The easy answer could be: “Because you don’t cook them well“. Indeed, many people believe that beans and grains should be cooked just long enough for them to be on the harder rather than the softer side. “Al dente“, as italians would put it. Well, not really. Beans are very rich in nutrients and not…
Celeriac is the root of a type of celery, from the Mediterranean area and northern Europe, but it is quite unknown in Spanish cuisine. It is also known by its French name (celéri). It differs from the common celery (from which the stem and leaves are mainly used) in that its bulbous root is used,…
There is a universal law: everything changes. We can see it now around us. Although the leaves on the trees have not browned yet, it feels like the end of a cycle. It’s the end of summer, it’s late summer. I would like to tell you about this stage and how it influences our energy,…
Can we see how nature provides us with the necessary foods to help us make balance with each season of the year? Eating according to “natural laws”, i.e. local, organic and seasonal produce, it makes sense we will be much more in balance with the environment. Now, if we have tropical fruit, sugar, ice cream and…
In this new post I´d like to look again at the ancient Theory of Five Transformations of Eastern and Chinese medicine. Since spring is already here, let us talk about Tree Energy within the 5 Transformations cycle. INTRODUCTION In spring it is important to discharge excesses accumulated during the winter (more quantity of food, fattier, saltier and more baked…
There is stillness in the air. Everything is “silent” and latent. Waiting. The energy of winter is dormant waiting for spring. It is a stable energy, which flows like water. But, within that calmness already lies the potentiality of the resurgence of life. In winter we must take special care with our kidneys and bladder.…
In all my cooking workshops and classes shocked students ask why macrobiotics does not support the use of nightshades. Who can blame them? Potatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines, tomatos are staple foods in western diets. They are everywhere and it´s almost impossible to eat out without finding them in your plate. In order to explain the…
THE COMMITMENT TO CHANGE In my experience, it is difficult to switch to a plant-based organic diet (whole grains, legumes and derivatives, vegetables, fruits, seaweed, seeds and nuts), unless we make a real change at all levels. Why? Food defines us as individuals. Since childhood it gives us a sense of belonging that appeals to…
In our latest entry we looked at how Eastern cosmology regards the perpetual change between yin and yang, to which life is subject, as we experience things. And we reviewed how in that way of understanding the world the ancient Chinese recognized different stages of transformation, say, five “elements” by which chi moves, the subtle…
In this post we continue what we started earlier. I would like to talk about the ancient theory (even older than the theory of “yin” and “yang”) of the Five Transformations. THE THEORY OF THE FIVE TRANSFORMATIONS In the interaction of energy (yin) and matter (yang) all phenomena manifest and vanish. This is one of…