Bad Food Habits GENIUS #1: Popcorn
- 20
- Sep
FOOD HABITS. Who knew one of my favorite bad food habits contained the key to my genius? I can be too sensitive, generous to a fault and self-centered. This shaming speaks to my need to protect what I perceive as vulnerable, give what cannot be given (by me), and fulfill and recalibrate what I judge missing and imbalanced.
I “pig out” on sunflower seeds and popcorn (separately). My food intake does not include pork, yet the description fits.
Corn is a tough one because its features are accepted yet debated; it is this feature that helps me to understand my recovery and genius.
- abundance symbol. One seed grows many ears, each ear has hundreds of seeds.
- dual type. Corn is both a vegetable (raw/cooked kernels from cob) and a grain (popped).
- original. The Mesoamericans say we are made of it; that means we can always grow new stuff.
Food Habits Have Good Basis
That the fresh, preferably organic ear of corn is abundance personified is 100% embraced. Its good fat, high antioxidant, high fiber and high phytonutrient content is a boon to body systems. As this research piece explains, this yellow food is good for the eyes, digestive tract, and may even help lower oxidation and stress (blue/purple varieties).
Corn’s duality is debated by dietitians and scientists. My love of crunching those popped kernels, whether with sea salt and brewers yeast or “hotter” does not equate to feeding my eyes and colon and lowering stress. But I surely feel great eating popcorn. In holistic health, the crunch impulse means chewing on or mashing the challenges in life.
I can easily eat a large tub at the movies—which i avoid because that incarnation of my favorite snack is sooo bad for me— yet I prefer to really indulge by making up my own pot at home. Here I am, crunching away my problems, and the next day I MUST double up on water and have a big salad meal and practically nothing else the whole day. Here’s a post I wrote about avoiding cravings.
The Native Americans used popcorn as a soup ingredient and breakfast cereal, and it served as an entire meal. This taught me to body-listen when indulging. Using popcorn as a snack-meal, I am full and need nothing except liquid or hydrating foods such as salad later on.
Chew very slowly to get the fiber benefit. Courtesy owlcation.com
DON’T CRUNCH THE SEEDS!
The chewing and chomping of popcorn says, Get to the core, the seed; of something in my life. The genius this food habit reveals is SEEDS DO NOT NEED CRUNCHING. Challenges are seeds of something new. They do not have to be “forced,” and can be imagined as positive outcomes, defying circumstances and manifesting a miracle.
Seeds generate their own steam and arrival time, which is always perfect. They sprout, but not if you chew them.
Popped corn is composed mostly of fiber, but has the kernel or seed. This is THE IDEA, and I’m chewing and chomping hundreds of them at every sitting.
Now that I know what’s going on inside, when I want to use my stockpot to pop 3/4 cup+ of kernels, I slow down. I use a smaller pot and less kernels. Then I look at what I’m REALLY wanting to chew on.
- What do I think needs my attention?
- Must I crunch numbers maybe, to get results or for things to change?
- What do I want to control?
These questions lead me to slow to a halt. It must be time to write, I reason, or to take a walk or connect with God. It’s always time to pray, tap on meridians or use essential oils. Maybe it is also time to be still and let the universal life force flow through me (Reiki). Energy flow resolves tightness. To me, these insights, as preventive thoughts, are GENIUS.
Food Habits Tell A Story
Who knew food habits are a signal to allow seeds —IDEAS GIVEN BY LIFE— to break through barriers and SPROUT on their own? My urge to have lots of popcorn is an important sign. I can take time to sort through what’s going on instead of “pigging out.”
Either way, I will always enjoy organic sweet corn, AKA maize, in season. Here are some facts and tips:
- Light steaming rather than boiling, according to science, helps to preserve the nutrients.
- Salt that is added during steaming or cooking hardens the kernels.
- Corn oil is not exactly a “good” oil; it promotes”bad” lipids (fats). Research for yourself and buy local and organic products. I wrote this post about fat-free foods. Beware.
- It’s also said corn is the worst carbohydrate around and not for weight loss. Here are the caloric facts. Eat them lightly. As we said, a cupful (or ear) could be a meal, there you can have it with greens and don’t need anything else.
- Avoid high fructose corn syrup available in many supposedly healthy foods, especially in juices packaged for children.
- My homeland, Africa, produces 50 million tons of maize every year and 95 percent is for food. It is one of the top three grains produced on the continent.
- Check the farmer’s markets for edible blue, purple, and tri-color corn for a different treat. Blue corn GRITS are the bomb-diddley!
—Rev. Niamo Nancy Muid
P.S.
Introduce children to innovate ways to eat real corn. The candied corn is available during Halloween season, and it’s likely they’ll want to overdo eating it. Have them really taste corn –without salt, sugar or butter– even raw. They can easily learn to make corn chowder.
P.P.S.
#2 in this Bad Food Habits Series will be SUNFLOWER SEEDS.
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