Cyndi Dale
What savory images pop into your mind when I share “comfort food”?
Waffles. Ice cream. French fries. Pot roast. Deep-fried…Okay—I get it. I’ll stop. You’re ready to head to the kitchen, short of that, speed dial that restaurant around the corner.
Who doesn’t turn to comfort food when the going gets tough? They soothe our rough emotions by conjuring the days when grandma’s cookies, stew, or other home-cook specialty took care of everything. Every so often, a fave food can also serve as the perfect centerpiece for a celebration. After all, comfort foods are all about sentiment and nostalgia. And fats, carbs, or salt, right?
This article isn’t a lecture about abstaining from decadence; it’s just the opposite, in fact. My advice will actually reduce your guilt, as well as the caloric overload accompanying those haphazard raids in the kitchen. Rather than graze yourself into a stupor while searching for that perfect pleasure, be smart. Choose your ideal comfort food right from the start, based on your primary chakra.
Chakras are subtle energy centers along the spine (think yoga) that manage every part of our lives. We each have one major chakra through which our true personality expresses. Every chakra is best supported with certain types of foods, including the solace-assuring treat we call a comfort food. By honing into your main chakra, you can select a feel-good food that will hit the spot right away.
To help, I’ve developed a simple quiz that outlines the traits of each of the seven, in-body chakras. Select the list of traits that best describe you. Next, match your chakra number in the Answer Key. Then, cravings hit, you know what to go for.
(Quiz)
Select one of the following seven lists that best describes your personality:
- Full of feelings. Empathic. Colorful. Having a tough feeling? You reach for food!
- Romantic. Interactive. Loving. There is nothing more healing than good food.
- Visual. Strategic. Aesthetic. It’s hard not to indulge if the food is beautiful.
- Structured. Factual. Organized. You even structure your cheat foods.
- Devout. Contemplative. Otherworldly. If you’re not aligned, it’s easy to stray—into the pantry or to a fast-food restaurant.
- Organic. Energetic. Passionate. You’re so busy it’s hard to distinguish between a comfort and a regular food.
- Thoughtful. Verbal. Philosophical. Open mouth, insert food—especially when you’re down.
(Answer Key)
See the answer key below to determine your major chakra and the label best describing the related personality. Then use the tips provided to narrow in on your so-perfect comfort foods.
1. The Second Chakra-Creative.
Your abdomen-based chakra might be orange, but you don’t require Crayola-hued indulgences. You’re sensual, and so are your homey foods. Rich, thick, yeasty, and warm, the stuff of muffins, waffles, cupcakes, and cookies. All the better to rip up a buttery bun and lick your fingers afterward. Go straight for soft and bready stuff (hint: gluten free is pretty good these days) and skip the reduced fat versions. You’ll just eat too much and end up unsatiated.
2. The Fourth Chakra-Relator.
Your culinary cravings spring from your heart-based chakra, which is the color of new life and healing: green. For you, a worthwhile cheat food must be nostalgic, invoking experiences of love. Ahhh, sink into those days gone by through the luscious casserole served by your favorite grandma or the dessert shared at a family gathering. Simmer or stew that memory food and savor the smells, sensations, and succulence of yesterday.
3. The Sixth Chakra-Visualizer.
Don’t let the gravy touch the potatoes! No matter what, your pleasure food must be aesthetic and attractive. Your brow-based purple center is also called the Third Eye, and that pretty much explains your comfort desire. Beautiful. Artistic. And inclusive of chocolate. That’s right. The main gland of this chakra, the pituitary, employs all versions of chocolate to get visions: dark, white, milk, raw—even the ruby variety.
4. The Third Chakra-Thinker.
Mellow yellow is the color of this chakra, anchored in the solar plexus. But your cheat foods aren’t so mellow, rather, they are crunchy. Munch away—potato chips, popcorn, pretzels, and heck, how about throwing in a few sticks of celery with nutty peanut butter, so you claim to be eating health food? The Thinker personality is so very precise that chomping is a guaranteed stress relief.
5. The Seventh Chakra-Spiritualist.
So lovely, this brilliant white chakra on the top of the head. It’s hard to believe that your prophetic personality requires a comfort food, but all more reason for physical pleasure. So, go physical. Select finger foods. Create a smorgasbord for lettuce wraps, with lots of seasoned proteins and veggies, or the same for a fondue special, with everything from chocolate to cheese. Then treat yourself.
6. The First Chakra-Manifestor.
Blazing red and in the hips, you’re a meat and potato type—even if you’re a vegan and you substitute tofu. While cooking up a slow and savory stew, soup, or roast—making sure you’ve put lots of root veggies in there—select a special something to hit the immediate spot. Think instant potatoes. Nuke one and slather with cheese, or heck, go out for French fries. Then there are quick-to-heat hash browns!
7. The Fifth Chakra-Communicator.
Based in the blue throat-area, just about any food will bring relief, if you’re not careful. So, select wisely. Imagine you’re going to entertain your favorite book character, poet, singer, or other verbal master. What would you serve? So, buy or make it! Then imagine that person is sitting directly across from you. There is nothing more satisfied for a Communicator than directly “engaging in conversation” over food.
And if you want to know which exercises best suit the five out-of-body chakras featured in my book, Chakras, Food, and You, take a look there!
Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned master energy healer and the co-author of Chakras, Food and You. www.CyndiDale.com
