This morning I did a lovely yoga flow – yogadownload’s Power Yoga #4, a 60-minute donation class. It started out slow but increased in intensity and I was so ready for savasana at the end. This class had a lot of twisting for detox, which I’ve been feeling and needing this week.
I followed up my flow with a macrobiotic breakfast:
- 3/4 cup (dry) oat bran with cinnamon & a big drizzle of brown rice syrup
- miso soup (bring 1.5 cups of water to a boil, add 2-3 teaspoons miso and some dried seaweed)
My mom informs me that I have had oat bran before – it was one of my first foods as a baby! She would sweeten it with ground up raisins that she ground with a baby food grinder. My mom has been touting the benefits of whole foods since before they became a fad.
On Wednesday I went to Whole Foods to pick up some goodies to help me adjust to macrobiotics.
- Lundberg’s organic brown rice syrup (one of the approved sweeteners)
- Westbrae unsweetened ketchup (ketchup is NOT macrobiotic – but I’m having a very hard time giving it up so I thought I would at least use the unsweetened kind)
- San J organic shoyu soy sauce
- Redmond RealSalt all natural sea salt
- Cold Mountain red miso
- lots of veggies = more kabocha squash, jicama, greens, apples, and more
The thing I’m having the most trouble with is cutting back on fruit; I usually have 5-7 pieces a day, and I’m trying to get it down to 1-2 pieces per day.
Stay tuned for a post this weekend that gets into the specifics of the macrobiotic diet I’ve been following – what I can and cannot eat, how I should be eating, and some of the principles behind it. When I first started the experiment I didn’t realize just how much I was taking on, so it’ll help me to be consistent if I write it out.
when you eat fruit do you usually eat it on an empty stomach, or with other foods? i find that i feel much better if I eat it alone.
also i love that your email is magpie — that’s our nickname for my little sis maggie 🙂
oh, and on the subject of food/diet experiments — I LOVE doing a raw-food week once or twice a year. It totally clears my head and gets rid of my caffeine/sugar cravings (temporarily, at least 🙂 )
(can you tell it’s friday and nearing 5 o’clock eastern time?! I think i’ll just keep commenting away…)
I would have a hard time giving up ketchup, too! Unsweetened seems like a good compromise. Hope it’s not harping on and on about it but to answer your question, yup, I tried macrobiotics for a few months in college and it was hard. Sorority house + macrobiotic living don’t really go well together! It was also hard on a budget and with limited kitchcn resources. You are doing such a fantastic job, really. It’s so interesting to be following along.
Happy Friday, Maggie!
The experiments worked out perfectly 😀
I love love love oatbran!
I’m the same way with veggies – I eat WAY too many and then really pay for it. It’s hard to cut back on those!!
That’s great that your mom was hip on the benefits of whole foods before it became a “fad.” She’s ahead of the curve 🙂
My mom makes my little brothers’ baby food too! I always thought it was weird and now I’m even more health concious than she is.
I seriously love your breakfast, oatbran is the best!
I have such a hard time reducing my fruit intake too! I always feel too full and bloated from all the fiber but fruit is just so good!
I can’t wait to hear more about this diet, I’ve always been curious.
I just bought the same brown rice syrup last week! Haven’t used it yet though…And I did have a food/diet experiment, being vegan. I’d say it turned out well 🙂 I think I tried being a raw foodist for a day once…that one didn’t work so well.
Just the one you’ve read about! 🙂
That’s my favorite ketchup!
This is really interesting to read about Maggie!
I’m so glad everything is going well!
yay for flushing out the toxins, i hope that’s how ill feel this week 🙂
i just bought oat bran and i am so excited to try it!
love the power vinyasa #4 Jackie is so good! 🙂
I went to WF today and got some goodies too! 😀
Ooo I can’t wait for your macrobiotic details. I don’t know much about it, but I’m intrigued. I’m learning so much from my vegan week experiment, which ends on tomorrow night. But I’m enjoying it so much that I might continue! Previously, I did a no white sugar/white flour experiment for 10 days which made me feel amazing in some ways (energy!) but not so amazing in others (bloating!) Generally, it just wasn’t sustainable. But eye-opening, nonetheless.
My food experiment just consists of an ongoing lifestyle of eating the least amount of processed foods as possible 🙂
The brown rice syrup looks good! Have you tried making your own ketchup?
I’m always trying new ways of eating as I love experimenting with foods and trying to figure out what my body likes best. They usually just last a week or so, maybe a month at the longest. Then I resort back to old ways of eating.
I’m loving your macrobiotic experience, and I can’t wait for more details. I’m totally intrigued.
Good luck with the fruit as I know how much you love it.
Tried a few yoga classes and found that it’s just not for me. The food, though, I can definitely get into 🙂
I did not know you could/should not eat fruit on a macrobiotic diet? So can you not have seasonal fruits – i.e. apples/berries for breakfast? And can you or can’t you have rice milk/soya milk- confusing!