DIET: CONTENT AND QUALITY OF MEALS
Eat Two or Three Complete and Nutritionally Balanced Meals Every Day
Grain and vegetable dishes together at the same meal provide the most complete and balanced nutrition.
“A meal without a grain is just a snack.”
—Michio Kushi
PLAN EVERY MEAL AROUND COOKED GRAINS AND GRAIN PRODUCTS
Moses in the Desert
Let’s look at the biblical story of Exodus. Moses took the Jewish people out of Egypt to deliver them from slavery into freedom. He wanted the Jews to build a new life free of the old enslaving concepts. However, the elders preferred what they knew to the possible dangers of the unknown. To fulfill his dream, Moses elected to have his people wander in the desert for forty years until the older generation died off. By then, the young had grasped the idea of living in freedom.
We have reached the end of a long dietary journey into the desert which emphasized animal and dairy foods as the basis of healthy meals.
The largest error was to assume that science was superior to Nature, as you found at the beginning of this section in the Brief History of Food. One significant myth was the notion that cow’s milk or infant formula was healthier for babies than mother’s milk. I was part of that experiment. My mother didn’t nurse me. She fed me commercial baby formula followed by cow’s milk. When I was in my twenties and learned about the physiological and psychological benefits of nursing for both mother and child, I asked her why she hadn’t nursed me. She answered simply that at the time, doctors thought bottle-feeding was superior. Now we know that nursing develops children’s immunity, general health, and thinking ability. It also helps children feel more secure emotionally and promotes a deeper bond between mother and child than bottle-feeding. Maybe your parents and grandparents started the day with a bowl of oatmeal, barley, Wheatena, Cream of Wheat, or corn grits. Compare that practice with today’s choice of bacon and eggs with white toast, bagels with cream cheese, or coffee with doughnuts and/or muffins. Many people ate beans and a variety of seasonal fresh vegetables. Vegetable soup was considered essential daily fare. Yes, people did consume some animal and dairy food, but usually in small portions and balanced by all the fresh, natural food in their diets. Even common snacks that people once enjoyed, such as seeds, nuts, and dried fruits have been more or less forgotten. And in many parts of the country anyone advocating healthful food choices is thought to be referring to some foreign diet.
Macrobiotics is a way to help integrate these foods we forgot in the desert.
Today, the current recommendations strongly resemble the Healthful Foods list in the back of this book. This proves that there is a new awareness about healthful nutrition. Hopefully, the government will realize soon enough that plant protein is superior to animal protein and we have no need for dairy food after we are weaned from our mother.
Cereal Grain
There is one major problem, however. Hardly anyone today knows what a cereal grain is (cereal grain was the traditional name for all grains). If you ask people whether they eat cereal grains, the likely answer will be yes. That’s because most of us think that dry breakfast cereals such as Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and corn flakes are cereal grains. To avoid confusion, I use the word “grain” to mean cereal grains that have been boiled, pressure-cooked, or used in traditional breads.
So let’s talk about grains. Basically a grain is made up of three parts:
• Bran, the outer layer of the kernel, is the part that protects the grain from oxidation. It contains protein, minerals, and vitamins.
• Germ, the heart of the life-giving part, contains oil and vitamins. It is actually the seed of the grain.
• Endosperm, the starchy bulk or center of the grain, is mostly carbohydrate. It is the fruit of the grain, the food the seed uses to grow.
A single grain contains the beginning and the end of all plant food, since it merges the seed and the fruit into one. Grains and grain products are either “whole” or “refined.” A grain is whole when all three of those parts are undisturbed and complete. A grain is refined when part or all of the bran or germ has been removed. The more of the bran and germ that is removed, the more refined the grain is. The more refined the grain, the more out of balance it is and the less nutritional value it has. Rice, wheat, and corn are the principal grains grown for human consumption. Rice is used by more than half of the world’s population and is seen most widely in one of two types—brown rice and white rice.
Brown rice is whole-grain rice, with only the husk removed; it can be bought in any of three forms—short-, medium-, or long-grain. Short- and medium-grain rice are more natural to temperate climates; long-grain rice is preferable in hotter climates. Short-grain rice has more of a glutinous quality (not to be confused with the gluten in wheat), and when cooked it is somewhat stickier than long-grain rice. Brown rice is the world’s most balanced food and is extremely high in nutritional value. It is recommended to be eaten often or daily. Brown rice combines deliciously with all other foods, even foods that are not part of the macrobiotic diet. Amazingly, whatever is cooked in the same pot with brown rice will be thoroughly cooked in the same amount of time it takes to cook the rice.
White rice has had its bran and germ removed, so it does not begin to compare nutritionally with brown rice. You would have to eat seven times as much white rice as brown to ingest the same nutrients!
Referring to a familiar, everyday food such as rice as a “grain” seems to confuse people. Virtually everyone has eaten lots of rice over the years, but probably without ever thinking of it as a grain. Rice is readily available and simple to cook, and it’s important that you make it a staple of your daily diet. Another excellent way to ensure that your meal revolves around a grain is to eat pasta or noodles as your main food. Most people tend to like pasta. I am referring, of course, to good quality pasta or noodles, such as Italian durum wheat semolina pasta or Japanese udon or soba. Later in the book you will find a list of other grains, some of which are probably unfamiliar to you. It’s best to start by eating brown rice and to develop the habit of making grains the focus of your meal.
When you are ready, visit the natural-food section of your local supermarket or health food store and check out the grains. Incorporate those you are already familiar with into your diet. If they are already part of your diet, use them more regularly as the centerpiece of your meals. My suggestion is that you plan every meal around cooked grains and grain products. Then complete and balance every meal with one or two vegetable dishes. Activate and harmonize your digestion with a bowl of vegetable soup at one or two meals. And always buy the highest-quality organically grown, unrefined, and naturally processed foods you can find.
Grains and Vegetables at Every Meal
Just as we use our mealtimes and rising and sleeping times to align externally with Nature’s cycles, so we use the meal itself to align internally with our own biological cycles. Ongoing alignment with both cycles creates a powerful environment for the development of spiritual, emotional, and physical health. We cannot create this important biological alignment without first defining what we mean by the word “meal.” A meal consists of a grain or grain product and at least one separate vegetable dish. Even if the grain or grain product has many vegetables in it, such as stir-fried noodles and vegetables, it is classified as a grain dish. This being the case, we are still missing a separate vegetable dish. When we add the vegetable dish, we have a meal. What I’m saying is this: your vegetable dish needs to be a separate dish, not vegetables cooked in or with something else, for example, in soup or in grains or grain products. Any vegetable cooked with grain becomes part of the grain dish. Any vegetable cooked in soup becomes part of the soup itself. To be annoyingly clear about this: the essence of a meal is a grain or grain product and at least one separate, stand-alone vegetable dish.
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”
—Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
Principal Foods
The term “principal food” refers to the food that is the centerpiece or core of the meal. In the modern American diet, protein in the form of meat or poultry or fish has been the most common principal food. In today’s world, when a meal is planned, the first decision to make is what protein to serve. The rest of the meal evolves from this starting point. Most of the world’s long-standing cultures, however, planned their meals around the grain dish, and this is the format we use. The first question to ask is: “What grain or grain product will be the centerpiece of my meal?” We might choose brown rice, barley, noodles, good-quality bread, polenta, or cracked wheat. The choice of grain is the center point around which the rest of the meal—which should include vegetables and other supplemental foods—should be planned.
The point is that natural foods, such as grains and vegetables, which all bestow health benefits, have been out of the mainstream American diet for such a long time that they are now considered weird. If you mention the word rutabaga or parsnip, most people don’t know if you’re talking about a vegetable or a dance craze. I recently heard of a family in which the children actually used the word rutabaga to taunt and insult each other! We have gotten so far away from wholesome food that we as a nation need reeducation. Paradoxically, although we live in a high-tech world that requires us to master very complicated material, for many of us the thought of having to acquire the simplest, most basic knowledge—how to improve our health through healthful eating—is overwhelming.
Cooking classes are the best starting place for your reeducation. Check the bulletin board of your natural food store for information on cooking classes, lectures, or seminars on natural diet and lifestyle. While you are there, pick up a cookbook or two. Cookbooks are good for ideas and inspiration once you have an understanding and image of healthful cooking and eating.
In the beginning stages, cooking can be learned only through personal experience. This is true of any style of cooking. To learn how to make a dish, we need to know three things—how the dish should look, how it should taste, and how it should smell. We cook from an image, and these factors form the basis of the image of whatever we are making. Once we have an image, we can reproduce the dish. If, when eating out, I come across a dish that I particularly like, I often replicate this dish at home—with slightly different ingredients, if necessary—but the point is that I always work from an image to create a new and healthful addition to my family’s diet. In the past, people cooked using their intuition rather than cookbooks; but many years of eating foods that do not properly nourish the brain or the spirit have hampered our intuition.
A Great Way to Eat Food
“Macrobiotics is a great way to eat food.” This is the answer given by my son Joe to the question, “What is macrobiotics?” I like the simplicity of his statement. It captures the feeling I have every time I sit down to eat. Once you are eating grains and vegetables on a regular basis, you will be able to understand what Joe meant by his remark. At first, you will begin to feel better and to look younger and brighter. Your thinking and reasoning abilities will become keener. After a short while, you will notice that your taste buds have changed. When this happens, and it will happen quickly, you will stop craving food that is detrimental to your health. The body has its own wisdom, and you will naturally crave healthful food. Hard as it is to believe, sooner or later, bacon and eggs will seem foreign to you!
I want to be clear about this: Americans must change their ideas about the meaning of complete nutrition. The modern practice of eating a lot of protein, especially animal protein, leads to serious illness. There is a real crisis in the healthcare industry because health insurance companies cannot keep up with the huge numbers of people needing medical help and hospitalization. If you accept the concept that we are what we eat and that food can either make us sick or keep us well, then you must conclude that both as a nation and as individuals, we have been making the worst possible food choices for a very long time.
Grains and Vegetables
If we want good health, it is crucial that we return to a diet based on unrefined foods and complex carbohydrates. A grain or grain product and at least one vegetable dish should be eaten at every meal—including breakfast. This may take some getting used to; but after a while, if you aren’t able to have a vegetable as part of your breakfast, you will really miss having it. Vegetables complete cereal grains nutritionally, and they will help you to feel more satisfied with your meals. Try to use a variety of cooking styles and a variety of vegetables, because the more you vary both, the better your health will become. Green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and cabbage are all excellent sources of calcium and vitamin C, and they contain a surprising amount of protein.
Most of my children do not like “protein dishes.” Some will eat beans occasionally, most like tofu but not tempeh, and only a few of them like seitan (a wheat gluten product). Most of them do like fish, but we serve fish only a few times a month.
In spite of this, they are mostly in the top 50 percent of their grade for height and weight. Where does their protein for growth come from? The only possibility is the combination of grains and vegetables. Fruit, oil, and grain-based sweets are also a regular part of their diet, and I am sure that these foods contribute to their growth as well.
Key Points:
• Grains and/or grain products are the centerpiece of a meal.
• Choose your grain first when planning a meal.
• Soft-cooked grains such as oatmeal or soft rice are best for breakfast.
• Eat brown rice often or daily.
• Brown rice is best when cooked with another grain such as pearled barley, millet, or sweet brown rice.
• Grains have the ideal balance of minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates that our body needs for balance and proper nourishment.
• You do not need to worry about the overall proportion of grains. Just eat a comfortable, satisfying amount.
• Start off with an equal portion of grains and vegetables or more vegetables than grains.
COMPLETE AND BALANCE EVERY MEAL WITH ONE OR TWO VEGETABLE DISHES
“The greatest delight the fields and woods minister is the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable. I am not alone and unacknowledged. They nod to me and I to them.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Matter of Balance
What do we mean by balance? In order to feel satisfied, our bodies require a certain proportion of basic nutrients. We need approximately seven times more protein than minerals. This one-to-seven ratio represents a balance or an averaging of the numbers between one and ten and is not arbitrary. It derives from the workings of the natural environment. The rotation of the earth on its axis creates a powerful energy that we call earth’s force—energy that is released upward from the center of the earth. The movement of the universe also creates a powerful energy—energy that flows downward toward the center of the earth and that we call heaven’s force. Heaven’s force is seven times greater than earth’s force. This is why, in order to escape the earth’s gravity and move into outer space, a rocket needs seven thousand pounds of thrust.
Around the world and down the centuries, definitions of balance and beauty have been based on this one-to-seven ratio. For example, classical Greek statues of the 4th century b.c.e., the Golden Age of Greece, have heads that are approximately one-seventh the size of their bodies. That which is aesthetically beautiful and pleasing to the human eye is not arbitrary either. Rather, it is based on our innate sense of balance, a sense that comes directly from Nature.
Many things conform to the one-to-seven ratio, including the ratio of nutrients necessary to maintain human health and well-being. For example, if you eat a hard-boiled egg (concentrated protein), you will undoubtedly want to sprinkle some salt (minerals) on it. Salt improves the taste of eggs and makes them more digestible. Tofu needs soy sauce to make it tastier and easier to digest.
The human body requires seven times as much carbohydrate as protein. If we eat meat, we quite naturally crave potatoes or beer or sugar—some type of carbohydrate—to balance the meat and make it digestible. Grain is the only food that conforms to these ideal proportions. Grain contains about seven times as much protein as minerals and seven times as much carbohydrate as protein. Meat contains no carbohydrates. Therefore, meat by itself cannot completely satisfy us. Vegetables contain some carbohydrates but not in the one-to-seven proportion. Beans come closer than any food group besides grains.
Fat is a balancing agent between proteins and carbohydrates. The body has no difficulty converting fat into either protein or carbohydrate. If the body needs energy, it breaks fat down into glucose. Glucose provides the energy. Fat is converted to protein all the time. When we work out, we are converting fat into muscle protein. Conversely, protein can easily convert to fat if we eat too much protein or if we are not active.
Here’s an important and little-known fact. Refined carbohydrates can produce fat in the body. This means that although many foods do not themselves contain cholesterol, they can create cholesterol. Overeating can also raise cholesterol levels. Craving or eating a lot of fat is a sign that your diet is out of balance. Fat is the nutrient that is most easily converted into protein or carbohydrate in the body. If our diet approximates the one-to-seven proportion of proteins and carbohydrates, we will not crave fat. This is why it is possible to follow a macrobiotic way of eating—which is very low in fat—and feel satisfied. Grain eating is balanced eating.
Simple and Complex Nutrients—Eat One and You Will Crave the Other
There is another element to consider when attempting to balance our diet. If we eat simple minerals, such as sodium chloride (common table salt), we will naturally begin to crave complex, or denser, protein—either animal protein or very dense vegetable protein. When we eat simple minerals, meat tastes better to us. If we eat complex animal or dairy protein, we will crave simple (refined) carbohydrates. In practical terms, this means that a hamburger won’t taste right on a whole-wheat bun. The complex protein of the hamburger is not attracted to the complex carbohydrate of the whole-wheat bun. Or take the example of fish sushi. Of course, it tastes much better with white rice than with brown because, as we now understand, complex craves simple. By contrast, vegetable sushi, a simple protein, tastes better with brown rice, a complex carbohydrate. If you eat white rice, white bread, sugar, and other simple carbohydrates like potatoes, your body will begin to crave more complex protein, usually animal and dairy foods. On the other hand, if you introduce complex minerals into your diet—in the form of unrefined white sea salt (not Celtic or gray salt, please), seaweed, and pickles—you will find yourself craving more complex carbohydrates, such as whole unrefined grains and beans and vegetables. Here’s a rewarding fact of macrobiotic life. Once you are eating whole grains on a daily basis, you will naturally begin to crave food that is good for you!
Refusing Vegetables
As a child, I refused to eat vegetables. Lettuce and tomato (in a sandwich) were the only exceptions. My mother was an excellent cook, but I didn’t appreciate her skills. Food was a problem for me. Once a week I was permitted to have dinner out with my friends. These were the meals I liked best. I ate all the junk food my body could handle. Whether consciously or not, throughout my childhood I refused vegetables completely. I would eat my mother’s vegetable soup only if she strained out the vegetables. I was that bad! In light of this confession, it strikes me as highly ironic that I have spent most of my adult life trying to persuade other people to eat their vegetables.
Within a week of incorporating brown rice into my diet, I started to enjoy vegetables. I even began to crave them. The very food I had refused to eat for so long was suddenly appetizing and desirable. Perhaps I have even caught up with those of you who were smart enough to have eaten vegetables all along. What I’m trying to convey is the fact that the process of moving from an unhealthful diet to a healthful one occurs naturally, if we follow some simple guidelines. Once we eat brown rice and vegetables on a regular basis, our cravings for unhealthful food tend to disappear.
Seaweed seduced me next. Seaweed amazed me. I remember walking into Sanae, the only macrobiotic restaurant in Boston, on a cold day in February of 1969 and ordering hiziki on impulse. The taste was new to me, neither good nor bad, but the memory of it stayed with me. The hiziki felt right in my body and I wanted to try it again. I have grown to truly love the taste of all seaweed and the way it makes me feel. My observation is that almost everyone grows to love seaweed. For some it takes time, others enjoy it immediately. Seaweed is unique, one of the more primitive foods we have. It provides a kind of nourishment and satisfaction that few other foods offer.
Perhaps it’s akin to the love of raw oysters and clams that some of us develop. These are also primitive foods, but seaweed is vegetable-quality and has a wider appeal. My research has shown me that seaweed was traditionally eaten by all major cultures except those in Africa, where people ate river and lake weeds instead. In our own country, some Native American groups traveled great distances to harvest seaweed.
Upsetting the Balance
There are various ways in which we may upset the balance inherent in the macrobiotic diet. One way is by eating too much baked or roasted or toasted food. In essence, baking, roasting, or toasting is carbonizing. If you burn a piece of toast, what you are left with is carbon. Although carbon is a mineral common to all living things, the catch is that once we increase the amount of carbon in our diet through baking, toasting, roasting, or burning, we automatically begin to crave more complex proteins (animal and dairy food) as well as refined grains. Excess carbon throws off the body’s entire mineral balance. Cravings for strong foods, such as meat, appear; feelings of guilt and despair occur, and the person to whom this is happening doesn’t understand why. Too much baked or roasted or toasted food can be a recipe for disaster.
There are many tempting macrobiotic baked products available in health food stores today; so it’s important to keep in mind that if you eat too many of these products, you will find it difficult to resist the lure of other unhealthful foods. Try to limit your intake of baked foods of all kinds, including bagels. It’s okay to indulge yourself once in a while, but certainly not on a regular basis.
If a Little Is Good, a Lot Is Not.
The other most common way of upsetting the balance of the macrobiotic diet is by using too much seaweed, especially kombu. Kombu is a type of kelp that is very beneficial to health. It helps lower fat and cholesterol levels, among other things. Seaweed, including kombu, is also a good source of minerals—calcium is one of them—but eating too much kombu over a long period of time can interfere with mineral absorption. To absorb minerals, we need some oil or fat in our diet, and seaweed directly affects how the body utilizes oil and fat.
People tend to think that if a little of something is good for them, then more must be even better; but often that’s not true. Excess can lead to serious deficiency. In the case of seaweed, less is more—meaning less is better. Seaweed should be taken in small amounts, but people typically increase their intake over time—often dramatically. As I just mentioned, too much seaweed can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb minerals. The following is what can happen if we become mineral-deficient because of an excessive intake of seaweed: in an attempt to regain its ability to absorb minerals, the body develops strong cravings for fat and protein; we begin to eat more fat and protein. Then because we feel better after eating this way, we assume it must be good for us—we must have needed more animal food. Looked at in one way, this is not an incorrect assumption. In order to overcome an imbalance, the body cries out for fat. But you can see that it would be far better not to create an imbalance at all. Be careful with the quantity of seaweed you use. It’s important not to upset your body’s mineral balance.
There’s another problem with eating too much seaweed. One of the things the body does with fat is to convert it into sex hormones. If we decrease the body’s fat content too much, in other words, if there isn’t enough fat available because its absorption has been interfered with—and an overuse of seaweed and salt can do this—we invite an imbalance of sex hormones.
Key Points:
• Have at least one vegetable dish with every meal, including breakfast.
• Have a variety of vegetable dishes—well cooked, lightly cooked, pressed, pickled, and raw throughout the days and weeks.
• Grains and vegetables together provide the basis of complete and balanced nutrition.
• Do not reheat leftover vegetable dishes. They lose their refreshing and nourishing qualities and leave you unsatisfied. If they have been refrigerated, take them out in advance and let them warm up naturally.
ACTIVATE AND HARMONIZE YOUR DIGESTION WITH A SERVING OF VEGETABLE SOUP AT ONE OR TWO MEALS DAILY
Let’s take a closer look at soup. Soup conditions or relaxes the digestive system and readies it to accept the meal. As I mentioned earlier, there are basically two types of soup—savory (what one ordinarily thinks of as vegetable soup) and puréed sweet vegetable soup.
Generally, savory soups, such as miso vegetable, bean vegetable, or shoyu (natural soy sauce) vegetable broth, are taken at the beginning of the meal. Most vegetable or bean soups that we are familiar with are savory soups. Sweet vegetable soups are eaten throughout the meal. If you find this confusing, the safest approach is to eat your soup at the start of your meal.
All savory soups activate digestion. If a naturally fermented seasoning such as miso or shoyu is cooked into the soup, it will further aid the digestive process. Fermentation helps create good bacteria, yeast, and enzymes to form a healthful environment in the intestines.
All sweet vegetable soups, being mild and sweetly creamy, help to relax, harmonize, and coordinate the digestive system and its central organs—the pancreas, stomach, liver, and gallbladder. When these organs are aligned, digestion is smoother. Sweet vegetable soup does not have to be puréed although it is more effective that way.
“An old-fashioned vegetable soup, without any enhancement, is a more powerful anti-carcinogenic than any known medicine.”
—James Duke, M.D. (USDA)
More Savory than Sweet Vegetable Soup
We all need a combination of sweet and savory soups, but we need about two to three times more savory soup. Serve puréed sweet vegetable soup two to three times in a seven- to ten-day period, and eat a variety of savory soups the rest of the time. Any vegetable soup that has either miso, shoyu, or sea salt cooked in it is a savory soup. For instance, you can turn lentil vegetable soup into miso soup by seasoning it with miso. If you take the same soup and season it with shoyu, you create lentil-vegetable shoyu soup. Both versions qualify as savory.
Relieving Stress
Foods with a creamy texture are more relaxing and consoling, and that soothing quality has a positive effect on the digestive system. During the Great Depression, sales of ice cream skyrocketed. People had no money for anything other than the bare essentials; nevertheless, they bought ice cream. During really hard, stressful times, it seems we seek creamy foods for consolation. If you make sure you have the proper amount of sweet, creamy soup, you will have an easier time controlling the stress level in your everyday life. Stress hardens and tightens the digestive organs. Puréed soup helps them stay relaxed. Remember, if you’re feeling nervous or pressured, it’s important to take a few minutes to relax before sitting down to eat.
“Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.”
—Auguste Escoffier
Miso Soup
Miso soup has always been an important part of the macrobiotic diet. Recently, it’s made its way into the mainstream—perhaps because it’s so easy to prepare. Please consider restricting your intake of miso soup to what you make at home. The quality of miso paste used by restaurants is often very poor. Traditionally, it took one to two years to age and ferment miso properly. By artificially controlling temperature and using chemical fermentation, commercial miso can be made in one week! As an added insult, commercial miso is often flavored and dyed and may even contain monosodium glutamate (MSG), an unhealthful chemical preservative and taste enhancer. Commercial miso doesn’t have any of the benefits that naturally fermented miso, available in most health food stores, has.
More Is Not Better.
It’s important to have one or two bowls of soup a day. One bowl is generally enough. If you feel like having a second bowl, by all means have it. If you do have a second soup, try to make it a different type of soup.
For most people however, two soups every day is too much. Eating soup with every meal is definitely a bad idea. As with many other food choices in the macrobiotic diet, more soup is not better. Too much soup, rather than strengthening digestion, will weaken it. As for quantity, a standard cup or small bowl-sized serving is adequate. Please keep in mind that a bowl of soup by itself does not qualify as a meal—even if it contains a grain. It’s important to understand that soup, whether it’s miso or shoyu or sweet vegetable, does not count as a complete and nutritionally balanced meal—at breakfast or at any other time. Which brings me to my next point. For many years, macrobiotic teaching has recommended taking miso soup at breakfast.
However, it’s been my observation that some people are hungry all day long if they do this and, as a result, they overeat. Why? Miso soup has a powerful capacity to stimulate digestion; and when digestion is stimulated, we want to eat. I now recommend taking miso soup no more than once a day at whatever meal works best for you. Experiment. Try it for breakfast on one day, lunch on another and, on another day, for dinner. See at which time it works best for you, at which time you leave the table feeling most satisfied.
Key Points:
• There are two main types of soup: savory vegetable soup is well seasoned and mildly salty; puréed sweet vegetable soup is mildly sweet with a pleasant creamy taste.
• Soup with a savory taste activates digestion and stimulates the appetite.
• Puréed sweet vegetable soup helps relax and harmonize the digestive system. It has a calming and consoling effect.
• Have two to three times more savory than sweet soups, i.e., two to three bowls of sweet vegetable soup in a seven- to ten-day period.
INCORPORATE A WIDE VARIETY OF FOODS INTO YOUR DIET
Natural foods come in an endless variety of interesting combinations, tastes, and textures. If you make an effort to try new foods and new recipes, I can assure you that your taste in food will change quickly.
Greater variety in your diet will make you feel more satisfied and will provide better nutrition as well. Start by adding a few new foods each week. The biggest mistake beginners make is to find a few foods they like and eat them over and over. Although this approach might work for a while, in the end it leads to boredom and dissatisfaction. It is also nutritionally limited. As you become more familiar with natural foods, you will gain confidence in your ability to create satisfying, healthful, and exciting meals. The more new foods you add to your diet, the more your taste for natural foods will return.
I use the word “return” because I believe our taste for healthful food is natural. Years of eating unwisely sap our ability to enjoy natural foods. My proof is that young children love well-prepared natural foods on their first try. From time to time throughout the years, my children have been reluctant to invite their friends over for fear they wouldn’t like our way of eating. Usually these friends enjoy the food so much, they ask for seconds. If they don’t like our food the first time, they usually come around after a few more tries.
There is far more variety available in a plant-based way of eating than in the modern American diet. The key to success is to consciously increase variety over time. Now that so many supermarkets carry natural foods and organic produce, you can start your education there. Once you feel more confident, make a trip to your local health food store.
Styles of Cooking
Try to use a wide variety of cooking styles when you prepare your meals. The macrobiotic repertoire is extensive. For daily use, I recommend pressure-cooking, boiling, blanching, steaming, steaming with kombu seaweed (called nishime style), soup-making, stewing, quick sautéing with water or oil, sautéing and simmering (kinpira style), pressing and pickling, and raw. On the Styles of Cooking list toward the back of this book (p. 190), you will find baking, broiling, dry-roasting, pan-frying, deep-frying, and tempura (batter-dipped deep-frying) food listed under Occasional Use (p. 197).
When planning your meals, select foods within the following categories: whole grains, soups, vegetables, beans, sea vegetables, and beverages. Use different cooking methods from the above list. Keep in mind that it’s best not to pressure-cook vegetables. Start with those cooking styles that are familiar. If possible, take macrobiotic or natural-foods cooking classes. Read cookbooks to inspire and teach you.
Vegetables can be cut in various ways. Try slicing them into rounds or half-moons. You can cut the slices straight across or on the diagonal and you can vary the thickness of the slices. Different methods have subtly different effects on the flavor and appearance of whatever dish you prepare.
Vary the kinds of seasoning and condiments you use. Use different seasonings in dishes you are familiar with and take note of how just a small change in the seasoning of a dish can produce a big difference in taste. Try seasoning that same dish with a little more or less of what you normally use. The type and amount of seasoning will each bring out different aspects of flavor and can subtly alter the consistency of a dish. Some seasonings firm up a dish, so to speak, while others have a softening effect.
It’s important to vary the cooking time of vegetables. Most of us could use more lightly cooked vegetables in our diet. What do I mean by a lightly cooked vegetable? It’s one that makes a crunchy sound when you bite into it. The sound should be audible to someone sitting next to you. No sound means the vegetable is well cooked. Include a combination of well cooked and lightly cooked vegetable dishes weekly. Experiment with cooking times. Cook familiar dishes a little longer or for a little less time. And don’t forget that raw salad is an important part of the macrobiotic diet. Have a salad at least a few times a week. In most cases, it’s fine on a daily basis. Try varying the intensity of the flame when you cook. The same dish can taste quite different depending on whether it’s been cooked slowly or quickly. Many people use too much fire when cooking. It seems to be a natural tendency to turn the flame up as high as possible, whether it’s needed or not. Excessive use of a high flame in your cooking may make you nervous or irritable. Use a medium flame when you want to bring something to a boil. If necessary, you can always turn it up at the end of cooking. You will feel calmer and steadier as a result.
Vary the combination of dishes you use in meals. Change just one dish and you have added a new meal to your repertoire. And vary the combination of vegetables, grains, beans, and seasonings you use in your dishes.
Cook your food a little longer in the winter for a warming, energizing effect. Cooking food a bit less in the summer will produce a cooling and relaxing effect.
Try to create a variety of color, taste, and consistency in your meals. Variety means using many different ingredients from each of the different categories, changing the method of preparation and changing the combinations of food. Imagine what the meal will look like on the plate, imagine how it will taste. Remember that variety creates interest. Try to surprise your family and friends. Keep them guessing. They are sure to enjoy and appreciate your efforts.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PLANNING MEALS
First considerations
• Grains and vegetables together form the basis of complete and balanced nutrition.
• All food has protein. You do not need to make a special effort to increase protein in your diet. It is nearly impossible to become protein-deficient.
• If you feel that you are craving protein, increase beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and possibly add fish.
• A variety of vegetable foods provides the most abundant and well-balanced nutrition available: minerals including calcium, potassium, proteins, carbohydrates, fats including omega-3, and vitamins including vitamin C. Vitamin D comes from exposing your skin to the sun.
• Beans may be included in the same meal or even the same dish as fish.
• Seitan, a wheat gluten product, may be cooked with grains or beans.
When planning your daily meals, try to follow the order below
• Always decide on the grain or grain product first.
• Then choose the vegetable dish and/or dishes that complement and harmonize the grain.
• Next, decide on the soup to further complete the meal.
• Last, supplement with foods from the other categories, specifically beans, sea vegetables, seeds, nuts, fish, fruit, snacks, desserts, sweets, and beverages, if you choose.
• Use these guidelines whether you are eating at home or out.
Questions to ask when planning every meal
• What grains or grain products do I want?
• What vegetable dishes do I want?
• Will they be freshly prepared or leftover?
Questions to ask every day
• What soup will I have today?
• Am I including brown rice in one of my meals today?
• What beans and/or bean products shall I have today?
• Am I including a variety of well cooked, lightly cooked (meaning bright, colorful, and crunchy), and raw vegetable dishes?
Questions to ask when planning your weekly menu
• Am I incorporating sea vegetables into my diet?
• Shall I have fish this week?
• What desserts and snacks shall I have?
• Am I getting enough variety in the other categories, including seeds, nuts, fish, fruit, mild natural sweets, and beverages?
• Are my meals appealing, tasty, colorful, and satisfying?
• Have I remembered to incorporate leftovers to save time on cooking?
ORDER OF PLANNING MEALS
| Modern Diet | Macrobiotic Diet | |
| 1. Principal Foods, the centerpiece of every meal | Protein: Meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, or fish; For vegetarians: Beans, soy products, textured soy protein, etc. | Grains or Grain Products: Brown rice, barley, millet, polenta, pasta, oatmeal, couscous, whole-wheat bread, etc. |
| 2. Main Secondary Foods, they complete, balance, and harmonize every meal | Starch: Potatoes, pasta, bread, white rice, or other refined grains | Vegetables: Well cooked, lightly cooked, pickles, salad |
| 3. Soup with 1 or 2 meals a day | Infrequent | Miso, vegetable, lentil, puréed squash, etc. |
| 4. Other Foods throughout the week | Salad, vegetables, fruits, snacks and sweets, dessert, or beverages | Beans, seeds, nuts, fish, fruit, snacks, dessert, beverages |
| 5. Essence of a Meal | Protein, starch, and beverage | Grain, vegetable, and soup |
| 6. Typical Meals | Meat, potatoes and coffee Pizza and soda Pizza and beer Hamburger, fries, and soda Omelet, fries, toast, and coffee |
Brown rice, steamed kale or collards, and bancha twig tea Couscous, sautéed onion and broccoli, and miso soup Steamed tofu sandwich on whole-wheat bread with tahini and sauerkraut and apple juice Pasta, vegetables, and tea, spring water, or beer Polenta, broccoli rabe, red snapper, and wine |
Key Points:
• Create variety by varying the ingredients in each of the categories, changing the method of preparation and the combination of foods in the dishes you create.
• Try not to settle on a few dishes and combinations and then continually repeat them.
• Variety ensures the most balanced nutrition and helps you feel more satisfied.
• All foods contain protein. The vegetable protein in grains, beans, and vegetables is superior to animal protein for health, endurance, and vitality.
BUY THE HIGHEST-QUALITY ORGANICALLY GROWN, UNREFINED, NON-GMO, AND NATURALLY PROCESSED FOODS
High-quality organic food tastes better. It’s more nourishing and strengthening to your health. Many people are willing to buy expensive cars, clothes, and houses, but when it comes to buying food they won’t spend the extra money for the best quality. Please, don’t save money on your food. Try to buy mostly organically grown food, in particular, staples like daily-use vegetables and grains, miso, sea vegetables, shoyu, ume and brown rice vinegars, and umeboshi plums etc., even if you have to travel or mail-order to do it. What is not available, you can certainly supplement with commercially grown food. If most of your food is organically grown, then some unrefined and commercially produced food is not going to harm you and you will enjoy the benefits of increased variety.
That said, it’s vital to remember that quality can be adjusted up or down. Here’s an example of what I mean: If you think Diet (Content and Quality) is more important than Eating Habits (Format) and you want to eat organically grown, pressure-cooked short- or medium-grain brown rice, but it’s not available to you at that moment, then what do you do? Well, many people think if they can’t practice perfectly, if they can’t have the best food all the time, then they’re not good macrobiotics. So they abandon the diet temporarily and proceed to make terrible choices. This is a pretty common response, particularly when traveling. However, if you want to eat well, you can eat well under any circumstances. If you have a health problem, the best thing to do is prepare ahead so you don’t get stuck. An understanding of the controlling factors of macrobiotic practice and how to adapt to difficult circumstances is very important.
Adjusting Quality
Let me explain what I mean when I say that quality can be adjusted up or down. Despite what you might think, white rice and commercially made pasta qualify as a grain and grain product. Steamed vegetables without butter are still vegetables. You can order vegan vegetable soup. Will it be macrobiotic quality? No, not exactly. It may be made with potatoes or tomatoes or both but it’s still vegetable soup. Remember that as long as you stick to the Format, you will be moving in the direction of health. To tell if you are becoming lax about the Format, watch for danger signals such as reading or watching TV at the table, eating or snacking while standing, not chewing thoroughly, rushing through meals, not allowing three hours between eating and sleeping and so on. If these things begin to happen and you are not alert to them, it’s only a matter of time before you create an imbalance, and imbalances tend to perpetuate themselves. So long as you concentrate on the Format of Meals (Eating Habits), over time your diet will become more and more healthful. You will come to understand intuitively what you need to improve and maintain good health. But if you focus on Diet (Content and Quality of Meals), then automatically you will begin thinking in terms of good and bad, right and wrong, calcium and protein, etc., and when we think this way we get off track. It’s very easy to fall into this sort of thinking. It’s the way we’ve been taught, and modern education, being so powerful, is hard to overcome.
Our goal is simply this: to have good digestion, good absorption, and good circulation. After all, what is the difference between being young and being old? The answer is good digestion, good absorption, and good circulation. If the food that enters the body can be digested and absorbed and the excess evacuated easily and if the blood can circulate, then we can cure ourselves of anything. We can reverse the effects of illness and unnatural aging, if we practice accurately. We can even wind back our biological clock and become much younger than our biological age.
We’ve found that many restaurants use chicken stock in so-called vegetarian dishes. It is better not to make assumptions. If you’re eating away from home, it is best to ask whether meat, poultry, or chicken stock were used in the preparation of the food.
Key Points:
• High-quality food tastes better.
• It’s more nourishing and strengthening to your health.
• Quality can be adjusted up or down.
• Buy organically grown food as much as possible. Supplement with commercially grown food when the full variety of organic food is unavailable.
• Make sure to choose non-GMO foods.