Macrobiotic Food Pyramid
http://flic.kr/p/7tRFC This link will take you to a copy of a food pyramid geared towards macrobiotics, I suggest printing two off and hanging one in your kitchen and keeping one in your purse to help guide you in your shopping. I tried scanning my copy and it is not working so this link will provide everything you need for now.
Food categories and general daily proportions for persons living in a temperate climate:
Whole Cereal Grains
• 40 – 60% by weight • Organically grown, whole grain is recommended, which can be cooked in a variety of cooking methods. • Grains include: Brown rice, barley, millet, oats, corn, rye, wheat, and buckwheat. While whole grains are recommended, a small portion of the recommended percentage of grains may consist of noodles or pasta, un- yeasted whole grain breads, and other partially processed whole cereal grains.
• Approximately 20 – 30% by weight • Local and organically grown vegetables are recommended, with the majority being cooked in various styles such as lightly steamed or boiled, sautéed with a small amount of unrefined, cold pressed oil, etc. A small portion may be used as fresh salad, and a very small volume as pickles. • Vegetables for daily use include: green cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, pumpkin, watercress, parsley, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, dandelion, mustard greens, daikon greens, scallion, onions, daikon radish, turnips, burdock, carrots, winter squash such as butternut, buttercup, and acorn squash. • For occasional use in season (2 to 3 times a week); cucumber, celery, lettuce, herbs such as dill and chives. Vegetables not recommended for regular use include: potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, spinach, beets, and zucchini.
Beans & Sea Vegetables
• Approximately 5 – 10 % by weight • The most suitable beans for regular use are azuki beans, chickpeas, and lentils. Other beans may be used on occasion. Bean products such as tofu, tempeh, and natto can also be used. Sea vegetables such as nori, wakame, kombu, hiziki, arame, dulse, and agar-agar are an important part of the macrobiotic diet as they provide important vitamins and minerals.
• Soups may be made with vegetables, sea vegetables, grains, or beans. Seasonings include miso, tamari soy sauce, and sea salt.
Beverages
• Recommended beverages include: • Roasted bancha twig tea, stem tea, roasted brown rice tea, roasted barley tea, dandelion root tea, and cereal grain coffee. Any traditional tea that does not have an aromatic fragrance or a stimulating effect can also be used. • When drinking water, spring or good quality well water is recommended, without ice.
Occasional Foods
• Recommended fish include fresh white-meat fish such as flounder, sole, cod, carp, halibut or trout. • Fruit or fruit desserts, made from fresh or dried fruit, may be served two or three times a week. Local and organically grown fruits are preferred. If you live in a temperate climate, avoid tropical and semitropical fruit and instead, eat temperate climate fruits such as apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, berries and melons. Frequent use of fruit juice is not advisable. • Lightly roasted nuts and seeds such as pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds. Peanuts, walnuts and pecans may be enjoyed as an occasional snack. • Rice syrup, barley malt, amasake, and mirin may be used as sweeteners. • Brown rice vinegar or umeboshi vinegar may be used occasionally for a sour taste.
Recommended condiments
• Gomashio, seaweed powder (kelp, kombu, wakame, and other sea vegetables), Sesame seaweed powder, umeboshi plums, tekka, pickles and sauerkraut made using sea salt, miso, or tamari.
Additional Dietary Suggestions
• Cooking oil should be vegetable quality only. To improve your health, it is preferable to use only unrefined sesame or corn oil in moderate amounts. • Salt should be naturally processed sea salt. Traditional, non-chemicalized shoyu or tamari soy sauce and miso may also be used as seasonings.
Foods to Eliminate for Better Health
• Meat, animal fat, eggs, poultry, dairy products(including butter, yogurt, ice cream, milk and cheese), refined sugars, chocolate, molasses, honey, other simple sugars and foods treated with them, and vanilla. • Tropical or semi-tropical fruits and fruit juices, soda, artificial drinks and beverages, coffee, colored tea, and all aromatic stimulating teas such as mint or peppermint tea. • All artificially colored, preserved, sprayed, or chemically treated foods. All refined and polished grains, flours, and their derivatives, mass- produced industrialized food including all canned, frozen, and irradiated foods. • Hot spices, any aromatic stimulating food or food accessory, artificial vinegar, and strong alcoholic beverages.
Source http://www.kushiinstitute.org/html/what_is_macro.html
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