Preparing for a Macrobiotic Thanksgiving

Hello friends!  Your favorite macro dilettante Becky signing in!

I'm pleased to report that since the semester is winding down, I now have time to write on my blog (and shower)!

The last three months have been a case-study in yang energy and yin cravings.  It would be more interesting if I were reading about it and not living it, but life is learning.

Macrobiotics is about more than food... it's about the intention that goes into the ingredients that go into the dish!  This year, as soon as you start shopping, start filling your heart with thanks.

This time last year, I had no idea that I would meet all the friends I met at the Kushi Institute, so this year I'm giving thanks for them.  To my new friends who helped me see macrobiotics, balance, and happiness in a new light, you are in my heart, and my meal is dedicated to you.

making macro thanksgiving

pre-meal preparation in three easy steps

1.  i was promised a turkey.

Serving steamed greens and wilted kale for the big meal seems like an excellent way to alienate your family and friends for the coming year.  

A lot of us have folks in our lives who don't share our hippie healthful lifestyle.  Maybe they eat meat three times a day.  Maybe they've never spent time in a collective vegan community.  Maybe it's easier to find a 12-gauge shotgun in their homes than a pencil with an eraser.  That last one is a tip of the hat to my  family ;)

I assumed that nobody would eat my macro food last Thanksgiving, so I made enough for me and my mom and left it at that.  I turned my back for one second and the steamed greens were GONE.  My wild rice evaporated.  My macro apple pie?  Mere crumbs.

The moral of the story is that in the midst of all that butter, people gravitate towards calm, centered foods.  That doesn't mean that I'm serving zen macrobiotic brown rice bowls.  It just means that if you cook flavorful, real food, people will eat it.

2.  pickles don't grow on trees

If you are making grains, beans, nut dishes, or pickles, be sure you give yourself plenty of time.

Pickles take longer in the winter.  Quick pickles that would take 6-10 hours in the warm summer sun will take 2-4 days in the cool winter.  Just keep checking on them, tasting them, and if anything's furry, removing it.

Start your soaking on Wednesday morning or night.  For dishes that need to soak and then ferment, start NO LATER than Tuesday night.  Cashew Goat Cheese, I'm looking at you.

3.  get your groceries

Here are two things you can do at Whole Foods that will save you money and time:

Ask them to de-skin, de-bone, and/or grill your fish.  For free, they'll take the skin and bones.  For $5, they'll toss it on the grill.

Ask them for parts of vegetables only macro people use.  If you need daikon tops for food or for daikon hip-bath, they'll clip the tops and give them to you for a reasonable fee.  I got enough daikon greens for three baths for $2.50.  I'm pickling broccoli stems, and the first place I go is Whole Foods.