The modern macrobiotic diet is a far cry from days of old, when eating the macrobiotic way meant subsisting on a nutritionally inadequate diet of brown rice and water. These days, macrobiotics incorporates most plant-based foods and even some fish. Proponents of the macrobiotic diet plan say that macrobiotics has made them feel more energetic and vital, boosted their immune systems and even improved their memory.
Getting Started With Macrobiotics
Since macrobiotics incorporates cooking methods, food choices and aspects of Buddhism, it may feel overwhelming to get started. In "Macrobiotics America," David and Cynthia Briscoe offer some recommendations on getting started with the macrobiotic diet. Since cooking the macrobiotic way means never using aluminum cookware or cookware with a nonstick coating, you should use stainless steel, glass or cast iron cookware. Utensils should be wooden or stainless steel, never plastic. The first foods you may want to try include simple whole grains like brown rice, millet and whole barley. Vegetables the Briscoes suggest to get you started are dark leafy greens, napa cabbage, yellow onions, daikon radishes, butternut and acorn squash, broccoli, cauliflower, green cabbage, carrots, scallions and parsley. When you feel comfortable with these foods, then you can try adding to your culinary repertoire.
Grains
While part of the principle of following a macrobiotic diet plan involves determining how you feel and thus what you should eat each day, there are certain foods you will eat more of. According to modern macrobiotic expert Michio Kushi, whole grains make up the majority of the macrobiotic way of eating, with brown rice being the cornerstone. Other grains that are emphasized in macrobiotics include millet, spelt, barley, whole oats, corn on the cob, buckwheat and rye. While macrobiotics allows for eating other types of whole grain as well, you should eat them only occasionally.
Vegetables and Fruits
Vegetables sit alongside whole grains as part of the cornerstone of the macrobiotic way of eating. Green leafy vegetables such as bok choy, dandelion greens, kale, watercress, parsley, scallions, mustard greens, beets, turnips and carrot greens should be eaten daily. Other vegetables that you should eat often while following a macrobiotic eating plan include broccoli, butternut squash, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, onions, pumpkins, turnips and acorn squash. Root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, radishes, daikon radishes and burdock can also be enjoyed frequently if you are following macrobiotics. You should generally eat other vegetables less often.
While fruit is permitted as part of the macrobiotic way of life, it is generally eaten only occasionally. You can eat fruit a few times a week, but should avoid fruits that are not grown locally.
Other Foods
While following a macrobiotic eating plan, you can enjoy beans and legumes once a day. Green and brown lentils, chickpeas, azuki beans and black soybeans are the beans that should make up the bulk of your diet, but other beans are permitted as well if used only occasionally.
Eat up to 2 cups a week of seeds and nuts, including sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, coconuts and pecans. You can eat fish occasionally while following macrobiotics, but you should limit yourself to eating fish two or three times per week. To help season your food, use miso and unrefined sea salt. Avoid pepper-based spices including cayenne and cumin, as they are considered stimulants and are not part of a macrobiotic eating plan.
References
- "Macrobiotics America"; Dave and Cindy Briscoe; 2009
- "Modern-Day Macrobiotics: Transform Your Diet and Feed Your Mind, Body and Spirit"; Simon Brown and Michio Kushi; 2007
- "Encyclopedia of Food and Culture"; Macrobiotic Food; Roberta Bloom; 2003
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