Breakfast

Dawn has just asked a GREAT question: What have you been eating for breakfast? To which I replied,

Breakfast was hard until I found Kashi, 7 whole grain puffed wheat cereal with soy milk. 

I've also eaten a lot of granny smith apples with natural peanut butter.

I think I'll be dabbling in oatmeal and raisins as the cold sets in. Paired with bancha or oolong tea, of course :)

What have you been eating for breakfast?

Jace's First Week Living a Whole Life

So, it's been one full week; Exactly seven days living a macrobiotic life. Lots of chewing; lots of experimenting; lots of explaining my new ways to friends and family; and lots of shopping in different aisles.

So, what does it all mean?  All I can think to do, is provide you with a list of what I have not been doing, and then give you a good idea of what I have been shopping for. I had a lot of ingredients to hunt for. Luckily, living on Vancouver Island means that there is a lot of local produce, asian influence, and lots of health food stores near by. Thus, searching for macrobiotic ingredients hasn't been much of a search at all. Alternatively, it has been a wonderful opportunity to discover things I hadn't noticed before right in our local grocery store.

Needless to say, it's been fun. And, my husband has been unbelievably supportive of the whole process. Thank you, babe.

Since I'm still building my macrobiotic-recipe box, the cooking has been quite limited this week. (It might also be because this is also my first week back at school, so life has been a bit chaotic.) So, I've been eating a lot of raw foods, or quickly wok-ed vegetables with grains.

Shortly, Dawn is going to formally introduce us to the philosophy and principles of macrobiotics, so bare with me as I give you a mere glimpse of what macrobiotics has meant for me this past week.

 Here we go!


This is what I have not been eating:

1.  Red Meat
2.  Dairy
3.  Eggs
4. Any processed food: that means no added artificial colours, preservatives, or sweeteners to basic foods, and no artificial foods in genearl, i.e candy. 
5.  No Alcohol, pop, or caffeine.

Has it been hard? Not really, but that might have a lot to do with the fact that before I began this new way of life, I did a big clear out of all the stuff that would not be making it into my mouth. It was surprising just how little of the obvious junk food we had in the house, and just how much "hidden crap" we did have. I've become a hard-core label reader, and the reading I've gone though this week has been an eye-opener!

Anyways...

This is what Made it in my Cart on my  first Macrobiotic Grocery Shop:

1. Ground Flax Seeds
2. Short Grain Brown Rice
3. Cous Cous
4. Quinoa
5. Kashi, 7 Whole Grain Honey Puffed Cereal
6. Amano, Organic Tamari Soy Sauce
7. Organic Hummous made by our local grocery store
8. Mishima, All Natural Instant Miso Soup
9. Traditional Medicinals, Organic Bancha Tea
10. Twinings, China Oolong Tea
11. 1 head of Kale
12. Bok Choy
13. Granny Smith Apples
14. Japanese Giant Carrots
15. Canned in water, organic Bean Medley
16. Chick Peas
17. Baby Spinnach
18. Green Beans
19. Celery
20. Frozen Peas
21. Frozen Corn
22. Frozen Edamame
23. Amys, Organic Tofu Brown Rice and Vegetables Ready-Made Bowls
24. Organic Balsamic Vinegar
25. Almond Oil
26. Rice Wine Vinegar
27. Sesame Seeds
28. Sunflower Seeds
29. Adams, 100% Natural Peanut Butter
30. Food For Life, 100% Organic, Flourless Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain English Muffins
31. Food For LIfe, 1000% Organic, Flourless Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Tortillas
32. Barley
33. Rice Noodles
34. Soba Noodles
35. Organic Pesto
36. Cauliflower
37. Broccoli 
38. 1 Avocado (which was hard not to buy more of, but you need to eat limited amounts of this).
39. Japanese Seaweed Rice Crackers
40. Sea Salt and Sesame Rice Sticks (from the organic bulk section)
41. Free range, chicken breasts

Well, that's about all I can remember. I'm still trying to stock my cupboards, and each time I go shopping is another time to add to our supplies. I'd definitely recommend starting out with lots to choose from, as I've found it much easier to throw a meal together with this much on hand.

Hang in there, as Dawn prepares a Macrobiotics for Dummies post. 

Happy and whole eating,

Jace

Jace's Apple Chips

This easy and delicious snack is sure to be a hit at your house, especially on a crisp fall day.

MacroFriendly Apple Chips:

This recipe calls for one ingredient: Granny Smith Apples. When I made this recipe I used two apples, and that was enough to fill one regular cookie sheet. It was also enough apples to make five or six snacks worth of apple goodness.

Simply cut apples into thin, even slices. I cut the apple on it's side, so that I would have beautiful round slices. Leave the peel on, and don't worry about coring the apple. The seeds can simply be removed with your fingers, making the presentation of your apple chips that much more appealing.

Lay in a single layer on an non-greased baking sheet. I didn't need parchment paper, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to use it.

Cook for 45 minutes at 200F. Reduce to your oven's lowest setting for two hours. Our goal is to not just cook the apples, but also to dehydrate them. The longer the cooking time and the cooler your oven, the better.

Apples should brown slightly, but not caramelize. Remove from oven, and enjoy warm.

Keep remaining apples in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Enjoy whenever you have a sweet tooth. The tartness of Granny Smith apples should mellow with the dehydration process. If you're finding the apples are just a bit too tart for your liking, sprinkle apple chips small amount of cinnamon after cooling.

Remember to chew each piece 50 times to really experience all of the apple's natural sweetness, and help your body digest these babies before they even hit your stomach.

How This Will Work:

Each woman will blog about her macrobiotic life (as often as she can). She might tell you what she's making for dinner, what she had for breakfast, or even what she's been snacking on in the car, or in front of a good movie.

She'll do her best to tell you exactly how she made her meal, how it turned out, and perhaps what she'd do differently next time. If you're lucky, all the recipes shared here will be wonderfully wholesome and delicious the first time we post.

Because there is three of us, we'll each take a turn introducing ourselves. From then on, we'll put our names in the title, so you can follow us separately throughout our collective journey through 1 way of life.

You can look forward to things like  "Dawn's Dinner," "Sheryl's Kid Friendly Snack," or "Jace's Easy Apple Chips."

Happy and whole eating,

Three Women & 1 Way of Life

Welcome!

Thank you for Visiting the Three Women and their 1 Way of life. 

Here you will find the recipes, websites, readings, and conversations that support our journey through the macrobiotic way. We appreciate your support and would love to hear about how you are incorporating the macrobiotic way into your life!