Every day, people are becoming more and more aware of the connection between health and nutrition.
In the modern approach to nutrition, the value of foods is viewed through their protein, calories, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and other nutrients. Macrobiotics, as a more holistic approach to nutrition, looks at food through its energy, movement, texture and tastes, in addition to nutritional values, and how to combine all these factors to contribute to the optimal effect of food on the vitality of our organism.
Instead of breaking down food into the smallest molecules in order to better understand it, macrobiotics deals with understanding how the energy of food affects us - when I'm cold I eat food that will warm me, when I'm hot I choose food that will cool my body. In both cases, it's the food that will make me feel better.
If the muscles in my lower legs are cramped from too much work or exercise, I will choose foods that will relax them. If I've gained weight, I can choose foods that will help me lose weight and restore my balance, etc. Remember that the kitchen is where we create food and love. Cooking is an artistic expression of the passion for life that exists in each of us. I consider feeding others and myself the most wonderful expression of the art of living.
In the plant kingdom, whole grains are the center. Cereals in grain they have unique characteristics, because they are both seed and fruit at the same time. They combine the beginning and end of the vegetation cycle, so they represent the most balanced food for human needs. For this evolutionary reason, as well as for its balanced nutritional content and great suitability to be harmoniously combined with other plants, whole grains were the staple food of all earlier civilizations and societies that were almost unaware of degenerative diseases.
Integral grains that we use in our daily macrobiotic diet are: rice, barley, millet, wheat, oats, corn, buckwheat.
Basic recipe for cooking brown rice (and other grains)
1 cup brown rice
2 cups of water per cup of rice
On top of a knife of sea salt
Wash the rice and put it in a pot. Add water. Put it on the fire without the lid until it boils. Then add a pinch of salt, cover the pan and cook on the lowest heat for about 50 minutes (until it absorbs the water). Pleasant
Variation 1.
Put all the ingredients in the pressure cooker, close the lid and when it starts to sizzle, put the heat to a minimum and cook for about 40 minutes. Pleasant.
Variation 2.
Soft-boiled brown rice (and other grains)
1 cup brown rice
4 to 5 cups of water
On top of a knife of sea salt
It is cooked in the same way as solid cereal, but the ratio of water and cereal is different, and to get a creamy cereal. It can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. Pleasant.
Cvijeta Mesic, Authorized instructor macrobiotic cooking by School of Healing Arts, San Diego, USA
