Monthly Archives: November 2016

Simple Cooked Millet

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While it’s often called a grain because of it’s grain-like consistency, millet is actually a seed. Millet has a thin kernel wall that can be cooked without soaking. For best results, add to boiling water to cook thoroughly.

  • 1 cup millet
  • 3 cups water
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt

Procedure – Wash and drain millet. Bring water to a boil. Add sea salt, then millet. Cover. Return to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, using a heat diffuser if needed.

Yield: 4 cups

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Simple Cooked Buckwheat

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Buckwheat is a hearty delicious grain and simple to prepare. It requires no washing or soaking. Roasting improves its flavor. Kasha sold in natural food stores is buckwheat that has already been roasted; it can be cooked by adding to boiling water.

  • 2 cups buckwheat
  • 4 cups water
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt

Dry roast buckwheat for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant, add to boiling water, and simmer 25 minutes.

Yield: 7 cups

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Pressure Cooked Brown Rice

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Soaking is recommended before cooking brown rice. If there is no time to soak, roast first. Roasting inactivates the enzyme inhibitors, boosts flavor, and produces a light and fluffy dish. These instructions are for a 2-quart pressure cooker. If using a 4-6 quart cooker, double the amounts.

  • 2 cups short or long grain brown rice
  • 2.5 to 3 cups water
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt

Procedure – Wash and drain grain. Soak for the desired time in the full quantity of water. Add sea salt after soaking. Lock cover on pot. Set pressure according to pressure cooker instructions. Place cooker over medium-high heat. Bring to full pressure. Slip a heat diffuser under the cooker and turn heat to low. Cook at full pressure for the time indicated.

Yield: 6 cups for short rice; 6½ cups for long rice

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Heat Diffuser Info

Many of the macrobiotic recipes call for a heat diffuser. They can be purchased at Amazon, or any store well stocked with kitchen and cooking items. Here’s a link to a google search for heat diffusers for sale: Shop for Heat Diffuser.

If you don’t have one, you can make do with a pie plate and a stove top. In the following video, Kenzi Wilbur shows you how to hack a heat diffuser with a pie plate. By inverting your pie plate over the stove, you can create an even and thorough cooking surface that can also take the place of your double-boiler.

Boiled Brown Rice

brown-rice-in-green-dutch-oven-001Brown rice (short or long grain) is a staple for many people who eat natural foods. Simple to prepare and complementary to most beans and vegetables, brown rice provides a foundation for building meals. Soaking is recommended before cooking brown rice. If there is no time to soak, roast first. Roasting inactivates the enzyme inhibitors, boosts flavor, and produces a light and fluffy dish.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups brown rice
  • 4 cups water
  • ⅛ tsp sea salt

Procedure – Wash and drain brown rice. Soak 4 to 8 hours. Add sea salt after soaking. Cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour, using a heat diffuser if needed.

Yield: 6 cups for short rice, 6½ cups for long rice

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Split Pea Soup

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Ingredients:

  • 2 cups split peas, boiled in 6 cups water
  • 4 or more cups additional water
  • 1 large onion, minced, 2 cups
  • 2 medium celery stalks, quarter rounds, 1½ cups
  • 2 medium carrots, thin quarter rounds, 1½ cups
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 5 tsp soy sauce, optional

Procedure – Boil split peas for 1 hour in 6 cups water until soft. Using the same pot, add the additional water. Mix with beans so water is at the bottom of the pot. Add vegetables. Sprinkle sea salt on top. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes over low heat, using a heat diffuser if needed. Add soy sauce if used.

Yield: 10 cups

Source: Ohsawa Macrobiotics

Kitchari

Indian Daal

Traditional Indian food for soothing diets. Nutritious and easily digested, Kitchari is simply rice and dahl cooked so thoroughly together that they make a creamy stew. This makes a good soup for an evening supper or a light meal while fasting. Total cooking time about 1 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup mung lentils, cleaned and washed
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vata Churna
  • 1/4 cup rice
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Bring water to a boil in a 2 quart pan. Add lentils, salt, and Churna. Cover and bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to ver low and simmer for about an hour.

Add rice, ghee, water, and saffron. Increase heat and bring to boil again. Then reduce to low and simmer for half an hour. Stir frequently to avoid sticking and add more water if it becomes too thick. Khichari should have the consistency of thick gravy. When ready to serve heat ghee in small pan with spices. When mustard seeds start to pop stir spices into Khichari and serve.

Serves 2 or 3

Source: The Ayurveda Cookbook

Ayurvedic Vata Churna

churanThis is a recipe for a Vata Balancing spice mix, used in AyurVedic cooking. I make this churna in small batches and use it often in all my root veggie dishes and in soups as well. This spice powder has a robust deep flavor which perks up the dish and it tastes extra yummy when your vata is imbalanced. The specific spices used in this churna balance the vata dosha.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons whole fennel seeds.
  • 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds.
  • 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds.
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric.
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil.
  • 2 teaspoons powdered ginger.
  • 2 teaspoons salt.
  • 1 teaspoon asafetida (hing)

Store in a glass jar and it will stay fresh for up to a month.

Source: Rhythm of Healing

Ama Pachana Spice Water

green-tea-335x251Drink Ama Pachana Spice Water throughout the day for a very purifying effect and to help enhance your digestion.

Ingredients:

  • Two to three thin slices of fresh ginger
  • ¼ tsp. cumin
  • ¼ tsp. fennel
  • 2 black peppercorns
  • 2 leaves of mint

Directions:

Boil two quarts of water and put it in a thermos flask. Add herbs and let it steep.
Enjoy!

The Best and Worst of Fish

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Unfortunately, fish, such an ancient benefactor, is sometimes contaminated with modern poisons, such as pesticides and other industrial chemicals. Here are ways to get the most health benefits from fish with the least hazards.

  • Choose saltwater ocean fish over freshwater fish from streams, rivers and lakes, which are more apt to be polluted.
  • Avoid sport fish caught by recreational fishermen in lakes and streams. They are most likely to be contaminated.
  • Choose smaller fish over larger fish. Small fish, like sardines, have had fewer years of exposure to pollutants.
  • Eat a variety of fish instead of just one type. This reduces the risk of overdosing on one contaminated source.
  • Don’t eat fish skin, which is a prime depository of toxic chemicals.
  • For a safer bet, you can choose farm-raised fish, such as catfish and salmon, not likely to be contaminated; however, they usually have less omega-3 type oil than wild fish.
  • Don’t over do it. Although some populations, such as Japanese fishermen and Eskimos, with low disease rates eat fish every day, sometimes as much as a pound, it’s not necessary to eat so much to reap the benefits of fish. Most studies suggest that regularly eating fish two or three times a week can make a tremendous dent in heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases.
  • A special caution for pregnant women whose fetuses could be damaged by toxic chemicals. Forgo fish from inland waters, and restrict swordfish, shark and fresh tuna to once a month. Some experts also advise pregnant women not to eat more than 7 ounces of tuna a week.

Source: Food – Your Miracle Medicine

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"Diet has the distinction of being the only major determinant of health that is completely under your control. You have the final say over what does and what does not go into your mouth and stomach. You cannot always control the other determinants of health, such as the quality of the air you breathe, the noise you are subjected to, or the emotional climate of your suroundings, but you can control what you eat. It is a shame to squander such a good opportunity to influence your health." ~Andrew Weil, MD
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