When in Hawaii ....

Eat what Hawaiians eat : )

i stayed at hotels with kitchen once we went to big island.

and the first place i would go is....local grovery store!

surprisingly, there are at least 2 health food stores in kona.

so no problems getting local, organic produce : )

and since i was in hawaii, why not try some fresh local fish!

i bought local wild mahi mahi, and cooked very simple.

with olive oil, sea salt, lemon.

OMG! just delicioso!

some people misunderstand that macrobiotic excludes any animal protein.

not true!

it's more about traditional local food : )

anyway, i enjoyed cooking and eating on big island. a lot!

Mina Dobic -- Macrobiotic Councelor

i just read an interview of Mina Dobic, a macrobiotic councelor in CA.
she has just visited Japan for the first time.
she herself is a cancer survivor, by changing her diet--and life style-- into macrobiotic.
no chemotherapy.

there are many many people who cured serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, as well as other health challenges with a simple dietary changes ---into each local, tradiotnional diet with whole grain based, variety of seasonal vegetables etc etc...
and when you learn about macrobiotics, it all makes sense : )

disease is just a symptom.
we have to look at the causes, instead of fixing each symptoms with pills or other conventional treatment, which usually takes more toll on health : (
and causes are, most of the time, our so-called "modern diet"
meat, refined /processed foods, sugar, and overeating, i might add....

Mina's story is very inspirational.
her clients includes madonna, nicole kidman, and other big names, too.
also honored by smithonian institute for her job as a macrobiotic councelor.
check out her website http://www.minadobic.org/

My Travel Companion

sometimes it's not easy to eat healthy while you are traveling.
especially when you are with kids!
i was with my family in hawaii, with 3 nieces, 7yo,12yo and 19yo.
and often times, i had to compromise eating "junk food" to save money and time.

what saved me?
my mother's home made pickled veggies! --umeboshi plum, daikon and carrot.
fermented more than one month with sea salt, koji, miso or soy sauce, they are full of probiotic!
i ate them every morning with brown rice i bought, aside from umesho-bancha tea.
and this really helped : )

everyday while i was there, another case of swine flu was reported in hawaii.
but with these friendly companion, i was healthy and confident : )
thank you, Mom!

Hawaii !!

so i went to hawaii.
i don't know what it is.
i just LOVE the energy there.
blue sky, emerald green water, palm trees, tropical birds churping, and the warm/moist air.
so welcoming and forgiving.
all the negative energy i was carrying is replaced with the positive one once i arrive there.

ayurveda says that hawaii is good for all doshas.
no wonder why people go back again and again!
the pic is from diamond head.
it was a nice hike : )

Vegetarian Meal in the air

i always request "vegetarian meal' when i air travel.
and sometimes, ---only when you are lucky---, you get a good meal that your seatmate would be jealous.
on the way to honolulu this time, i got nice and warm "indian chick pea/green peas curry", which was as good as the one you get at whole foods!---well, almost--- while the other passengers got some horrible "pizza" in a plastic bag.
and before landing, as a snack, i got a veggie burger, which was not so good--- i mean, what do you expect from in-filght meal!--, but not that bad at all.
i brought my own snack--onigiri, brown rice ball with nori seaweed, and some fruits just in case--, so overall, i had a good eating experience with continental airline : )
if you are interested, request special meal for the next air travel!
---mind you, the menu changes, and i don't know about other airlines.

Body that do NOT attract bugs

so now, what do those bugs dislike?
i don't know about swine flu, but in general. they do not care for salt.
i'm not suggesting that you take lots of salt.
that could cause other issues.....maybe.
but some salty food do react to your body system differently.
traditional fermented food, such as miso(fermented soy paste), soy sauce, those contain good amount of salt, but very gently break down in your body system.
also good source of probiotic, they protect you from bad bugs!!

some studies suggest that if salt does not kill bugs, acid does the job.
umeboshi plum, or ume vinegar has one of the greatest sterilizing power among food.
in japan, we eat them when we have diarrhea or stomach flu, also use as a preservative for food.

you can find them at health food stores or japanese grocery stores.
have some umeboshi green tea in the morning, or fix spring salad with ume vinegar : )

Body that Attracts Viruses

now we are all concerned about this new bug, swine flu.
and we don't know much about it yet.
it is important to pay attention and be careful, but panicking, to me, does not seem to help at all
: (
ancient asian philosophy says that viruses thrive on negative feeling such as fear, anger, and worry...

anyway, in general, there seem to be people (body) that attract bugs and those that do not.
if you put a dish full of sugary water and one with plain water, bugs almost always go to the sugary one ---- like us!
and in some labs, flu viruses are cultivated on egg yolks.

it seems that people who have sweet teeth tend to catch flu or other bugs more than who do not.
even mosquitoes like to bite people whose blood is "sweeter".

sugar and eggs.....
yes, cakes, pastry, ice cream, out favorite foods!
maybe now is not the best time to indulge ourselves.
you can't live without dessert?
how about making it as a weekend treat? instead of every afternoon snack?