When I was a student in 6th grade, I had the choice to eat in the school cafeteria or go home for lunch. I choose the option to go to a small local restaurant where I sat at the counter and ordered the same meal every single day; lettuce and tomato sandwich on toasted bread and a small coke.
The waitresses and all the regulars called me the rabbit. “Here comes the rabbit” they would yell.
I have so many memories about my relationship with food and being called a rabbit was probably foreshadowing my now plant-based existence.
Other memories include my obsession with sweets. It became so bad, my father put a lock on the freezer so I wouldn't eat a half gallon of ice cream in the middle of the night.
For many people, food is like a bad partner in life who you know isn't good for you, but for some reason you stay with them. They treat you badly, make you physically ill and hinder your spirit, but you make excuses for them like “they are not that bad” or “I'll deal with it later.” These unhealthy relationships can hurt and even destroy you, but you can't end it.
If you would like to examine your relationship with food (or anything else), I recommend this simple writing exercise. Grab a piece of paper and pencil, sit still for 5 minutes and write down every good and bad word you associate with food.
Don't judge what you are writing, just keep writing. You may start writing words that you think have nothing to do with food, but when you're done, I think you will have a better understanding of what food means to you.
Look at it closely.
Does it make you feel sad, ashamed, happy or healthy? The only way we can change things is to examine them.
Just like any bad relationship in life, we don't want to look too closely because it is easier to live in denial. It isn't until we muster up the courage to walk away from a harmful relationship that we come out of the darkness, and see the light and joy of living an honest healthy life.
I personally have had many damaging and harmful relationships with food and people in my life, but once I broke up with harmful food, somehow, everything else fell into place.
I no longer wanted anything hurtful or destructive in my life. Perhaps a food breakup can inspire you to shed other things that are not serving a purpose in your life. I know it worked for me. Now on to delicious plant-based food.
I love corn, but I worry about the future of corn.
It is estimated that 90% or more of the United States corn supply is already contaminated with Monsanto's GMO (genetically modified) DNA. Although the jury is still out about all the harmful effects of GMO crops, sadly if you want to eat non-gmo corn in the future, you may have limited options.
So today I celebrated non-gmo organic corn by making this simple, delicious, healthy plant-based corn chowder with cashew cream. It was so sweet, lush and yummy. If you prefer a thinner chowder just add more vegetable broth or add some cooked potatoes. Like many of my recipes, anything goes.
Hope you enjoy this vegan corn chowder as much as I did. Wishing you a compassionate week filled with healthy relationships.
Cilantro Summer Corn Chowder with Cashew Cream
- 4 ears of Organic corn, corn kernels removed *
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons or more of vegetable broth
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro and some for garnish
- ¼ cup or more of unflavored non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon or more of ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped cashews
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 cherry tomatoes for garnish
- *When removing corn kernels, I like to arrange an ear of corn vertically in a large bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice the corn off the cob, turning the ear as you go.
- Add the chopped cashews and salt to a food processor. Process until powdery. Add the lemon juice and just enough spring water to cover the cashews and process until smooth and creamy.
- Steam corn kernels for about 5 minutes, or until soft and golden yellow. Save ⅓ cup for garnish.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable broth in a small saute pan. Saute chopped onion in until soft and translucent, adding more vegetable broth if needed.
- Combine the onion, corn kernels, tablespoon of maple syrup and unflavored non-dairy milk in the same rinsed food processor and process until smooth. Add more non-dairy milk if you want a thinner soup or vegetable broth.
- Re-heat in a saucepan if necessary.
- Put the chowder in a soup bowl. Smear a little cashew cream over the top. Garnish with fresh cilantro, tomatoes and steamed corn.
