Great answer Simon - thanks for that!

I think the guidelines that we find in books are wonderful as a starting point -
many of us weren't raised with any ideas of how food effects us and we need to
re-learn to have a healthy attitude towards cooking and eating. I think it is
very important to also enjoy our experiences and not get too analytical because,
bottom line, food is one of the greatest sensory pleasures.

The attitude we have around meals is also really important -
Sitting down to eat.
Eating with our mouth closed
Sitting up straight
Chewing
Eating together with family and friends
Eating at about the same time everyday
Enjoying the dining experience - laughing, chatting, discussing (pleasantly -
lol!!) - often meals can be stressful if parents are trying to force the kids to
eat - if possible this should be avoided or done in a humerous and light way.
Creating a relaxing evironment - softer lighting, candles, soft music etc.

We just had halloween last night - love to see all the kids dress up - shame
about the candy although my kids said it is all about how much you get -
apparently the worse things to receive are pencils, stickers and even money - if
I handed stuff out I am sure my house would be blacklisted - ha ha!!

Have a good one
Melanie

-----Original Message-----
>From: "Simon G. Brown" <simon@...>
>Sent: Nov 1, 2007 7:01 AM
>To: moderndaymacrobiotics@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [moderndaymacrobiotics] Question
>
>Hi Klara and Andrea,
>
>Klara and I have wonderful discussions on this before but just to make it
>clear to new people;
>
>Macrobiotics is not a diet with lists of foods you can and can¹t eat. It is
>an understanding of foods and it works by being aware of our relationships
>with foods and using this evolving understanding to find those foods that
>work best for us. To help this process you can eat a fairly simple version
>of macrobiotics to begin with and then from this introduce other foods one
>at a time to see how you feel. So a spicy green dal can certainly be
>macrobiotic if you want to feel your energy move to the surface and if you
>want to cool your blood a little. You might find it also helps when you want
>to experience greater mental stimulation.
>
>To make it easy most books and lectures will focus on just eating a plain
>and simple macrobiotic diet so that people can give it a try and see how
>they feel but I must emphasise this is not macrobiotics in its entirety. It
>is a bit like climbing a mountain, thinking you are near the top, only to
>find it was just a peak and there are many higher peaks to come. It is a big
>subject and I think realistically most people need to give themselves
>several years of discovery, exploration and experience to really get into
>the relationship between food and human well-being. When I started I though
>a year of eating what was then put out as the macrobiotic diet would seem
>like a lifetime but it went incredibly quickly and I soon made interesting
>connections between my new foods and the way I felt. Nearly thirty years
>later I am still playing with it and making interesting discoveries.
>
>As Klara points out there are many amazing recipes in the more purist
>macrobiotic collection but at the same time I would encourage you to slowly
>learn the principles and ideas for yourself so you have the freedom to eat
>anything but with a better understanding of how it will effect you and back
>this up with real life experience of not eating something for a while and
>then trying it again to see how you feel. At the same time please do not
>feel limited or restricted but more that you are choosing to eat a certain
>way just to see how you feel.
>
>I hope this helps.
>
>All the best,
>
>Simon
>
>
>On 1/11/07 06:42, "Klara LeVine" <klara_levine@...> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi again Andrea,
>>
>> I have a problem using recipes that don't come from mb books, and even with
>> some of those that do come from mb books - so to make it easier on myself, I
>> try to stick to books that kind of follow what I want to follow
>>
>> As for boring, wow, go back over all the old posts, especially those from
>> Dottie and Melanie giving amazing recipes and ideas how to make food more
>> interesting
>>
>> there are very unusual ingredients in mb that add punch to the food - you do
>> have to be careful and not overdo it - after a while your tastebuds will
>> change and you'll appreciate the gentler tastes that comes from real foods
>>
>> so have you played yet with umeboshi (plums, paste, vinegar, and
concentrate),
>> all the different misos (tho I usually use just mugi and shiro), ginger
>> (chopped, grated, juice from grated), condiments - again, go through Gary's
>> site and you'll find some wonderful ones), seeds, nuts, roasted, ground,!
>> mixed with liquid for a sauce, pickles and pickle juice (yup, you could
>> incorporate them into the recipes - tho again, be very careful not to put too
>> much), seaweeds, ground to put on top, cooked into
>>
>> and then the regular kinds of foods which can add so much, sauteed onions,
>> leeks, parsley, chives, any other special greens growing in your area
>>
>> for different kinds of texture, more than taste, there's agar, kudzu
>>
>> just keep exploring, you won't worry about spicey after a while if you keep
>> trying all the recipes from all those books you have - and sure, reread them
6
>> - 7 times, always more to discover
>>
>> Klara
>>
>> andrea turner <adturner132003@...> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The other day I made a green dal and was thinking that it could be ! MB.
>>> But, in the end, it is probably too spicy to be considered a MB dish,
>>> correct? Not that it is "spicy," as in hot, but it does call for 2-3tsp for
>>> 3cups of water, 1c peas. I am still trying to understand what constitues
MB,
>>> and then what is just vegan and primarily healthy! And, also wanted to add,
>>> that lately it is not the actual dishes that are tough for me to experiement
>>> with, it is the food combining that I end up making too complicated. then I
>>> just settle and eat a boring, blah meal. I just have to remember, grain and
>>> vegetable as I am starting out and then spice it up from there. Andrea
>>>
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>
>


Melanie Brown Waxman
www.celebrate4health.com
www.bebabywise.com
info@...
Author: The Cooklets, Bless the Baby, Yummy Yummy in my Tummy