Mimicking macrobiotic: No.1

Macrobiotic requires some studying or training.

I am not qualified.

So I will try to borrow some ideas and mimic what they do. In this first post, I am going to introduce two items that are commonly used in macrobiotics. Vegan yet very nutritious.

1) Hijiki

This is black, sort of scary-looking seaweed. Honestly, it doesn't taste excellent - at least I don't appreciate the taste. BUT it is very nutritious. Notably, it's very rich in iron.

Before/after I had a baby, I ate Hijiki on a daily basis (1 spoonful per day) and I didn't have to suffer from anemia at all! (I have been suffered from chronic anemia in my life! It disappeared....) My mom has her own theory about nutrition. She insists that the nutrition that comes from supplements is not as effectively absorbed as from natural foods.

Well, I haven't tried to verify her theory yet, but as long as Hijiki is concerned, it really worked for my anemia. Amazing.

You will soak dried Hijiki for 10-20 minutes and add it to soup or salad or whatever you want. If you are interested, Google with hijiki and you will find some recipes in English. However, my recommendation is to add Hijiki to minimum amount of soup and drink it up fast! I mean, I swallow Hijiki like supplement tablet!


2) Kinako

This is powered soy bean. It is often used for sweets. If you are bored with plain rice, just mix kinako with some sugar and sprinkle it over your rice.
Kinako is commonly used for Mochi, but it goes well with plain yogurt or milk. I found a nice observation and mode d'imploi for Kinako. Soy bean is obviously rich in Vitamin B and protein.

Both can be easily found at local Japanese or Korean grocery stores. And they are pretty reasonable in price.