The Macrobiotic Bowl- A Healthy Cooked Food Option

Most people I know involved in the raw food movement including myself eat some cooked food at least occasionally. On today’s blog post I wanted to give a healthy suggestion of what to eat when you’re not eating raw:)

When my husband and I were in Venice Beach not to long ago we came across this amazing restaurant that serves Macrobiotic style food call Seed Kitchen For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Macrobiotic diet, it is a primarily whole foods diet that focuses on seasonal organic food. The staples of the diet are traditionally prepared grains, vegetables, beans, and sea vegetables. Click here for a more in depth explanation of the Macrobiotic diet.

When I went to Seed Kitchen I ordered their Macrobiotic bowl which contained perfectly steamed brown rice, kabocha squash, black beans, shitake mushrooms, steamed kale, seaweed, and fermented vegetables. I sprinkled it with gomasio and it was one satisfiying bowl of warm goodness.

When I’m in the mood for something heavy and warm I try to recreate this bowl at home using the below ingredients:

For the grain element I use steamed brown, wild rice (or a mix of both) or quinoa. Quinoa is a lighter grain and it’s the easiest and most quick to prepare grain that there is!

For the squash element I have used steamed Kabocha, Delicata, Butternut, Curry Squash, but any winter squash will do.

For the bean element I usually use well cooked black beans or black eyed peas because they are my favorite, but any bean like pinto, navy, white, or kidney will do. Sometimes I skip the bean element because it requires soaking the beans in water the night prior. If you do decide to cook your beans make sure to cook them with a piece of Kombu seaweed for the minerals and Kombu helps soften beans and makes them more digestible.

I stick with steamed Shitake mushrooms for the mushroom element for the health benefits and the taste. I’m so lucky I get to buy organic Shitakes at the Santa Rosa farmer’s market, but you can get them fresh at a quality grocery store. If you can’t find Shitake mushrooms you can skip the mushroom element.

For the green element I usually use chopped and lightly steamed collards or kale but any leafy green will do.

For the seaweed element I’ve use soaked and rinsed wakame or you could use steamed arame, laver or my favorite, silky sea palm.

For the fermented vegetables you can use your homemade or store bought raw fermented veggies like sauerkraut or kimchi. Most health food stores carry these items in the refrigerated section just make sure the ingredients are just vegetables and there is no vinegar or sugar added.

I make homemade raw gomasio by putting 1/2-1 cup of hulled sesame seeds in my Vitamix with a little sea salt. If you don’t have a Vitamix you can try grinding the sesame seeds in a spice/coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle. Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge and you can use it as a nutritious seasoning during the week.

After you have cooked all the ingredients you can put a little of each of them in a big bowl, sprinkle with your gomasio, and if desired finish it off with a good quality cold pressed oil such as hemp or olive but I’m sure it would taste good with some sort of tahini or miso based dressing (chickpea miso is my fav because it doesn’t contain soy).

I only eat this for dinner because it’s pretty heavy if you’re not used to eating a lot of cooked food, but it really hits the spot and it’s full of massive nutrition such as iron, calcium, zinc, omega 3′s, beta-carotene, protein, fiber, and it’s low fat!

♥,
C