Positive Health Online

Macrobiotics for All Seasons is a cookbook that will inspire your desire for healthy eating and equip you with a plethora of Macrobiotic recipes aligned to the time of year.

Watson-Tara begins the book with her insight into the food situation across the world. She boldly calls for people to “find a new attitude to food that isn’t about dieting but about health”. She asserts we must “learn how to relax” in order to alleviate the “stress epidemic” and the battle of multitasking from which we are suffering.

Watson-Tara goes on to explain that health is about freedom and she offers a guide for making changes to your health, before outlining the principles of Macrobiotics.

I like how the book is set out with the chapters containing an introduction to each season, followed by a comprehensive array of recipes for the preparation of a host of macrobiotic dishes.

The seasonal descriptions begin the chapters. Here the reader can engage in a display of Marlene Watson-Tara’s charming stories relating to the season. One may also discover the eastern Macrobiotic insight connecting the particular organs and elements to the time of year, and the health implications that are pertinent during each season.

An abundance of seasonal recipes follow, which cover special drinks, home remedies, soups, vegetable servings, grain dishes, bean delights, sauces, salads and side dishes and of course desserts! This cascade of recipes tracks the four seasons plus an extra season.

The fifth season marks the transition from Summer into Autumn and is known as Late Summer in Macrobiotics. Late Summer is an important time of year to nourish the blood sugar balance in the body following the height of summer when plenty of sweet foods carrying simple sugars are likely to have been consumed. At this time of year, Watson-Tara offers recipes for indulging in the complex carbohydrate sugars from sweet ground and root vegetables.

I delighted in the Peanut Seitan with a hint of mustard and liver loving greens.  Clients I cooked for enjoyed the hearty Millet and Tofu Bake made with a dash of shoyu, rice vinegar and black sesame seeds. The Kasha Pilaf was simple to create and a created a lovely dish with buckwheat, the favoured grain for winter.  I varied my pilaf by adding ginger, diced squash and peas for a colourful feast.

The recipes for Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Puy lentil and Vegetable Roast and Noodles with Miso- Tahini sauce look equally tempting.  I’m also looking forward to revisiting the Zucchini and Advocado Hummus and the inviting Chocolate Pudding!

I must admit I did find the index difficult to use in order to return to recipes. The index, like the book is set out by season such that if like me, you can not recall which season your Pressed Salad variation originated from, this could be a tiresome task. The titles of the recipes for many of the seasons are in a very light shade which for me made the dishes less welcoming. I would have also liked to see the captions indicating the recipes each image related to, especially for the higher resolution shots.

A collection of recipes for all seasons. Late Summer Macro Paella anyone?