planning meals

[Ilanit]

How do you structure your meals? cooking?

Do you have a self devised menu plan? or follow one or adapt one from a favourite book?

do you cook spontaneously?

do you have a plan devised my a macro councelor/advisor or have you made your own based on personalised reccomendations by a councelor?

most importantly - are you enjoying it?

ilanit

[Manymoons]

Ilanit T

Cooking in our household is largely spontaneous. It has been long held by my wife and myself that life is constantly changing, so no two meals or dishes should be identical. Circumstances of the moment are always considered such as weather, social stresses, balance between us, etc.

We also have an arrangement that has evolved over time whereby the first to arrive home cooks and the other does the after meal clean up. This affords a nice variety of meals that are easily recognized as being prepared by who. I might add also it has never devolved into a race to see who would get home last.

We feel grateful for having this food. There is nothing in terms of flavor, texture, or variety that leaves use feeling deprived. I think that this food affords more variety than traditional western fare. Yes, we do enjoy!

Manymoons

[Kismetwolf]

How do you structure your meals? cooking?

I see what's fresh at the organic market and plan my meals around what I find :o)

Do you have a self devised menu plan? or follow one or adapt one from a favourite book?

I use a few macro and vegan recipe books for inspiration and then elaborate on the ideas designing it to what we enjoy

do you cook spontaneously?

Yes! Once I get all my fresh ingredients together the possibilities are endless and I like to have fun with it, experiment a lot and change recipes around

do you have a plan devised my a macro councelor/advisor or have you made your own based on personalised reccomendations by a councelor?

No, I have been vegetarian in the past and decided to get back into it after falling into 2 years of bad nutrition. It's great to add the macro philosophy and lifestyle to a vegan diet and lifestyle as they compliment each other perfectly for me ethically, emotionally, physically and nutritionally

most importantly - are you enjoying it?
What's not to enjoy! Increased energy and vitality by eating healthy organic foods, improving and expanding our culinary palette, experimenting in the kitchen daily with new tasty meals and yummy treats, enjoying the outer (physical) and inner (emotional) benefits of living a healthful lifestyle, talking to everyone I meet about good nutrition and it's benefits, I'd have to answer this question with a YES! :o)

[mamatosage]

I am very new to macrobiotics---so I've basically been cooking a lot of brown rice and steaming veggies, and then adding lentils or whatever
I made a carrot ginger brown rice stir fry the other night that was delicious.
I love miso soup and am addicted to Bancha Twig tea.

I usually cook a bunch of things--so I always have stuff on hand.
Also--we have a wicked vegetarian buffet restaurant that has a macro plate.
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[evelyn]

I have begun my own journey into macrobiotics over the past few weeks, so I am unsure about my approach. For the past two years I had researched macrobiotics as part of a scientific project and truly fell in love with what it could offer. Mainly I have been eating numerous vegetables, various legumes and brown rice. It has only been two weeks so far. Also- I am limited in what I cook because my family is not macrobiotic...any suggestions in approaching my diet change?

[Klara]

Hi Evelyn,

Hope you're still here - I see it's been almost a year and no one responded. I'm so sorry - I know it could be very difficult at the beginning, especially if you're doing this all on your own.

Actually I was just going to respond to the blogs - have you been reading them? I found it very interesting to see the differences between what Gary entered and what Mira entered. My first inclination was to jump in and tell Mira, oh, but we mb don't .... what nonsense. Everybody really does have to struggle with the menu planning by their own drum beat - and some people are lucky to have other people around playing other instruments, which can help alot. I might be wrong, but it seems to me that Gary has been fortunate in that having this site, he has been in contact with some amazing mb people. Gary, am I anywhere close in my guess? Mira says she has just been eating this way for about a year, and she's doing great. I've said it a zillion times, it's a life long process, and we all go at our own paces - with our own challenges (who's supporting us or not, if we're sick or healthy, if we have time and money for resources (counselors, classes, books) and motivation to put our time and money into it. No one way works for everyone, but same same same does seem to kill some of the enthusiasm to keep going.

I hope Evelyn you found ways to make your food interesting and you also found something (books, classes, people) that might have spurred you on. At some point, that which works the most is when you realize how food and life go together, and you start looking at food in a deeper way. Don't worry if you're not there yet, it could take years. Just wanted to let you know there's always more to look forward to. Having someone around who is a little (or a lot) more advanced is what spurs me on the most.

Klara

[gyla]

awww, Klara, you are SO sweet! It's nice to see you here posting with your usual, calm, beautiful energy! I always love reading your posts!

[Haley]

I am relatively new to macrobiotics and I’m still adjusting. I admit that it's very challenging. But I am really proud because I have avoided processed foods for more than 6 months already.

Currently, I just follow recipes from books and from the internet. I’m not a very gifted cook so I can’t cook things spontaneously. I follow the recipes and add some personal touches.

I don’t have a macrobiotic counselor right now but I consulted a dietitian before starting. I want to see a counselor next week..

I can do this!

[jpearce]

How do you structure your meals? cooking?

Cooked brown rice is always on hand. That way I can add a tofu dish with a vegetable or veggie dish. Sometimes there are pickled.

When I've had too much rice I switch to polenta or even oatmeal.

Miso is for those times when I think I'm hungry and I'm really not. Very satisfying.

Do you have a self devised menu plan? or follow one or adapt one from a favourite book?

See above. I try to stick with the rules of the macrobiotics and it seems that everything falls into place.

do you cook spontaneously?

Yes and usually have very good results. Other times I seek out a particular recipe and maybe the second or third time I cook it, if it's a favorite, I'll put a twist on it.

do you have a plan devised my a macro councelor/advisor or have you made your own based on personalised reccomendations by a councelor?

Working on my own and considering taking a macrobiotic cooking class.

most importantly - are you enjoying it?

Absolutely. Had I known about macrobiotics I would have done it a lot sooner. It's such and efficient way to eat and I find it really easy to come up with a meal on the fly instead of settling for say fast food or foods that are not as satifying as a macrobiotic menu.

[skbnwinters]

My accupuncturist just put me on a macrobiotic food plan today to help me heal my health. So I am just starting out and it is a little bit confusing. First I read that most of the products come from Japan in origin and then when I go to make a cup of Pomegranate tea, I see no tea. Or is it just no black or green tea?

Any simple food plan ideas you wish to share will help. PS, I live in a household hostile to all of this. He feels like he's lost his "food buddy" or something!

But he does all the shopping and all the cooking (control issues) and....he's given himself diabetes and I've gained 50 lbs when I was doing so well on my own. I have to take back control of my life. I feel so much better having dropped 35 lbs recently and going on the Master Cleanse.

Onwards and upwards! :O)

[Klara]

Can we hold your hand thru the net???

You've got the same challenges alot of us have had - learning and eating more and more macro is a big enough challenge in itself

not having support is also a huge challenge

but actually living with others who are anti - that's the biggest

so please, learn from my mistakes!!!! Do NOT NOT NOT discuss with him how awful he is eating, or any of the mb wonderful ideas you have discovered - especially if this whole field of food is about power control - and don't even discuss with someone else in front of him!!!!!!!! I'm also still on that path, and it's taken us years to find a truce of sorts - don't know if it's just the two of you, but we have kids and it's been very very hard on me seeing my kids with issues which could so easily could have been prevented by mb diet, but they prefer his foods (he is a fancy cook!!!!! his presentations even beat some restaurants I've been to!!!!).

And the other part, trying to go on the mb diet, with all those old foods there to tempt - and when I give in to those foods, it's just ammunition for him to say I really don't do mb (funny, he's always threatening to come on to the discussion groups I'm on and let every one know, but since I"m honest everyone knows already!!!) and that I should stop all this nonsense.

I always had a dream that if I could just go away and be in a total macrobiotic environment for a week or two, I'd be much stronger to face all these challenges. But now I no longer believe that, I very strongly believe that change comes slowly, with the steady trying to always improve and get better at whatever stage I'm at.

I think it's fantastic that your acupuncturist is aware of mb - and that could be part of your support team. Try to also find others that maybe eat this way, especially a mb teacher, who can help clear up some of the confusions as you meet them. (but just to get you even more confused, be aware that even all teachers deal with mb differently, depending on their own experience, and their own condition!!!!!! - you need to be open to learning and then at some point figure out which of all that you learn feels right for you!!!)

now know that I'm not a teacher, just someone who's been exploring this way for 12 1/2 years, and also know that it's a lifetime exploration - so herre's my take on your specific question

I don't see mb necessarily as Japanese - rather the Japanese have brought it over to the west, so their influence is strongly felt. As more and more teachers are finding objections with how mb has been so far and are trying to widen the approach, you will see new ideas coming out (are you exploring other mb sites - The Macrobiotic Guide from England is a great source for this discussion - if you can't find it, let me know and I'l get the address for you)

The tea most often used in mb is either bancha leaf or bancha twig - I believe on this forum there is a long article on teas, but sorry, I haven't time now to search where it is - in any case, just want you to know, it's not written in stone!!!! I myself don't drink that much tea (perhaps I should??), and when I'm really in the mood to have some wonderful warm liquid, I make myself a sweet vegetable drink (1/4 cup each of finely chopped onions, carrots, sweet squash, cabbage, simmered 1/2 hour in 4 cups of water, drained - NO SALT - and sip 1/2 cup warmed at a time - good for many many issues).

As for the food plan, it's in all the books - do you have any?? Basically a good portion of a grain, rice being the most balanced, a small portion of a protein, usually a bean or bean product, but can also be fish, and lots of varied cooked vegetables, ideally with different colors, and different kinds of cooking (a long cooked vegetable and a short cooked vegetable) and then some odds and ends added, like desserts once in a while, pickles, condiments, snacks, nuts.

that's on the simple level, you can combine foods and make it more complicated, but maybe that's better for later????

just keep practicing, reading, and know you're doing it for yourself, so try (I know it's hard!!!) not to worry about the opinions of those around you!!!!

Good luck

Klara

[WonderlandAlli]

How do you structure your meals? cooking?

3 meals a day, and I tend to nibble on bits of fruit or veggies.

Do you have a self devised menu plan? or follow one or adapt one from a favourite book?

I just chose foods I like as reccomended in books, and I have a variety of options for each meal that I tend to rotate.

do you cook spontaneously?

yup, using my intuition on what I need that day.

do you have a plan devised my a macro councelor/advisor or have you made your own based on personalised reccomendations by a councelor?

Never had the chance, there's none near me. Maybe I'll find one in Houston after I move.

most importantly - are you enjoying it?

Very much so.

[Macro Girl]

This is to Klara & Jpearce....ouch! It saddens me that you are facing hostile living conditions in regards to mb. I too have one friend whom is really struggling with me eating healthy, and not binging with her. Misery seems to love its company. She threatens to only come over if I stop eating that "crap food"...my response...my foods not crap....yours is actually not even food! .... We do joke about it. She needs to learn that I am fun, even though I am not drunk, or eating processed garbage.

My little girl, I have my own discussion with her. She loves to make her own sushi (something I have always made) so she gets to make hers, when I make mine. She even wants to take it to school. I told her that she can tell if she is eating bad when her poop sinks to the bottom of the bowl...if it floats its fine, sinks you are sunk. She does her own self checking and decides when she has eaten bad based on her bm.....pretty cute!

I follow recipes, keep lots of variety...but have hato mugi and have no idea how or what to make with it? Or to cook it....Anyone....??

[fulenn]

How do you structure your meals? cooking? I am a mb newcomer, 8 weeks so far, so I just keep a lot of sg brown rice, miso, tofu, veggies, and seaweed around. I try to cook something a little bit different each night and try out one recipe from online each week. My family actually like one that had dried lima beans, butternut squash, and ww penne pasta in it! It was really good! I am lucky that I have a gas stove and have stainless cookware already.

Do you have a self devised menu plan? or follow one or adapt one from a favourite book?
It is all self-devised right now. All I am following is the percentage of grains, veggies, and other.

do you cook spontaneously? Mostly.

do you have a plan devised my a macro councelor/advisor or have you made your own based on personalised reccomendations by a councelor? No counselor at this time, but since I live near Austin Texas I should be able to find one without much trouble when I have a bit of extra money.
most importantly - are you enjoying it?Yes! I am feeling much more energetic, losing a ton of weight, and sleeping better. I am much calmer and even-tempered as well. However, I have a rash on both cheeks now that looks suspiciously like acne—hope it’s just my body cleansing itself.

[leonamerle]

I loved reading the posts. I'm new at this and I'm still learning. My meals are pretty simple. I usually have a lunch and dinner. If it's breakfast it's oatmeal with applesauce, lunch is a whole wheat tortilla with veggies,beans and dressing, dinner sometimes is the same as lunch. If I do have the time to cook for dinner its, brown rice with hijiki or my brown rice salad, carrots and burdock, nishime vegetables, miso soup, tofu with grated daikon, pickled veggies or seaweed on the side and desserts a baked apple. I don't have any councelor or advisor. I'm learning from cyber and books. I am enjoying it and I'm introducing this type of lifestyle to family and employees. I feel better tho at times I do feel fatigued. I'm still learning and I'm sure that this site will have a lot to offer.