I got an email the other day containing a list of the top 25 Macrobiotic blogs and how exciting it was to find my blog on it!! I highly recommend you go check out the list and follow every blog that is on it if you are not already. So many amazing people sharing their love for yes delicious plant based food but also Macrobiotic studies to understand the world and the interactions we have with food, emotions, people, the world. 

There is some great stuff on that list so go check it out!

https://blog.feedspot.com/macrobiotic_blogs/

Winter is a time to keep things simple. and this winter food is no exception for me. with all the holidays in the winter with all the fun delicious food. I make a point to add some simple comforting meals in my diet.  A balanced meal for me is one that contains various elements, a meal that checks all the boxes. Such as whole grain, leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, sea-vegetables, beans, and something fermented like pickles. 

For Lunch 

Brown Rice

(watch and learn how to make Brown Rice here)

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Wakame Salad with Cucumber and a Brown Rice Vinegar Dressing

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Blanched Bok-Choy

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Pickled Beets and Dill Pickles

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Chickpea Soup

Warm soup on a cold day is the best! 

It just feels so right and healing even when there is nothing wrong.

First snow day of the the winter for me sounded like the perfect day to have some warm sweet vegetable adzuki bean soup!

For Lunch/breakfast

Sweet Vegetable Adzuki Bean Soup

with Onions,Carrots,Squash,Cellery, Turnip Greens, Ginger,Adzuki Beans

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Hot Fresh Tofu 

(watch and learn how to make Tofu here)

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Blanched Napa Cabbage

 I love all kinds of pickles! They taste delicious. And make digesting heaver foods such as whole grains much easier. 

I also love trying new things know almost nothing about! 

for the last couple of months I have been trying my hand at making all kind of fermented foods. It is a big help that fermented foods are so trendy right now and there is information everywhere on fermenting foods in so many different ways. 

Kimchi has been my recent self challenge. I could eat it all day so I love having it around, and I am super cheap so I am always that person in the store that says "phttt.. I could make that" even though a lot of the times it goes horribly wrong the first couple of tries, but if I am determined enough something pretty good can come out at the end.

I have made a couple of different batches of kimchi so far that I am pretty happy with. 

It might not be traditional Kimchi what I am making but it is pretty delicious.

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:Recipe: (sort of)

I start off cleaning and chopping my Napa Cabbage in large chunks

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Then adding a lot of Sea Salt I lightly massage the Napa Cabbage until it has shrunk to halve it's original size 

Then put a plate with a weight on top of the cabbage and let sit 

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while my Cabbage is pressing I chop the rest of my vegetables (at least one root vegetable and one green vegetable) such as Daikon with Daikon Greens, Carrots, and Scallions. I also added a bit of Apple for sweetness to help the fermentation along. 

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I then start making my sauce. I haven't made the same kimchi sauce twice yet. Partly cause I never really have the same ingredients around. Partly I like to try new things.

I do like to use Garlic, Ginger, Chilli Pepper Powder, a bit of Rice porridge, Shoyu and Salt.

I I have it I will add some syrup sweetener.

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then I mix all the ingredients together and pack it into some jars and leave it on top my refrigerator for at least 48 hours until I start eating it. 

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Favorite meal paring to have with pan fried Tempeh!
That would have to be a bit of everything. Well cooked Whole Grain, Blanched Vegetables, And one of my favorite pairings with Tempeh is Sea-vegetabls!
I don't feel like I am eating enough Sea-vegtables lately so this was a pretty satisfying meal.

For Lunch
Brown Rice
(watch and learn how to cook Brown Rice here)
with Umeboshi Plum
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Tempeh panfried baked in a shoyu sauce
(watch and learn how to make Tempeh here)
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Hijiki with caramelized Onions and Corn
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Blanched Kale

New favorite on the go food! Have you ever heard of onigirazu, also known as a sushi sandwich? As the name suggests, it’s a love child of a western sandwich and a Japanese sushi roll.  It travels well, and it is delicious! 

For Lunch 

Onigirazu made with 

Brown Rice 

(watch and learn how to make Brown Rice here)

Lettuce, Cucumber, Kimchi, 

Sesame Seeds

(watch and learn how to toast Sesame Seeds Here)

and Tempeh 

(watch and learn how to make Tempeh here)

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Baked Squash, Potatoes, and Cauliflower 

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Blanched Daikon Greens and Cauliflower Salad with a Carrot Ginger Dressing

 Soft creamy sweet delicious puree squash soup is just what I have been loving lately!

Squash is just coming into season and now everywhere. Which is perfect, sweet vegetables is just the thing to soften and relax, balance out the weather getting cold and having a contracting effect on our bodies. 

You can make a puree squash soup many different ways with lots of different fancy garnishes. But today we are going to keep it simple with just a few ingredients:

Butternut Squash (you can use Kobocha squash as well)

Onion

Salt 

Scallion for garnish

1:Chop vegetables 

Start by chopping up your squash, it doesn't really matter what shape. 

You can choose to keep the skin of the squash on or off. With butternut squash skin being similar in color as the rest of the squash I like to keep it on if it is a organic squash.

Other squashes of more green color skin might effect the color of the soup at the end. 

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Chop onion to the same size as your squash

2: Cooking

I like to sauté or sweat the onions with a pinch of salt to bring our the sweetness

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Once the onions are softened I add the squash, and just cover the vegetables with water. Bring to boil.Turn heat down and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Until squash is soft 

3: Blending and seasoning

Once the vegetables are cooked it is time blend. You might have to do this in a couple of batches depending on the size of your blender. 

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After everything is pureed and smooth heat back up on the stove and add seasoning to taste. I just added a pinch more salt and thats it! Garnish with scallions or caramelized leeks is another favorite.  

Thats one of the ways I like to make puree squash soup and I hope you liked it. If you give it a try let me know and tag Macrofoodeveryday on Instagram I would love to see how it came out! 

For Lunch

Puree Squash Soup

garnished with scallions 

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Brown Rice with toasted Sesame Seeds

(watch and learn how to cook Brown Rice here) 

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Blanched Kale

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Tempeh cooked with Kimchi 

(watch and learn how to make Tempeh here)

Light lunch that is quick to make!

When I struggle with digestion problems I like to cook meals that are not going to feel heavy in my stomach. Soft creamy millet is a great option just for that.

I like to make mine on the wetter side, cause I rarely enjoy dry millet. 

One of my favorite things about millet is that it is a whole grain that takes very little time to cook! I cook mine for 30 minutes and done!

For Lunch

Millet

with caramelized Onions and Sweet Potato

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Onion Dill Pickles 

and Olives

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Simple Raw Salad 

with Iceberg Lettuce , Tomato, Apple, 

and a Lemon Tahini dressing 

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Blanched Kale

Natto Sushi! If you follow this blog you probably already know how much I love Natto. From posting pictures of Natto meal inspirations all the time. To creating a how to make Natto Video . It's pretty clear how much I love eating Natto. 

Here I made some simple Brown Rice, Natto Maki Rolls, Preparing the Natto with Mustard, Shoyu, and Scallions. Than just rolling it up with Some Brown Rice into a Sushi Roll!

For Lunch

Brown Rice Natto Maki Rolls

(Learn how to make Natto here)

(Learn how to make Brown Rice here)

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Shoyu Wasabi Dipping Sauce

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Shredding Daikon Salad with a squeeze of Lemon

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Blanched Kale and Cauliflower

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Olives

I have been playing around with using my left over Okara from making Tofu. I have been enjoying it. Okara makes for a great thickener to any sauce. My favorite way so far is to add a table spoon or two to a Shoyu Ginger dashi and it just absorbs all those delicious flavors and thickens it into a creamy sauce. 

For Lunch

Brown Rice 

(watch and learn how to make Brown Rice here)

With some Umeboshi Plum

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Blanched Kale and Carrots

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Pan fried Tofu cooked down in a Okara, Shoyu and Ginger sauce.

(watch and learn how to make Tofu and Okara here)

Since I have been experimenting with making my own tofu (read more about that here) I have been left with bunch of okara (which is the by product in the making of tofu) that I don't feel great about throwing away. so I have been playing around with different ways to use it. Okara is very dry  by having all the soy milk squeezed out of it. So I have been searching for more hydrating ways of cooking with it, Hence Pasta Sauce! 

I found that Okara soaks up any flavors you cook with it, and creates a appealing creaminess when you add liquid to it. 

I started off with sautéed onions and garlic added two cups of Okara and enough water to make it creamy. I added Zucchini for crunchiness and seasoning and let it cook. 

I had to keep adding little bits of water to keep it at the consistency I wanted. when it tasted good to me I mixed in my pasta and served! 

I think it came out great! I love creamy pasta and the Okara lended it self so well to becoming a sauce and was quite filling by being a bean product. 

Whatv do you think? Ever cook with Okara? what are your favorite okara recipes?

For Lunch

Pasta with Okara, Onion, Garlic Sauce

(Learn how to make Tofu and Okara here)

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Blanched Kale with Lemon 

I have a weakness for all things tofu. I grew up eating bean curd in all shapes and forms and can tell you that when prepared the right way, tofu can be a feast for the eyes and the stomach. From silken to firm, chilled to deep fried, I can eat tofu all day long!

Tofu, or bean curd, is a food derived from soy beans. (watch my video on how to make Tofu here) It is made by curdling soy milk with a coagulant and pressing the curds into soft white blocks. There are different levels of firmness: silken, which is the softest, medium firm and firm tofu. On its own, tofu can be pretty bland which is why it has a reputation for being a boring food. It is naturally gluten-free and low in calories. It has high nutritional values and the health benefits of tofu are countless. Fresh tofu is a whole different thing to store bought tofu (like most things) 

I have been so excited making my own tofu at home lately with my brand new Tofu press made by my good friend Aaron. it has inspired to make Tofu more often get better doing it.

Cooking with Fresh Tofu right out of the press I like to keep it really simple and let the Tofu shine. adding it at the end of vegetable sauté or just having it plain with a shoyu ginger sauce.

Check out my video on how to make tofu from scratch here! 

For Lunch

Brown Rice with Umeboshi Plum 

(watch and learn how to make Brown Rice here)

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Garlic Sautéed Broccoli 

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Fresh Tofu

 with Shoyu, Ginger, Scaillion Sauce

(watch and learn how to make Tofu here)

Meal Basics.

 When you start cooking consistently enough you will start finding your meal basics. The combinations of ingredients you learn to depend on when you need a good solid meal that makes you feel healthy and ready for everyday.

My basics are a Whole Grain, Bean or bean product such as Tofu or Tempeh, long cooked Root Vegetable,  Blanched Green Vegetable and something acidic or fermented, fresh Salad with a lemon dressing, or some kind of Pickles

There are so many combinations of these dishes and it never really gets old for me. its a great meal.

What are your meal basics?

For Lunch

Brown Rice

(watch and learn how to make Brown Rice here)

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Blanched Kale

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Baked Yams

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Garlic Fried Black Beans

garnished with Avocado

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Dill Sauerkraut