bread

bread is one of essential food products for many people. It provides energy from its carbohydrate contents. However consuming too much of the baked processed grain (that includes wholemeal) could make you feel sluggish and heavy. The commercially processed flour is likely to be oxidised from the high heat through the milling process as well.

there are alternatives!

I stone-mill my own flour to avoid oxidation and make sour dough bread.

or

Essence bread!

how I love this heavy sweet bread....

(this is my lunch today. freshly steamed essence bread served with water sauteed vegetables with miso. My own black and white sesame paste and activated nuts add different texture)

I firstly soak grains, sprout them. Mash or food precess it all together and then bake or steam.

You can also purchase one from many health food stores now.

organic

Having organic everything (well as much as I can) for myself and my family has been very important. It even surprises me that there are people who still think that eating/wearing organicly does not make any difference in how we feel and how our enviroment will be in the future....

what is organic?
organic food is free of pesticides
herbicides
fungicides
additives
GM or GE
Hormones
Antibiotics
Vaccines
Irradiation
Water pollution
Organic methods aim to achieve
Environmentally sustainable practices
Food with higher nutritional value
Improved soil fertility
Animal welfare
biodiversity

Organic systems work in harmony with nature, keeping harmful chemicals out of our land, water and air, creating a healthy and safe environment rich in wildlife, woodlands and nutrients.
There are so many reasons why I like to use organic ingredients.
1. Organic food is free of nasties.
2. Organic food production helps protect future generations.
3. Organic food production helps protect future generations.
4. Organic food tastes better.
5. Organic method prevents soil erosion and build healthy soils.
6. Organic food uses less energy.
7. Organic method helps protect water quality.
8. Support for small and independent farmers.
9. Organic food contains lower nitrates levels.

It's really worth it.

macro sweets

Now that I have no website going at the moment....

I might post some of the sweets that I make.

of course they have no dairy, eggs or refined sugar added and organic as much as possible.

Almond chocolate tarts and tofu cheesecake with seasonal jam topping have been our signature macrobiotic sweets since started.

eating sweet things can be very theraputic experience. enjoy and taste every mouthful and you shouldn't need more than the body could handle.

cooking class

Thanks to everyone who attended last night' macrobiotic cooking class in Yarraville.
I had a great time.
I'd set up a winter menu which was
warming miso hot pot with sweet winter vegetables
Spiced millet with deep fried tempeh triangles
Seaweed salad with rocket
and
cereal Bar.
We made the first two last night plus I had raw chocolate truffles for samples. And we will make the rest next week.
There were lots of ingredients that were new to most of the participants and I am glad to say they were enjoyed very much.
Millet is unfortunately associated a lot as a "bird food'' however is is so easy to cook and very good warming grain with a texture a bit like couscous.
Tempeh also is a good protein source with the additional benefit of fermentation.
and don't forget the superfood goji berries which were stirred through with the spiced millet. The colour of the dish was beautiful.
Looking forward to next week....

this is the most exciting thing!

our organic brown rice is back!

Organic brown rice has been unvailable for nearly 2 years because of the drought.

I went down to Victoria market on Saturday and here it was in a bulk section. Australian brown rice!? I have been getting Italian semi-brown rice for a treat in the past.

Rice takes so much water to grow them so it does make no sense trying to grow it here in Australia. However when you think about importing from overseas does it take more energy and resorces to get it here?

I am not sure the answer. If anyone knows let me know.

Anyway I was glad to share the excitement with my daughter about the brown rice, though she was more excited when she saw her buckwheat pancake for breakfast that morning.

books

I have just finished a book called Eating with the Seasons by Paula Bartimeus. It is not a macrobiotic book but there is a great amount of useful information in the book. she talks about the inportance of seasonal ingredients, cooking methods, yin and yang, warming and cooling foods etc.

Another book is 'How to see your health:the book of oriental diagnosis' by Michio Kushi. He has written over 5o books on macrobiotics and this is one of very fascinating ones. It is a diagnosis method that tells you various conditions by looking at someone's physical characters. I knew what you eat and environment you are in at present influence how you look and feel. But even before you are born (what your mother was eating when you are inside her tummy) could influence how you look and your tasting buds!? It was a very interesting read.

As some might have noticed, my website has been hacked into.. noticed, my website has been hacked into....
I will get it fixed as soon as possible but occasion like this reminds me of my incapability of anything to do with the technology. very unfortunate...
sorry about that.

I was listening to an interview with Michio Kushi the other day. There is so much more than macrobiotic diet. "Even you are sitting down, chewing organic brown rice for the hundred times, avoid all the extreme foods that burden your body and soul if you tend to citicise others and not being humble you cannot call yourself macrobitician."
take it one moment at a time...