Atlanta Macrobiotics

Summertime, and travel to other time zones may be on your agenda! So how do you make the most of your trip, and eliminate the jet lag issue, truly enjoying each and every moment of your stay? Especially if you’re like me, with so much to do before leaving, it’s hard to get to bed on time that final departure week.

On a Macrobiotic Diet it’s so easy! Three simple, magical words: ume sho kuzu!

What’s that? A very soothing drink, easily made, in about 7 minutes. Three ingredients plus water: umeboshi plum, shoyu – a special soy sauce, and kuzu – the harvested root of the kudzu plant. Yes, the very plant that grows throughout the southern states, covering huge trees along the highways. Imagine the strength of that hardy plant’s root, harvested for this drink, and coating your intestinal walls. No wonder this drink boosts our immunity! We love teaching this in macrobiotic cooking class because it is helpful for so many health conditions.

• Just dissolve 1 teaspoon of kuzu in 1 cup cold spring or filtered water.
• Bring to a boil, stirring continually to avoid lumping.
• Add one-third umeboshi plum
• Once the water becomes transparent, add 6 drops shoyu.

Drink while hot. Enjoy this drink daily two days before the trip, and the day of travel, and if possible the following two days. You may also repeat for your return home.

Especially at this present time with concern about the swine flu and travel, the ume-sho-kuzu drink becomes a no-brainer for travel because it is considered the Macrobiotic Diet Antibiotic!

*Top quality ingredients can be ordered from Natural Import Company at 800 . 324 . 1878

• 89500 Sakurazawa Shoyu 5 oz.
• 89333 Mitoku Umeboshi Plum 6 oz
• 89408 Mitoku Kuzu 3 oz

For more information on benefits of Ume Sho Kuzu, and macrobiotic cooking classes, please check our website:

www.atlantamacrobiotics.com or email: marsharueff@mac.com

Books: The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health, Michio Kushi and Alex Jack    See the section on Home Remedies

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

Saturday afternoon, July 18, please join us for a macrobiotic cooking class, Wrap it Up! Awesome Sandwiches & Wraps! July 18, 1-4 pm The Rueff Home, 1130 Trailridge Lane, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338

Everyone adores sandwiches, and Warren has his favorites, so do we all. Get ready to sample some new varieties, and discover this wonderful new repertoire to delight your palate as well as everyone in your world! Perfect for summer, and quick for taking food-on-the-go! A great idea for travel too. Slip your favorite wrap into a wax paper bag, and this in turn into a plastic one – look at Whole Foods for the non-petroleum plastic baggies as well as the wax paper ones too! And you are well on your way! Especially great for overseas flights.

Why else are sandwiches and wraps great to learn in a macrobiotic cooking class? Two  simple words: cravings and satisfying! That’s right, even following a macrobiotic diet we experience cravings for foods, and having a sandwich or wrap alternative proves very satisfying, and just nips that craving in the bud.

And they don’t have to be loaded with mayonnaise, ketchup and bright yellow mustard. You will learn so many variations on this theme as this class opens lotsa possibilities for you. Get ready for a whole new take on your macrobiotic diet! And you’ll still get to enjoy homemade pickles and Santa Barbara olives! Perhaps this new quality is even better than you ever imagined! Yes, Warren will be teaching everybody’s favorite fun food!

 Right after we’ve finished tasting the goodies of this fun macrobiotic cooking class Warren’s lecture, How to Discharge Sweets & Dairy applying the 5 Transformations will absolutely astound you! A perfect afternoon!

You’re in the dentist chair and your dentist starts asking do you have a heart condition or any implant surgery, and if you say yes, they will only proceed if you have taken antibiotics – or they may give you a high dosage of antibiotics right then so as not to lose chair time. What to do if you prefer avoiding pharmaceutical medicines and their side effects?

On a Macrobiotic Diet it’s so easy! Three simple, magical words: ume sho kuzu! What’s that? A very soothing drink, easily made, in about 7 minutes. Three ingredients plus water: umeboshi plum, shoyu – a special soy sauce, and kuzu – the harvested root of the kudzu plant.

And the added benefit: it’s very soothing for your nerve endings, so you are more relaxed for that probing needle, good for the gums – which reflect the condition of our intestines. So we always take this drink before any dental cleansing or other appointments. It just eases our comfort level with the additional probing and vibrational sensations of the cleansing tools and uncomfortable pressure of x-ray filming.

I love teaching this drink in my macrobiotic cooking classes because it is helpful for so many health conditions. The recipe as found in Michio Kushi and Alex Jack’s book, The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health, page 505-506:

• Just dissolve 1 teaspoon of kuzu in 1 cup cold spring or filtered water.
• Bring to a boil, stirring continually to avoid lumping.
• Add one-third umeboshi plum
• Once the water becomes transparent, add 6 drops shoyu.

Drink while hot. Enjoy this drink daily two days before your appoinment, and the day of your appointment. If your dentist procedure involved novacaine, carbocaine or other numbing medication, use this drink the following two days.

Since this drink is considered the Macrobiotic Antibiotic we can answer yes to the above questions with confidence of protection, and knowing as well, there are no adverse side effects of our choice of this macrobiotic diet version of an antibiotic. In fact, since it’s good for so many conditions, we always feel better after taking it.

*Top quality ingredients can be ordered from Natural Import Company at 800 . 324 . 1878

• 89500 Sakurazawa Shoyu 5 oz.
• 89333 Mitoku Umeboshi Plum 6 oz
• 89408 Mitoku Kuzu 3 oz

For more information on the benefits of Ume Sho Kuzu, please check our website:  www.atlantamacrobiotics.com

Who would ever think you can get a workout cooking? Well, you just better believe it! Welcome to my kitchen, designed for cooking our macrobiotic diet! I could call it the macro gym! Just the iron skillet alone weighs about 5 – 6 pounds, so who needs weights when you’re pumping these babies in the morning? Expert that I am for frying tofu – a favorite for our take-out lunches, and I’m flexing those biceps pretty strongly!

Just this week I’ve been preparing carrot daikon drink, a special cleanser for the intestines after having a bit too much bread on the Cote ‘d’ Azure last week. Using this ceramic grater and doubling the ¹/4 cup carrot and ¹/2 cup daikon for my wife and I, got me thinking about this physical workout! I was sweatin’ like at the Club! Couldn’t believe it!

And what about lifting the Le Creuset cookware we  enjoy, or the Brazil on My Mind cookware like used in the Babylonian days? That sandstone is pretty hefty stuff, and we only the have the smallest size!

Ever made Gomashio? You’re stirring the surigochi around the suribachi! I mean, you’ve gotta enjoy a strong arm to crush everyone one of those sesame seeds like Aveline Kushi answered, when she was asked in a macrobiotic cooking class: How many seeds do I need to crush? I wish I could have seen the lady’s face when Aveline softly said, All of them my dear, just all of them.

Tonight I just prepared the Natto. Stirring that little container of fermented beans with a pair of cooking chopstix for 100 counts! I gotta tell you, I was ready to stop at 25. But no, I kept going and going! It’s the sticky part the stirring creates that benefits you when eating natto, and we were going to get our money’s worth! What a treat! Here’s the macrobiotic diet recipe for natto: just add mustard, chopped scallions and a bit of shoyu, and bingo, you’ve got some dish! And muscle tone to prove it.

Now Koi Koku is the kicker! You’ve gotta put on your favorite music and get ready for a stint in the kitchen to do this dish. We made it just about 2 months ago to correct a lack of B-12. It’s a strong dish, and we’ve made it before for our clients, because it takes lots of energy and strength to matchstick 3 1/2 or more pounds of burdock! You see, the amount of burdock is the same weight as the carp – and it’s almost impossible to find a carp less than 3 1/2 pounds. Ours was 5 pounds cut up, so you do the math. That cutting took 2 of us 1 1/2 hours. 

And what about washing these heave-ho pots! Our Le Creuset wok – for example – is one big hunk of steel and solid enamel – gotta be 8-9 pounds! Initially I used to call myself the Chief Macrobiotic Dishwasher, and I was feelin’ my muscles everytime Marsha called – Fred, please help me out here. Even though she tried to keep up with the dishes, & pots and pans, there would be a sink full. I have become very efficient in that department, and developed more arm strength in the doing. Now I’ve graduated to sous chef and can tell you there is plenty muscle activity in all  this specific chopping, dicing, slicing, matchsticking, and chunky cutting. And you know, even the shopping is a body builder! Lugging those bags! We buy the apple juice in these huge gallon containers and we always buy a few at a time.

So, just hope to have whetted your appetite for a great adventure in macrobiotic diet, and macro-muscle making in the process. I mean to say the food is the greatest we’ve ever enjoyed, and it certainly puts us in the direction of health as our macrobiotic counselor, Warren Kramer often says. Isn’t it great to think we can muscle tone at the same time we’re eating right! So let’s keep on kitchen pumpin’! 

Serves 4-5

Benefits: Daikon strongly dissolves fat, oil and discharges animal products from past eating habits.

The root is especially helpful for the intestines and the tops cleanse our lungs! A perfect combination in healing our bodies! There are additional recipes we cover in our macrobiotic cooking classes. This recipe below is inspired by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack in Healing Foods

• 2 cup daikon root, diced
• 3-4 cups daikon tops, diced
• Pinch of si salt
• Shoyu to taste, 8-10 drops

1. Place daikon root in enamel cast iron pot, add water to cover.
2. Place tops over roots, lightly sprinkle with si salt.
3. Simmer 15 minutes.
4. Add shoyu 3 minutes.more.
5. Remove from pot and serve.

Use within 10 days, then make fresh! Enjoy your own personal ratio! You will learn your ratio from your macrobiotic counselor, and it will be perfect for your own condition. Sometimes this will change on future appointments as your condition improves. Learning how to make gomashio in a macrobiotic cooking class is a must! You have to see it, feel it, crush the seeds throughout the process, and reach the incredible aroma in a hands-on macrobiotic cooking class so you know what you are wishing to achieve. Perfect gomashio is the best!

Benefits: this delicious condiment actually is a digestive aid. Sesame seeds are rich in protein, calcium, iron and B vitamins.

Healing Foods, by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack

• 1 part si sea salt  to  16-22 parts sesame seeds, rinsed

1. Dry roast salt for 10 minutes til shiney and grind in a suribachi until fine.
2. Meanwhile, in another skillet, roast the rinsed, wet seeds for 5-10 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.
3. Seeds are ready when they no longer stick to the wooden spoon, and you can easily crush them between the pinky and thumb of your less dominant hand.
4. Add seeds to ground salt, and crush seeds in a circular motion around the suribachi until all the seeds crush.
5. A special brush allows you to get the most crushed seeds from the suribachi grooves.
6. Let cool to room temperature before storing in the sealed non-transparent container.

Gomashio stays fresher away from sunlight.

Serves 4-5

Based on Wendy Esko’s Soup du Jour, and from our Macrobiotic Cooking Classes

Serve warm in cooler months, room temp or cool in hot climate

Benefits: Soothing, relaxing; antioxidant, cruciferous veggie; benefits central body organs: stomach, pancreas, spleen 

• 1 medium Cauliflower, chopped           
• 4 – 5 lemon slices, cut in half moon,
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• 4-5 cups water                     
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon si salt

1. Place cauliflower and water in enamel cast iron pot. Cover and bring to boil.
2. Reduce flame to medium-low, simmering 10 minutes.
3. Puree the cauliflower through a handmill, or blender, plus some of the liquid to the desired consistency.
4. Place back in pot, add the si salt, simmer another 5 minutes.
5. Serve in soup bowls, garnishing each with a lemon slice and parsley.

Benefits: Soothing, beneficial effects on digestion, blood quality and the mind, without caffeine.

Healing Foods, by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack

• 1 1/2 –2 Tablespoon Twigs
• 1 1/2 quart water

1. Bring water to boil, and add twigs; cover and boil 5 minutes.
2. Strain and serve, keeping remaining tea in a carafe.

Serves 2

Benefits: to relax and fulfill sweet cravings.

Less fruit is better, and sometimes none is best. This recipe adds kuzu which helps soothe digestion of fruits simple sugars, giving the dessert an apple pie consistency, reminiscent of Grandma’s!

• 1–2 Granny Smith Apples, sliced Pinch si sea salt                       
• 3/4 cup apple juice +1/4 cup water        
• 1 teaspoon dissolved in 1/3 cup cold water

1. Place apple slices in small enamel coated cast iron pot.
2. Add diluted apple juice, and sea salt; cover and bring to boil over medium low flame, 7-10 minutes.                                                                                                                   
3. Stir in dissolved kuzu, thickening the mixture to consistency of apple pie filling.

Enjoy while warm.

Serves 4-5

Based on Aveline Kushi’s Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking

Benefits: Lentils are rich in calcium, iron and dietary fiber cleansing the blood, strengthening digestion, and circulation.         

Healing Foods, by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack

• 1 cup French baby green lentils
• 1/4 cup burdock, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced                      
• 2-3 cups water per cup lentils
• 1/2 cup celery, diced              
•  1/4 teaspoon si salt
• 1 cup diced carrots                   
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• Shoyu to taste                      
• Bay Leaf, minced garlic clove, shinshimi optional                                        

1. Sort lentils, looking for stones, dirt and debris.
2. Rinse, and optional soaking overnight or 2-6 hours. 
3. Place in enamel cast iron pot, add water and kombu, bring to boil uncovered.
4. Skim foam using the shocking method: add just enough water to stop the boiling, and skimming the foam. Repeat 3-4 times. Removing this foam makes beans more digestible.
5. Layer vegetables yin to yang: celery, onion, carrot, burdock and put lentils on top.
6. Add water, cover and bring to boil over medium flame; reduce flame  to medium-low.
7. Simmer 40 to 45 minutes.
8. Season and simmer for another 5 minutes.
9. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with parsley.
10. Seasoning Note: bay leaf is additional digestive aid for cooking beans; one minced garlic clove will actually sweeten the dish without reeking of garlic; shinshimi removes old chicken from past eating.

 These are optional and depend on the individual condition. Also can be used occasionally rather than each time a dish is prepared – variety is the spice of life!

Variations: celery, cauliflower, yellow crook neck squash for warmer months.