I recently went on a scenic, life changing Ayurvedic retreat in the mountains at the Art of Living Center in Boone, NC with three good girlfriends, Sahara Rose, Rosie Acosta and Alyson Charles. Ayurveda is a holistic mind body life-science that believes that every individual is unique and no one lifestyle works for everyone. The foundation is based on listening to your body and doing what works for you.
Every day as part of our retreat, we checked in with an Ayurvedic doctor, who told us what we should be eating based on our doshas (I am a Pitta-Vata). The Pitta dosha controls digestion, metabolism, and energy production. The primary function of Pitta is transformation. Those with a predominance of the Pitta principle have a fiery nature that manifests in both body and mind.
During our morning check in, we went over my diet. What I eat at home during morning, noon and night, including snacks. I answered everything honestly.
And then my doctor asked, “You don’t eat popcorn, do you?”
I don’t. At least, I couldn’t remember the last time I had.
“Good,” she said, “Because you shouldn’t.”
That struck me. Since I kicked my sugar addiction years ago, I also stopped the habit of eating processed or ‘instant’ foods like microwavable popcorn. I haven’t owned a microwave since 2011, which helps.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I pretty much grew up snacking on salty Pop Secret every single night.
And I’m so glad that I stopped that bad habit. Because what I didn’t know was that my choices could have killed me.
During most of our childhoods, the buttery flavor of microwavable popcorns like Pop Secret and Orville Redenbacher contained the chemical diacetyl, which has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease, often called popcorn lung. It wasn’t until consumer concerns arose in 2007 that ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc. and the American Pop Corn Company all promised to make the change and remove diacetyl because of consumer safety concern.
At the time, those companies accounted for more than 80 percent of the market for microwave popcorn consumed every year.
By the way, brands like PopSecret and Jolly Time still use trans fat today, which is considered one of the most deadly fats available because it is associated with 20,000 heart attacks a year and over 7,000 deaths, according to the CDC.
Surprisingly, my health assessments at the Ayurvedic retreat were already very in line with what I was already craving and consuming. Pretty much everything I was told to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks was already waiting for me in my fridge or cabinets at home.
That’s when I discovered was that my intuition about myself is pretty spot on, because I’ve been avoiding popcorn for years. Instead, I’ve been snacking on a delicious, vegan, organic popcorn alternative. With no guilt, health concerns or regrets.
Bohana has been my popcorn alternative and my favorite snack since I first tried it. Made from Popped Water Lily seeds grown on a farm in Bihar, India, this snack has been an Ayurvedic superfood staple for centuries. Water Lily seeds are one of the most prescribed seeds in Ayurveda because of their neutral character making them beneficial for all body types. Oh, and by the way, they’re DELICIOUS. I go through about a bag a day, and all my friends take one bite and are obsessed!
The founders Priyal and Nadine are both spiritual junkies, curious to learn about some of the world’s most ancient practices and traditional superfoods. On this journey, Priyal went back to her Indian roots and rediscovered her childhood snack – Popped Water Lily seeds. When Priyal introduced this puffed super snack to Nadine, she was inspired and made it her go to snack too! The two never looked back and vowed to bring this ancient super snack to free spirit snackers everywhere.
You know I love a company for plenty more reasons than it makes delicious food. I also love Bohana because of their relationship with their farmers, their commitment to fair wages, ethical, sustainable harvesting, and fully collaborative supply chain. The cultivation of lily seeds doesn’t destroy the ecosystem, the whole cycle is sustainable, seasonal and naturally occurring. This allows them to source the highest quality ingredients that you can be proud to eat.
I am officially hooked! I literally take a pack with me wherever I go, and it’s my staple go-to snack at night when I’m catching up on my Netflix shows. It tastes 100,000x better than popcorn, with a texture and flavor similar to puffed corn or those old Kix snacks (but savory!) Plus, the ingredients are amazing for you! Each 110-calorie serving provides three grams of protein and at no point are you subjected to artificial flavors, colors or additives. It’s vegan, gluten free and absolutely devourable.
Bohana Popped Water Lilly seeds come in 3 incredible flavors. My personal favorite are the Himalayan pink salt and Cheddar options, which both harken back to my childhood – without the health risks!
Today, we’re giving you the chance to try a box containing packs of all three kinds!
Here’s how to enter this giveaway:
FOLLOW BOHANA
FOLLOW ME
We’ll pick one winner on 8/10!
Good luck – I can’t wait to hear what you think of my favorite delicious snack!