Appalled at Mississippi’s recent status as the least healthy state of all 50, the Mississippi’s State Department of Health, as part of the “Eat Right” initiative, has asked bakery shops and restaurants to remove Mississippi Mud Pies from their menus. When examining the reasons for Mississippi’s slide to last place, beating out Louisiana, last year’s loser, it became clear to state officials that Mississippians’ current health problems began as far back as right after World War II when women stopped following exact recipes as time saving measures.
Throwing cooked hamburger, frozen peas and diced potatoes together in a casserole dish willy nilly with dashes of salt and pepper as seasoning was one thing. Who would eat too much of that? But, when women began layering gooey chocolate cake with chocolate crumb crusts and ice-cream in any old amount, sweet tooths could not be stopped. Like the kudzu that grows thick in Mississippi’s countryside, chocolate has seemed to be taking over. It is not uncommon for even the most sophisticated of eaters to have at least a trace of chocolate on the corner of their mouths from time to time.
The health department is beginning with the Mississippi Mud Pie moratorium to see if that won’t curb some of the state’s chocolate fixation and cut down on obesity since Representative W. T. Mayhall’s bill to ban over-eaters from eating out in restaurants seemed excessive.
The state’s most upscale spas are asking if any unused chocolate could be sent their way as they are expecting a run on chocolate wrap body treatments as Mud Pie addicts attempt to detox. For tourists looking forward to the state’s signature dish, you can pick up complimentary recipe cards at tourist information booths off I-10, I-20 and I-55, but only if you’re leaving Mississippi. You will need to show a driver’s license to prove you are not a Mississippi resident.