Scrumptious Desserts ~ A Macrobiotic Cooking Class in Atlanta

May 15, 2010
1:00 pmto4:00 pm

Scrumptious Desserts! We’re talkin’ macrobiotic, vegan without sugars, eggs, cream or other dairy products. Some ingredients are even used in macrobiotic home remedies. Meaning, they actually promote health, like soothing kuzu, aides digestion, and kanten flakes, a sea veggie full of minerals. Isn’t this amazing! And for sweeteners we use Suzanne’s Brown Rice Syrup or Barley Malt which are actually made from grains. Being complex sugars, not simple sugars, they go through all steps of our digestion process and don’t cause havoc with our blood sugar. These sweeteners appear in some macro home remedy drinks, such as Ame Kuzu and Warm Barley Kanten. You can be rest-assured these are not artificial sweeteners causing ill side-effects – no saccharin, splenda, or tropical stevia located here. We enjoy these sweets a few times a week, and find ourselves satisfied. Free from candy bars & cakes we use to crave.

What’s the ideal Macrobiotic Dessert? Gentle desserts, just cooked stove-top, rather than baked in the oven. Here’s the reason: when we’re changing our health, we avoid hard, baked ingredients with flour products so cookies, pies, cakes are not recommended daily fare. Instead we enjoy fruit cooked stove-top with a lovely kuzu glaze, or fruit kantens creating a luscious pudding consistency. Or select a parfait with fresh fruit, using kuzu rather than dairy for the creamy sauce. With locally-grown organic melons and berries soon available & ready to cool us down this summer, May’s perfect timing for a sweet macrobiotic cooking class featuring desserts!

S’pose you’re wondering: if I wish to be really healthy, why would I want to eat desserts anyway? A very insightful question! Here’s the reason. Just like deer are attracted to a salt lick, humans desire a sweeter flavor for eighty percent of food. That may seem like a lot, but just look at all the sweet vegetables we enjoy, as well as fruit, and there you have it. Even sauces served around the globe often have a sweet taste. And sometimes we just want a little something to end the meal, clear the palate, as Margaret mentioned when we prepped our Leftover Macrobiotic Cooking Class yesterday. And these milder treats keep us out of  t-r-o-u-b-l-e, like all traditional brimful of sugary, creamy, buttery sweets everywhere we go.

Another reason for learning good quality Macrobiotic Desserts is serving company and even friends stopping by. You feel confident something in your fridge is yummy-as-the-Ritz or NYC’s Serendipity – even serving friends who aren’t eating macro. You’ll enjoy your dessert, and their compliments. Recently we delighted Abe, the insulation expert inspecting our home, with our Apple Crisp, & we joined him too, natch! Learn some delicious, healthier desserts in this macrobiotic cooking class, and you won’t have to be singing this old song:

If I knew you were comin’ I’d've baked a cake, hired a band, goodness sake!
If I knew you were comin’ I’d've baked a cake
Howdya do, howdya do, howdya do?

This macrobiotic cooking class features desserts you can use frequently plus just one over-the-top for very special occasions, well, maybe two over-the-top! Sometimes we just need something a little more special, or when we entertaining. I mean wouldn’t you just love to serve a mini chocolate truffle? What if it had kanten flakes in it instead of eggs & a little Eden Blend Rice/Soy Beverage instead of butter & cream?

And that little chocolate chip cookie I made this December? Chips sweetened with barley malt, without dairy! So delish I gave them to lots of people in our world. One sweet note on top of a letter ~ Sure enjoyed those chocolate chip cookies! Thanks, Mailman Mike tells it all. Bet you’ll like them too! So like Rosemary Clooney sings, Come on-a my house, I’m gonna give you candy …!

Come on-a my house, my house,  I’m gonna teach you cookies and truffles and tarts,
Come on-a my house I’m gonna teach to you … some sweet, yummy, healthier macro things..

Join us in Atlanta!  Macrobiotic Center of Atlanta

Saturday May 15              1-4 pm        $45 per person

RSVP: marsharueff@mac.com 770. 396  9413

Menu*

Fruit & Berries Tart, A Macro Perfection
Possibly the Yummiest Rice Pudding on the planet
Blueberry Pie
Chocolate Truffles
A very teeny, harmless Chocolate Chip Cookie
~ Peach Compote with Kuzu ~
perfect recipe for blueberries, apple, pears & more!

* menu choices may change slightly as new desserts are being tested! check for updates!

RSVP please,  soon as possible!

Your check to Marsha Rueff holds your space:
Please mail to 1130 Trailridge Lane, Dunwoody, GA 30338

Warren Kramer Menu-Planning Lecture in Atlanta, July 17, 2009

July 17, 2009
7:30 pmto9:00 pm

Warren Kramer internationally-known Senior Macrobiotic Counselor will be in Atlanta July 15-20, 2009. Teacher for the Kushi Institute, Strengthening Health Institute, the Macrobiotic Cruise, and New England Macrobiotic Center, Warren brings a wealth of knowledge gained from the eleven years he served as Michio Kushi’s private assistant, as well as over 25 years counseling throughout the world.

In Atlanta Warren will be giving private consultations, macrobiotic cooking classes, and evening  lectures in the Dunwoody area. Attend all events & have a private consultation, and you will receive 15% savings on lecture and cookings classes Thursday through Sunday.

Please contact Marsha Rueff to reserve consultation time with Warren and your choice of venues  at marsharueff@mac.com .

Phone contact: 678 . 643 . 5662 or 770 . 396 . 9413.

For Warren’s bio please visit www.macrobioticsnewengland.com

Friday July 17, please join us for a special evening’s lecture, Menu Planning Essentials, July 17, 7:30-9 pm The Rueff Home, 1130 Trailridge Lane, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338

Always participants request this menu-planning class every time Warren visits. It truly is one of the most important lectures. Why? Because all the theory from macrobiotic books has to actually happen in the kitchen. In YOUR kitchen, to be exact. And Warren’s Menu Planning Class is key! Based on his years of working with Michio Kushi and Denny Waxman, Warren guides us step by step using the principles of yin and yang according to Macrobiotic guidelines. Involving our input in the process. Yes, this is an interactive lecture.

See it this way: we’re implementing a new way of eating, and especially considering we have health concerns to correct, eating well-planned meals becomes essential. The hit-or-miss-grab-whatever-is-ready-to-gulp-down when we come home from work is history. We can do better than being too famished and tired to cook. Now we want a welcoming meal, featuring the best food choices. Because now we know better. And now we are using macrobiotic principles to enhance our health and well-being. You see, macrobiotics is a way of eating based on the energetics of food. That is to say, it’s based on how the foods make us feel after we eat, and what kind of energy we have the next day, too. What kind of energy the food charges our bodies with. Way different than a calorie or carb or protein based diet like most of the new-fad diets circulating the last few years, don’t you think?

Your macrobiotic diet is very special, and Warren’s presentation of developing macrobiotic menus for you and your loved ones is truly an art, and it’s very easy to adapt. From this plan you will learn to shop for your week. Even how to substitute foods according to the season and what’s available organic. Plus you reap the benefits of being with this group and hearing their keen experiences cooking macrobiotic diet. Warren actually plans with the group a whole weeks worth of meals! Yep, we do it together, so turn your thinking cap on. You’re going to experience where to start when planning a meal, and the logical steps from there. It’s way different than you may think, much easier, and funner too!

Books Recommended for the Macrobiotic Diet

Enjoying A Macrobiotic Meal

Enjoying A Macrobiotic Meal

MACROBIOTIC DIET PRIMERS

Recommended by Marsha Rueff, Macrobiotic Educator

These titles provide a digestible overview to cooking the Macrobiotic Diet. These books gently present background and information regarding a macrobiotic way of health, thoughtfully and practically. Of course, the pages are filled with delectable recipes.

Please note, however, the macrobiotic diet never was meant to be learned from books. To understand and know how to prepare the foods for the best results, hands’-on cooking lessons are recommended. Macrobiotics was always meant to be shown & shared.

 

  • The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health, by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack. Since starting macrobiotics, I’ve longed for a macro encyclopedia! This it IT! Up-dated info on just about every health condition, menus, recipes & home remedies. A must for every home.
  • The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods, by Kristina Turner. User-friendly with sketches & explanations!
  • The Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking, by Aveline Kushi. Comprehensive book from the “Shakespeare” of macrobiotics, Aveline describes growing up in Japan and the foundation for macrobiotics. Recipes for everything – you can always rely on this “bible” of macro cooking.
  • The Macrobiotic Community Cookbook, by Andrea Lerman & Vicki Hudon. Many recognizable recipes with a macro twist.
  • Sugar Blues, by William Dufty. Amazing information to help lighten your sweet-tooth!
  • Rice is Nice, by Wendy Esko. 108 Ways to prepare grains, & organize your cooking, quickly!
  • Sweet and Natural, Meredith McCarty. 120 Delectable Desserts without sugar! Enjoy!

 

Marsha Rueff has been an assistant to Michio Kushi for his group consultations during four consecutive Kushi International Summer Conferences. For nine years, Marsha taught classes individually and in groups to familiarize novices to experts in the joys of macrobiotic cooking and the suggested manner of food preparation. Marsha works closely with top macrobiotic consultants including Warren Kramer.

At Tree Tops, a macrobiotic bed and breakfast in Atlanta Georgia, Marsha prepares delicious meals in a quiet healing and relaxing setting. With years of background in home arrangements and feng shui, Marsha specializes in kitchen organization and on-site lessons in your home.