Hey there!
I made it through my first desludging day pretty well!
But there is something that has been bothering me throughout my studies (mind you, I've only read MAcrobiotic Way and Hip Chick, as well as some Christina cooks stuff):
I totally get that local food is good for you food. My confusion is because I live in south central Texas- on the same latitude as Cairo. While it's technically temperate, we don't get those lovely little fruits and vegetables they get up in Massachussetts. Indigenous foods include cacti, chilies, grapes, beans: pinto, anasazi; corn meal, corn and more corn... 1500 varieties, we grow a lot of rice here, though it isn't indigenous... so what does it mean: local food? Does it mean "grown with love by a local farmer/me" or "native to the area"? Our heat doesn't break until late October, and it's still warm at Thanksgiving. How does that affect eating patterns?
If Japanese food (and I do love japanese food!) is an entirely different climate, how is ume paste going to heal me? Why wouldn't I use a prickly pear chutney or pear and chile paste in stead? I don't mean to be splitting hairs, but it will help me make better choices! Until I figure it out I'm sticking to what is known, but I would like to know if someone has already worked through this so I don't have to reinvent the wheel! I would love to find a macro counsellor in my area, but I just can't afford the ones here.