Macrobiotic Philosophy is a system of making diet and lifestyle choices that work to create balance both in our own personal lives and in the world.
Components of this philosophy include a mainly whole food plant-based diet, connection to nature, living in alignment with the seasons and our local environment and cultivating our ability to move forward into the life we truly desire.
A balanced macrobiotic diet and lifestyle looks different for everyone, because we are all individuals. The underlying foundation is that we consider our own constitution and health, our environment and the direction we want to go in our lives when making choices in our daily lives.
Teachings in macrobiotics include learning the energetic properties of food and cooking style and how to balance our health and condition.
Macrobiotic Philosophy draws on traditional knowledge from many healthy, sustainable, long lived societies all over the globe. It also incorporates teachings from Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Five Transformations.
From The George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation:
Macrobiotics, noun, (used with a singular verb)
1. a way of life that guides one’s choices in nutrition, activity, and lifestyle.
2. a system of principles and practices of harmony to benefit the body, mind, and planet.
– macrobiotic, adj., such as macrobiotic philosophy or macrobiotic diet.
Origin: from Ancient Greek: Macro (large or long) and Bios (life or way of living).
- Definition agreed upon by the International Macrobiotic Conference 2017 in Berlin, with 45 macrobiotic teachers, along with GOMF, SHI, Macrobiotic Association, IMP, IME, Chi Energy, IMS, and other schools, institutes, and organizations.
The George Ohsawa Macrobiotic Foundation
12 Classic Macrobiotic Recipes
Are you interested in cooking from a macrobiotic and energetic properties of food perspective? Wondering where to start? I have a post with links to 10 common macrobiotic recipes. These are recipes I was taught in my macrobiotic cooking school.
One of the things I really appreciate about the way I learned to cook is that I was taught styles of cooking rather than different specific recipes. If you know the style you want, you can use whatever ingredients you have on hand and once you learn a few techniques you may never need to look at another recipe again. This saves so much time and energy in the kitchen. It also helps eliminate food waste because you can use what you already have before it goes bad.
12 Classic Macrobiotic Recipes