shiitake mushrooms to create the rich flavor called umami. – Jay Pierce, executive chef at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen in Cary and Greensboro

Instead of a mayonnaise-based dressing for coleslaw, consider an oil and vinegar dressing or try a red slaw using barbecue sauce as a dressing ingredient. – Anderson

If a recipe calls for mayonnaise, replace half with low fat sour cream or Greek yogurt. – Willis

Many vegetable dishes call for a white sauce, which can be made with 1 cup fat-free evaporated milk, 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour. It makes enough for 4-6 servings of vegetables. – Anderson

Instead of cheddar cheese in casseroles, use Parmesan. It has better flavor and less is required. – Anderson

Instead of thickening a sauce with a roux of flour and oil or butter, try cornstarch dissolved in water. Or for creamed spinach, try cornstarch dissolved in Pernod, a licorice liqueur. – Pierce

Acid and salt work the same way by enhancing flavors. Use acid such as lemon juice or vinegar first, then taste. You will end up using less salt. – Pierce

Opt for angel food cake. Bake in muffin tins, split apart and serve with fresh summer berries for a leaner shortcake. – Anderson

Instead of a graham cracker crust for a pie, try spraying the pie plate with vegetable oil and then sprinkling graham cracker crumbs. It removes the fat from the crust and works just as well. – Anderson

A few more thoughts

“I just think we’re getting the wrong picture of Southern cooking. You can look at any cuisine. They all have excruciating rich dishes. I think Paula’s show is misrepresenting Southern cooking: the emphasis is on the rich, over-the-top stuff. I think that’s because it’s good television. It’s showbiz.” -- Chapel Hill author Jean Anderson, who wrote the award-winning “A Love Affair with Southern Cooking”

“Yes, we have fried chicken, fried green tomatoes and fried okra. We do have a lot of fried food… if you go back, fried chicken was not an everyday event. It was something reserved for Sundays. ‘Gospel bird’ wasn’t meant to be eaten every day.” -- Virginia Willis, author of “Bon Appétit, Y’all,” and “Basic to Brilliant, Y’all”

“It’s the big, bad, nasty foods that get all the chuckles, the attention and the airtime – the deep-fried vats, the groaning sideboards of macaroni and cheese.” -- Matt Lee, who with his brother, Ted, wrote “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern”

Ruby’s Peanut-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Author Virginia Willis notes that the brine should not scare people away from this recipe. When you calculate how much salt in the brine is absorbed by the chicken, there are 475 milligrams of sodium per chicken breast, well below the recommended daily allowance of 2,400 milligrams. This recipe is reprinted with permission from “Basic to Brilliant, Y’all: 150 Refined Southern Recipes and Ways to Dress Them Up for Company,” by Virginia Willis, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

1/4 cup coarse salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus more to season

4 cups buttermilk

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-1/2 pounds)

2 cups plain or whole-wheat fresh or panko (Japanese) bread crumbs

1 cup finely chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

2 large eggs

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then set a large wire rack on the foil.

MAKE the brine: combine salt, sugar, mustard, paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper in a large plastic or glass container. Add buttermilk and stir until the salt is dissolved. Immerse chicken breasts in the brine and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Do not brine any longer or the chicken will be too salty.)

COMBINE breadcrumbs and peanuts in a shallow dish. Season with white pepper. In a second shallow dish, whisk eggs until they are loose, not ropey.

REMOVE one chicken breast at a time from the brine and shake off any excess liquid. Transfer to a plastic cutting board and, using a chef’s knife, cut the breasts on the diagonal into strips or fingers. (Yes, there is a reason I do not cut them before I brine them; it makes them too salty.)

DIP chicken into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Place the chicken in the bread crumb mixture, sprinkle with crumbs to cover, and press so the coating adheres; turn chicken over and repeat the process. Gently shake off excess crumbs. Place coated fingers on the rack set on the baking sheet.

BAKE until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the rack and serve immediately.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Lemon-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

This dish can be cooked in advance, stored in the refrigerator and reheated in a warm oven. From “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern,” by Matt and Ted Lee, Clarkson Potter, 2009.

2 pounds sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 3 lemons

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

HEAT oven to 325 degrees.

PEEL sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch thick slices. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Arrange sweet potato slices in a single layer in the pan. Mix brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Pour glaze evenly over the potatoes.

COVER baking dish with aluminum foil and bake until potatoes are fork tender, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for 5 more minutes until the glaze has thickened and become syrupy. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Skillet Green Beans with Orange

We suspect this dressing may even elevate frozen green beans, which could be cooked per package suggestions and then dressed. From “The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern,” by Matt and Ted Lee, Clarkson Potter, 2009.

1 large navel orange

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 pound green beans, ends trimmed

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

GRATE zest of the orange and reserve it. Segment the orange and keep the sections and a juice in a bowl.

HEAT canola oil in a large cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over high heat, swirling it around so it coats the bottom thinly and evenly. When oil begins to smoke, add beans (in batches if necessary, do not crowd the pan) and scatter 1/4 teaspoon salt over them. Cook, stirring only every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the beans are half blistered and blackened, about 8 minutes. Transfer beans to a serving platter or bowl. Lift the orange segments out of their juice, reserving juice. Scatter orange segments over the beans. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon orange zest over the beans and oranges.

ADD vinegar, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the bowl of orange juice and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour dressing over beans. Toss and season to taste with remaining salt, black pepper and remaining orange zest.

Yield: 4 servings

Sweet Potato Grits

Author Virginia Willis notes that this recipe is made with half water, half milk, instead of cream, and only one tablespoon of butter. This recipe is reprinted with permission from “Basic to Brilliant, Y’all: 150 Refined Southern Recipes and Ways to Dress Them Up for Company,” by Virginia Willis, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

2 cups water

2 cups low-fat or whole milk

1 cup stone-ground grits

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and grated

Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

COMBINE water and milk in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Slowly add the grits, whisking constantly. Add sweet potato. Season with salt and white pepper. Decrease heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes.

TASTE grits and sweet potato to make sure both are cooked and tender. Add ginger, cinnamon and butter. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and white pepper. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4-6 servings