How To Eat A Portabella Like A Hedonist

We have been eating with a vengeance, of late. I promise after this post I won't mention it again, but I've been gone for more than three weeks, eating rice and beans on friends' couches. So when we were driving to the beach last night and saw a sign for Fresh Sweet Corn, we couldn't resist stopping.

Kerstin had a great idea for a cilantro corn dish, which sent us to the market for fresh ingredients. While I was there I saw some big, fat portabella mushrooms that I couldn't stop my hands from fondling. When we brought them home I didn't have the willpower to cut my babies up, so I pan seared them whole, stuffing them with a bit of garlic. I sautéed some farmer's market zucchini in lemon juice and topped with avocado mousse.

Lemme tell ya, it was p-a-r-a-d-i-s-e.

After cooking the mushrooms in olive oil for about five minutes I covered the pan and let all the juicy goodness stew in there until they were tender and rife with flavor.

The mousse was half an avocado, two cloves of garlic, a pinch of sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice and a half teaspoon of umeboshi vinegar food processed together.

I served the portabellas on some wild rice from yesterday's dinner, leaned the zucchini spears on them, dolloped with mousse and served the cilantro corn on the side. Not only was it a decadent and gorgeous plate, it was one of the most delicious macro meals I've ever had. I may never slice up my portabellas again. They retain so much flavor and have such a satisfying texture to them when cooked whole.

We Don't Dine, We Sup.

Last night we supped.

I've been away in Minnesota for nigh on four weeks, and yesterday's evening meal marked the complete return. Eating alone or on the run has been one of the most difficult parts of being away from Kerstin, both from a macrobiotic standpoint, and an emotional one.

I brought back some hand-harvested wild rice that my father and I had reaped from Lake Minnewawa two years ago. We glided through the rice stalks, knocking off the heavy seeds into our canoe, loaded them into burlap sacks and had them roasted by a local Native American-operated roasting barn.

I added crushed walnuts, craisins, a touch of honey and brown rice vinegar to the rice and topped it with grilled portabello mushrooms, sautéed zucchini, onions and garlic—seasoned with oregano and thyme...and there's a wee little bit of farmer's market tomato in there.

Kerstin had made some lentils, which I added a light vinegar & oil dressing to. We ate it on the side.

Hubba hubba ding ding! Two happy little macros eating a simple gourmet evening meal once again.

Wild Rice

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Minnesota. The lakes, the rivers, the trees, the hiking, the canoeing, the Twin Cities. The list goes on.

I also love trivia: state tree, norway pine; state pickle, dill; state flower, ladyslipper. I could go on all day. But one of Minnesota's best is also a macrobiotic treasure, and Minnesota is one of the only places you can get it in its natural form.

I'm talking about Wild Rice, Minnesota's state grain. Boo ya ka shaw.

Wild rice was the staple in the diet of the Chippewa and Sioux Indians, native to the north central area of America. Like brown rice, the grain is actually the seed of an aquatic grass plant. Since wild rice grows in cold water and cold climate areas, its seeds (wild rice) need to store enormous amounts of energy to germinate in the spring. Because of this need, wild rice is high in protein, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber, and low in fat.

Lucky me, growing up and living in Minnesota for most of my life, I have had the opportunity to harvest and roast my own rice on several occasions. I feel a all of the harvesting work behind every bite I take, I remember the clear days in the canoe, the click of the harvesting sticks, the itch of the seed husks on my skin and the splash of the guide pole in the water. If only all the food I ate had as much positive energy behind each bite...

While some commercial wild rice is grown, its best and tastiest form is still hand harvested, mostly in Minnesota's lakes and rivers in the traditional method.

Food = Mood

So, we all know that it is true, even if we haven't taken the time to really notice. The foods that we eat affect the way that we feel, and they affect the way we interact with others, i.e. our mood. It has to do with chemistry -- and I wish that I understood it all better... thus my internet research adventure of the day from which you can benefit. (a great blog about this here, as well)

The food we eat produces chemical reactions in our bodies that affect hormone levels, for better or worse. It all comes down to neurotransmitters in the brain - and the way certain foods either stimulate or prevent their release. Neurotramitters are chemical messengers in the brain that carry messages from one cell to another. Controlling and paying careful attention to the chemicals we are putting in our bodies with different foods, and trying to keep it all balanced, will keep our moods more even-keel, as well. When we're stressed out, for whatever reason, we tend to crave comfort foods - traditionally buttery, sweet, and rich.

This happens because cortisol (hormone) is released into the blood when we're stressed out, and that triggers hormones that stimulate our appetites, and those hormones decrease serotonin - the hormone typically associated with happy feel-good moods. Then, your body wants carb-rich foods to get back into balance and decrease the appetite hormones, thus returning serotonin to its former state. So - although you are craving rich foods when you get stressed out, you can satisfy those cravings with healthy macro-snacks like rice crackers, whole grains, hummus, vegetables, and not have the side effects associated with eating too many sweets.

The carbs in sugary sweets increase the levels of serotonin to unnaturally high levels, and as soon as the sugar high wears off, the serotonin goes back down and it can feel like a real "low". You basically send your body on a roller coaster of emotions and hormone levels, which ultimately stresses out organs like the liver and kidneys, which cleanse the blood. Carbs found in brown rice, buckwheat, and whole-grains have a very calming effect because they have a low glycemic index, meaning they promote the slow release of serotonin rather than the rapid release that you get from foods with a high glycemic index like sugar, white flour, white rice, or a bagel.

By eating protein-rich foods like beans, whole grains, and soy products, you give your body tyrosine which your body makes into dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, helping you to be alert and focused on the tasks at hand. Omega-3 rich foods also raise serotonin levels in the brain, thus making you feel happier. High-fat meals stay in your stomach longer -- and that makes you feel sluggish because it diverts blood flow away from the rest of your body for a much longer time than a low-fat meal.

The Social Macro

One of the hardest things for us about going macro has been the social aspect of it all. I value the sanctity of the food that I put into my body, and being conscious about the food choices that I make is important to me. But, I also value the ability to go out to dinner with friends, have dinner parties where my guests are not put off by the food we eat, and attend dinner parties and actually eat something that the host prepares...

A conversation I do not enjoy having: "Oh, you're a vegetarian!? You should have told me! I'm so sorry..." "it's alright! I can find something to eat here - is that a salad?" "yes, but it has bacon in it..." "I see some beans over there!" "they have ham in them" ...

and since going macro, the conversation has turned into this: "I know you're vegetarian so we made a great ceasar salad for you, and some tofu." "Thanks, I really appreciate that, but, actually, I'm not eating dairy anymore either... or romaine lettuce..."

The point is that I'm afraid we'll stop getting invited to things if we continue along this path! We love having people over -- and the recipes in love, eric & sanae (look at the post from April 27, 2008, for an example) are from two genius macro minds. They are elegant, flavorful, and inventive - and make for great dinner party fare, when we are the hosts. When going to other people's homes, though, I haven't quite mastered the art of preparing ahead -- macrobiotics is hard to explain to people, it's very restrictive compared to the typical American diet, and I don't want to be a burden on hosts. Some ideas are to offer to bring a dish that is macrobiotic - making enough so that everyone can have some if they so choose, planning ahead in the days leading up to the dinner party to make sure that your body is in balance so that you can "cheat" a bit during the party and still feel good, or not going at all (not really)...

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and feelings on the social macro front!

Mixed Messages

The last post that I made and the resulting conversation got me thinking: Am I getting mixed messages? The goal of any new macrobiotic is to understand your body through experimentation with foods and lifestyle until you've done enough trial and error to gain a basic understanding of what your body needs at any particular time to feel "in balance." And sometimes, macrobiotics is frustrating because it is hard to really pin down these yin and yang, acidic and alkaline, contractive and expansive, energies in the foods that we are putting into our bodies, and thus the energies and feelings that those foods are affecting on our bodies. I'm saying I'm still not there. And I would like to be.

I am getting better - I'm becoming more in tune to what my body needs, definitely. But some things still don't make sense: Why, if my body is in an extreme yin state just before my period, do I crave sugar, chocolate, and baked flour, if those are just the things that are going to make my period the miserable experience that it has always been? (Actually, I think that my period is a beautiful cycle and I become more and more grateful for it as I study the moon cycles and the feminine experience, but the headaches, cramps, and nausea, I could do without.) and why, when I haven't eaten for about 5 hours or so, does my body go nuts telling me I need that muffin/yellow cake from the store around the corner from my office, when what I really should have is some brown rice & steamed vegetables?

I believe the sugar cravings are my body's effort to increase my blood sugar - and because sugary things are what I have always used to get that increase, that extra boost of energy, that is what I crave. I have found that I can combat these cravings by planning ahead - by making sure that I have good quality carbohydrates providing my body with a constant flow of energy. I also keep some dried fruit in my desk drawer, and some rice crackers, which I can go to in a moment of panic. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm also quite certain that my sugar dependency was leading to my chronic headaches and common stomachaches. Without exaggeration, I have had a headache 1-2 times per week for the past ten years or so (and these headaches are lay down in a dark room with no noise for hours kinds of headaches), and since going macro, when I am being very careful about what I am eating, I have had none at all. It's about extremes - and keeping the body in balance. If your body is in balance, it will tell you what it needs - but if your body isn't in balance, it doesn't even know what it needs - so how can it send the right messages to your brain for how to get into balance?

AH-HA! After re-reading the last paragraph, I think I know the secret after all: continuing to hone my intuition requires continuing to maintain balance. It doesn't mean I can't give in to those cravings once in a while - but it does mean that if I am having those cravings, I'm probably not in balance -- so a little more thought is required as to my next nutritional choice.

**image courtesy of jdthinker on flickr**

Female "Yin" Energy

Forgive me if this is too personal, but it is a reality that we must all deal with, male and female alike... and, it's "that time of the month". My good friend "Priscilla" has come to visit me. Each time that she shows up, she makes her entrance very clear with serious cramps, headaches, and nausea.

Since beginning to eat macrobiotically, I have searched and searched for some female-specific advice on macrobiotics, and all that I have found is a gaping hole. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there for the inquiring female macrobiotic to go with regarding what effect the macrobiotic diet has on the intricate organism that is the human female body. Not that there is a lot out there on the male human body, either. I guess that is my point. Macrobiotics has become a part of my spirituality - as it should - but another important part of my spirituality is recognizing that men and women are intrinsically different. We are built differently, we respond differently, and we think differently. So, macrobiotics must have differing effects on our bodies.

This is what I know from my readings about the energies (click link for my description of yin and yang energies generally) of the genders and the food energies that go with them:

• Women are primarily "yin" energy, men are primarily "yang";
• Yang energy is needed to balance our female bodies so that we don't become overly yin, so the typical American female eats things like animal foods, baked flour, salt (unbeknownst to her, she is trying to balance out all of the yin foods that females are drawn to);
• Yin foods include sugars, fruits, chocolate, and beer and alcohol;
• Overeating yin foods causes our blood to become weak, and hypersensitivity because we are out of balance, we lose the contractive energy of yang and our energy is constantly expanding until it can expand no more -- this is where depression comes from.

This is what I know about menstruation - from the Hip Chick's Guide:

• Like every natural cycle it takes our bodies from yin to yang;
• The first phase where the egg is maturing in the ovary, is more yang;
• The second phase, ovulation (releasing the mature egg), is more yin;
• The last phase where the body prepares to shed the unfertilized egg is more yin;
• It goes back to yang at the beginning of the next cycle, after the egg has been shed;
  
• So - the cravings that I experience in the couple of days before my period are due to the extreme yin state that my cycle is currently in - the cravings are trying to help me align with my cycle;
• The typical American diet includes animal protein, salt, baked flower (yang) and creates contractive (yang) energy rather than expansive (yin) -- and your body fights that with cramps, headaches, backaches, etc.

Jessica (The Hip Chick) says to lay off the yang foods in the few days before your period, and you will reduce the unpleasant side effects of "Priscilla's" arrival... less animal food, less salt, no baked goods, and instead eat fruit, lighter grain dishes, some rice dream, or even a beer.

So - Ladies - and gentleman - but more to the ladies... This is what I know - but I'm interested in what you know. How has macrobiotics affected your cycle and what things do you do to combat the typical side effects of your period??

And, as an aside... a little plug for the Keeper®"alternative female hygiene product" -- I've been using it for a few years now and it is absolutely divine - I feel more connected to my cycle, and I'm not putting bleached products into my reproductive organs anymore, and that is beautiful.

Rice In The Fast Lane

A brown rice fast, a balanced body.

In medieval days, sages treated illness directly with dietary changes, oftentimes prescribing a ten day brown rice fast to balance the body and rid it of impurities..

It sounds a little too easy to 21st century ears where we have over the counter drugs far stronger and varied than any medieval sage could have imagined.

With three months of macro behind us, we decided to give it a try, modifying it to a four day go.

And quite honestly...it's weird. Come on, a brown rice fast? I'm still having a hard time explaining to my friends that I don't eat cheese, and that yes I'm ok, and no I'm not sick...
So, whipping out the bowl of brown rice I had been eating out of for 4 days wasn't exactly good advertising for macrobiotics, at least in the circles I move in.

I've been in Minnesota for the last few weeks, away from Kerstin, and we thought this might be a good way to stay connected through macrobiotics even though we weren't eating together (something I miss terrrrrrrribly).

While I've had a hard time understanding and accepting the yin-yang philosophies of the macrobiotic lifestyle, I can attest that eating brown rice does bring one to a sense of great balance and harmony. I already have a big crush on brown rice, so my opinion is biased, but you've got to take my word for it.

Just like Kerstin wrote, I was a very satisfied, craving-free, happy feeling macro for four days. The nutrients, minerals and protein in rice is astonishingly satisfying. And after three months of diluting the sodium and sugar from our bodies and letting our tastebuds heal, eating something nourishing tastes nourishing and actually feels nourishing. I gladly ate my meals of rice all day every day. Heck—I'll probably do it again.

Notes on a Brown Rice Fast

Last week, we did a 4-day brown rice fast. Obviously, it's not a fast, because you eat. You only eat brown rice. Plain, brown, preferably short-grain (I had long-grain because it was very hot here), rice. We did a modified form of the famous (macrobiotically famous, that is) 10-day brown rice fast. (another blog about it here.) For those in good health, a shorter fast can do the trick as well as a 10-day one... but a 10-day brown rice fast is often recommended to clean out the system for someone who is using macrobiotics for health reasons (i.e. a diagnosis of cancer, or a kidney problem, liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. etc.) ... but where we've been doing the macro-thing for about 3 months now, the 4-day fast was pretty perfect to clean me up.

I literally cooked a huge pot of brown rice in the mornings, packed it in my bag, and munched on it throughout the day, whenever I got hungry. And you know what? It wasn't that bad! Of course there were moments that people around me were eating (Chinese food at lunch, of all things - and they never order Chinese food - or didn't, when I was eating things like that) and I got hungry - but I just went and got my glass tupperware full of brown rice and went to work! A few strange looks... yes... but seriously - I felt great!

The rice is a very yang food, being a whole grain, so eating only brown rice for several days brings your body into a very yang state - and it dispells all of the gross yin stuff floating around in your system like acids. The really crazy thing about it is that I didn't really have any cravings for anything other than rice after the first day and a half or so - I was perfectly content chewing on my brown rice, staring off into the distance. That leads me to another point - you get into a kind of brown rice haze... the world seems to melt together a bit and everyone seems so rushed -- I felt light, and healthy, my skin felt clean, I was calm and relaxed, and happy. All the yang energy in my body relaxed me and it was pretty fabulous....

Anyone out there in macro-world done a brown rice fast? What were your thoughts, feelings, how long did you do it for? Results? Please share!

Confessional

Alright - I admit it. Today, I cheated. Well - I didn't technically cheat because our three months of strict macrobiotics is over and there really isn't any "cheating" in macrobiotics - it is about balance, and knowing what your body needs to be in balance, and honoring that, yada yada... but today - I knowingly, willingly, bought a muffin from the shop just around the corner from my office - the "cinnamon coffee cake" muffin - full of white flour, refined sugar, and probably some knock-off of "real" cinnamon. I have my reasons and I could go through them with you, and I had my rationalizations which I could also bore you with - but the point is. I bought it. I carried it guiltily back to my office hoping no one would see me, and I ate it. Most of it... and about half way through I realized what I was doing and how it was already affecting my state of mind... and I kept eating... And now... I feel absolutely gross. Sludge. It's all swimming around in my stomach, mixing with the acids in there, forming more acids, it's going to go on to give me a stomach ache, and the sugar rush that I have provided to my bloodstream is already pulsing through my brain and causing the very beginnings of a headache. (I have suffered from chronic headaches for about a decade, and since going macro, I can count the number of headaches I've had -- well - post first-week macro -- on zero fingers.) Great. And I thought I was helping my problems by satisfying that intense craving for something buttery and sweet - turns out... not so much. And, I may have just as well bought a cupcake, for this "muffin" probably came from a Betty Crocker box (who, by the way - if she would have existed when she was first dreamed up - would have never baked a cake out of one of those boxes...), for all I know.... yuck. chemicals and sugar and throw your body all out of wack-ness...

There - I feel better. I've confessed. Although all of the books and things that I've read about macrobiotics made it seem like my transition into macro would be a huge thing for my body - I would "desludge" and see the effects of the process ... quite honestly, I didn't experience all that much "desludging" side effects. The first few days giving up caffeine and refined sugar were difficult because I had an addiction to these things - so I had headaches... but after a few days those went away, and since I have just progressively felt better. There wasn't any day that I woke up and had "that macro feeling" as Jessica Porter describes. I've just felt progressively better - more balanced, more alive, my body feels lighter, and it just feels good to eat foods that are nourishing both to my body and my soul. But today, with my little post-strict-macro splurge to the muffin/cake world that I used to cherish so dearly - I realized that my world has been drastically changed by this. My tastebuds are more sensitive to each flavor - and that muffin was WAY too sweet (I'm not sure I've ever uttered such words -- way too sweet) ... chips are WAY too salty ... macrobiotics has taught me to cherish subtlety in food, to enjoy the nutty flavor of quinoa and the perfect sweet of a date - the smokey, salty taste of shoyu, and the bitterness of kale... all brought together in balance with one another in a meal.

I can't say this was my last yellow-cake-processed-refined sugar-muffin... but it was a learning experience - one I'll be trying to balance out for the rest of the day.