A Macro Plate is the quintessential macrobiotic meal.
It’s a perfectly balanced plate of macrobiotic foods. My favorite macro plate consists of…
- Brown rice
- Beans or tofu
- Seaweed (hijiki is probably the most common)
- Steamed greens (kale, collards, chard)
- Steamed broccoli
- Steamed carrot or sweet potato
- KABOCHA or other squash
- Dipping sauce (I like tahini-based ones)
What does perfectly balanced mean exactly? This goes back to the concept of yin and yang that I touched on earlier this month. Foods (and everything, really) can have yin qualities (expansive, cooling, moist) or yang qualities (contractive, warming, dry). We should try to avoid things that are way off on either side of the spectrum. Let’s go through the list of foods in a macro plate…
- Brown rice –> this whole grain has almost equal parts yin and yang.
- Beans, tofu, and tempeh –> these foods are also in the middle of the yin to yang spectrum.
- Sea vegetables –> in the middle of the spectrum.
- Leafy green vegetables (greens) and round vegetables (I guess broccoli?) –> in the middle.
- Root vegetables –> in the middle of the spectrum.
- Kabocha / squash –> Do these count as ’round’ veggies? They are also in the midde.
- Tahini dipping sauce –> nuts are in the middle, but miso (salty – which I like in dipping sauce as well) starts to veer to the yang side of the spectrum.
Overall, a very balanced plate. If you were wondering, fish is a moderate food, though other meats (poultry, red meat, and eggs) are yang. Dairy is on the yin side.
I made a semi-macro plate just last night. I say semi because it had a fried egg on it and as I noted above, eggs are yang. Eggs are even more yang than poultry because they compress all the energy of a chicken into one small egg. That makes sense, right?
This was…
- Sauteed greens
- Brown rice (hiding)
- Avocado
- Kabocha squash
- Fried egg + ground sesame on top (it had a runny yolk – it’s not popped in the picture though)
- 2 umeboshi plums (top right)
- Tahini drizzzzzled on top
Tonight I had a macro-ish meal from the nearby Chinese takeout place. It was just scallops and veggies in a very light white sauce over white rice.
Even when I’m not trying, my dinners end up kind of macrobiotic-ish these days.
SO – Macrobiotic March is wrapping up. I have covered a lot of topics but are there any other questions at all that you guys have about macrobiotics that I haven’t answered yet? Even if I don’t know the answer I’d be happy to research it and give my thoughts.
But don’t worry – just because Macro March is almost over doesn’t mean I won’t be doing macrobiotic posts. I loved posting this month and I will definitely continue to talk about my macro finds.
P.S. I updated my Macrobiotics page – just in time for Macro March to end 😉
Your macro plate looks so inspiring and balanced!
I’ve tried to make my very first poached egg and I was in near tears (of joy) when I actually received a runny yolk.
Now I’m craving a plate right now. Chickpeas are my favorite legumes. 🙂
have enjoyed reading your blog this month via heab, thank you. impressed and hopefully inspired enough to try simple ideas.
Macro plates always looks gorgeous to me! Maybe it’s because there is such a variety of shapes and colors . . . and personally, I think most of those ingredients are delicious as well.
Really enjoyed this month and rediscovered my love of rice. Thanks Maggie!
So happy for this month of Macrobiotics. Thanks so much Maggie — you’re the best!! And so are macro plates…I guess you’re tied 😉 xoxo
The macro plates look wonderful! I love all those chunky veggies! 😀
Just don’t take it too seriously…ever read “Health food junkies” by Stephen Bratman….or maybe “Gwenyth Olwyn’s” site?
@Holly: LOVE Gwyneth Olwyn. Her site is one of my favorites.
That semi-macro plate looks really good, but then again I will eat anything with avocado in it. All I have to do now is find a store that carries umeboshi plums.
This week is the first time I have tried the macro plates idea – once I had got used to the difference I have really begun to enjoy the chunky veg and all the different tastes. A winner – thanks.
All of these plates look delicious and the breakdown of yin vs. yang foods is extremely helpful! Your blog is full of amazing information. I’m glad I finally came across it.