Uncle Wiley’s Inc.’s founder, Wiley Mullins grew up in a small northern Alabama town. He was introduced at an early age to locally garden grown fresh fruits and vegetables grown on nearby farms and family gardens. Although a large assortment of nature’s bounty was easily available, he was also exposed to less healthy cooking practices, including frying, and the addition of fats, sugar and fatty meats to his diet. “I grew up thinking corn, sweet potatoes and collards were good for me. What I didn’t realize was that if the corn was covered in butter and salt, the sweet potatoes were mixed with brown sugar and marshmallows, and the broccoli was drowning in cheese sauce. The positive benefits from consuming the fresh produce were overshadowed by caloric-rich, cholesterol-burdened and fatty ingredients that were often added to enhanced tast . It was what we were doing to them that made them unhealthy.” Eventually all of this unhealthy eating caught up with him. Twenty years ago, tipping the scales at nearly 300 pounds, Wiley realized he had to change the way he ate. But he didn’t want to forgo the flavors that he craved. Thus, Uncle Wiley’s Healthy Southern Classics Seasonings and Spices were created.