What to drink

[DPSinPA]

I'm not much of a tea drinker, so other than water what are some good low calorie drinks?

Is it okay to drink diet soda, or something like sugar free Tang ???

[Klara]

OUch. I'm not that good with computers but I wish I could draw. I liked that first icon on the bottom row, someone please tell me how to use icons.

My dear DPSinPA, I'm thinking you haven't been mb very long - please please do find classes or a good book and throw away all diet drinks that come near you. Fast!!!!

My favorite and easiest drink is I often drink whatever broth is left in whatever I'm cooking. Be it bean juice, or vegetable juice. For the beans (adzuki or humous or anything), if it doesn't have enough flavor for you, add some (a little to start!!! don't oversalt!!!!) shoyu (soy sauce) and cook for a few more minutes. Ginger juice (grated ginger and squeezed) also does wonders. Please be careful not to put too much.

Other drinks do take a conscious effort - again from the easiest and can be bought, tho advisable to warm them up first, are apple juice and carrot juice. To make them even healthier and more exciting, dissolve a teaspoon of kuzu into a cup of cold juice, when fully dissolved (be very careful not to leave lumps or it won't cook up at all) bring to a boil, then simmer a few minutes, stirring gently all the time. You can add ginger to create warmth (good for this winter now) or lemon when you want to cool off (during the summer time).

Another favorite of mine is sweet vegetable drink - I'm sure I must have posted on it already, but here it is again. This takes a little work, but it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, just warm up before drinking. Take 1/4 cup finely chopped each of the following sweet vegetables: onion, carrots, winter squash (whatever is available by you) and cabbage. Add 4 cups of water, bring to a boil and then simmer for 1/2 hour. For those more advanced and willing to work more, add the vegetables one at a time, first the onions til they become wilted, then from yang to yin, carrots, squash then the cabbage. At the end drain the vegetables well and drink only the liquid. DO NOT ADD SALT. This is a yin drink which has a wonderful effect to bring energy, lighten you up and help with sugar addictions.

The last drink I highly encourage when not feeling well is an ume/kudzu drink - again as above 1 tsp kudzu to 1 cup of water, following instructions above - then add, again slowly til your taste buds are happy, a small amount of umeboshi (pit is more valuable - 1/2 to start - but paste will also do) and a little shoyu. As you progress on the macrobiotic way, your need for salt will decrease (I hope) but at the beginning do make it palatable, so you won't be turned off.

And most important, as you get more into macrobiotics, you will find less and less need for drinks - your foods will satisfy your thirst needs. Really.

Good luck.

Klara

[Klara]

sorry, about the umeboshi, I didn't mean pit, I meant whole plum. Apologies.

Klara

Klara - thank-you very much for your posting on what to drink. It will help me out a lot.

Bill

[Johnnyzen]

spring water, banch ate, some green tea. Avoid all sodas. Enjoy apple juice, cider on occasion.

[Bruce Paine]

Originally Posted by DPSinPA

I'm not much of a tea drinker, so other than water what are some good low calorie drinks?

Is it okay to drink diet soda, or something like sugar free Tang ???

The number one drink by most long time macros is Kukicha or Bancha Twig Tea

The best way to make a low or non-bitter tasting Bancha Twig Tea is to use the larger twigs that come with bulk bancha twig tea, and to cook the twigs in purified, spring, or well water inside a enamel or glass lined pot

Because Simply Natural does not sell these products I will have to send you to macroCOOK where you can be introduced to various places to get Kukicha twigs and glass pots so that you can easily make this wonderful tea, each and every time you wish to drink a slightly more yin bancha twig tea.

Otherwise, you can buy the various bagged teas here and the various teapots that Simply Natural offers!

Here is a recipe for making the tea once you have the right ingredients and cooking implements:

The best tasting tea is made using spring, well, or filtered water in a glass tea or coffee pot.

To prepare: add 1 heaping teaspoon of kukicha to 1 quart of cold water.

Cover and bring to a rapid boil over medium-high heat.

Immediately remove from heat source and let steep (simmering twig tea makes it too strong and bitter to drink alone!) .

When the pot of tea has been consumed, a pinch of tea (prepared as above) can be added to freshen the pot.

Enjoy hot or cold.

Please enjoy!

Thank you, very much.

Be well, be your best, and be blessed!

Bruce Paine

[WonderlandAlli]

I do like tea, but I also enjoy:

Roasted Barley Tea, ok its still a tea but its a very smoky flavor, unlike other teas.

I got a juicer within a month of getting into macro, so sometimes I throw some veggies in there and make fresh juice, even fruit if I have enough. My favorite is 1 apple, 3 large carrots, 2 celery sticks, 1 bunch parsley (since wheatgrass doesn't work in my juicer very well). Sometimes I switch the apple for a couple handfuls of grapes.

Organic fruit juice from concentrate (no added sugars, additives, etc)

I don't touch diet pop with a ten foot pole. If I were in a situation where the only choices were pop or diet pop, I'd actually prefer regular. But I rarely drink pop.

Soy milk. I like it. I buy organic Soy Nice, low fat vanilla.

[Bruce Paine]

Speaking of juicing, check out The Juicing Book: A Complete Guide to the Juicing of Fruits and Vegetables for Maximum Health: by Stephen Blauer (co-author with Michio Kushi of The Macrobiotic Way: The Complete Macrobiotic Lifestyle Book ) and look inside the book here

You can buy a variety of centrifugal and masticating juicers at Simply Natural!

Also, you can make a drink called KukichApple which is made from 3/4 kukicha tea and 1/4 unfiltered apple juice, to make a slightly more yang beverage that is still slightly sweet.

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[Klara]

Wow, to read an entire book online - this age of computers still amazes me. Thank you Bruce.

On a different discussion group, I referred people to The Macrobiotic Guide for an article on juicing - The Macrobiotic Health Benefits of Juicing (if that doesn't work, let me know)

and in response, here's a thoughtful reply about why some mb support juicing and others don't from Phiya Kushi, one of Michio's sons:

Hi BIll,

From my perspective/ experience, the opinions do not differ and both are correct to a certain degree. Even though they can clearly be viewed as contradictory they are talking about two different things.

Anything taken in excess can be harmful and that is what the Kushi Institute instructor was talking about, although I personally would have not qualified "yin" as "bad" and I would have added many disclaimers because all life is relative. What is "bad" for one may "good" for another and what is "bad" for one now may be "good" for the same person at a later time.

Juicing does have remedial qualities for many depending on where they came from or what they have been eating. Many people have a habit of chronically eating too yang in the form of baked breads, excessive animal foods and salt and oil, all of which do tend to clog up the liver and the quick and dirty remedy is to take hot spices and/or alcohol. Juicing with ordinary vegetables is a much better way to clean things out and many times in macrobiotics juice made from leafy greens is recommended for persons with liver problems (also shiitake tea - why do you think this?). Fresh grated daikon and carrots are also recommended for a host of troubles. So for people like that then juicing or going on a raw foods diet for a while can work wonders. But ultimately we also need to eat cooked food and we need to have minerals and we need quality fermented foods. Discover your own bodily needs. Try things out, experiment, discover yourself.

What is more valuable is to understand the principle and mechanism behind all of this. Why does it help? How does it work? Why do these contradiction seem to appear (like the one about soy)? What is the principle behind it all? Is there one that can logically explain it all?

Phiya