Grains

You are currently browsing the archive for the Grains category.

Back to Basics

July 16, 2009 in Grains, News, Personal Health by bursty | 1 comment

lettuceharvest

This is the 200th post here on AGAD!  To celebrate such a momentous occurrence, I think that I’m going to head “back to the basics” and explore the core lessons of macrobiotics in a quick reference-style post, as I have learned them thus far.  Jake and I have put together a “basics” page here – with some general guidelines as we understand them from the masters of macrobiotics. 

Above, by the way, is our last “spring” lettuce harvest from the garden last weekend!  mmmmmmmmm……. Read the rest of this entry »

Filling the Tank the Macrobiotic Way

October 3, 2008 in Grains by bursty | No comments

Rather than having the gauge bent over the side of the “F” on the tank, or worse - the opposite - over the “E” - macrobiotics is about keeping a steady stream of fuel flowing to your body to power your life. I’d say having the arrow somewhere between “1/2″ and “F” …

I’m a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig snacker. Love the snacks. Used to be: wheat thins, little debbies, muffins from coffee shops, chips… Has changed to: trail mix, Kashi TLC Granola bars, Kashi TLC whole grain crackers, and macro cookies when I’ve been motivated to bake (which hasn’t been much lately, hence the lack of baking-posts).

Read the rest of this entry »

STRESSED OUT: Mantra Contest for Free Jessica Porter Book!

September 30, 2008 in Grains, News by bursty | 7 comments

Sorry if that title startled you a bit. And — please do bear with us on the sporatic posting as of late. Jake and I have had a lot of life change going on over the past month. We embarked on a cross-country move at the end of August from Rhode Island to our beloved Twin Cities. The road trip was complete with broken down vehicles, unexpected hotel stays, and plenty of sludgey food. It took about 3 days longer than we had planned to make it back to Minnesota, minus one vehicle and plus an expensive U-Haul charge on the credit card. I began interviewing for new jobs while also planning our wedding. We got married on September 20th in an absolutely pristine setting — but again, not a macrobiotic experience.

Read the rest of this entry »

Faux-Fall Butternut Squash Risotto

September 28, 2008 in Grains by Nicole Gurgel, B.A. | 4 comments

 

It’s the end of September – almost a week into autumn – and even though I now live in still-steamy Austin, TX, my Midwestern soul is telling me: “Bring on the fall foods!” A few weeks ago, I bought a gorgeous butternut squash at a local farm stand. But with temperatures continuing to climb to the 90s during the day, I had very little desire to cook it. All the butternut squash recipes I know are designed for cool-weather eating: hearty soups or risottos – dishes that, as my grandmothers would say, “Stick to your bones”. (How this is anatomically possible, grandma failed to explain.) And an internet search for summertime butternut squash recipes failed to produce any alternatives.

So what’s a displaced Midwestern gal to do, other than wait until 9 P.M. when the night air has cooled down my kitchen enough to make cooking a big pot of butternut squash risotto seem like a good idea?

I fell in love with risotto while working at restaurant that earned its loyal following by adding butter, cream, cheese and salt to their dishes at every possible opportunity. This was my introduction to risotto: add as much salt and dairy product as needed to make the vegetables and grain taste like salt and dairy product.

Now that I’m eating macrobiotically, I have given up these fool-proof (and sludgifying) culinary tricks. Attempting to make risotto without them was a bit intimidating, but I am pleased to report that the photo does not lie: this dish was extremely tasty.

Read the rest of this entry »

Summer Sprouts: Get Your Groat On

August 1, 2008 in Grains by cooljuice | 2 comments

I saw an astonishing recipe on the What The Hell Does A Vegan Eat Anyway? blog a few weeks ago that changed the way I look at grains.

Their idea for sprouted grains really caught my eye. I had never thought about sprouting my own grains. During the hot, humid summer days, I am realizing that I need to find more ways to incorporate yang foods into my diet. The other day I was literally pacing around the house, “yinning” all over the place, unable to focus on a simple conversation.

So, I dug out my bag of buckwheat groats, looked up some basic sprouting direction and got a bowl full of tasty little baby buckwheat.

Read the rest of this entry »

Simple & Sweet: Corn Is Born

July 30, 2008 in Grains, Recipes by cooljuice | No comments

I often find that macrobiotics is as much of a history lesson as it is a creative way of eating:

The nifty web site Vegetarians In Paradise gives a nice synopsis of the history of corn. I’ve always known corn and its ancestor, maize, are native to North America and were cultivated and adapted by Native American communities. But I didn’t know it early origin. I just assumed corn-was-maize-was-corn.

Like many domesticated grains, corn started as a grass native to Mexico called teosinte. Native American farmers systematically collected and cultivated the plants that were best suited for human consumption until, viola, maize and eventually corn appeared. Well, it didn’t just appear—it gradually became the more familiar type of grain that we know today. It was such a staple of Native Americans that it was among the Three Sisters of squash, beans and corn.

All that to say, corn is a good whole grain native to North America, and I have a good recipe for you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whole Grain in a Tube? Perfectly Prepared Polenta

July 29, 2008 in Grains, Recipes by bursty | 3 comments

I finally decided, last Wednesday, that Jacob has been doing far too much of the cooking over the past few days, and that I needed to step it up. Therefore, I proudly announced that I would make dinner.

Problem was, our oven hasn’t been working. I had thought of making some of the ginger cauliflower rolls from love, eric & sinae that we enjoyed so much a few months back… but with no oven, it was a challenge. I could also have looked into one of the Raw Epicurean’s amazing recipes, but the soup featured (which looked absolutely divine) required a blender… something we don’t yet have (but we are working on attaining).

I went back to one of my favorite stand-bys. Polenta. In a tube. It may sound strange… whole grain in a tube… but it makes for a delicious whole grain, and for a simple-to-make macro meal. A popular Italian starch, polenta is made from boiled cornmeal, thus it contains all of the great nutrients of corn. We have some in our pantry in dry form, which I have also made from time to time. On Wednesday, we popped in to the Market and picked up some polenta in a tube. I chose the onion & mushroom variety. Read the rest of this entry »

The Pasta Process: Staying Balanced

July 24, 2008 in Grains, Reviews by bursty | 1 comment

Jacob made some fabulous Junkyard Pesto for dinner on Tuesday. We tossed it with Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Pasta Spirals.

I must say that I don’t always enjoy the “substitutes” in macrobiotics. I like egg noodles, and I like cheese. Vegan cheese = not so great. But gluten & wheat free pasta = not so bad! Plus, it is cholesterol free, low in fat & sodium, and is a great source of fiber. It’s easy to digest and contains all of the great nutrients of organic brown rice.

One issue I do have with the brown rice pasta noodles, spelt noodles, quinoa noodles, tofu, tempeh, etc., is that they are processed. No matter which way you look at it, these products are seriously processed. How anyone can get something to look like your classic egg & flour pasta from a perfect little grain of rice has to involve some pretty intense processing. Macrobiotics is about eating less processed foods, right? But many macrobiotic recipes & books seem to be cheerleaders for noodles made from whole grains without eggs or dairy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wild Rice

July 15, 2008 in Grains by cooljuice | 1 comment

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Minnesota. The lakes, the rivers, the trees, the hiking, the canoing, the Twin Cities. The list goes on.

I also love trivia: state tree, norway pine; state pickle, dill; state flower, ladyslipper. I could go on all day. But one of Minnesota’s best is also a macrobiotic treasure, and Minnesota is one of the only places you can get it in its natural form.

I’m talking about Wild Rice, Minnesota’s state grain. Boo ya ka shaw.

Wild rice was the staple in the diet of the Chippewa and Sioux Indians, native to the north central area of America. Like brown rice, the grain is actually the seed of an aquatic grass plant. Since wild rice grows in cold water and cold climate areas, its seeds (wild rice) need to store enormous amounts of energy to germinate in the spring. Because of this need, wild rice is high in protein, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber, and low in fat.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rice In The Fast Lane

July 3, 2008 in Grains, Personal Health by cooljuice | 1 comment

A brown rice fast, a balanced body.

In medieval days, sages treated illness directly with dietary changes, oftentimes prescribing a ten day brown rice fast to balance the body and rid it of impurities.

It sounds a little too easy to 21st century ears where we have over the counter drugs far stronger and varied than any medieval sage could have imagined.

With three months of macro behind us, we decided to give it a try, modifying it to a four day go.

And quite honestly…it’s weird. Come on, a brown rice fast? I’m still having a hard time explaining to my friends that I don’t eat cheese, and that yes I’m ok, and no I’m not sick…
So, whipping out the bowl of brown rice I had been eating out of for 4 days wasn’t exactly good advertising for macrobiotics, at least in the circles I move in.

I’ve been in Minnesota for the last few weeks, away from Kerstin, and we thought this might be a good way to stay connected through macrobiotics even though we weren’t eating together (something I miss terrrrrrrribly).

While I’ve had a hard time understanding and accepting the yin-yang philosophies of the macrobiotic lifestyle, I can attest that eating brown rice does bring one to a sense of great balance and harmony. I already have a big crush on brown rice, so my opinion is biased, but you’ve got to take my word for it.

Just like Kerstin wrote, I was a very satisfied, craving-free, happy feeling macro for four days. The nutrients, minerals and protein in rice is astonishingly satisfying. And after three months of diluting the sodium and sugar from our bodies and letting our tastebuds heal, eating something nourishing tastes nourishing and actually feels nourishing. I gladly ate my meals of rice all day every day. Heck—I’ll probably do it again.

« Older entries