A PROTEIN PROGRAM

In common conversation the protein component of our meals tends to take centre stage. If you ask 'What's for dinner tonight?' people will say "Chicken". What they mean is chicken plus vegetables plus other side dishes, but it is the chicken which is the central feature. The chicken is the protein - the other components of the meal - the vegetables and carbohydrates - are the side show.

Macrobiotics is not quite like that because it is, first and foremost, a grain-based cuisine. So in answer to the question, 'What's for dinner tonight?' the answer will be "rice" or "millet" or "barley" or some other whole grain. In cuisine macrobiotique the grain is centre stage and the other components of the meal are the accompaniments. This is as it should be. Whole grains are foundational. The meal is built around the grain. The grain is the main ingredient and the other elements of the meal are enjoyed in smaller amounts.

All the same, every square meal requires protein as well as grain. Certainly, whole grains contain some protein themselves, but it is incomplete. In general, every grain-based meal must also include an additional form of protein. There are narrow versions of macrobiotic dieting in which there is an extreme emphasis upon grains and very little protein, but this is really a type of selective fasting and can be dangerous if maintained for too long. The body needs protein. A "square meal" - meaning a full and wholesome meal suitable for a healthy person - will always include a starch (grain) and protein and additional vegetables.

In order to provide variety and to make planning easier during busy times I have often resorted to drawing up a program of protein components for the main meal of the day over the week or fortnight. The program includes protein foods from both plant and animal sources but with an emphasis on plant proteins - macrobiotics is a plant-based (but not plant-exclusive) cuisine. A typical program might look like this:

1. Adzuki beans
2. Tofu
3. Free range chicken
4. Lentils
5. Fish
6. Tempeh
7. Eggs
8. Chick peas
9. Shellfish
10. Mung

The challenge each day is to create a dish featuring the day's protein source. This is eaten in relatively small serves along with the grain of the day - the feature of the meal - and a good range of well-prepared vegetables.

Notes:

*Variety is the key. It can't be good to eat the same protein source too frequently. The idea is to mix it up. Macrobiotics - properly considered - embraces the full range of wholesome traditional foods. Balance and moderation are what are important. Too much meat eating is undoubtedly bad. But so too is too much  supposed "health food" and a one-sided narrow approach to healthy eating. Macrobiotic cuisine is diverse, nutritional, tasty and interesting.

*Tofu and tempeh should not be eaten too often. Many vegans and vegetarians over do it. Once a week for each is enough. These are beautiful traditional foods but too much of them can produce health problems.

*Different legumes have different protein profiles. It is good to eat a range of different legumes. In macrobiotics the smaller beans - adzuki and mung etc. - are preferred compared to the larger beans such as chick peas and kidney beans, but this is only a guiding principle, not a rule.

*Meals can also be accompanied by items that add extra proteins: nut sauces, miso soup etc.

*Some red meat (from a naturally farmed source) might be included now and then as a treat. The idea that red meat is "forbidden" in macrobiotics is erroneous. Nothing is forbidden. Although some people will choose not to eat meat for ethical or other reasons.

THE OLD APPLE

Tydeman's Early Worcester - an old aromatic and fragrant variety forgotten in the rush to industrialisation. 

The apple is a favoured fruit in cuisine macrobiotique. The reason for this is that it is, among fruits, comparatively yang. This is easily understood. If you eat half a bucket of plums you well know what the consequences will be. Like most fruits, plums are mostly water and sugar. Macrobiotics - as a general rule - takes the view that fruit is overvalued as a food for this reason. But, among fruits, apples are relatively balanced and you can eat a considerable number of them without suffering the same consequences as plums. They are less awash in water in sugar. They are a more balanced food. Compare the apple to the pear. The pear is somewhat more yin - which is to say it has more water and sugar than the apple. A good crisp apple is a better food than a sloppy, juicy pear in this respect. All things are relative, but in general we can say that apples are a more balanced and wholesome food than most other fruits which, in contrast, are watery and sugary. As with plums, you do not need to eat too many blackberries before you start to experience gastrointestinal upsets. Similarly, too many strawberries will make many people come out in a rash. Too much fruit is bad. Over indulgence in fruit is very common among 'health' enthusiasts - and then there is the lunacy of the 'fruitarian'. But, among fruit, the apple is a safe bet. Fruits are used sparingly in macrobiotic cooking, but apples can be used more often and in greater quantity than other fruits. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

It is said that in 1900 there were several hundred types of apples in cultivation in Australia. By the mid century, though, this had dropped to only a handful. This is because many old varieties could not cope with the rough and tumble of industrial production. Accordingly, many excellent types of apples - some of them quite unique with remarkable qualities - almost disappeared as the buying public fell into the amnesia of consumerism. It is only of recent times that dedicated enthusiasts have sort them out and lovingly restored stocks so that these beautiful 'heritage' apples can be preserved.

As it happens, I maintain a handful of heritage apple trees in my garden and they performed exceptionally well this year. More to the point though, my son cultivates a very extensive range of heritage apples at his property near Trentham in Victoria and I've been happily munching on some of his crop for the past few weeks. These are beautiful apples, many with distinctive textures and flavours. Many of them were first cultivated hundreds of years ago. These are worth seeking out. Modern apples are not inherently bad - and some of the modern Japanese varieties such as the 'Fuji' are a triumph of modern breeding - but the older varieties have been tampered with less and in general are closer to type. They have a depth and complexity of flavour lacking in modern apples. As such they are especially suitable for use in the macrobiotic kitchen.

A superb range of old apple trees for cultivation can be acquired from Woodbridge Fruit trees in Tasmania. These people know their apples! See the link here:

https://www.woodbridgefruittrees.com.au/

The Graventstein - a popular apple in the 19th century. 

The other thing to note about the apple is that it is the best adapted fruit for temperate climate cooking. These days with industrial transport people in temperate regions tend to indulge in far too much tropical fruit.  In macrobiotic thinking it is best to eat what grows locally and in season. It is unnatural madness to live on bananas and mangoes from hot Queensland when you live in cool climate Victoria. This is a trap into which many health faddists, hipsters, vegans and vegetarians fall. They think it is healthy to eat lots of tropical fruit. It's not. For people in temperate zones tropical fruit ought to be treated as an occasional luxury. Instead, fruit consumption should be concentrated upon temperate zone fruits - and members of the apple family especially, with pride of place given to the apple itself. In temperate zones, the apple in the queen of fruit. Apples can find an appropriate place in macrobiotic cuisine as a dessert, as a snack and in other ways. Better still if the apples are old heritage varieties grown under organic cultivation by small-scale growers.

Cox's Orange Pippin - an esteemed old apple originating in Buckinghamshire, England, 1825.