I Dream of Broccoli - A Whimsical Tale of Healing & Love of Food

Awareness

Life can deal you some doozies. That’s its job. It isn’t supposed to be easy.

I live with food allergies. They are serious. I am vigilant. I know what I’m supposed to do in case of an emergency, and I do it. However, over these last 2 weeks, something very different transpired. I had 3 severe food allergic reactions in a row which were all due to mislabeling - worst case - AMC theaters now using coconut oil to pop their popcorn. (It’s nowhere on their menu. You must Google it to even find out.) Many children have nut, specifically tree nut allergies. And, coconut tends to read as an allergy for those allergic to tree nuts. I have the best allergist in the country, so I am fine. However, this is an issue.

When the individual does their work but the brand does not, we all lose. Handle it, AMC.

Food allergies are major business. I like when I go to a restaurant and ask if there’s a certain ingredient in an item, and the server says, “I don’t think so, it should be fine.” That is the wrong answer… by the way. The answer is this and ONLY this: Let me check with the chef to make sure that this item isn't in your food. Chefs can change ingredients on a menu, sometimes, last minute. Remember, food allergies can be very serious.

The Tale

I started really, really thinking about food…glorious food. How I love thee! All of your incarnations…West Indian curries, rice and peas, beans of every description, pizzas, stews, roasted vegetables of every color… pie! Cake! Raw carrot! Oh Mr. Hummus will you come by and join this raw carrot and land in my mouth! The Benadryl and Prednisone were doing their job, healing my angiodema and stopping the allergens from attacking my body and breaking it down, making me loopy and over-relaxed. Sigh. What a moment. This bed does feel good, but woo… so loopy.

Oh broccoli, how I dream of thee. You are my favorite. I know I need you now.

When I was a little girl, I did not like broccoli. I remember my mom saying to me, “You can’t get up from this table until you finish that broccoli.” You know I finished it, right? If you knew my mom, you would have finished it too. Well, now, broccoli is my favorite vegetable. Seriously. I love it. I am thankful to my mother for that. She knew her daughter. Smart woman. I cannot get enough of broccoli. Plus, I can literally feel it’s goodness whenever I eat it. Because it’s real food - not GMO. Just Farmers Market broccoli. God bless the farmers! As I lay there in my peaceful haze trying to relax my body on these “healing” prescription drugs, I thought: How good it will actually be when I’m able to get up and make lots of broccoli the way I want it. Whole food. Will I sauté you with onions, and allow your Vitamin C to heal me even more, or shall we roast you with some garlic and zucchini to add that nutty flavor of deliciousness? What shall we do today, broccoli? I couldn't wait. Oh, there's also the epic steak, and pulled pork accompanying a hoppy IPA waiting to nourish my being. Mmm, I'll get to you too, just you wait.

But for now, I’ll just lay here and dream of broccoli. Your big green afro so round and wide. That big strong stalk waiting to fortify me. I can’t wait to eat you. I know you are the right one, broccoli. You will nourish me with magnesium to soothe my nerves and strengthen my heart.

Broccoli, I dream of you. This was my ongoing fantasy. It was a sweet one. It made me smile with delight and in some small way it prepped me for the true relief to come. Yes, I was finally allergen free and off of the allergy medication. And with childlike excitement, of course, headed right for the broccoli...

Daydree Horner is Speaker, Reiki Master/Teacher, The Good Love™Coach and Certified Life Coach at her company MyOshun. She practices at BodyMind Systems Medical Center in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on all MyOshun services visit: https://www.myoshun.com