potlucks

[lysia jones]

So shitakii, how do you handle going to potlucks? We went to one last night, and I didnt have time to prepare a special dish- which is unusual. Anyway everything there had something in it I have not been eating. However after a weekend worth of cooking at a restaurant I was tired and hungry. I opted to eat a small bowl of food and tried to bless it and hope somehow these foods would moreso nourish rather than harm me. I generally avoided the truely not healthy and went for the best. It was yummy. I usually dont have nutmeg pesto lasagna, and garlic mashed potatoes, and salad with honey in the dressing. Not to mention the little truffle after... Yes I am feeling guilty. But despite a little tummy ache this morning and knowledge that I may be more sensitive today I feel pretty good. I definatley was enjoying my miso soup and barley cardamom porrige with a few raisins and a touch of brown rice syrup! Wondering how you deal with these gatherings especially with Thanksgiving coming up. Also do you know the guidlines for diet 3 as I am getting rid of precancerous cells on the cervex? I have been having no dairy, coffee, sugar, meat and way less oil. I have had some fish some nuts, grais,miso, beans and veggies. Thanks!

[Ilanit]

oooh - I know what you mean - those potlucks can be a hazard for the best of intentioned eating plans!

so much food! so little time!

[Ilanit]

I think that by referring to Diet 3 you may be talking about the classification in the latest Michio Kushi book The macrobiotic path as that volume is the only one to talk about that recently. In this book there are three variations - 1 being for more yin conditions, 2 for more yang and 3 for a condition caused by a combination of extremes. If I remember correctly.
It is an amazing book - available at this site and well worth reading to truly understand mb ideas in all their glory.

I have been doing a lot of cancer research lately. We all have cancerous and pre cancerous cells in the body. They are our very own cells. the view that cancer is something that we get or that happens to us is very common in our western understanding. However it appears that cancer is just an adaptive response of our innate intelligence to keep our bodies healthy. When the body can't process toxins or things it cannot deal with - physical as well as energetic and emotional - it has to store it somewhere - usually a place of weakness already in the body. it then encapsulates it and that can be the beginning of tumours etc - simplified of course - it is much more in depth but I am sure you get the picture.

so seeing these rogue cells as separate and something to be gotten rid of can be perpetuating the very mind set and energetic underpinnings of the condition. Sure it is truly scarey to know and find that there is something growing in that way inside you. But knowing it and knowing the possible causes and some solutions and being on a path to reverse the conditions that created the current situations is reassuring. Knowing many others have succeeded in that approach can also be helpful.

you sound like you are on the right track. Keep it up and relax, learn and enjoy the healing path.

ilanit

[Shiitake Jones]

Hello Lysia and other macro pot-luckers,

do you know how the term pot luck arose?

apparently in Ireland and England in the old old old days people had a pot on the stove or on the hearth and it wa kept simmering - whatever fell in the pot from the rafters was the pot luck! yikes - I hope that ddoesn't spoil anyone's appetite. I don't think they would have had much luck trying the Atkins diet back then....I'll take the seitan any day, thanks....now on with the question....

thanks for visiting and posting at my forum!

yes - potlucks can be trickey for the newbie to MB as well as the long timer for this way of life....so what is a gal to do?

a big issue - where do I start?

Firstly - ask yourself -

What is the reason you are attending the pot luck?
Is it to meet like minded people?
learn more about mb?
try new dishes?
swap ideas?
have a good time?
eat till you feel sick? whoops - no not that is not a good reason! so choose again. but many people do experience that despite the best of intentions - so what can we do to prevent that and have a good time and make it a positive experience?


take a look at the food before you start piling it on your plate. Choose what you want to try and what you feel comfortable with.

try to make it as balanced as possible. Select a grain and/or grain product dish, a legume or tofu/tempeh dish etc some veggies, salad and greens etc. Then take a little break - and head for the desserts! Did I say that?! yes - potlucks are a great chance to sample some things you may not regularly indulge in and try other people's creations. Just stay in tune with your own energies and see how you feel.
Come back to earth with some soothing bancha tea

don't be too strict in your daily application of cooking and eating. Being too narrow can prompt one too splurge with too much gusto.

it can be very liberating to eat other people's cooking.
this makes makes some people feel uncomfortable - like I used to feel when I was on a healing plan especially and even these days. I found it had to do with my control issues and my fears about food and life and healing in general. Addressing these has shown me where I was getting stuck and stagnating - it is not just about the food. And has brought me even greater feelings and experiences of peace and freedom.

just because it is on offer at a macro event doesn't mean it will agree with you or be of the quality you are used to. you don't have to eat it because it is there. I am sure there are always many options that do fit the bill.

remind yourself that you don't have to smaple everything. People often have the buffet complex when at a potluck - either a conscious or subconscious desire to "get their money's worth" or make it an occasion to remember etc.

take a notebook and write down some dishes you can make or modify at home if you feel you really want to try everything.

sit down to eat.

remember to breath

don't expet to be able to chew like when at home but try to take your time and taste the food and be present with it as much as possible despite the activity of the situation. Savour what you have in your mouth without mentally planning your next trip to the buffet table and what you will select.

enjoy the conversation. There are usually very intesting people - some with lots of macro and other experience at these events. Make the most of it....

Bring something you know agrees with you. When in doubt bring a dish or two you know you can have if you are on a healing plan - so you are not tempted by being so hungry and having all those delicious morsels available. You could take a simple but tasty grain dish - pilaf with some interesing ingredients - or make the Enchanted Broccoli Forest from Ilanit Tof's cookbook Seasonal Variation: WholeSummer Meals which is available here at cybermaco
It is a colourful and tasty dish that I find always is popular at potlucks. I find it is so important to take a dish with visual appeal. Then stnad back as people ooooh and aaaah over your creation and tell you how delicious it is.

I find it helps to have the ingredients writtne down so that people are not constantly asking me what is in what I prepared and I can enjoy the event more!

encourage the host to encourage others to write their recipes on a little card so that those with sensitivities or on healing plans can make appropriate choices.

Go to the event with a hearty appetite but not ravenously hungry.

bring a litle container so you can take something home if you just can't fit another morsel of food in and you are tempted.

ask the host to assign dishes - sometimes this works, often it does not. It depends on the group dynamics

Guilt - dump it! Guilt is more destructive to the whole body/mind and Being than any amount of too many slices of tofu cheescake and bowls of amasake pudding.

I find I am very sensitive to certain ingredients and by recongnizing that I can choose to stay in balance more.
For me any refined sugar etc tends to set me off on a dessert frenzy so I try to avoid it or if I do have an encounter with it I try to stay centered and conscious.
For me spices and especially garlic affects me tremendously. Some research has shown that garlic temporarily disconnects the fibres that link the brain hemispheres. That seems to be the case for me! I think I need to call an electrician to reconnect the wires when I have eaten it. and since there seems to be a focus on more adventurous macro cooking at potlucks these days and garlic is often included it may be wise to check with the cook if it affects you and you are in doubt.

have some umeboshi plums on hand to balance out any strong reactions.

try not to overcompensate for extremes of food - don't let the overly salty miso soup give you an excuse for a huge piece of pie. Find another excuse! ;-) LOL

Interestingly on the day I attended a pot luck recently I had been experimenting with Acubead. They are ear accupressure applications - tiny bead that are adhered with a transparent tape - almost unnoticable. I had tried some for calming and for appetite balance. And found myself very centred that day. I even survived a visit to the new organic superstore that afternoon with barely a hiccup. I nearly lost it in the aisle with the newly released quinoa milk and spelt cous cous - but luckily someone had tipped me off about the existence of the quinoa milks the week before. The spelt cous cous nealry got the better of me. But I was able to stay quite centred and relaxed. I know how powerful auricular therapy is - it is often the acupuncture treatment of choice for severe addictions and drug rehabilitation so I am sure it has a great effect on a hankering fro too many rice dream pies as well. Anyway it had an effect on me! I will keep you all posted on my progress.

come back to balance with some simpler, yet nourishing dishes the next day. I love the sound of your barley cardamon prorridge. Would you share the recipe with me here?

so there are some of the tips I have gathered through trial and error over the years of many pot lucks.

I would love to hear what works for you!

xoxoxo

Shiitake

[Klara]

As always when you share yourself with us: WOW!!!!

I had no idea of the origin of potluck - I always thought of the expression as just chancey what is brought, kind of like lottery, so also chancey what you end up eating. With mb it certainly doesn't have to be like that, especially if you say there are food assignments. But even with food assignments, the food does reflect the condition of the cook, so you do have to take into account the people who are cooking the food.

Even with people writing recipes down, I find that recipes just don't work the same always. But it is a good start. Btw, I did make Enchanted Brocolli Forest for an evening with guests and it was very very well received, I loved it too!!!

I had some uncomfortable feeling with the "pack it up and take it home" idea. I find the same people who pig out and eat as much as they can also are the ones who pack it up and take it all home. I do admit, it is hard to resist when something is delicious. But I do question at this point in time the concept of if something is wonderful I want more. I'm working on that one.

I also loved what you said why one is going to a potluck. Yes, there are many reasons, besides the food. Networking with others who are mb is an opportunity to widen one's experience. Being careful to stay balanced, of course.

Spelt couscous - that sounds so interesting. What's wrong with it that you needed to resist it? And the Acubead? That sounds amazing. When I was pregnant they had a bracelet that would press on the points which would prevent nausea - unfortunately, (or fortunately) I'd already passed that stage in my pregnancy so I never experienced using the bracelet (that was pre pre mb days).

Looking forward to the continuing romance of Ken and Shiitake. I vote for making it very complicated (that's me) - that he ends up going for her cooking class and then has big case of resistance!!! and of course in the end (it is a romance, no?) she creatively woos him away from resistance, but it has to be his hard work that wins in the end. Now don't ask me to write that, I look forward to see how she/he does it (can you tell those are issues in my life??)

Keep up the great work.

Klara

[Shiitake Jones]

Hello Klara,

As always when you share yourself with us: WOW!!!!

thank you for your kind words. :-)

I had no idea of the origin of potluck - I always thought of the expression as just chancey what is brought, kind of like lottery, so also chancey what you end up eating. With mb it certainly doesn't have to be like that, especially if you say there are food assignments. But even with food assignments, the food does reflect the condition of the cook, so you do have to take into account the people who are cooking the food.

It is true that the energy of the cook does affect the outcome. And that is another reason i do like pot lucks - you get to interact with people's energies who you may not usually do so with. It can be very healing as well. And challenging to exchange with people on this level.

Even with people writing recipes down, I find that recipes just don't work the same always.


oh that is part of the fun - make it your own. I sometimes just like to hear the ingredients and then work it out myself and make substitutions and variations which i learnt from my friend Ilanit who has variations and planned overs down to a fine art in her cookbook Seasonal Variation: Wholesummer Meals. Did you see the great new review by long time macrobiotic man, Bruce Pain which is now here on this website too? He has a great new blog that reviews macro books too

http://brucesaysbalancezine.typepad....smbbookreview/

But it is a good start. Btw, I did make Enchanted Brocolli Forest for an evening with guests and it was very very well received, I loved it too!!!

That is one of my favourite dishes from Ilanit's cookbook! I will let her know that it was a hit with you and your guests!

I had some uncomfortable feeling with the "pack it up and take it home" idea.


Really? It may not be the done thing everywhere in the world, but I am always touched when people like my creations enough to want to do that. And you dont have to actually do it but if you leave yourself the option of doing so, sometimes it can take the pressure off from wanting to taste everything on offer. This may not be such an issue when a potluck is more like an organized meal and more so when it is really a pot luck and left to chance (hopefully with no extra editions from the rafters! LOL)


I find the same people who pig out and eat as much as they can also are the ones who pack it up and take it all home.

Well part of a pot luck is the enjoyment of food. and if people are so enamoured by the wonderful healthy and healing food, isnt that a great success? They may not be used to such high quality nutritious food that really tastes good and this may just be the invitation they need to venture further into wholefoods...

and who cares how much someone else eats? That is their business. They may not have eaten all day, they may have a lrage appetite. Once we have prepated the dishes we kinda have to cut the apron strongs - no pun intended and send it on its merry way into the world...!

I do admit, it is hard to resist when something is delicious. But I do question at this point in time the concept of if something is wonderful I want more. I'm working on that one.


what is wrong with wanting more and enjoying it?

I also loved what you said why one is going to a potluck. Yes, there are many reasons, besides the food. Networking with others who are mb is an opportunity to widen one's experience. Being careful to stay balanced, of course.


and just letting your hair down and having a good time among friends and likehearted sould. Sometimes when people say - be careful or take care - I think - of what?!

Spelt couscous - that sounds so interesting.

Yes. I was looking forward to it. I had tasted kamut cous cous on my travels in Europe and liked it - it had a similar taste to regular wholewheat cous cous. However I was rather disappointed at this packet of spelt cous cous. It had an odd flavour. Maybe it was just not fresh (cous cous, being a flour product more like pasta does tend to have a limited shelf life)

What's wrong with it that you needed to resist it?

I think it was more a figure of speech at being overwhelmed by new and different food items. However when i saw the price tag (it was imported from Italy - that did give me some reason to try to resist! ;-)

And the Acubead? That sounds amazing

It is extremely effective. And unobstrusive. Auricular therapy - ear point acupressure is highly revered as being an extremely effective way of treating the body. there are several varieties including for headache, backpain and neckpain.

When I was pregnant they had a bracelet that would press on the points which would prevent nausea

yes, they work on the acupoint - pericardium 6 on the inner wrist - one chon (The chinese measure of three of your own finger widths) from the base of the hand at the wrist crease between the tendons. It relieves nausea


Looking forward to the continuing romance of Ken and Shiitake.

Just the mention of Ken makes me swoon...

I vote for making it very complicated (that's me)

you want to complicate my love life?!

- that he ends up going for her cooking class and then has big case of resistance!!!

it seems that Ken really likes my cooking. And now that he has Ilanit's cookbook he has been making me some delicious meals.

and of course in the end (it is a romance, no?)

Oh yes, it sure is!

she creatively woos him away from resistance, but it has to be his hard work that wins in the end.

I see....and here I thought he would just fall in love with me - being the major macro hip chick that I am and all....;-)


Now don't ask me to write that,


well if you want to apply for the macro Mills and Boons department... ;-)

I am just going to live it and enjoy getting to know Ken...

you can keep track of what happens in the latest issue of Macrobiotics Today which you can download here at cybermacro.
Previous episodes are now also at my friend Ilanit's blog

http://www.energizedeating.com/blog/

I look forward to see how she/he does it (can you tell those are issues in my life??)

oh i see - we have a little projection going on here....?

Keep up the great work.

Thanks Klara!

Remember to visit my very own website

www.shiitakejones.com

and vote for how you think I should conduct my dating adventures. And drop me a line and post in the forums!

xoxoxo

Shiitake