Mini fasiting on the New Moon

so, i did mini fasting last night.
i had normal meal during the day, and in the evening, i skipped dinner.
ive never done fasting, so i was not ready for a complete fasting, also i didn't want to be stressed out about not eating or being too hungry at night.
so i had a cup of brown rice amazake--fermented brown rice milk--, and a spoon full of azuki bean.

this amazake has no added sugar or anything, but very sweet. so it can make you feel full by slowly raising glucose level.
unlike refined sugar, which spikes up blood sugar level at a very high speed, this naturally fermented rice milk does not upset the pancreas or stomach.
*you can find amazake at whole foods or other health food stores.

i added slices of fresh ginger and heated up the amazake and slowly drank.
and sure enough, i felt full and satisfied.

effect?
i slept so well, and woke up much earlier than usual without an alarm clock!
feeling refreshed and lighter!

i tend to eat a lot. especially in the evening, and late : (
so the following morning, it's hard to get up...feeling heavy and groggy...
and that's understandable, because my eating style forces my digestive system to work hard all night long!!

everybody needs some vacation to recharge themselves.
i need it, too.
and so does our body/digestive system!
so i consider this "mini fasting" as my way of thanking them and giving them paid vacation : )
and no other time is better than the new/full moon to do that.

The New Moon

it took about 30 minutes for foot bath , followed by gentle foot massage.
in fact, i felt so good, my body felt lighter, and my head clearer after the session.
i walked through central park with light steps, singing and skipping(almost).
maybe just an imagination, but my skin is shinier!

my "new moon detox day" is going to complete with "mini fasting" this evening.
give some rest to my digestive system, especially liver and kidneys(yang), which work during the night(yin), so they will be recharged and hopefully, ill wake up refreshed and younger tomorrow : )

The New Moon and Ionic Foot Bath 2

and this is after 30minutes.
yack!!!! right?

the color of the water tells you what kind of toxin has come out and from where.

according to the practitioner;

orange --- my favorite color!
toxins from the joints.
it can cause arthritis!

bubble --- you see on the top?
that's yeast.
maybe i should cut down on bread or pasta....
and yeast can be the cause of fatigue and headache.

white foam ---also on the top
toxin from lymphatic grands, which can lead to low energy and poor digestion.(wow, sounds familiar!)

small brown dots ---hard to see in the pic
toxin from liver
obviously from the wine i enjoy every weekend!

The New Moon and ionic Foot Bath

The new moon is a good time to do detox.
The moon is the other side of the earth, so the gravity of the moon comes from the ground, which helps to eliminate toxins in the body from lower parts of the body, especially feet.

i went to this health spa to do this ionic foot bath.
here is how it works.

“The human body functions off of electro-magnetic signals.
The brain sends signals to each part of the body, and the body sends signals back to the body.
When , cells have enough energy, they are able to function properly.
Ionic foot bath charges the water(where your feet are soaked in), and the water charges the body.
This allows the body to absorb vital energy on a cellular level.
Once the body receives this ultra pure current of energy, the body starts detoxifying on its own.”(excerpt)

The back of the feet has a lot of pores where toxin can come out, as well as acupuncture(reflexology)points that reflect each different part of the body.
So detoxifying through feet makes a lot of sense to me.
Especially on the new moon!
the pis is "before".

The New Moon and Azuki bean

Today is new moon.
in Japan, people traditionally eat azuki bean when the moon is full and new.


kidneys, which govern hormons and other internal secretion, are most consumed on the day of full moon and new moon.
so japanese people used to eat azuki in order to nurture this hard working organ.

azuki is relatively yang food with warm energy.
so kidneys, which is susceptible to cold(yin), very much benefit from this little beans.

so i cooked this simple but delicious azuki bean today : )
thank you, my kidneys!

Calcium w/o Milk

100g of milk contains 110mg of calcium.

and those foods contains.....

daikon radish tops(green part) 2 times more
dried daikon 5 times more
kombu sea weed 6.5 times more
wakame sea weed 7 times more
hijiki sea weed 14 times more
all of them come without saturated fat!!

Brown Rice and Me 6

brown rice is one of the things I cannot live without : )

I wake up to brown rice(really!)
I look forward to eating brown rice as a breakfast before I go to bed.
Of course, almost every meal, I eat brown rice.
Even when I want to stay in bed for a little longer, thinking about brown rice for breakfast--i set up timer before bed so it's ready when i get up : )-- makes it easier to get up.
with nori seaweed paste that I make, this simple brown rice is my most favorite meal of the day.

When you are eating brown rice for every meal every day, you will notice the subtle difference of texture and taste even though you are cooking the same rice.
Water, salt, season, the time of the day you cook, how your body/mind are feeling, what you eat with, … all makes difference.
Like I said, brown rice is alive, so it makes perfect sense!


When Im on vacation and eating all those fabulous foods at nice restaurants, I start to miss eating brown rice after a few days, and feel so good when I get back to brown rice!
And since I started eating brown rice as main dish, I’m cold/flu free : )
Thank you, Brown rice!
You are my hero : )

Brown Rice and Me 5

A Few Things....

1 Choose organic.
Conventional brown rice may have more residue of pesticide and other chemicals than refined ones.

2 In fall and winter, choose short grain. Spring and summer, long grain.
In yin seasons, it’s better to take more yang energy, so short/round shaped rice is more suitable, while in yang season, yin energy---longer--- is better.

3 Chew well
brown rice is harder to digest, and could disturb your digestive system.
Chew 30 to 50 times per mouth full.

4 Add pinch of salt
this enhances the flavor : )
also to make some variations, add some other whole grains such as barley, red rice, black rice, buckweat, or sometimes azuki bean ----especially when the moon is full or new--- or black bean is good, too.

Brown Rice and Me 4

According to macrobiotic point of view, brown rice is most balanced, has “neutral” energy --- not too yin nor too yang--.
By eating neutral food as main dish or “core food”, you get to be balanced and grounded, as opposed to eating too yin/yang foods, which swings the energy and puts you off balance.
Aside from all the great nutrients that it contains, brown rice is an ultimate, perfect food!

Brown Rice and Me 3 --- Eat Live & Taking Life Force

If you put a piece of brown rice in water and leave it by the window, it will sprout in a few days.
Yes, brown rice is still alive!
But if you do the same to refined white rice, it will just get rotten, since it’s dead.
By eating brown rice, you are taking life force, vital power.

In many Asian countries, like Japan, where grains are staple, introducing refined grains such as white rice --- as well as refined sugar--- caused many unknown, unprecedented diseases.
But some people knew the solution.
“Go back to the tradition. Eat whole rice!”
When they did, all was well.
But when people didn’t do, diseases prevailed.

Brown Rice and Me 2 --- Nutrition

When the rice is refined, lots of important, precious nutrients and minerals are removed.
Below shows how much nutrients are reduced in the process of refining the rice.

Protein by 10%
Fiber by 80%
Calcium by 50%
Iron by 60%
Vitamin B1 by 80%
Vitamin B2 by 50%
Vitamin B6 by 70%
Niacin by 80%

What a waste!!

Brown Rice and Me 1

In Asia, human being and soil are considered one and whole, both derived from same root.
Whole grain means holy, healthy grain.
So there is no need to waste.
Waste is even considered an offence against nature and the other order of the universe.....