Mindful Eats

My New Company: Pop Karma

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. ~Louisa May Alcott

MindfulEaters, I am so sorry that I've been neglecting you! It's time to share the details of what has been taking me away from you. I mentioned before that I was starting a popcorn company, so here's the scoop.

As you can tell by many posts on snacking, I snack a lot. I've spent years looking for a mindful snack that was irresistible and healthy. A snack that had a minimal number of top quality ingredients that were carefully sourced. I also wanted to buy from a company that behaved as responsibly and sustainably as possible -- that honored its relationships, its employees, the environment, and its customers.

I searched for and dreamed about this snack for over 10 years, and since I never found it, I decided to create it. I've always known that it would be popcorn because it's an antioxidant-loaded whole grain AND it's a great base for layering flavors. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may be able to tell that I believe our actions have a definite impact on our lives and the world around us. That is why the company is named Pop Karma.

I have lots of goals for the company, but we definitely aren't perfect. We will always try to get better though. Please keep us honest. Our brand pillars are:

• Excellence in our products, our relationships and our actions
• Authenticity in our communications, our food and our behavior
• Responsibility for the environment, our partners, and each other
• Inspiration for all that we encounter, including ourselves

We currently have a project on Kickstarter where you can learn more about us, help support us and get great pre-opening rewards. Thanks to all that have pledged and gotten us to 70%! For more information, our website is here.

I promise that I won't be taking excessively about Pop Karma here and we will go back to our regularly scheduled programming. I am, however, learning a lot from it and will share those findings here!

 

What I ate: Greek yogurt +blueberries + strawberries, grapes. cherries, blueberries, 6 squares dark chocolate, nuts, vegetable lo mein, 8 oz coffee + milk, 3 ears of corn, 36 oz milk, 40 oz milk

Exercise: 2 mile jog

 

 

Rule #1: Eat Unprocessed Food

Fruits at Union Square Greenmarket

The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just. ~Abraham Lincoln

Today's gift is a Free Pass Card to eat whatever you like -- as long as its unprocessed and preferably prepared at home.

I came across an inspirational Mark Bittman talk called "What's Wrong with What We Eat" at a 2007 TED conference. It's wise, funny and informative. I rarely watch videos over two minutes long but I watched all 20 minutes. In short, it's fabulous and worth your time.

Then a few days later I received two comments that would be directly addressed by Mr. Bittman's video: one from a reader who wanted to buy organic, but found it expensive and felt guilty for buying conventional food and the second from a man who was anti-tofu because he gets too much soy in his regular diet.

STOP THE MADNESS! At MindfulEats, we are totally flexible about the kind of diets and foods you choose to eat. In terms of food, we have only two rules: 1) eat non-processed foods, and 2) be moderate in how much of each food you eat. That's it. To expound a little on #2 - if you eat animal products, you should probably eat less of it. The average American eats 1/2 pound a day (3.5 lbs a week), and the generous FDA recommendation is 1/2 pound a week.

If you're eating non-processed foods, you're not getting soy in your diet unless you are consciously choosing it. The only place it's sneaking in is in animal products, since animals are often fed soy. If you're preparing your own non-processed foods (and mostly plants), you are doing fabulous. Even if it's conventional. If you washed all the residue off an organic tomato and a conventional tomato, a lab would not be able to tell the difference between them (unless the conventional tomato was genetically modified). You are doing better preparing your own conventional meals than buying a really expensive live organic food in a bag. Because that bagged food is processed. And don't complain about preparing food -- you can just steam it which is fast, easy, and what I often do.

Mark Bittman says it much more eloquently in his video.

What to do - Eat more fresh unprocessed food

Mr. Bittman's video reminded me that old stuff is classic. So here are a few posts to review to help you eat less processed food:

• What is processed food?
• What is conventionally grown, industrial food?
• How to prepare your own food
• The low down on organic food

 

What I ate: strawberries, cherries, blueberries, 6 squares dark chocolate, almonds, grilled portobello and radicchio salad, swordfish, eggplant, root mash, strawberry shortcake, 32 oz. pomegranate white tea, parmesan cheese, steamed tofu + baby bok choy, soofoo (grain and lentil blend)

Exercise: 2 mile jog, 75 minutes yoga