Questions About Macro Foods

[miltonkeynesmum]

Hello everyone. Lots of questions, here goes!:

* Why is maple syrup on the ok list for macros? Is it an occasional treat? I like the brown rice syrup but it doesn’t quite have the sweetness I crave on my porridge in the morning!!!!!

* I understand now that by cooking meat to 120 (is it?) degrees you render the protein into very hard to digest protein plus kill off all the enzymes (I also know it's not advocated in healthy eating regimes anyway) However, if I wanted to eat a bit of organic free range chicken now and again, how would I cook it? Would it work if I did it in the slow cooker (do you guys call it a crock pot??) or would it never reach high enough temperatures to render the meat safe to eat?? Would steaming a chicken breast be ‘cool’ enough to leave some protein/other nutrition behind??

* Presumably, if one wishes to eat steak and actually derive some protein from it, one should always eat the steak from high quality organic sources and rare?! I enjoy all my lentils and so on and am quite happy with this but hubby is not on board with the giving up meat thing.

* Can you sprout wheat grass seeds and eat them in salads?

* By the way, have obtained some lovely organic brown rice miso paste – yes, the difference between that and the disgusting yuck in the instant packets is unbelievable. I am often to be found just standing by the fridge with the lid off, sniffing the paste!!!!

* Made some polenta the other night. Bearing in mind I loved Quinoa, Bulghar, Falafel and all other beans, pulses and grains, I found the polenta yucky – wibbly wobbly like jelly and totally tasteless gloop. What do you guys put in it so that when it 'sets' it has some flavour to it?

Well, thanks a million and looking forward to hearing all your advice and views. Cheers!

[Rafflesia]

I wish I had some answers to the above posts, but I am a novice too, so I am adding questions.

MISO: is there a big difference between brown rice and abrley miso for health benefits? I have been using miso for about ab year, but have been so happy just to find any that I did not notice what type it was until I started reading macro recieps and saw everything emphasizes the greatness of barley miso and mine is brown rice.

RICE: is organic brown basmatic rice acceptable in standard macrobiotic diets? I only recently heard that it is a man made derivative or rice, but I have seen organic varieties sold and I like long grain rice so much better. I particurlarly adore plain basmati rice.

LENTILS: is any colour (green and french green) except the red acceptable any time?

BEANS: is it okay to use canned products if dried are not available. this is my greatest challenge...adding non-tofu beans into my diet, because I only like chick peas as hummous. the rest tend to make me gag...

[Nancy]

Hi Ladies,

Answers to Questions:

Maple Syrup: Actually, maple syrup is not a staple of the macrobiotic diet, but rather, suggested for "infrequent use" only. As Grade A, Maple Syrup is an all natural, delicious sweetener (remember, in moderation) -- it is a wonderful food, and not prohibited for those in good health, in fact, --nothing is prohibted for those in good health.

If eating the macro way, your taste buds will soon become sensitive to the more natural, subtle flavors of pure, organic foods. At first, brown rice syrup may taste too mild, that is because most persons are used to unnecessary jolts of flavor from highly spiced foods, etc. When brown rice syrup tastes absolutely delicious, your taste buds will have become refined.

Meat: The macrobiotic diet does not include poultry or red meat as a regular part of the diet or staple food. Balanced macrobiotic meals are centered around various Whole Grains as the staple food. Thus 3-5 oz. of meat is not the center of the dinner plate, but rather 50% Brown Rice, or other Whole Grain. Thus, no doubt, few here have expertise regarding cooking meat.

Sprouting Seeds: You can sprout most any seed that is willing.

Polenta: For your polenta, try some macrobiotic condiments: scallions, shoyu, ginger, gomashio, freshly ground pepper, red pepper, roasted sesame seeds, miso, umeboshi, toasted sesame oil, good quality sea salt, etc.

Barley Miso: Barley miso, aged over 2 years, is the very best miso for health benefits, and usually the one recommened for daily use. Good for the circulatory system and digestive organs. It is high in protein and Vitamin B12. For daily use, make sure you have a traditionally fermented miso, unpasterized, and organic. Click on the top of this page, Catalog, for an online mail order catalog with several wonderful brands of miso varieties.

Rice: In Northern Temperate Climates, such as the USA and Canada, organic short-grain brown rice is the most nutritious staple grain. If you avoid the use of brown rice, you will be missing out on a wonderfully nutty whole grain, that is a complete whole food and highly nutritious. Brown rice contains an ideal balance of minerals, protein, and carbohydrates. Basmati rice is sold as organic, but it is a white rice, it is not whole, and it is polished. Short and long grain has to do with the yin or yang qualities of the rice. Short being more yang, long being more yin. In summer, long grain rice can be boiled for a lighter rice. In winter, short grain rice can be pressure cooked or baked to provide a more yang quality and heat for the body during cold weather.

Lentils: Organic green or brown lentils are considered a staple of the macrobiotic diet, and also one of the three "healing" beans or pulses. Organic red lentils are also fine, but recommended for occassional use rather than regular use.

Beans: Canned food is highly processed, made in factories, under hot steam pressure, and heavily salted for preserving. Any canned food with additives is not recommended. If in transition, from SAD (Standard American Diet) to the macrobiotic diet, it is up to the individual whether they would/would not want canned foods on hand.

The three healing beans, which contain less fat, are lentils, aduki, and garbonzos. All three types and many more varieties can be easily found in grocery market plastic bags as dried products. Beans provide a high quality vegetable protein that builds our bodies. Beans along with rice make up a complete protein equal and better to the quality of meat.

Look into the many available macrobiotic cookbooks for new and tasty ways to cook beans you will like and that will build a healthy body, life, and outlook.

Hope this helps,

Nancy

[Bruce Paine]

miltonkeynesmum,

You might try the polenta or cornmeal (make sure that it's organic) as a soft breakfast food like soft cooked rice, cooked oatmeal, cooked cracked grains, etc.

A recipe that I have been introduced to lately calls for 2 cups of water, a pinch of seasalt, bring to a boil, add a 1/4 cup of cornmeal, turn down the flame, and gently stir (using a flat angle-tipped wooden spatula) for about three minutes.

You will notice a delightfully delicious sweet corn smell emanating from the pot and the grain should turn a little shiny, and somewhat soft.

Let it cool for a couple of minutes before serving.

one can add other grains (in smaller amounts) like cooked rice, oats, or wheat, cooked cracked grain.

Have a condiment like gomashio to add a little richness to your bowl of cornmeal.


A fourth bean that has been included lately to the three beans is black soybeans.

Make sure that your beans are organically grown for the best nutrition and taste.

The best black soybeans are the ones grown on the island of Hokkaido http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/shopnew/beans.html in Northern Japan.

Like all dried beans and pulses one should pick through them for pebbles, twigs, etc, before soaking them overnight and like garbanzo beans or chickpeas, they need to be brought to a boil and skimmed of the foam and bean skins that rise to the surface before resuming the regular cooking.

The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health: A Complete Guide to Preventing and Relieving More Than 200 Chronic Conditions and Disorders Naturally by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/s...345439872.html

Interestingly enough, I've found out from Warren Kramer that chicken is just as yang as beef and takes as long for the body to eliminate the chicken quality energy than from other meat products, so you folks out there that think, "Oh, I'm eating a white meat (like some fish), so I'm okay!" are just fooling yourselves.

According to Michio and Alex in their "Macrobiotic Path to Total Health" tell about chicken making the body tight, hard, and inflexible, especially in the muscles, bones, and nerves. Did you know that chicken, eggs, and other poultry are acid, mucus, and fat-forming.

If you are becoming macrobiotic, and especially trying to heal yourself of any specific condition, I would consider laying off the poultry and other dense animal foods.

A little bit of white meat fish once in awhile should satisfy some of those animal food cravings and as you eat more and more balanced macro diet you will find that you won't need that much animal food in your diet.

If feeding a carnivore every day makes you think that you need to be one, think again and make sure that there are always whole grains and vegetables on the table, so that your hubby can partake when he feels like it.

I hope that I have been helpful.

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[miltonkeynesmum]

Thank you to everyone, every bit of info was helpful.

I don't miss meat a bit. However, I'm not 100% macrobiotic, I am using elements of this and a widening understanding of ingredients, digestion, and what cooking methods do to our food in order to supply a much richer range of food to my body just in general for increased health. I love learning about all these new foods and thank everyone for their help and guidance.