For breakfast this morning I had some whole oat porridge (cooked the night before & cooked more this morning) with a little soya milk added to it

For lunch, it was nice to get home to find a meal prepared by Dejan which consisted of millet, a vegetable & tofu bake & a cucumber and sauerkraut salad and a lovely blueberry and apple crumble.

I also had a little bit of brown rice pudding later.

For dinner, I had some quickly made noodles.

That’s all from me for today, keeping it quick and simple I really must get to bed!

Love & light
Sharlene

For breakfast today, I woke up to a bowlful of brown rice & millet porridge, blanched broccoli and roasted sunflower seeds prepared by Dejan. Ahhh, it’s so nice having someone else to share cooking with! It makes such a difference to have someone else’s energy go into cooking. This was washed down with a cup of twig tea.

For lunch I prepared millet & squash, a pinto bean & onion stew, pressed cucumbers with umeboshi, lettuce & carrot salad & hijiki & onion tempura with a ginger and shoyu dipping sauce.

I had more twig tea & then later a delicious soya chai latte which was sooo good!

And for dinner, cauliflower & miso soup, squash & millet, pinto bean stew, blanched broccoli, a stir fry of cabbage, onions & carrots with a tofu & pesto sauce & some sauerkraut followed by a really delicious soya milk drink with cinnamon, tumeric, a pinch of salt & rice syrup – mmm!

Today I have nothing much to say about macrobiotics other than I love it! For many reasons, but my reason today is (ok, I’ve changed my mind, perhaps I do have much to say…here we go!!) that it’s a way of eating that I believe combines so many other diets out there – vegan, raw, ayurvedic (in it’s kind of way), traditional diets & many more. It’s like the best of all worlds all rolled into one neat package. Not only that but it was so much to offer – pleasure, healing, philosophy, a guiding tool for life, for health, a way of understanding our unique individuality and the world, a way of creating peace and joy, ways in which to help and nurture the environment & world we live in. Not only that but it’s so universal yet so unique depending on who you are, where you are in the world, in your life, with your health and the health side of things is so holistic. Ahhh macrobiotics is a beautiful, beautiful thing!

On that lovely note, I’m off to dream sweet dreams!

Love & magic
Sharlene

p.s. I’ve posted some new recipes on www.macrobiotics.org.uk with photos so check it out if you wish

3 days in a row, I really am on a roll! Long may it continue!

Today I listened to a talk that Bill Tara gave at Ionia (a macro community there, that I wish one day to visit!) (http://phiyakushi.com/miracles/2012/05/07/bill-tara-my-experiences-with-macrobiotics-a-talk-given-to-the-ionia-community/) and the talk was really great to listen to. It seems Phiya has lots of other talks recorded on his website too so I can’t wait to explore more! (thanks Phiya!!)

Bill described some of his experiences with macrobiotics, Michio Kushi and macrobiotics in London as well as a bit about his experience of the history of macrobiotics. It’s so nice hearing it from real people who have lived through the macro movement. It’s something that I feel should really be cherished and documented as the macrobiotic movement continues so that it doesn’t all get lost in time and translation. Why does it always feel more special the closer you get to the beginning of something and to when it initially started? Is it because it is closer to the magic of the moment, the magic when many people realised the true magnificence of macrobiotics which has somehow been buried over time?

Losing sight of the magic of something new happens with so many things in life. But there’s always a chance to go back and re-visit and keep it alive. We must just intend for that.

Today I revisited the magic of congee (a savoury porridge) which I haven’t made or eaten for so long. For breakfast, I mixed leftover sweet rice and brown rice, carrots, arame, lotus root, squash and onion and cooked this together until really soft and added a bit of miso and parsley. I enjoyed eating this from the comfort of bed before I had to drag myself out of it to get to work (after a quick sip of twig tea!).

Lunch was more congee as I didn’t have time or will to spend too long in the kitchen today after a tiring day so I added some aduki beans and then made some blanched broccoli, onion pickle and sauerkraut to go with it.

I then had some millet cream with tahini and a little rice syrup and more twig tea.

For dinner, I made a quick stir fry of onions, squash, broccoli and aduki beans and had this with brown rice which was really delicious. So simple yet so yummy! Often, the most simple things are the best.

Dejan made some cookies tonight made from oats, orange rind, rice syrup and vanilla and they were really nice.

So I didn’t spend too long in the kitchen today, just quick and simple dishes. I love how it is possible to choose whether you want quick and simple meals or more elaborate creations. A balance of both suits me perfectly. What works for you?

Another day is over again so quickly. I hope you had a great one and took some time to connect to your own inner magic!

Love & light
Sharlene

Today has been full on and it seems there isn’t enough time to get everything done that I want to so it will just have to wait until whenever there is time, hopefully tomorrow but if not, then there will be time another time because there is time for everything. What is time anyway other than a construct of human doing that doesn’t really exist?! But lets not go down this philosophical road as I’d quite like to get to bed tonight and I have a few things to do before that can happen so I must get on with this post otherwise I might be here for the rest of time!!!

Today for breakfast I had some leftover soup from yesterday and some sweet rice porridge with toasted sunflower seeds, steamed greens and a cup of twig tea. This has to be one of the ultimate breakfasts that just sets me up perfectly for whatever is ahead.

For lunch, I was pleased to get home to some leftover pie from yesterday, sauerkraut, onion and umeboshi pickle (I’m in love with this stuff right now – I’ll post a recipe soon) and a couple of fresh dishes I made quickly of blanched carrots and white cabbage and sunflower seeds. Delicious!

This was followed by a couple of slices of toasted rye with tahini and sugar free apricot jam and some twig tea.

Later I had some hot lemon and lime juice as I made dinner which consisted of:
Falafels (mmm, these were soo amazing!), tofu sour cream, boiled daikon & a pressed red and white cabbage salad, shredded lettuce and roasted leeks, garlic and onions. I chose not to have grains tonight although I cooked them for Dejan. I didn’t feel like I needed or wanted them so I didn’t!

I then had more twig tea. Sometimes I don’t have twig tea for ages and then I drink it like it’s going out of fashion! Twig tea is amazing!

This evening I was doing some work for the MBA (the macrobiotic association of Great Britain) working on designing a new postcard. I was working on a definition of macrobiotics and came up with the following:

Macrobiotics means big or great life. In one sentence, this can be defined as an understanding and appreciation of life and all that exists within it. Macrobiotics is the blossoming into our full human potential. It is about coming to know how we can create a great and fulfilling life based on what we choose to eat, think, live and feel. Once we start to understand and experience the interplay of all these different components that make up who we are, we enter into a world of endless possibilities where we can create and experience a truly great life.

I could think of a million other definitions but they all come down to the same think – coming to realise and experience our full potential through our understanding and experience of life. But the above definition doesn’t really go into the other side of that which is not being our full potential or not having good health or not leading a fulfilling life. But strangely enough, we need to experience all these things in order to experience the appreciation for the other, opposite end. I don’t want to convey macrobiotics as something which it is not and to me it’s not about all good good good but it’s understanding the other side of that and finding some kind of equilibrium or state of peace and trust within whilst all this good and/or bad is going on around us. Yin or yang will always be happening, but find a place from within, somewhere where you can be peaceful as you observe and contemplate the intricacies of the weird and wonderful life.

OK, I think that’s quite enough from me this evening.

Macro love and all that jazz!
Sharlene

I made dinner which was lovely and consisted of a soup made from fresh daikon, sweet potato, tofu, a little arame, miso & greens. An aduki pie with an onion and rosemary bottom and a sweet potato and millet topping, a beautiful hijiki dish (the recipe and photo of which can be found here: http://bit.ly/JboydP or by visiting www.macrobiotics.org.uk and looking in the recipe section where you’ll find lots of other gorgeous recipes and photos from me), sauerkraut, fresh greens with a sprinkling of umeboshi vinegar and a tiny spoonful of onion and umbeoshi pickle followed by a cup of twig tea.

So, I changed my website name from the-new-age-doctor to a change of health. Although I love the concept of new age doctor (which is essentially what macro counsellors are in many ways), the term new age or doctor didn’t feel quite right and in the end I just felt like it wasn’t me. So, I changed it to a change of health instead as that is what I do – help people change their health . But it also comes from the saying a change of heart, if you’ve ever heard that. So, instead of saying I’ve had a change of heart, I’d like people to be saying I’ve had a change of health he he!

After cooking dinner tonight I realised just how beneficial it is to plan a meal. It makes the whole experience more smooth and flowing so I can go from one dish to the next without pausing to work out what is next. I also find it allows space to decide what foods are important to include and what kind of affect you want to create from the meal.

So, what about tomorrow? Well, I’m going to plan that now and of course, tomorrow I shall reveal to you my menu.

Sweet macrobiotic dreams

Sharlene

It’s been sooo long again and now I think it’s time to make a bit of a come back!

As it has been so long, I think an update is long overdue so here goes…

I haven’t been posting regularly as I’m so tied up in other things, mostly studying, trying to earn a living and of course living! But I also think I needed a break from posting regularly too and wanted some time away from it which has been refreshing.

After my macro studies finished (which in actual fact they will never finish at the study of macrobiotics is an ever-evolving ongoing process), but since macro school finished, my time was taken up doing loads of consultations so that I could actually complete my studies. But then I did something else, I enrolled on further training at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and have been studying there since. Strangely enough, this school has been created by someone who used to be a full on macro (Joshua Rosenthal) although the course is not solely about macrobioitcs. It’s about going a bit wider than that and looking at a wide range of all different kinds of dietary theories.

I am loving studying this, as well as gaining more skills and experience with health coaching. I chose to do this because after doing so many consultations I realised that whilst in my mind I believe macrobiotics can suit everybody, not everyone wants to or is ready to go down that path completely. Now I really understand and respect that and one of our greatest blessings as a human is that we have freedom of choice. So I wanted to further my skills so that I can honour this in all those who I work with so that I can help them in whatever way is best for them.

My studies for this finish in October and you know what, I just can’t wait. I can’t wait, I can’t wait, I can’t wait as I want more time to dedicate to new ideas and projects. There are a few things I am working on at the moment but they often get put on the back burner because my energy and time is taken up on all the things that need doing now like studies, paying bills and other general life things.

Also, it’s been kind of tough moving to a new area and trying to settle in as well as adapting to married life and starting out as a macro practitioner. So lots of changes going on right now.

So, lets get back to macrobiotics and me. Where am I with it all? Well, I’ve been up and down, left and right, forwards, backwards and everywhere in between! In terms of my own personal journey, I’ve found that I haven’t been as dedicated to cooking macro meals as I used to be. Before, I used to plan everything and then cook that way but now I seem to just rock up in the kitchen, see what’s in there, see what springs to mind and then cook it. Whilst this is absolutely fine, it means that sometimes I take a bit more of a lazy approach and cut corners or I lose out of variety etc. So, I need to do MORE PREPARATION AND PLANNING to keep me inspired as well as to keep me developing my cooking skills!

It’s also been really interesting with Dejan. He has his own way with macrobiotics, his own understanding and his own style with cooking that sometimes is very different to mine and this can often bring up a whole host of issues. It’s crazy really because we both love macrobiotics so we should equally love one another’s ways but we’ve both received different teachings which I find so incredible. There’s so much to say about this but I think I’ll save it for another time! But to sum it up, it seems to always come down to a battle of Ohsawa vs Kushi which is absolutely ridiculous but there are some styles of macrobiotics that are very strict and seem to be more connected with George Ohsawa and there’s another way which is more open and intuitive which seems to be more connected to Michio Kushi. Dejan is more Ohsawa and I am more Kushi! So, we have a yang way of macrobiotics and a yin way of macrobiotics, both trying to accomplish the same thing – a great life.

But that’s life – there’s always two main ways of doing things – a yin way or a yang way!!

So, my focus right now is to start cooking like I used to. This means I’ll have to be more generous with my time in the kitchen but it mostly means taking a bit of time to sit down and plan. So, I’m going to start with planning dinner right here, right now!

Where do I start with planning dinner? Well, usually, I use a standard format of a soup, a grain dish, a protein dish and a couple of vegetable dishes.
I already have a soup made (which I prepared for breakfast) and some sweet rice already cooked so that leaves me with a protein dish and some veg dishes. I have just bought some aduki beans so I’ll definitely make a dish with those. Hmmm, I like the idea of a pie or something with a couple of side vegetable dishes. OK, I think I’ll do an aduki bean pie with a topping of millet and sweet potato, some greens with ginger, some sauekraut and a hijiki dish. The sweet rice can be for porridge or whatever tomorrow (I’m going to plan tomorrow’s food later!).

So, that’s dinner, now all I’ve got to do is make it!! Apron to the ready! I think I need a nice hot drink to get me in the mood…just some hot water with a squeeze of lemon maybe mmm!

How’s your macro journey going?

Love & light from Glastonbury
Sharlene

How do you do?

I’ve been in hiding lately and feeling like not doing too much at all, so basically I haven’t!

Today I enjoyed the following food:
Breakfast – fresh Somerset air, a few happy thoughts & sunshine
Lunch – fish soup (made with a whole mackerel, cooked for hours), sweet rich mochi style, pumpkin & mushrooms roasted, blanched kale and a lettuce salad followed by a lovely melon and tahini pudding
late afternoon beverage – twig tea

Dinner – freshly made oat cream, a sheet of nori & a buckwheat, rice & quinoa dish made with beansprouts, onions, peas and a little red chilli.

What did you eat?

There’s lots of things going on in the world at the moment that are raising awareness of food and health. Exciting times!

Macro love & magic
Sharlene x

It feels really wonderful to be back. I didn’t realise how much I’d miss posting on here!

We’ve had sunshine in the UK, I mean proper warm sunshine, and it’s been sooo nice. I hope this is not the only sun we will see this year!

For breakfast this morning I made a lovely miso soup with dried daikon, onions, swede & carrot & sea salad

For lunch: brown rice sushi and quinoa sushi (I’ve never used any other grain to make sushi before so it was kind of exciting to use quinoa) filled with an aduki, carrot & sauerkraut mixture.
Lovely home made hummus, blanched carrot sticks & some purple sprouting broccoli with an umeboshi and apple dressing (made with umeboshi puree, apple juice concentrate and water).

I then made some little truffle like bites made from brown rice, raisins, dried apricots, tahini, barley malt and roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds & some chamomile and vanilla tea. But sshhh, don’t tell my husband as he’ll wonder why there wasn’t any for him when he got home from work!!! Actually, I did end up making another batch just for him but it was slightly different – minus the raisins.

For dinner, well I didn’t really have any dinner as I wasn’t hungry after a relatively inactive day. Just a handful of red grapes.

I’ve started reading The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health again and WOW! I haven’t read a macro book for a little while. I think I needed a break from it all after my studies. But it’s so GREAT to start reading again. It’s like seeing something new. I love it! It’s kind of like when you watch a film for the second time and you see things you didn’t see before.

Love & inspiration
Sharlene

Wow, this feels kind of strange (unfamiliar) to be posting on here again but GOOD!

How are you feeling about 2012? I have felt quite overwhelmed this year as there’s so many things I want to do and am involved with. However, I am learning to deal with what is in front of me in the moment rather than stretching myself beyond what is or isn’t possible.

Food wise, it’s been interesting sharing meals with my husband. We both have distinctive and different styles and approaches to macrobiotics. I think my approach is a lot more relaxed. I’m not so bothered if I eat a tomato or two or indulge in a little tropical foods every now and again whereas Dejan would rather not. It makes me question macrobiotics, myself and Dejan a lot. We try to search for what is right and every time, I get the same answer. There is no absolute right or absolute wrong because my right might be your wrong and your wrong might be my right, if you know what I mean. We must all strive to find our own answers and remember that every front has a back!!

I have some exciting news to share with you too, my website is ready and I’m very pleased to share it with you, check out:
www.the-new-age-doctor.co.uk

Yayy. So if you would like some macro coaching, a macro consultation or some holistic health coaching get in touch!

Shall I tell you what I ate today?! Oh go on then as it has been so long since I shared a my food diary with you!

Breakfast
Oat and brown rice porridge with a little shoyu

Lunch
A salad made with lettuce, bean sprouts, sweetcorn, beetroot, broccoli, smoked mackerel & cucumber & a couple of slices of rye sourdough

followed by a handful of grapes & twig tea

Dinner
Split pea soup & twig tea

I feel inspired to post regularly so watch this space. I have missed posting on here!

Wishing you all well

Love & light
Sharlene

It seems I cannot resist coming back here! I had someone who was going to take over this blog but now they have decided not to so I must do something to keep it alive!

I’m working on a few things at the moment and can’t wait to share them with you soon.

Check out www.macrobiotics.org.uk for recipes & photos that I am updating regularly.

Keep that macro love flowing!

Love & bright shiny light,
Sharlene