Beyond eating vegan, I don’t stick to any particular “category” of eating. I love variety and enjoy exploring almost every style of food out there- from raw to paleo, simple to gourmet, and cuisine from all over the world…
A couple of years ago I was considering training as a chef at the Natural Epicurean Academy in the US and was particularly interested in the course module on Macrobiotic Foods. Although I didn’t end up going down that path, I’ve still done my own investigations into the Macrobiotic diet.
It’s based on the understanding of food as energy, and food is seen in terms of “yin” (expansion) and “yang” (contraction). All foods are considered to be have varying degrees of these forces and followers of a macrobiotic diet strive to maintain a balance of both.
Foods thought to help us remain centred are whole grains, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, sea vegetables, miso and pickles and so these form the basis of the Macrobiotic diet. The dishes are often very simple but I find this way of eating very grounding and satisfying. Perfect for when you don’t want to spend an age in the kitchen too.
What makes an otherwise ordinary bowl of grains, beans and vegetables is definitely a good sauce and this one is pretty phenomenal, if I do say so myself . I love that it’s vegetable-based, so you’re adding even more nutrition to your meal, but it also has a wonderful flavour and unctuous texture that you might not expect.
Ingredients
- Carrot-Ginger-Almond Sauce
- 1 C Chopped carrots/2 medium/ approox 135g
- 1 " Fresh ginger, minced
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1/2 Tbsp White miso
- 1/2 Tbsp Maple syrup
- 1/2 Tbsp Tamari
- 2 Tbsp Almond butter
- 1/4 tsp Ground turmeric
- 1 Tbsp Water
- Macro bowl
- 1/3 C Brown rice
- 1 head Pak Choi, roughly chopped
- 1/2 C Cooked adzuki beans
- Tamari
- Seaweed sprinkles OR Rehydrated sea vegetables (e.g. dulse or wakame)
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- For the sauce:
- Steam the carrots until tender then blend all ingredients together until smooth. I use my Tribest personal blender.
- Cook the rice, according to package instructions.
- Warm through the beans in a pan with a litle water. Season with splash of tamari
- Steam the pak choi for a couple of minutes, until just tender.
- Add the rice, beans and pak choi to a bowl, top with a generous spoonful of the sauce and sprinkle with seaweed and toasted sesame seeds.
What do you think of the Macrobiotic diet/lifestyle? Do you have a preferred eating “style”?
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That looks delicious! I think anyone, macrobiotic or vegan or not, would love this! The carrot ginger sauce sounds delicious, I will have to try at least that.
I really hope you do try it. I got pretty excited about it, though that might sound a little crazy when it’s a sauce we’re talking about!
Looks yummy - I mix and match eating styles, as long as it’s vegetarian of course!
Best way to go I think! Variety is the spice of life!
Macrobiotic has been around for a long time. For me it would take effort that I don’t necessarily think is worth it, because I don’t believe in/understand yin/yang. That said, I do believe in and strive for balance - in macro-nutrients. I love cuisines from many places in the world, and love to experiment. But I have to rein that in somewhat, in deference to my husband, who is not as adventurous as I am with new foods. I’m finding that I can do quite a few experiments with new dishes, as long as I respect certain of his boundaries, so in the time we’ve been married, he’s become more adventurous with food.
I’m glad you’ve managed to expand your husband’s horizons Susan! I can’t imagine being confined to a certain cuisine/type of food when there’s so much to explore out there.
That looks great, I love pak choi so much!
I hadn’t had pak choi for months! Don’t know what I was thinking. I love the stuff too.
This looks absolutely fabulous!! I love adzuki beans and brown rice. And the sauce sounds amazing.
Macrobiotic meals are so wonderfully fulfilling.
Glad you’re with me Kayse! I just bought a new bag of dried adzukis so I’m looking forward to eating some more meals including them. I love this kind of bowl all day, every day
Looks Delicious Emma and all ingredients that I love! I actually haven’t heard of a macro bowl before, but I’m loving it since it’s all things I love. I, especially, am loving that carrot sauce, sounds divine! I love making dressings and sauces with almond butter, so good.
Nut butter is great for sauces, isn’t it? I’m not anti-oil but it’s nice to be able to get that richness without it too.
Macro bowls are fab. They always leave me feeling nourished and satisfied
I love bowls like this, so simple but so delicious.
Exactly. They always leave my tummy happy but feel pretty virtuous too!
One of my favourite modules in IIN was macrobiotics. I find the expansion/contraction and energetics of foods so intriguing and keep meaning to spend some more time researching this area!
It is so interesting! As I said, although I don’t adhere to any particular eating practice (other than being vegan of course), I do still really enjoy exploring all the different ideas out there.
i’ve always been intrigued by macrobiotics, too. what a great post and reminder for me to start learning more for my own journey.
I love reading more about different dietary choices. Even if, beyond eating vegan, I don’t follow any “rules” as such, I still like exploring all the different eating styles out there.
hmmm I have carrots and almond butter to use though I think I have a colourful bunch of carrots which might look murky - guess the purple one is not meant for this sauce - though imagine a bunch of purple carrots would look great here. love this sort of bowl and making a delicious sauce to make vegies taste great
How great would a purple sauce be?! Love it! The sauce really is delicious. Hope you give it a go, purple or otherwise!
Looks so lovely and fresh, Emma.
Love you discussion on macrobiotic food principles! As you know I am super interested in that topic! This bowl looks delicious too- especially the sauce. And I always seem to have extra carrots around
Yes I remember you’ve talked about it in the past. Macrobiotics makes a lot of sense to me and seems to work well for my body too. Hope you give the recipe a try. The sauce alone is crazy good 😀
YUM! The carrot-almond-ginger sauce is my new obsession and a great excuse to eat more veggies! By the way, I went camping in a very remote and hot canyon a couple of weeks ago and this kept amazingly well! I made a double batch before leaving and it turned fresh, raw veggies into an extra special treat! I kept it tightly sealed in a jar and chilled in a nearby river, and although I was suspicious at first, it was still good to eat the entire seven or so days I was out! Thanks so much, Emma!
Thanks for such a lovely comment Jacqueline! I’m so pleased you like the sauce and I Llove that you took it camping with you! That trip sounds super fun as well
I just made this! To be honest my expectations weren’t super high because it’s a relatively simple dish, but it’s fantastic! The sauce is indeed phenomenal and the tastes go so well together! Thank you for sharing this lovely and healthy recipe <3
Great. So pleased to hear you liked it Judith! Macrobiotic food is very simple but a tasty sauce really makes it.
This sauce was delicious, I’ve been putting it on everything! Left out the maple as I felt the carrots were sweet enough, upped the miso & use PB as that’s what I had on hand. Thanks!
Really happy to hear it was a hit with you Anoude! Hope you try out some more of my recipes with as much success.
I made this today for me and my boyfriend as we are doing atleast a month of going vegan (if not longer!). It was so so good! Super filing and easy. He loved it and insisted we start making it a regular addition to our week. The perfect meal for us. Glad you put it out there
That’s awesome to hear Lucy! I’m obsessed with that sauce 😛