I thought I'd share what I'm reading these days. I have a huge stack of books I want to get through this winter, and this one has kept my attention for days:
The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter. It's an easy read and very funny. Jessica starts out the book talking about taking a class on Macrobiotics in NYC and wanting to run for the hills because everyone was a weirdo (but ultimately ended up fully embracing the diet and writing this book obviously).
Personally, I've never paid any attention to macrobiotics because it's a grain focused diet and I've always had trouble with gluten grains. That said, it's similar to a vegan diet but more flexible in a way so I wanted to look a little deeper. The diet and philosophy center around the yin and yang energies of food and how they effect our bodies. It's really fascinating. People who follow this diet, unlike other diets, claim to be healthier (as all diets do) but also seem calm, balanced and frankly, just plain happy. Now I'm not ready to dive in head first, but I'm intrigued. I like the idea of sticking to whole grains, fruits, vegetables, sea vegetables (this one is tricky), beans, soups, and sometimes animal products.
Here's a great excerpt for all of us living in the Northeast:
"WINTER: Imagine your winter coat. Gloves. Seeing your breath. Cold air on your cheeks. Our part of the planet has pulled away from the sun so it becomes extremely cold, which creates contraction. Everything is dark, and all the living things go inward. Trees have pulled their sap in and down. Bears hibernate. People go to indoor parties, huddling together for a type of warmth they don't even know they are seeking. The weather outside is extremely yin (cold/dark) and that produces a yang response in us; our bodies fight to stay warm, active, and gathered. We are literally floating in an in-between that eventually becomes the strong expansion of spring."
"In winter we need to stay warm. More oil, hearty soups, animal food, and rice bean dishes are necessary in a five season climate. Baking feels comforting. Even deep frying is appropriate for sealing warmth into the body. Buckwheat, beans, sea vegetables, and good quality salt are all the very nourishing to the kidneys, bladder and reproductive organs - the most strongly charged by winter's inward, floating energy"
Isn't this fascinating and doesn't it make so much sense? I'm only a quarter of the way through the book but my rice cooker is on the way. She suggests trying this diet out by just changing one meal a day to an all grain meal. I love brown rice, so this is easy for me. We'll see if I take it any further. I'll let you all know how it goes....
Btw, if you want to learn more quickly without getting the book, Jessica has a great website - www.hipchicksmacrobiotics.com.
