quick fix

when i don't have much time--or energy- to cook, i just make this "whatever fried rice", using whatever in the fridge.

i had
carrot
scallion
chick pea(cooked)
gobo
and left over rice(brown and black)

saute everything with dash of sesame oil, and add dashi stock and soy sauce.
splinkle nori on top and done!
delicious fried rice : )

ate with leftover miso soup and pickled sunchoke.
perfect quick sunday lunch!

pickled sunchokes

pickled in umeboshi vinegar.
look at this pretty color!
like cherry petals : )

more sunchoke dish

stewed sunchoke with carrot and kombu seaweed.
saute all the cut ingredients with sesame oil, pinch of seasalt
add dashi stock or water, dash of soy sauce and simmer until cooked.
done!

yummy!!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

This is a must see TV program!
friday at 8pm/est, ABC
"Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution"

you think what you eat does not affect your health?
watch this!

i really admire his effort.
such a passionate, and likable guy!

Waiting for Cherry Blossom

i was walking in central park early this morning, and found this almost pink tree!
buds on this cherry tree are starting to sprout, and made this beautiful color against a little gray, cloudy air.

every morning, i find new energy coming out, on the ground, tree branches...
how beautiful lives are!

sunchoke dish 2

you can use raw in salad, too.
but to make it more digestible, i made pressed salad with cabbage.

cut sunchoke match stick
shred cabbage
mix and kneed with seasalt
press at least 30minutes
squeeze out excess water
add a dash of ume vinegar and brown rice vinegar, then mix

refreshing and yummy!

sunchoke dish

so many ways to cook sunchokes.
i made kimpira dish.

cut match stick
saute with sesame oil
layer matchsticked carrot on top
add water and a dash of soy sauce then simmer until tender

sweet and very tasty!

sunchokes

absorbs lots of minerals from the soil, sunchokes is rich in calcium, iron,zinc,phosphorus, as well as Vitamin C,E,B1,B2, beta carotene etc etc.

Inulin in the vegetable is said to regulate the elevation of blood sugar, so sunchoke has been used to treat diabetes. (sunchokes are called "natural insulin")

benefits ;
boost pancreatic functions
increase digestive, resperatory and adrenal functions
purify the blood by helping liver function
detox
allergy

sunchokes

sunchokes, or jerusalem artichokes.
native in north america, and it grows tall, with small,sunflower-like flowers bloom in summer, and roots anywhere underground.

the vitality is so strong that one seed tuber produces hundreds of them in winter!

Sunchokes!

my friends harvested lots of sunchokes from our garden!

Monday's Macrobiotic Miracle

long waited macrobiotic community where anybody can join and support each other.
Check out weekly conference call, "monday macrobiotic miracle" for inspirational stories by people who have overcome health challenges through macrobiotic life style.

more infos
http://phiyakushi.com/
monday at 8pm(EST)

Macrobiotic Dishes for Sake Lover : )

kimpira gobo(burdock root) and carrot
steamed kabocha pumpkin and turnips with miso/almond dressing
pressed cabbage
sauteed collard green and ginger
brown rice with black soy bean
miso coup

and.... junmai(100% rice) sake!

My New Addiction....

Grain(barley and rye)Coffee with rice milk.
it's just too comforting!
and the subtle sweetness is addictive : )

spring dish : )

to cerebrate the arrival of new season, i made sprout/couscous/bean salad with almond miso dressing.
the bean is from a biodynamic winery in napa, Robert Sinskey.
--yes, this winery is growing lots of produce biodynamically.
and the sprout is from an organic farm in new york : )

The first day of spring!

in the afternoon, back to central park.
crocus are opened!

The first day of spring!

buds are starting to open up, too.
i like the energy this time of the season!

The first day of spring!

greeted by daffodils this morning, in central park : )

semi-fasting on the new moon

as i expected, the next morning, i woke up so early without alarm clock, feeling refreshed : )

liver and kidneys work during the night.
so eating/drinking right before bed makes you very tired next morning.

it's better at least 3 hours before bed.
and chew extra well.

and somtimes, it may be a good idea to skip evening meal : )
you will be surprised how good it feels the next morning!

thanks to my liver and kidneys for working so hard everyday : )

semi-fasting on the new moon

as i mentioned before, liver is the most affected by this season, and works even harder than usual to eniminate excess fat accumulated during the cold season.
but ive been overeating recently, especially fatty food!
i could hear the liver asking for help : (

by fasting, contrary to the common perception, you can recharge and strengthen the organs and systems by giving some rest.

in fact, our modern life style, too much eating/drinnking, --oftentimes late in the evening!--, is putting tremendous stress on our systems, every single day, 24/7!
as we want vacation to refresh and recharge ourselves, the organs and systems also deserve it, right?

complete fasting may be too much for some people---i cannot do that!
so i just eat less during the day, and if i crave for food, i have this special drink called "amazake", fermented "rice milk", made of brown rice.
very sweet, but gently rise blood sugar level.
nutritious, delicious and satisfying, yet easy on your digestive system thanks to the living enzyme : )

semi-fasting on the new moon

this was the lunch menu.
azuki and brown rice (azuki nurtures kidneys)
miso soup with root veggies and scallion, wakame seaweed.
pressed cabbage
kimpira (saute and simmer) gobo and carrot
and natto with grated daikon

small portion, and this was the last meal of the day!

New Moon and Semi Fasting

monday was the new moon.
since the gravity is stronger from the other side of the earth, it's a great time to do detox.
also internal organs, especially kidneys, resonates with the moon, so twice a month, full/new moon is a good time to give some rest and TLC to the hard working body systems by eating less or fasting.

it's a little hard for me to not eat all day, so i had simple and healthy "detox" menu during the day, and skip the dinner.
one of the menu is natto, fermented soy beans with grated daikon.
easy to digest, full of probiotics (natto), and helps eliminate excess fat (grated daikon) : )

Emotional Discharge

When the energy is not flowing freely in the liver, emotional "discharge" occurs, too.

Being impatient? Easily getting angry?
your liver may be in trouble!

In fact, when I overeat or drink, i easily lose temper : (
and i say sorry to my liver...

when that happens, i try to eat less, or wait until i feel really really hungry in order to give some rest to the liver.

They say that people tend to lose their head more often in spring.
Many violent crimes happened in this season, too!

This might be the time to eat less, eat light, or even do fasting : )

Spring Cleaning with Barley

the grain this season represents is barley.
high in fiber, this is the perfect whole grain to eat this season, and help your "spring cleaning".

add some barley or hatomugi when you cook brown rice or other grain.

Constipation?

when eating diet low in fiber ---yes! typical modern american diet!--,bad bacterias thrive in the intestines, and very likely develops constipation.
and when you are having this condition for a long time, the fat and other waste flow back to the liver again!

eating foods high in fiber, such as whole grains, vegetables, sea vegetables on a daily basis is a sure-fire way to prevent constipation and nurture this hard-working organ : )

This is the spring cleaning season.
why not spring clean your colon, too?

Crave for Oily/Greasy food?

another crave when the liver is tired is , oily greasy foods.
french fries, fried calamali, onion rings, or whatever deep fry is appealing to you?
again, TLC to your liver!

cut down on fatty food such as oil, nuts, nuts butter for a while and give the liver some rest : )
use less oil and cook with water instead.
how about miso soup?
or water saute veggies, nishime stew, pressed salad,...

Craving for "Sour" taste?

if you crave for "sour" taste, it may also mean that your liver is tired.
especially you have been eating too much animal proteins, the liver becomes overloaded and the crave can be intense.

to satisfy the crave, have some natural, healthy "sour" foods.
such as
umeboshi
ume vinegar
miso
sauerkraut

* you can get umeboshi plum and all the other above at health food stores or whole foods

and oc course, cut down on meat!

Signs of "weakened Liver"

eye problems.

the sun is too bright or harsh on your eyes?
blink a lot? (about 4 times/minute is the healthy condition)
reddish eyes?
itchy eyes?
eye mucus in the morning?

eyes need constant flow of clean blood, and when the liver is not functioning well,the blood gets dirty and the flow stagnates.
yes, eyes are the first place that shows the sign of liver problems.
* one of liver's most important jobs is to filter the blood.

and even cataract is related to the liver problems.

any eye problems? TLC to your liver!

Spring and Liver

In Spring, living things start to come out, as all human do!
in central park every morning, i hear lots of birds singing to cerebrate this new season : )
and upward, light energy fill the air.

the liver is the organ that corresponds to this season.
so this organ becomes most active in spring, but at the same time overworks and gets weaken....

one of liver's main jobs is to purify--filter-- the blood.
and fats accumulated in the body during the cold season start to melt and flow into the blood stream.
so additional fats, or food/drink that make blood dirty should be avoided this season so as not to overburden the liver.

to avoid or cut down
oily/greasy food
animal protein
sugar
alcohol

i just love this season.
full of hope and young energy!

time to shift from hearty,heavy-ish meal to lighter one to support the upward, yin energy...

signs of yin energy....

beautiful spring days!
last week was still cold, then suddenly, feels like a new season has arrived!
in central park, new buds are sprouting here and there.
and lots of birds are out cerebrating the arrival of spring, as well as us human bening : )

i felt a subtle vibration when i touched these little buds on a tree.
im not kidding!

Macrobiotic Diet, Meal Delivery Service in Japan!

i just came across this site, one of those "diet" meal delivery service in japan.
like "jenny craig".
only, its macrobiotic!!

in japan, macrobiotic is marketed and considered more "fashionable" or "cool".
well, it is much easier for us japanese to eat in macrobiotic way since most of the dishes and foods are very familiar to us after all....

its written in japanese, so just look at the pics and you can get the idea.
8-days meal for 25000 yen, about $200 to $250.-- a bit expensive...
but wouldnt that be great if there was such a thing in here, too?
at least, having this as one of the choices among all those diet meals?

http://romaromashop.web.fc2.com/macrob.html