It's funny. I probably only eat fruit 2-3 times a week already. I'm way more of a veggie gal.



But like SobeVegChick, I'm just trying to incorporate more grains in my diet now, until I learn more.

The tofu last night helped, I didn't crave sweets after dinner. In other news, I accidentally let a pot on the stove to boil down all it's water and ruined the pot. Guess I shouldn't have had that second glass of wine while cooking. Doh!

I imagine you'd have to eat a lot of greens (and not grains) on this diet to get enough nutrients. Have you checked fitday for your intakes? Are you eating foritified foods?



So salt and soy sauces are acceptable but fruits are to be enjoyed sparingly? What's the reasoning? Does the "grounding" refer to alkaline? Just curious because most grains are acidifying.

To everyone eating more miso soup, what all do you put in it?

I'm glad I went back a page, as I was going to ask what the principals of the diet were too, and it was already answered. I'd be curious to read more about it, but to me, it doesn't make sense, but it's because I don't know what the reasonings are behind it, with the nightshade family.



A veg diet, in it's whole, offers so many opportunities to eat a variety of healthy, colorful foods, and this seems like another restricting diet to me......I "thought" macrobiotics went out in the 70s or 80's?

Thanks for the explanation Claire! Sounds interesting, probably not for me though

This page explains it pretty well. I'm not sure why exactly fruits (and nightshades and such) are minimal-to-none. As for salt, I think there's a stress on sea salt, miso, soy sauce, and pickles - fermented things (besides the sea salt) - for the mineral content. The "grounding" I believe refers to the supposed balance between "yin" and "yang." Grains and vegetables are considered to be very balance between yin and yang, so they're emphasized.



As far as I know, the main components of the diet are greens and vegetables (definitely including a lot of greens). Miso, sea vegetables, and beans also play a big role. Fruit, nuts, and seeds (and fish, sometimes) are low. It is based on the Japanese diet, and the Japanese eat very little fruit. I don't think there's much fruit native to here, honestly, at least not fruit that people eat on a regular basis. Fruit is also expensive here and probably has been for a long time - so they just don't eat much of it. My students all eat school lunch every day, and maybe 2-3 times per month there is a little bit of fruit in it (I mean, like, 2 strawberries, or a few banana and mandarin slices).



AddieB, when I make miso soup I usually start with a bit of wakame and cubed tofu, and sometimes add spinach or daikon as well. I put the miso in at the last second. Remember not to boil miso, because it's alive! That'll kill off the beneficial qualities. You could add mushrooms, too, like those long white thin ones or shiitake or something, but I just don't like mushrooms.



There's a macrobiotic place in town, and they serve a lot of vegetables - not that many grains, but then, Japanese people eat white rice at every freaking meal so it's not like they need more of them. I've seen them serve fruit a couple times as part of something - like strawberry tart. Actually, I don't think it's that macrobiotic... they've served chicken and cheese before, which are no-nos...

Thank you for explaining! That helped a lot.

Did a little more reading, it seems like maybe the avoidance of fruit is more an avoidance of tropical fruits - maybe they're considered too yang? I guess that because here it says to avoid tropical fruit and tropical nuts. My guess is that they're thought to have too strong an influence on the body. Maybe because they're made in a tropical place, they're considered cooling, or overly energizing or something for people who aren't living in tropical areas, and the point of macrobiotics is calming and "grounding."

I guess it makes total sense when you think about it in a certain way, but then I just think, why should a person ever abstain themselves from eating wonderfully nutritious foods like fruit?



And from your description, I don't think I'd make it in Japan.....between the lack of fruit and the reliance on white rice (gotta be whole grain for me!), I think I'd starve!

I've survived two years! You can get brown rice, it's just tough to find, and they'll ask multiple times, "are you sure you don't want us to polish it to white for you?" And you can get fruit, but it's expensive and the variety is limited. Same with vegetables, but less of an issue.

Thanks for the tips. I was putting scallions in it but couldn't think of anything else as I also don't really care much for mushrooms (although I'm starting to tolerate them more).

My morning miso has wakame, shiitake, yellow onion, scallion, daikon and sometimes tofu.

How's the plan going? Have your books arrived?

They actually just got here today. I've had fun leafing through they cookbook and will probably start Hip Chick tonight. I'm excited

I can't wait to hear about Hip Chick. If it gets your seal of approval I think I will pick it up, too.

I'll keep you posted!

So great to see some discussion on this at last! I did a search a few months ago in these forums for macrobiotics and found nothing .



I've been interested in Macrobiotics for a while but haven't taken the plunge for several reasons. One is the elimination of sweets which is really difficult for me. I'm not saying I have to have fatty sweets but even cutting out something simple like rice cakes and jam is difficult for me. So if I were to start, I would probably add something like rice cakes and jam to satisfy the sweet tooth, at least in the beginning.



The other reason is that some of the basic Japanese foods like miso, seaweed, etc, just don't appeal to me. But I have The Macrobiotic Path To Total Health and there they talk about making modifications for certain ethnic cultures such as Mediterranean. I'm from the Middle East originally and grew up on a lot of Middle Eastern food like olive oil, hummus, tehina, etc., so I would probably modify it to include some of these instead of the more traditional Japanese fare.



I also have Simon Brown's Macrobiotics For Life which I'm in the process of reading.



I'm very interested to know about those of you who are doing it, though. What health issues did you have prior to Macrobiotics and what changes (for better or worse) in health have you noticed since starting Macrobiotics? How long have you been doing it? Also, I'd love to see some of you post a typical menu for you so that I can get an idea of how Macrobiotics can be done "in practice" and not just "in theory" .



Tam

It is fascinating. For me, it's just the opposite. I'm not a huge fruit lover, which is one reason why I think trying to go raw hasn't worked for me. I know that raw depends on fruit (even those not basing their diets on fruit primarily) and I can do it for a few days but after that I just don't enjoy eating that much fruit. I could easily limit fruit to 2-3 servings a week. But limiting whole grains is more problematic for me, as I love whole grains.



Tam

The Kind Diet is a good, sort of middle of the road, microbiotic- light.

I am waiting on the book, should be arriving soon. Am looking forward to it I doubt I will be following macrobiotics properly though, I am very into my fruit.

I think just the mindfulness toward nutritious balance that comes from macrobiotics can go a long way.

+1

For sure

Well def keep us posted on how you are finding things

I've just been reading the thread on Grains in the raw forum. Personally, I am leaning towards a macro approach but the negative press on grains has me concerned since the macro approach is centred around them...

I'm not quite sure where I stand on that debate, but I'm more leaning towards it is all the processed, nutrient stripped grains that are truly the problem. And obviously anyone with allergies/intolerances will have issues with them. But for people who don't have any allergies/intolerances, I don't believe they are an issue. Now it is true that most grains (with the exception of millet being an alkanizing food) are acidifying foods, which we know an overabundance is not good for a person. Personally, I eat grains daily, but they are all whole grains. I believe that grains in their whole, or least processed (think steel cut oats vs. rolled or instant) can be a healthy addition to a person's diet given they do not have an intolerance. I try to keep an open mind about things like this however, and I do acknowledge that there may be something to say for the many people who do develop sensitivities to grains. But like I said, I believe that is still more an issue for people with those problems.

All that and plus, what else would be left to eat?

For that answer, you'd have to go to the raw food area. I understand the reasoning of it and I like the idea. I don't think I could go totally raw myself. I limit my whole grains most days but not as much as over-processed stuff. I personally feel that a diet should be balanced in all things. Fruit, veggies, grains and some fats.

In the past when I wanted sugar I'd eat some candy, now I have either dark chocolate or dried unsulfered fruit, particularly prunes and apricots. I also enjoy dates as well. I Love fruit and couldn't see only having it a couple times a week.

I am thinking about getting the Kind Diet book though since I know it discusses a few options rather than just macrobiotic. And I recently purchased some barley miso. I have yet to add it to anything yet, but I think I'll try some miso soup soon.

I find that I tend to pick things here and there from different diets. All my fruits and veggies are raw now. I'll be enjoying some miso.



Thank you for explaining it a bit more since I was wondering what it meant to be macrobiotic.

You might want to check the produce aisle the next time you're at the store.