Naturally!

Lucky Foods For The New Year * Osechi Ryori

2011-12-30T02:00:00.001-10:00

When I lived in Japan, one of the tastiest menus that I learned was how to prepare the traditional New Year's food. First introduced during the Heinan Period, osechi-ryori is basically a bento (boxed lunch) prepared in advance, stored in a cool place, and reheated when it is to be eaten during the first three days of the new year. Each dish and ingredient in osechi has meaning, such as good health, fertility, good harvest, happiness, and long life.

Cleaning up everything from the previous year and starting the new year with a clean slate complete with nourishing healthy food is very culturally important!

Here are some of the ingredients and their significance.

Mochi

The only description I could find about mochi was along the lines of "wishes for many healthy family generations". This chewy, puffy form of pounded rice is so delicious and nourishing wrapped with nori and drizzled with shoyu. Mochi is also an ingredient in ozouni soup and is placed at the front door with special New Year's decorations.

Black Soybeans (Kuromame)

These sweet and hearty beans signify good health, vitality, wealth, abundance, and prosperity. These are typically made these days with sugar and shoyu, though the macrobiotic way is to replace these with natural handmade mirin, brown rice syrup, and unpasteurized, fermented shoyu.

Soba Noodles

Long life

Kombu (seaweed)

Usually made into kombu maki (as seen on the left), this represents joy.

Nishime

A slow simmered vegetable dish signifying "harmonious family relationships".

Renkon/Lotus Root

This is an auspicious food, because you can see through the holes of the root "into the future."

Datemaki

Sweet rolled omelette mixed with fish paste which symbolizes wishes for many auspicious days filled with gold, wealth, fertility, and children. I learned how to make it with tofu and millet (also, minus the fish paste).

Gobo/Burdock Root

Usually made into a dish called "kinpira gobo". This symbolizes "wishing for luck to split and multiply."

There are other foods that I haven't mentioned here.

Have a safe, happy, healthy, and abundant new year everyone!

Meet The Chefs

2011-12-03T10:44:00.005-10:00

The Cover Story, Meet The Chefs, in The Honolulu Weekly

Benefits of Whole Plant-based Foods

2011-07-21T21:03:00.006-10:00

Whole foods such as grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and land and sea vegetables contain:

Thiamin
Riboflavin
B-6
Niacin
Folacin
Vitamin E
(and more)

The vast range of benefits include:

Healthy nervous system and metabolism function, lactation, fertility, red blood cell formation, health of organs, aid in fat synthesis, prevents birth defects, lowers cholesterol, inhibits tumor formation, aids digestion.....

Benefits of Vitamin C

2011-07-21T20:57:00.004-10:00

Vitamin C:

assists in formation of connective tissue (keeps skin firm)
helps heal wounds and broken bones
aids in red blood cell formation
protects against capillary wall ruptures, bruising, and scurvy

Natural sources include:

cauliflower, broccoli, mustard greens, kale, parsley, and other leafy green vegetables, strawberries, oranges, cantaloupe, and other fresh, seasonal, fruits

Benefits of Vitamin E

2011-07-21T20:56:00.002-10:00

On your plate:

almonds, leafy greens of a wide variety (like kale, watercress, choi sum, collards, mustards, spinach, etc.)

Benefits:

Helps protect and repair skin
Reduces redness and irritation

Benefits of Vitamin A

2011-07-21T20:50:00.006-10:00

Vitamin A:

promotes the health of eyes and skin.
increases immunity to infections and reduces free radicals.
protects against tumors, especially lung.
improves skin texture and reduces age spots.

Natural sources include:

carrots, winter squash (kabocha, butternut, etc), rutabaga, other yellow-orange vegetables, broccoli, kale, and other dark green leafy vegetables, and nori.

Berried Treasure

2011-07-02T20:05:00.007-10:00

I always make a point to purchase Kula strawberries when I'm in the grocery store to support the production of local produce. Here's a great way to prepare them for dessert:

Balsamic Macerated Strawberries

2 pounds strawberries, sliced thin
1 T brown rice syrup, optional
2 tsp organic balsamic vinegar (best quality you can afford)
8 to 10 basil leaves, chopped

In a large bowl, place sliced strawberries, brown rice syrup, and balsamic vinegar. Let the strawberries marinate for about 30 minutes in their own juices until they begin to wilt but not get too mushy. Place in bowls and serve. Just before serving, chop the basil and scatter over the top of the strawberries.

Variations:

Enjoy with Soya Whip (see previous post) by spooning on top or tossing the berries through.

Serve over your favorite all natural vanilla cake, or even over soy ice cream.

Substitute mint for basil.

Things I Love

2011-07-02T19:57:00.008-10:00

Just wanted to share some of the things that I've been recently enjoying:

1. Homemade granola with organic oats, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, coconut, and maple syrup.
2. Raw kale salad with dino kale, carrots, cucumbers, red pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, organic tamari, and local tomatoes.
3. Alter Eco Dark Chocolate with Quinoa
4. Red wine
5. Summer fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and canteloupe.
6. Long walks and running in nature.
7. Going to the beach.
8. Family time.
9. Pot boiled brown rice instead of pressure cooked, for a change.
10. Connecting with macrobiotic enthusiasts on Kauai.
11. Surinam Cherry and Clove flavored Ono Pops popcicles.
12. Someone recently gifted me two containers of soy whipped cream (see photo above) which is so NOT MACRO yet so delicious all the same. This was so that I could make the most amazing vanilla custard. How do we get this on Oahu?

Macrobiotic Philosophy & Radiation Exposure

2011-03-27T12:30:00.004-10:00

This information is from John Kozinski at the Kushi Institute:

Concerned About Nuclear Radiation Fallout?

Kushi Institute senior teacher and macrobiotic counselor John Kozinski shares timely information on this important issue.

Ideas to Protect Yourself from Harmful Radiation

As the crisis in Japan unfolds, there is uncertainty about possible radiation that may affect Japan and the world.

Potassium iodide pills have been sold out at many of the American distributors. Potassium iodide helps protect a person from the harmful effects of radioactive iodine by blocking it's uptake into the thyroid. One possible serious effect of exposure to large doses of radioactive iodine is thyroid cancer.

There are some natural foods that will help if you have radiation exposure. Here is a list with some explanations.

Leafy greens: stimulate the colon and help the liver discharge radiation from the body.
Fermented foods: have the same effect as leafy greens. These include miso, natural cucumber pickles, and fermented sauerkraut. The best quality pickles are homemade or found in the refrigerated section of the store. They do not have vinegar as an ingredient.
Avoid or limit sugars. These will ferment in the gut and interfere with elimination
Avoid excessive amounts of whole wheat flour products. The excess fiber will interfere with gut bacteria, hampering elimination.
Avoid hard and dry grains such as granola, and dried cereal. This kind of fiber creates bad bacteria hampering the gut.
Eat moderate amounts of grains and cooked vegetables, small amounts of beans regularly and fish along with some cooked fruit, healthy fats and natural seasonings. If you eat other forms of animal foods, be moderate. Excessive amounts will interfere with digestion
Limit raw foods. Raw fiber is harder to digest and will hamper elimination.
Good quality saturated fats block the toxicity of radioactive ions such as avocado and coconut oil. Increase these in times of a nuclear disaster.
Fatty fish: fat soluble vitamins in fatty fish like wild salmon or sardines aid elimination. Eat more often in a disaster.
Kelp tablets from clean waters or kombu powder made from kombu from clean waters. The natural iodine can replace the potassium iodine pills. Take a pill every 1-2 hours if exposed to radiation. North American Herb and Spice Company has good quality kelp under the name, PureKelp. If using kombu powder take a half teaspoon 3 times a day.
Miso has a substance that will remove radiation from the body. Prepare soups and season with a strong taste of miso if there is nuclear disaster. Drink 3 cups per day.
Umeboshi Plums: Take 1-2 daily. This will stimulate the liver and colon to eliminate radiation.
Supplements for Radiation disasters: organic selenium, 200 micrograms every hour for one week then 600 micrograms daily. Vitamin E: 400 IU every hour for 1-2 days, then 2400 IU daily. Buy Vitamin E as mixed tocopherols and/or tocotrienols.
North American Herb and Spice Company has a product that combines herbs, supplements and potassium iodine. It is called NukeProtect.
Chlorella: 2 - 500 mg. capsules 3 times per day or follow directions on the bottle

______________________________________________________

Note from Leslie: The programs and services as well as all information in these web pages are educational in nature, not medical advice, and not intended to take the place of personalized medical counseling, diagnosis and treatment.

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Macrobiotics on Maui and Kauai

2011-03-24T08:59:00.003-10:00

One of my goals this year has been to reach out and work with people on the neighbor islands.

This is coming to fruition with:

an article in Maui Time
another cooking class set up for early summer on Kauai

Happy spring!

Leslie and Alan Wong Jammin' in the Kitchen

2011-01-17T16:00:00.013-10:00

One of my favorite people here in Hawaii is Alice Inoue whom I met about 6 years or so ago when I had just come back from Japan and started teaching macrobiotics. She had mentioned that her partner is Alan Wong and right then and there I set the intention to someday work with him in some way with macrobiotics.

Fast forward to November 2010, where I had the wonderful honor to sit between Alan and Roy Yamaguchi to judge the Iron Chef competition through my participation in Grow Hawaii. While judging, I spoke with both of them and Alan and I decided to get in the kitchen and share inspirations with each other.

January 2011 represented the fruition of our agreement, and I spent several hours in his kitchen with him and his staff sharing some of my favorite vegan and macrobiotic recipes. With Alan directing, they expertly showed me how they plate and present the food in Alan's style. I learned so much and was so incredibly inspired by the brilliance I was surrounded by! Here are some of the photos, and sorry the quality isn't the best.

decorating the plate with sauces

spanikopita garnished with stuffed grape leaves and micro greens

quinoa pilaf with other treats

the 'everything dish' with everything we made during the day

a close up of the previous photo

another 'everything dish'

I'm so excited for the direction that really fine vegan and macrobiotic cuisine is taking here in Honolulu! This trend encourages me that more people will start enjoying healthier dishes more frequently! Hopefully more collaborations will ensue.

Leslie in Hawaii Hospitality Magazine Nov 2010

2010-12-27T12:52:00.005-10:00

This says:

"Who are Hawaii's most promising culinary talents? Here's a sampling of the current crop of standouts. Each person is uniquely brilliant, believes in the farm-to-table approach to cuisine, and has a bit of wisdom to share about the industry. These are 12 stars you need to watch!" by Jason Soeda

Leslie in Aloha Express * Japanese Travel Guide

2010-12-27T12:50:00.002-10:00

Leslie in Glamorous * Japanese Travel Guide

2010-12-27T12:43:00.003-10:00

Put Yourself First

2010-12-22T11:16:00.006-10:00

In my last posts, I made a commitment to step out of my comfort zone and share more of myself with everyone. 2010 got off to a pretty rocky start for me, so I am in the energy of great celebration for the close of that yearly cycle and for the possibility of rebirth and renewal in 2011. I am in such deep and beautiful gratitude for the lessons I learned and all the frankly magical opportunities that came my way in the past year. It rocks! Possibly one of the greatest lessons of my life came in the first few days of 2010. I'm sharing this so that no one else needs to get "run over by a Mack truck" by the universe.

Here's what it was:

YOU. COME. FIRST.

If I am not taking care of myself in the way I need to, then I cannot show up for anyone else to share from a place of wealth and abundance. Anything less than this comes from the energy of depletion and lack.

How does this relate to you?

Over and over again, I hear SO many people in my classes say, "My husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend/kids need(s) this healthy food the most (more than me), but they won't eat it."

What does this mean?

It means that whomever is saying this is actually projecting a part of their own self-conscious onto another person. When you say "I am worried about my husband's blood pressure, weight, diabetes (etc., etc.)", take a moment to pause and look inward. Do you have these issues resolved for yourself?

Everything we do has to begin first with ourselves. I took 2 years of my life and spent a lot of my hard earned money to learn about macrobiotics in depth, engrossing myself and practicing cooking every single opportunity I had. I made big elaborate meals on the weekends or other days off, and then invited my dear friend Clair over to try everything. She and I traded, so that when I fed her, she gave me reiki treatments and NLP (these are what she was learning at the time). When I was home with my family over the holidays, I cooked my own dishes with enough for everyone to enjoy, and added these to our table as options. Often (but not always!), these were favorites and are now requested dishes each time I come home. And I can guarantee you that we did NOT grow up eating kale or miso soup!!

When you live and breathe health, and when you immerse yourself in caring for yourself, you will naturally attract interest. As I became a better cook and as my own health soared, it didn't matter what I put on the table. It was enjoyed as a gift of love from my heart because it was filled with the qualities I was vibrating.

When you reach this point, you won't need to say a single thing to anyone! Begging, forcing, controlling and cajoling will have quite the opposite effect you desire. When you are grounded in your own health and wellness, people will naturally gravitate towards your bright and shining light.

And just a reminder if you have forgotten: YOU'RE WORTH IT!!!

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6 Steps To Changing Your Life

2010-12-20T14:37:00.005-10:00

So, now that I've told you about me, how can you change your life?

Here are the steps that I took.

1) Most important is to commit to yourself and commit to your health and happiness as your number 1 values.

2) Identify the limiting beliefs you have (and we ALL have them running subconsciously).

3) Get a teacher, coach, or mentor to help you learn how to cook and someone who can help you identify and shift these limiting beliefs

4) Quit anything that drains your precious life force. (My income doubled and then tripled when the extreme toxicity of a relationship was removed and opportunities have started flying my way left and right.)

5) Build community that will support and encourage you.

6) Experiment, try new things, and don't be afraid to fail!

Leave comments and tell me about your experiences!

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Change Your Food * Change Your Life

2010-12-20T12:33:00.004-10:00

I set an important and life-changing goal for myself.

Want to know what it is?

This goal is to positively and radically change my life in 2011, to embrace my gifts and to show up fully in the world.

You see, I think that for that majority of my entire life, I have been hiding out. I've been too afraid to really just "go for it". I've been hiding behind fears, limiting beliefs, and other people. In fact, just writing this blog post has me totally nervous to share who I am with you! In the past, at times, just "being myself" and having my dreams was met with criticism and discouragement.

Well guess what? I'm doing some extreme make-overs that I intend will bring more ease, effortlessness, grace, love, and joy into my life!! And when I accomplish this, it means that I will have so much more of my own gifts to share with the world.

If you look at my life right now, you might never know that I used to:

be overweight
have acne
to smoke (a lot of) cigarettes
eat at McDonald's fairly regularly (in fact, I loved the french fries and chocolate shake as an afternoon snack)

But then I experienced a couple of really life-shattering experiences that set my life on a brand new course. As life brought these challenges, I have shifted into more of who I am. How did I do this?

I got to where I am now by QUITTING......

HUH?

Here's what I quit:

1) Chicken, pork, and red meat first, then several years later finally dropped cheese and milk, and after that, fish, so that now I live a plant-based diet and lifestyle.

2) Processed foods. This was a revelation and a huge step toward completely renovating my whole life and my entire career. I felt so much better physically and emotionally that I was able to start my own business and embrace public speaking.

3) Negativity in my environment. "Food" comes in the form of what we are used to thinking of (e.g., what we put into our mouths), but did you ever stop to think about the "food" that is in your environment in general, such as the fear perpetuated by the media, the violence in the movies you watch, and people who drain your life force energy with their negativity? Have you had that same stack of clutter in your house for months? All of this is "food" because it's energy that you're taking in every single day.

4) Limiting beliefs. Because of my own life experiences, I've had significant limiting beliefs that have caused me to avoid living fully into my fullest potential. These old scripts play in our minds subconsciously, and you know what? They drain your energy. In committing to my life, to myself, and to happiness, prosperity, and abundance, I have been able to identify, cleanse, heal, and love myself more fully and sink more into my authenticity.

In addition to "quitting" I have also added in more positive influences -- let's call them "COMMITTING"! These have been:

1) Establishing a habit of eating whole foods, plant-based, organic home cooked meals. I didn't know how to do it when I first started my journey, so I got a bunch of books and read voraciously, AND I spent the money (in the thousands of dollars) to work with my teachers and educate myself. This became my passion and my full purpose for living.

2) Finding a community that would support me, and when I couldn't find community I started my own. I have an entire TEAM consisting of a coach, a mastermind group of fellow people with similar goals to my own who celebrate me and cheer me on and nurture me when I hit any obstacles (this happens to all of us no matter what stage we're experiencing), experts at shifting energy who I see here in Honolulu regularly, and friends and family who show up for me unconditionally.

3) Committing even more fully healthier living including spending time with awesome girl friends, meditating (doing this twice daily); nurturing and loving myself by keeping up a regular yoga practice, getting massages, resting, or going to the beach; as well as taking courses that will help me succeed.

What have been the results since I set and committed to my recent goal?

In the past month or two, I have radically shifted and received numerous blessings including:

being named one of the top young chefs in Hawaii by the trade magazine Hawaii Hospitality (and the majority of those mentioned in addition to me were men)
being named one of Hawaii's "most respected private chefs" by the Grow Hawaii team
landing a celebrity client
being featured in local and international food, fashion, and travel magazines
getting elected the chair for the newly formed Health and Nutrition Working Group in the Hawaii Food Policy Council
a spot on our local cable TV channel in November and December

You know it feels really good because my mission and purpose for improving my own life is so that people not just here in Hawaii, but the world, can experience healthier living! There are so many reasons for us to do this (and I'll cover them in another post.)

I'm going to be stepping even further out of my comfort zone, and I have to admit, this totally freaks me out. But I'm committed. I'm going for it!

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Women, Food, God

2010-12-13T10:19:00.016-10:00

Do you feel like you don't have time to eat well?

Worry about the cost of buying organic?

Think it's way too difficult and you could never master it?

Fear your family and friends will reject you, your food, or your efforts?

Think badly of yourself if you make a mistake in the kitchen?

These are the top beliefs that most people I work with seem to have when they come to me. They may really desire losing weight, getting off of their diabetes medication, or making their lifestyle more green (among other outcomes).

Why is that when so many people deeply desire positive outcomes that they avoid changing their diets?

My observation has been that what "getting healthy" represents taps people's deepest feelings about themselves. Geneen Roth wrote a book about this called "Women, Food, God". She says,

"The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. Your relationship with food is an exact mirror of your feelings about love, fear, anger, meaning, transformation and, yes, even God."

So even though you may really want to lose weight, it means truly facing the emotions that are attached to this issue for you. That's the scary and uncomfortable part for people! All the defense mechanisms pop up when we say we don't "have enough time" or "it's too expensive." Deep down, what it actually could mean is "this is too painful/fearful for me to experience at this moment." It could also mean, "I don't feel worthy enough" or "health isn't one of my core values yet." To know what you true values are, look on your plate.

However, "going beyond both the food and feelings takes you deeper into realms of spirit and soul to the bright center of your own life."

When people finally feel ready to transform their approach to diet and lifestyle, the result can be simply magnificent! These positive benefits might be a stabilized and healthy weight, clearer skin, more energy, sounder sleep, and an overall improved outlook on life. Those fears we had that someone "won't want to eat this healthy dish" get transformed when the a dish that you place on the table is the first to be devoured by all the guests simply because your most authentic loving expression of yourself is one of the ingredients in the food.

Love yourself enough to eat well. To me this means, "eat in a way that nourishes your spirit on a deep level". You deserve it.

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Sipping Tea with the Emperor and Queen Victoria

2010-12-01T15:31:00.005-10:00

Vegan High Tea the other day at Baby aWEARness was a HUGE hit. We had a great time.

In preparation for the tea festivities, I watched a DVD called All In This Tea. One section included a quote (I'll have to paraphrase) that really moved me and that I would like to share with you:

“In this moment [of drinking tea], we have the same experience that Queen Victoria had 150 years ago, the same taste a Chinese Emperor would have loved. Tea is living archeology. We are resurrecting flavors and experiences that bind us to the past shared by generations before us.”

Comments from participants:

"I don't usually like scones, but yours were so buttery and delicious."

"You are a wonderful hostess! Thank you for a great time of tea and new friends! I look forward to another event in the future."

"You have a talent for making food and the sharing of it so meaningful."

"The high tea on Sunday was so lovely. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. We've been trying to catch up with one another so we appreciated you creating the time, the space, and all the wonderful goodies to indulge ourselves. I've been raving about it to everyone and hope you will do another one in the future (especially since you've got all those wonderful teapots to put into good use)."

"Thank you, Leslie, for the splendid time at High Tea and the onolicious food! I am grateful for you, your skill, your palate and your vision for the community and the world!"

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Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T22:47:00.005-10:00

I am extremely grateful for all the joy, abundance, love, beauty, fabulous ohana, and opportunities in my life. Thank you!

Celebratin'!!!!!!!!!

2010-11-19T22:01:00.003-10:00

Just a little YouTube video to ring in some good celebratin' energy about all the GREAT GREAT things in my life!! WOO HOO! For some booty shakin' fun, watch the video and be sure to dance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqV7DB8Iwg

A few lyrics by the Black Eyed Peas, from Let's Get It Started

"Obstacles are inefficient, follow your intuition, free your inner soul and break away from tradition. Coz when we beat out, girl it's pullin' without.......Step by step, like an infant new kid. Inch by inch with the new solution. Transmit hits, with no delusion. The feeling's irresistible and that's how we movin'."

A Healthy Cup of Tea

2010-11-19T18:57:00.010-10:00

My life has been a whirlwind lately, from cohorting with some internationally renowned local chefs, to getting a rush of much welcomed and appreciated press, to taking on celebrity clients. I'm in awe, and extremely grateful for all my opportunities and the places my job takes me. What a life!

While my job is often mind-blowing, there are those mundane times when I'm driving around town through traffic in search of items for my next event. If you value organic whole food items of high quality, it takes some work to source things sometimes.

In my pursuit of all things related to tea today, I had an amazingly wonderful and extremely random adventure.

Here I was, driving down industrialized Nimitz, daydreaming about tea, tea pots, and the Vegan High Tea event coming up on the 28th. The universe speaks in mysterious ways sometimes, and as I was daydreaming, I looked up and saw a white van drive by. I happened to notice that it said something about the Hawaiian Islands Tea Company, and there was a phone number. Hmmm.... That was some kind of serendipity impossible to ignore. I took action and called the number before the van disappeared from sight, only to leave a message.

About one hour later, a man named Dave called me back and said I should stop by for some samples. I was escorted to the back by Mr. Dave Plaskett, who turned out to be the Director of Tea for the Hawaii Coffee Company.

photo from http://hawaiianislandstea.com/

His office was simply breathtaking, with rare dried teas from every possible corner of the earth. His walls were decorated by photos of people who work with tea throughout the world, posters of tropical fruits, samples of tea bags hanging from a poster board, and what appeared to be an apothecary of various concoctions he is working on for their line of teas. I was so incredibly impressed.

We sat and talked for about 15 minutes about macrobiotics, an idea he has for his next business, the origin of genmaicha, one of his philosophies about business that seemed very timely to me, and where I could potentially get the tea that I needed. In the meantime, he loaned me All In This Tea, a documentary about a man obsessed with finding the world's rarest teas. He was an absolutely cool and fascinating guy who transformed my day from the ordinary to the extraordinary! Thanks Dave.

I'll be seeing some of you at the tea party on the 28th!

Grow Hawaii Iron Chef Competition: Next Generation

2010-11-12T17:43:00.004-10:00

The Iron Chef Next Generation teams were scrambling around the room choosing all their ingredients to use in their cook-off. Kabocha was the "secret" ingredient of the day.

The displays were incredible of all the fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients.

And on the judge's panel.... that's ME, with Ed Kenney, Alan Wong, and Roy Yamaguchi signing autographs at the end of the day. Yeah baby!! I was one of the very few female chefs there representing.

(this photo is from Honolulu Magazine's twitpic.com account.)
~~~~~~~

Article on Hawaii News Now

Monday November 8th, 2010 - The Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools (HAIS), Sheraton Waikiki and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawai‘i presents the GROW HAWAI‘I Challenge. Fifteen public charter and independent schools across Hawai‘i have been selected to participate in HAIS’s innovative Grow Hawai‘i pilot program to incorporate locally grown produce into their school cafeteria menus. Breakout sessions will celebrate local success stories and heroes making a difference in sustainability. Chefs from Starwood’s Hotels and Resorts across the islands and local celebrity restaurateurs will team up with the school chefs and students in a School Garden Cooking Challenge. Attendees will enjoy a delicious Farm-to-Table lunch prepared by Sheraton Waikīkī chefs before the awards are presented.

~~~~~~~

Article on Grow Hawaii's website:

Over the next three years, Grow Hawaii will use a variety of strategies to significantly enrich the educational dialogue in all private and public schools statewide concerning the urgency for growing food in the islands. Beginning with the belief that the betterment of humankind is inherently possible and that schools are a prominent force for good, Grow Hawai’i and its partners aspire to create lifelong “buy local, eat local” consumers by engaging students, starting in elementary school, in exploration, experimentation, and action-oriented problem-based learning that will foster consideration of the origins of and their relationship with island grown food and the social systems and values we will need to create a more sustainable way of life. Simultaneously, we aspire to document this story and share it with all who are interested, allowing the voices of students to chart a course to the future and be in the vanguard of those leading the way. http://www.growhi.org/?page_id=2

Named one of 12 up and coming chefs to watch

2010-11-05T15:00:00.006-10:00

Hawaii Hospitality named me one of the 12 up and coming chefs to watch. Check out their November issue for the article.

Grow Hawaii Project

2010-11-05T14:56:00.004-10:00

Leslie will be teaching a break out session along with some other very well known chefs in Hawaii as part of this project! See www.growhi.org

Leslie on OC16

2010-11-05T14:39:00.004-10:00

I was recently on OC16's TV program called Career Changers.

Check out my segment on their You Tube Channel where I demo how to make a healthy holiday Quinoa Pilaf:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CareerChangersTV#p/u/1/3tGSrg0pu80

Diet for a Small Island

2010-11-03T09:16:00.006-10:00

Come join us for two inspiring dialogues on food/agricultural problems and on visions for food democracy in Hawai’i and beyond!

Frances Moore Lappé, the world-renowned democracy advocate, author (Diet for a Small Planet, Hope’s Edge, Liberation Ecology, World Hunger, Twelve Myth among many), and food and hunger expert, will be featured at the Umematsu and Yasu Watada Lecture Series on November 5-6 at Church of the Crossroads.

November 5 (Friday 7 pm)

“Food Democracy: Ideas and Stories to Liberate Our Food Systems”

Talk by Frances Moore Lappé

November 6 (Saturday 9 am)

“Diet for a Small Island: Visioning Food Democracy in Hawai'i.”

Panelists: State Senator Carol Fukunaga, Eric Enos (Ka'ala Farms), Dr. Ted Radovich (University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources), Hi'ilei Kawelo (Paepae o He'eia), and Frances Moore Lappé.

Talks are free and open to public. Both talks are at Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Avenue, Honolulu. Tel: 808-949-2220. http://churchofthecrossroadshawaii.org/

For more information about the Watada Lectures Series, visit our blog http://watadalecture.blogspot.com/

See you there!

Plant-based "Made in Hawaii" Potluck, Oct 15th

2010-10-15T16:47:00.009-10:00

I just spent the afternoon shopping and preparing a few dishes for the "Made in Hawaii" potluck my friend Joy and I are hosting tonight. It was difficult to choose what to make because so many ideas flew into my mind while all the veggies simultaneously flew into the shopping cart. Approximately $100 later and I was on my way!!! I have a hard time with restraint when it comes to quality ingredients. :-) (But I will choose quality ingredients over other treats any time.)

I had a hard time with the flavor of the oil that I picked up (which shall remain unnamed) so my executive decision was to change to olive oil and use some balsamic vinegar too. Those were the only non-local ingredients in these dishes.

One of the items that I'd like to incorporate into a dessert is some kona coffee.... How to do this vegan style??? Hmmm...... Ok will work on that.

Here are some of the things that I was working with.....

Chinese cabbage, red radish, daikon, asparagus, basil, thyme, mint, lemon, orange, strawberry, lilikoi, tomato, Waialua chocolate, Japanese cucumbers, mac nuts, beets, beet greens, kale, and arugula.

Mighty Lentils

2010-10-13T21:00:00.000-10:00

In our previous cooking class, Grains and Beans, one of the beans we explored was lentils. I absolutely LOVE lentils, and for this class we specifically used French Lentils. I find them so beautiful with their blue, green, and brown earthy, life giving, vibrant colors.

I typically ask questions like "What's so great about lentils? Why should we eat them?"

Well..... Here's why we want to get lentils into our diet. They:

are high in protein & iron
contain dietary fiber
are low in calories
contain essential amino acids (eat with rice to have a complete protein source)
are inexpensive to purchase in bulk

They fill you up, but don't fill you out!

Cold French Lentil Salad

2010-10-13T20:46:00.011-10:00

My friend Kathy turned me onto this dish that combines French lentils with fennel. I have to admit, even though I am adventurous, I was at first a little bit skeptical, until I tasted it.

The flavors exploded in my mouth, and boy, did I change my mind quickly! It was absolutely stunning!

It was so good that I immediately decided to highlight this recipe in my Grains and Beans cooking class.

When I took out the fennel, everyone got nervous and squirmed a little bit in their seats (kinda like how I had too). I could see them looking at me and thinking, "What is she about to do?!"

Here everything is ready and we are just about to eat.

(photos by Ruth)

The final recipe looks like this (below) and it comes from Vegetarian Times.

Refreshing Local Treats

2010-10-06T15:34:00.002-10:00

I have been enjoying some local fruits from my friends' backyard gardens, specifically lilikoi and mountain apples. These are such refreshing treats.

Many Thanks

2010-10-05T22:31:00.012-10:00

I have been really blessed lately with such a beautiful life, so I wanted to pause and acknowledge this. To my friends, customers, and teachers in life, I just wanted to express a big thank you for being a wonderful part of my life. In the past 9 months in particular, many of you have been such a beacon of love and light for me. Hope I don't leave anyone out. You are loved even if unnamed.

In gratitude to...

My family: For their unconditional love and support.
Anjali: For your friendship and skillful web design work.
Michelle D: You are always there for me. I love you!
Stephanie: For your friendship and beautiful graphic design.
Monique: For helping me shift my consciousness to a better realm.
Brenda: For your friendship.
Sandi: For teaching me about living fully. I cherish every day with you and your family.
Summer B: For your friendship.
Alice I: For always choosing love and light.
Gui: For creating an energetic space for me to reunite with myself on the yoga mat.
Paul and Amy: For both of your great sense of humor and Paul's beautiful photos.
Aprilani: For your friendship.
Joy and Shen: Blessing circles rule!
Shar and Art: For your open hearts and generosity.
Dania: For sharing important information with me with divine timing and your words of wisdom.
Kokua Marke t: For allowing me to develop new areas of my creativity.
MOA: For sharing space with me for cooking classes and for wonderful johrei energy work.
Baby aWEARness and Ashley Lukens: For sharing space with me for cooking classes, friendship and more cool stuff to come.
The Shintani's: For an opportunity to cook for people in life-changing ways.
Kathy: For being a colleague and friend in macrobiotics here on Oahu.
Willow: For insight into the sheer chaos!
Barbara P: For helping me manifest my heart's desire, quickly, easily, effortlessly for the highest good of all.
Nancy O: For the luscious mountain apples.
Geri: For your handcrafted dishtowels. I love them so much!
Holly & Moumen: For sharing.
Cherub & Joannie: For including me.
Divine source/mother nature: For providing everything I need.
Jeri: For helping promote me unselfishly.
Fred: Your heart is so filled with love. Thank you for touching mine. Any client who works with you is rich beyond belief.
Mavis, Ruth, Mi, Kay, Lei, Susan, Shelley, Joan, Karen, Jackie W, Arleene, Karin, and to all my incredible customers: I am honored to serve you! You make my job so wonderful! Thank you so much for your beautiful selves.

With love, Leslie

Photo by Paul Herchig of www.herchigimages.com

Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking

2010-10-04T22:47:00.003-10:00

Sooooo many people have asked me to make gluten-free goodies, and I have honestly just resisted. Wheat is just so yummy and makes such delectable desserts. Well, I'm operating outside my comfort zone now, just experimenting, and so far the results are not bad! Possibly even truly delicious. Behold the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, and the Thumbprint Cookies. (I started baking on a whim and didn't have any apricot jam, so I improvised). I have to thank Lorraine for giving me a GREAT cookbook to get me going.

Heirloom Bean Soup

2010-10-02T22:05:00.003-10:00

Sunday's cooking class is all about soups! This heirloom bean mix will be used in one of our soups that I'll demonstrate, seasoned simply with sea salt, veggies, diced tomatoes, and some herbs.

Cheesy Melty Vegan Lasagna

2010-10-02T21:59:00.005-10:00

I'm recipe testing for future classes, and I put together a vegan lasagna that looks like it turned out pretty good.

Recent Photos from the Bento Cooking Class

2010-09-29T00:59:00.004-10:00

photos by Paul Herchig

My Trip to Waikiki Worm Company

2010-09-29T00:40:00.010-10:00

I've dabbled in composting before, but I was told that I wasn't doing it quite right. I had a spinning composter, but worms don't like to get tossed around. When I changed living arrangements, I sold my spinning composter and took a hiatus from the whole endeavor.

Throwing vegetable scraps away just didn't feel right, and after attending the recent agriculture conference, I committed to seriously getting back into composting. I made my visit to the Waikiki Worm Company this afternoon and purchased all my new composting items. Here is the store owner getting my worms ready for me.

Mindy explained to me how to set up my system. First, I have to shred paper and place it into my composting bin.
Then, I take the pile of worms and separate it from the vermicast, sprinkling the vermicast onto the paper to make a nice bed for the earthworms. It's important to water it so that it stays moist.
From there I take the ball of earthworms and place them onto the bed and let them wriggle their way into their bed of paper and vermicast.

Now I can begin to feed them, so I grabbed some alfalfa sprouts that I had leftover from a cooking class and sprinkled them in.

Finally, it's important to cover the food with more paper, and then wet everything down, and place on the lid.

My system is now operational! I'm heading back to her shop on Saturday to pick up some compost tea to spray on the foilage of my plants.

I'm really seriously working on getting a big container garden going. Here is my kale, basil, thyme, chives, parsley, and Maui onions.... (hard to see but they are all in there!).

Cilantro and arugula are sprouting in some other containers...

Hawaii State Agriculture Conference

2010-09-28T23:16:00.005-10:00

On September 23rd and 24th, I attended the Hawaii State Agriculture Conference at the beautiful Ko'Olina Resort. For two days, I thoroughly enjoyed and took in as much of the information as possible, and here is my interpretation and summary of the issues for you:

We as a nation and world are in completely uncharted territory in terms of CO2 emissions and are in dire need of innovation and new ideas.
The most critical issues facing the islands seem to be the price and/or availability of energy, land, water, and the number of farmers. In addition, financing and transportation are important issues. 'Energy' and 'Agriculture' may see some big fights to come. The main recommendation is for everyone (conventional and organic farmers and ranchers) to try to "get along" and to communicate well regarding our shared issues.
UH's College of Tropical Ag is working on aquaponics to meet some of the new sustainability standards set for 2050. Aquaponics helps solve problems of access to land. Some of the components of farming this way are expensive, so they are looking at ways to source items locally (e.g., fish food and fertilizers).
We currently have 90% of our energy shipped to the islands in the form of oil. There is a big push to move to biofuels (and I was sitting between someone from the Department of Energy and another person from the Navy who were both asking lots of questions and taking many notes), but farmers and ranchers are losing their land so that biofuels can be grown and produced. Although it was left unsaid, it was implied that the biofuels are GMO crops.
It's critical that we all move to organic and sustainable methods of production. For health reasons in particular, organics were strongly recommended. We heard from ex-conventional farmers who have completely changed their methods and yielded some incredible crop results.
Consumers need to educate themselves that food doesn't come from a store, it comes from the farmers. We all really need to stop shopping at places that offer "cheap" food and start prioritizing local producers. Buying "cheap" creates more long term systemic problems.
Ranchers and farmers are people on whom we all currently rely every day (so we really need to value and respect them).
Ranchers are moving toward grass fed beef. The cow is becoming a key part of the biofuel industry. It's predicted that perhaps the ranchers will start building some bio-refineries and when this happens, they will be selling energy back to HECO. (Seems like we really ought to be nice to our farmers!)
Cows and worms are some pretty valuable creatures.
Korean Natural Farming Methods and biochar are a couple of things to seriously learn about and incorporate into current farming.

Although the mood was hopeful and optimistic, I came home concerned about our food and energy security.

Photos from the Lunch: Wraps & Spreads cooking class

2010-09-20T11:34:00.004-10:00

Thanks again to Ruth for sharing her photos from the afternoon cooking class! I had some help rolling everything up for everyone so that we could move on to the next recipe. Looking forward to next week's class, Lunch: Gourmet Bento Box Items

Recovering Your Health

2010-09-16T14:06:00.003-10:00

From The Book of Macrobiotics by Michio Kushi

In order to recover and develop our physical, mental, and spiritual health, we need to reorient our way of life in the following ways:

we should reflect upon our own daily life, whether we are pursuing only sensory pleasures and emotional comfort, and thus forgetting our native potential for greater happiness and higher freedom

we should reflect further upon our daily food and drink and consider whether our meals are really balanced to produce the best quality of blood and cells as well as to secure the best mental and spiritual conditions.

we should also reflect upon our thought and behavior toward our family, friends, and other people and consider whether our respect and love are really dedicated from the heart and whether our behavior toward them is really serving for their health and happiness

The beginning of self recovery from all personal unhappiness, including physical and mental disorders, is our understanding of the perceptual order of yin and yang. In order to release ourselves from all physical and mental disorders changing our degenerative tendencies towards health and happiness, we must first apply our understanding of yin and yang to our daily dietary practice, how to choose, prepare, and take our food and drink. Through proper eating, our blood and body will become sound and whole. Mental and spiritual well being will naturally follow. food is creating us. If the nourishment we receive is proper, we are naturally more energetic physically, more comfortable emotionally, and more elevated spiritually than when our way of eating is imbalanced and disorderly. If our daily food is improper, our health declines, our emotions are disturbed, and our spirit becomes chaotic. Personal feelings, social relations, and our approach to any problems are influenced by what we eat. When we feel any frustration and disturbance, we should first reflect upon what we have been eating. Our physical and mental habits, as well as tendencies in our thinking and capacities of our consciousness all depend upon what we have been eating for a long period, from the embryonic stage through childhood up to the present. To change our food is to wholly change ourselves. Through food, consciously or unconsciously, we shape our destiny.

Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Cooking Class

2010-09-16T13:23:00.006-10:00

Date: October 1, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm	to	8:30 pm

As part of the Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Campaign, I will be teaching a class emphasizing local produce and how we can use it in quick, easy, nourishing, and delicious meals. This class is great for anyone who wants to use more local produce and even for those who use local produce often, but may want new recipe ideas.

Location: Pan American MOA, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Road, Honolulu, HI

Prices and more details can be found on my website:
Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Cooking Class

Dinner in a pinch

2010-08-29T06:46:00.005-10:00

My mom and I were on our way to yoga class, and then discovered that we had the wrong day and time. We decided to go shopping instead, and by the time we were done, most of the day had slipped away. We had to come up with a meal for dinner, QUICK! My Dad was coming home, and my sister and brother in law were on their way over too. So I took the leftover black beans and turned them into a delicious and hearty soup with garlic, onion, carrot, sweet potato, cilantro, and celery and it only took about 15 to 20 minutes to cook the veggies. My family likes a little extra flavor, so I took about 2 tablespoons of salsa and stirred this in with cumin and sea salt. There was some leftover brown & wild rice so that was a great side dish, and I took the kale my cousin sent us home with and threw together a raw kale salad filled with grated carrots, sliced snap peas, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, and roasted soybeans for a little bit of crunch. It was dressed with some tamari, lemon juice, brown rice vinegar, and olive oil. They had the meal with some chicken, while I skipped that part. My niece and nephew especially liked the brown rice. (The dessert is described in the next post.) All of this took from 30 to 45 minutes to whip up. It's really possible to have tasty healthy food that doesn't take forever to prepare leaving us time to play outside in the late summer sun.

Apple Peach Crisp

2010-08-29T06:32:00.005-10:00

When I was with my cousin the other day, I picked several peaches off her tree, and when my sister called asking for her favorite apple crisp, we decided to make it apple peach crisp. After stopping at the health food store to buy some fresh Washington apples, I headed home to make the crisp for her. The crust is made with oats and nuts and this smells so scrumptious baking in the oven. My family enjoyed it with some vanilla ice cream, and it's delicious by itself with tea. I meant to take a photo of the final product, but it got eaten too quickly.

Farm-to-Table living

2010-08-27T21:30:00.000-10:00

I have been in Washington enjoying the end of summer, and loving the farm-to-table living that is part of the lifestyle here. One highlight has been spending time with my family, and also up at my cousin Sarah's home in Skagit Valley where she lives off the grid with her family. We had two incredible meals straight from her garden including zuchinni, cucumber, tomatoes, beans, lettuce, kale, radish, celery, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, nasturtiums, and borage.

the grape arbor

my niece's new friendone of the amazing greenhouses

zuchinni

pears not quite ripe yet

corn

I will add new photos in the next post!

More farm-to-table living

2010-08-27T21:23:00.003-10:00

my cousin harvesting zuchinni and cucumbers

hops

currants
sweet peas
blackberries - we stuffed ourselves

garden art

Brown Rice Sushi

2010-08-15T20:31:00.004-10:00

Today in the Healthy Back to School Lunch Box cooking class another one of the items on the menu was brown rice sushi. I brought home the leftover ingredients made up some extra pieces for my lunch on Monday - brown rice, natural ginger pickles, ume, carrots, tofu, and cucumber. I used to think that making sushi was difficult, but it's much easier than I ever realized, once I rolled a few. You don't need to be an expert to do this. Excited to enjoy them!

(I will be teaching how to make brown rice sushi on Sept 3rd! We'll have a great variety of delicious sushi. More info here....)

Surprising Combinations

2010-08-15T18:43:00.002-10:00

Frequently, people will taste a dish that I have made and say something like, "I really didn't know what this would be like when I saw that it included x and y ingredients, but it's actually REALLY GOOD!"

This happened today at the Healthy Lunchbox cooking class. For one of our dishes, we had a pasta salad that included tofu, cucumbers, ume, onions, and basil. You'd never realize how well ume and basil go together!

Can you challenge yourself to try some new things? How about peanut butter and sauerkraut on a rice cake. You'd be surprised :-) (Seriously, I was!)

Late Afternoon Party

2010-08-15T07:03:00.004-10:00

Having fun in the garden waiting for friends to come over for an afternoon party....

Braised gobo and sauteed tatsoi were on the menu, along with a summery arame salad and a soba salad with oven roasted vegetables and an Asian-dressing. The other items not pictured were hummus, roasted nuts, Kalamata olives, fresh corn on the cob, sauteed broccoli, chocolate cake and fruit salad.

The late afternoon was filled with really wonderful friends, gorgeous late summer weather, and lots of laughter!

Brown Rice Onigiri

2010-08-12T23:56:00.003-10:00

In this photo, you see some items ready for my lunch on Friday. I pressure cooked some brown rice with azuki beans and a little bit of barley, and when it was done, mixed it with some shiso kombu furikake and sesame seeds. Here are the onigiri waiting to be wrapped up into some nori.

When you make your rice balls by hand, your right and left hands are joined in prayer formation over your heart, so your rice is blessed! I wonder if this is why many Japanese people feel so loved by having their mothers' brown rice balls packed into their school lunches?

Sweet Treats

2010-08-12T22:55:00.002-10:00

This coming Sunday is the back-to-school Healthy Lunch Box Cooking Class and today I have been working on the various recipes for it. One quick and tasty treat is the Brown Rice Crispy Treats that I'll be demonstrating how to make. Mmmm..... crunchy, nutty, sweet.... What more could you ask for?

Pressed Salad

2010-08-09T21:29:00.005-10:00

I was in need of a quick meal tonight because I wanted to go running and then head out to see Kanu Hawaii's screening of The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil , so I chopped up all my veggies, including hakurei* (baby turnips), wonbok* (Chinese cabbage), carrots, and cucumber*, sprinkled it with sea salt, and then pressed it with a plate and something heavy (jug of mirin pictured for this purpose) to make a nice summery and refreshing "pressed salad."

You can eat this dish by itself as a side dish, or use it to fill wraps and sandwiches. It has a nice crunch and light flavor. For this particular meal, I had it as a side dish with my sandwich that consisted of a little bit of vegenaise, tempeh bacon, and alfalfa sprouts. I'll try to turn it into something else for dinner again the following night.

*locally grown ingredient

Playing with new ingredients

2010-08-08T19:07:00.012-10:00

The other day when I was shopping at Whole Foods, I stumbled on two new variations of ingredients that I haven't seen before, barley and lentils.

I have been searching for this special and very elusive black barley for about 8 years! My friend Reni told me she found it at Rainbow Market in the Bay area, but my own search always came up short.

I found out that this beautiful grain is originally from Ethiopia, but is rare in the US because it has a low yield. The site that I looked at says, "A farmer in Montana decided to take a risk. This is actually the only grain that can go from field to table without being processed because the gloom or bran layer stays attached to the kernel and is edible." They recommend combining it with another grain because it's chewy, and I agree. The next time around maybe I'll do 25% black barley with 75% regular barley. It gets much plumper after it's cooked.

I used it as the main ingredient of my grain salad for dinner. In this dish, several things are grown locally, such as the cucumbers, green onions, and my own home grown parsley and dill.

The other ingredient that I haven't used yet, but plan to sometime soon, is Black Beluga Lentils. It looks like caviar! This should be fun to experiment with. Look for that blog to appear at some point in the near future.

7 Levels of Judgment

2010-08-02T18:00:00.003-10:00

Have you ever noticed how macrobiotic theory likes to classify things? Here are the 7 levels of judgment according to one's approach to eating.

At what level(s) do you tend to be? (They say that most of us never reach the 7th level!)

1. Physical = "I eat to stay alive"
2. Sensorial = "Mmmmm. It tastes good"
3. Sentimental = "This food reminds me of something good/bad from my childhood"
4. Intellectual = "This food is nutritious"
5. Social/Moral = "I don't believe in killing animals", or "This food is grown organically"
6. Ideological = "My religion says to eat/avoid this food"
7. Supreme = "I eat or drink whatever I want because I am free and know how to balance my health according to universal principles (and this includes all the previous levels)"

Where would you classify Homer Simpson, for example? (Comments welcome!)

Spicy? Harmonious? Balanced?

2010-08-02T17:39:00.002-10:00

We always have a choice what we eat and when we know how it affects us, then we can decide if that is appropriate for our condition. Nothing is categorically "good" or "bad". It just has an energetic effect. For example, we had several spices like curry powder, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds, in the Indian food class.

The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health says, "In a hot, humid climate, spices serve to cool the body, stimulate the mind and nervous system..." So this cooling and stimulating effect could be beneficial for some people since we live in Hawaii, and it's currently summer so that would be even more appropriate. We also talked about how it could create a lively party atmosphere when people eat spicy appetizers.

However, spices may also contribute to excitability, hyperactivity, cooling and weakening effects. A person might get emotionally upset or experience allergies. It all depends on our own particular health condition at the time. If you are feeling nervous already, and spices theoretically contribute to that, becoming mindful and asking yourself, "Self, even though I like this taste, is it going to benefit my current health condition if I eat this right now?" Of course, this is always a personal choice and it's never up to anyone else to say what is right for you or to judge you. Your body will tell you its answer.

2010-08-02T17:21:00.002-10:00

The vegan brown rice sushi class is Sept 3rd!

See my website for all the details:

http://www.macrobiotichawaii.com/2010/07/08/brown-rice-sushi-making-cooking-class/

Yin and Yang Mental Disorders

2010-08-02T05:12:00.003-10:00

The other night in the Indian food cooking class, we were talking about extreme foods and how according to macrobiotic philosophy, they can tip us out of balance. Here are the foods and the resulting characteristics.... True? You decide!

Yin Mental Disorders

Over-consumption of sugar and other sweeteners, fruits, fruit juice, chemicals, most medications, drugs, alcohol, hot spices, ice cream, some vegetables of tropical and semitropical origin, excessive liquid, and other strong yin substances produce

1. General mental fatigue, which manifests as complaining and as gradual loss of clear thinking and behavior
2. Feeling of melancholy gradual loss of ambition, and self-confidence; the beginning of forgetfulness and vague memory
3. Emotional irritability and fear, prevailing depression; a defensive attitude.
4. Suspicion and skepticism, misconceptions and misinterpretations, general attitude of retreating from life.
5. Discrimination and prejudice based upon an inferiority complex
6. Loss of self-discipline; chaos in thinking and attitude; schizophrenic symptoms
7. Yin arrogance characterized by total inability to adapt to the environment and the creation of a world of fantasy and illusion

Yang Mental Disorders

Over-consumption of meet, eggs, poultry, cheese, and other hard dairy food, other animal quality food, salt, baked and burned food, and other extreme yang substances, as well as insufficient liquid intake, produce

1. General mental fatigue, which manifests as frequent changing of the mind and gradual loss of steadiness in mind and attitude
2. Beginning of rigidity, gradually developing into stubbornness and insistent attention to trivial matters.
3. Excitability, short temper, prevailing discontent, and an offensive attitude
4. Conceptualization, leading to adherence to various “isms” and delusional beliefs
5. Discrimination and prejudice against others based upon a superiority complex
6. Exclusive indoctrination, egocentric thinking and attitude, and paranoid symptoms
7. Yang arrogance characterized by total inability to accept others and self-righteous attempts to control or coerce others

Satisfying a craving for pizza

2010-07-31T23:07:00.002-10:00

Somehow I got stuck on the idea of pizza and just kept thinking about it. I just gave in and created one for myself (all vegan, of course). My all time favorite pizza has always been with Greek ingredients like feta cheese, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, basil, and yes, tomatoes..... I have some blanched collards on the side.

Gourmet Ethnic Cooking Series: Indian

2010-07-29T00:37:00.009-10:00

The last place I enjoyed really tasty Indian food was in Japan where there were numerous places to eat out. Every once in a while, I crave this type of cuisine, but have a hard time dodging eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes, which don't always agree with me. The following menu was created when the Macrobiotic Community Dinner was still happening, and I decided to teach it as part of the 3-week Ethnic Gourmet series. Some of the recipes are adapted from World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.

For the class, the menu was :

Red Lentil Dahl
Quinoa and Veggie Samosas
Apricot Raisin Chutney
Spiced Basmati Rice
Carrot Halwa

Ruth took numerous photos of me assembling the samosas and the group that I can share with you (thanks Ruth!).
We had a engaging time talking about macrobiotic principles, including yin and yang foods, what is moderate and extreme, the effects on the body, and why it's important to eat variety that is better quality yin/yang.

Of course, the best part is dishing up and eating!!

We finished the meal with this carrot pudding and a spoonful of vanilla soy ice cream on the side.

Testimonial:

"Leslie, the class was fabulous! I totally enjoyed watching you cook as well as learn more about yin/yang and the energetics of different foods. The Indian menu was such a treat. I've gotta try rolling out those samosas (you make it look so easy), and seeing if I can duplicate that yummy dahl and apricot chutney. I was pleasantly(!) surprised at some of the food combination, eg, rice and shredded coconut, and carrots for dessert with ice cream. The exotic, complex flavors were outstanding. You can bet I'll be trying all of these recipes soon! You did it again! Mahalo nui, R"

Growing My Own

2010-07-29T00:31:00.002-10:00

One day just a month or so ago, I got inspired to grow my own food and threw some seeds into a planter. Just a relatively short time later, I have a wonderful salad blend, including red russian kale, mizuna, and arugula. My other veggies and herbs are growing nicely, but the turnips and radishes are getting munched by very hungry caterpillars. Have to figure this out naturally!

Windward Farm Tour July 24, 2010

2010-07-28T22:41:00.019-10:00

On July 24th, I met about 40 other people via Kokua Market to take a farm tour to the Windward side of the island. The point of the tour was to get to know the farmers on the island and learn all about who is producing our food. The very lovely Susan Yamada jumped in with me so we could ride out there and took some amazing video (you'll see the links to her videos just below).

The first stop was Waiahole Poi Factory on Kamehameha Highway where we all made sure everyone was together before heading up to Reppun Farm. Here is the storefront for the Poi Factory (video). From there we drove up into the valley and crossed a stream to get to the farm (next video). You can see how absolutely lush the valley is on the windward side of the island.

We made our way up to the farm and learned about their incredible shangri la including the battles for water, a precious resource on the island; their bees and how to keep them healthy and thriving; their coffee beans and roasting process (a VW bug windshield wiper motor runs their roaster); and a fruit eating piranha that is part of their aquaponics system. The Reppun's are entirely off the grid, using solar and hydro electric power. Everywhere you look, they have food growing, high and low! In the following photos you'll see the coffee roaster, lilikoi, evidence of bees and honey, and the achiote tree. Some of the women who were with us were from the Phillipines. They call this the lipstick plant because you can break it open and use it for lipstick. The colors were stunning!

We wound around the land and came upon their taro field. All of the farm is incredibly beautiful, but the taro loi (patch) in specific was breathtaking and idyllic. They pump the river water in with the hydroelectric power and flood the patch. This taro is known for being hard from the cold water, and apparently the people are also rumored to be hard headed (this is what one of the Reppun brother's said.....).

One of the most surprising things to me there was the cashew tree. I've never seen how this nut is grown until now, and I love learning new things. The fruit itself is sweet and juicy, and has a flavor and texture much like starfruit. The nut grows out of the bottom of the fruit.

We took a break by having lunch at Sweet Home Waimanalo where Kevin Vacarello told us about their farm-to-table efforts. (I enjoyed the tofu and black bean burger with a sweet potato salad and mango dressing, as well as 'nalo greens with a vegan BBQ dressing. Mmmm...)

The last part of the tour took us to Palaka Moon Farm where we saw the farm in its very initial stages of preparation. They plan to grow everything possible to serve in their restaurant and to make the farm itself zero impact on the Earth. It was interesting learning about the physics behind engineering a farm that is not only sustainable but leaves no footprint on the earth and simultaneously seeing it in action at Reppun's. It was a great contrast to see what it takes to establish a farm that can provide food for the community.

We all had a simply fabulous day. I know I did!

Gourmet Ethnic Cooking Series

2010-07-23T11:47:00.003-10:00

The Gourmet Ethnic Cooking Series is underway and there have been rave review for the Tempeh Tacos, Spanikopita, Dolmas, Baklava, and Mexican Chocolate Cake, among other tasty treats.

What I'm hoping to get people to embrace is that there is no need to ever deprive yourself of good, tasty, food. You get all the flavor, all the fun, and quality of life.

What makes me feel good is that in eating a diet that is plant-based, local, and organic whenever possible that we are doing good for our bodies, for the Earth, and fighting the corporate food system. When we choose to avoid processed and refined ingredients that lead to chronic illness we feel so much better, physically, emotionally, and morally as well.

The next class will focus on Indian cuisine. When I traveled to Barcelona, Spain, I went to a Hindu Vegetarian restaurant that served the most amazing samosas I have ever tasted. My love and memory was so strong that I recreated them for one of the last Macrobiotic Community Dinners that we served before they ended. I'll be teaching my super yummy recipe for the samosas!

Cheers to good health, empowered people and communities, and to fair food.....

Blueberry Kanten

2010-07-23T11:21:00.002-10:00

One of the main emphases in macrobiotic cooking is harmonizing your cooking style with the seasons. We're in the thick of summer right now in Hawaii, and coming home, one of the most refreshing snacks that I love is kanten.

The main ingredient in kanten is agar agar flakes, an odorless, colorless sea vegetable which contains no calories. Kanten is made from fruit and fruit juice of your choice, agar agar flakes, brown rice syrup, and a pinch of sea salt.

One of my favorite books

2010-07-23T11:14:00.002-10:00

This book by Carol Adams is the first one I happened to find that got me to look at food in a whole new way. Reading this was the seed that was planted and has now grown and been integrated into my current food philosophies. A must read!!

Testimonials from Hiroyuki's Visit

2010-07-19T21:53:00.005-10:00

My teacher, Hiroyuki Naka, was here on July 7th to hold health consultations. We were fully booked, and I wanted to share a couple of the testimonials from the participants:

"Naka-san is focused, perceptive, present and kind - qualities needed to make someone feel special and important. He allowed me to feel the importance of health; I so appreciated his sharing his knowledge of foods and how to prepare them to enhance my health. I truly appreciated him focusing specifically on my needs.

I know he has the gift to help increase people's health through food, nature's own medicine to heal our own bodies. He is a reflection of his own authentic, genuine and healthy lifestyle - a true inspiration for me!

I felt honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to be evaluated and assisted by Mr. Hiroyuki Naka and I would highly recommend his health consultations to everyone IF their highest priority is health.

I look forward to my next health consultation with Mr. Hiroyuki Naka!" M. Kosasa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I had a 90 minute consultation with Hiroyuki Naka and it was definitely worth every penny! It truly was a powerful and life-changing experience. Everything he said resonated with how I've been feeling and I loved that his advice for healing incorporated both food/physical and prayer/spiritual. When he encouraged me to pray for my inner self, I had chicken skin. He not only gave me the foods I should and should not eat but the words to use in my prayers. He understood me on so many levels and I strongly feel that if I follow his direction, my life will change dramatically for the better. It already has. He is a gifted soul and anyone would be blessed to have an encounter with his kind and knowing spirit. I will definitely follow-up with him again. It was crucial that I receive his guidance on my journey to wellness!! Mr. Naka was able to take everything I've learned so far from Dr. Shintani and even Macrobiotic Cooking classes and individualize a health plan specifically for me and my growth. This experience took everything to another level, a more personal level. We are all on our own journeys with our own issues and Hiroyuki Naka is the most gentle and wisest guide that can help each soul follow their own path to light. DO IT!!!" ~~ K. Loebl

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hiroyuki Naka is a truly gifted counselor with insightful knowledge. He gave me invaluable advice and guided me to make healthy changes in my diet, cooking, and busy lifestyle. He possessed a keen sense of intuition about my health, and I was amazed that he understood and analyzed my condition so thoroughly within the hour I spent with him. I would highly recommend Hiroyuki Naka to anyone who wants to move toward a macrobiotic path of vibrant health!" F. Nishimoto

Kauai Cooking Class Travelogue

2010-07-19T21:09:00.021-10:00

On Friday, July 16th, I flew over to Kauai to meet Sharleen and Arthur Isoshima who generously hosted my first cooking class on Kauai. The two of them are genuine ambassadors of the aloha spirit.

They secured a perfect place for the class, the Jam Room at Kukui Grove in Lihue. In addition to the wonderful students, I was surrounded by late greats, which I found comforting. (Did you know that John practiced macrobiotics?)

Shar and Art helped me gather the ingredients for the class from Papaya's Natural Foods in Kapa'a. I always enjoy seeing what other stores have to offer outer-island and this is a well-stocked one. The majority of the produce we were able to find local and organic. Later that day, I was very blessed to meet Kim Thich, a long-time macrobiotic practitioner who recently moved from the east coast with his wife to Kauai, and we all sampled a few of the items from his very beautiful and healthy organic garden.

The Introduction to Macrobiotics class was incredibly fun and I am grateful to all who came and spent their Saturday morning learning. (below is Shar's photo)

The following day, Shar and Art treated a few of us to a whirlwind adventure on the west side of the island! We went to a salt loi to see how Hawaiian families traditionally harvest sea salt, Hanapepe for taro and sweet potato chips, the Kauai coffee plantation, to Waimea Canyon, and to Koke'e State Park. Everything was breathtaking!

(the last photo here is April's)

On the way back to drop me off at the airport, we had pupus and drinks at the Grand Hyatt. This is a photo of the lettuce wrap I ordered.

I'd really like to thank Art and Shar again for their generosity and hospitality in inviting me over

July 7th Health Consultations with Leslie's Teacher

2010-06-30T12:10:00.006-10:00

My macrobiotic journey all started for me one day when I sent an email to Hiroyuki Naka (pictured on the left, with Reni Schuh, Michio Kushi, and me) and asked him for a health consultation. During this one hour, I was able to explain to him what was going on with my health and how I wanted to work on this naturally, without surgery or drugs. He explained to me what I had been eating was creating the problems, and that if I avoided those food items and instead ate a macrobiotic diet tailored to my condition, that I could get better. I diligently followed his recommendations, and not only did it work, but I also had my whole life path change in so many positive ways.

Hiroyuki (pictured here with his wife Mie) will be in Honolulu on July 7th to offer health and life destiny counseling.

What is a health consultation?

Health consultations are one-on-one meetings between you and a macrobiotic counselor to discuss your particular needs and to receive individualized recommendations for how to strengthen or regain your health. The recommendations will touch upon many aspects of diet and lifestyle from specific foods or dishes that will help to improve your health to daily practices such as walking, sitting down for regular meals or doing a body rub. Your recommendations are specific to you and based on macrobiotic principles of health and well-being. Health consultations with Hiroyuki also include a visual diagnosis.

Life destiny counseling includes how to reach your dreams through food, including items such more money, the relationship you desire, and the job you’ve wanted to achieve, for example. It can also include how to heal from painful events in life. (When I wanted to get an important job, for example, Hiroyuki told me what I should eat for the days leading up to my interview. He did the same for a marathon runner in Japan so that he could win the race – and he did win! Everything is energy, so when you match your vibration to exactly what you desire, you can achieve it!)

If you are ready to get serious about your health and your dreams, a consultation is the fastest route.

For prices, see my website

For questions and to set up a time, please contact me directly.

4 coaching sessions for the price of 1

2010-06-12T14:09:00.006-10:00

Do you want to eat and live healthier but feel like you:

lack time?
worry about the cost?
worry about your family's reaction?
wonder how to integrate new ingredients into what you're already doing?
experience fear about getting your feet wet?
lack confidence or don't know what to cook?
want to learn menu planning?

These items are the blocks that you have to your success, including emotional and in your belief system. (We all have these, no matter where we are in our lives right now.) I would love to guide you through change gently and in a way that is manageable for where you are right now. Too much change at once can be very overwhelming, so I am going to show you how you can break this all down so you can integrate the information step by step in a safe environment. With this, we are going to take a deep inner look at our current belief system.

"It's like having spyware on your computer that slows your system down. You wonder why your computer doesn't run as quickly as it used to."

Similarly, our beliefs are running subconsciously all the time and we are not aware of this. The constant mind chatter uses up precious energy and prevents us from moving forward on our path to health.

Through combining the practical steps with this inner work, you will see yourself LAUNCH! You may have had a belief for your whole life, but once aware of it, you can change it in an instant.

Hope you will take advantage of this course and my discounted coaching services!

See Yourself Doing It, And You Will

The Art of Visual Diagnosis

2010-04-15T22:13:00.002-10:00

Warren talks about the class we'll experience on Friday, April 16th, from 7 to 9 pm

See Leslie's website for more details

Myths and Misconceptions about Macrobiotics and Nutrition

2010-04-14T23:22:00.001-10:00

Would you like to find a new level of health and vitality? Warren Kramer shares how the understanding of macrobiotic principles can transform your health and lead you to an even more amazing life. This lecture will take place on Thursday, April 15th, 2010. See Leslie's website for more information.

Nature is Connection to Health

2010-04-14T23:20:00.000-10:00

Cooking Class: Adjusting to Warm Weather and Tropical Climates

2010-04-11T13:05:00.007-10:00

The recipes taught in Saturday's Cooking Class (that's 4/17/2010) will be:

Corn Chowder
Mediterranean Style Barley Salad
Fresh Chickpea Salad
Asian Salad with Sesame Dressing
Red and Green Mixed Veggies
Glazed Pineapple and Strawberries

Sound good? Come join us!

For more info, and to register go to Leslie's website

Warren Kramer Seminar

2010-04-07T06:52:00.004-10:00

After coming for the first time in October of 2009, Warren Kramer, an internationally renowned senior macrobiotic educator and health counselor will be back to teach us more!

Enjoy a variety of ways to participate, including:

Lectures/Cooking Classes The goal of practicing macrobiotics is freedom and happiness. Without our health, we are not free to live our lives as we wish. Macrobiotic education teaches principles we can use to guide our own lives. Yin and Yang, or the complementary and antagonistic aspect of all of life, are at the core of much of macrobiotic education. It is the study of change.

Lectures will include:

1) Myths and Misconceptions About Macrobiotics and Nutrition $30, Thursday April 15, 7 to 9 pm

2) How to See Your Health; The Art of Visual Diagnosis $30, Friday April 16, 7 to 9 pm

3) Application of the Five Transformation Theory to Discharge Past Foods $30, Saturday April 17, 9:30 to 11:30 am

4) Fifty Ways to Love Your Liver $30, Sunday April 18, 1:30 to 4:30 pm

Cooking Class will be:

Seasonal Cooking for Warm Weather and Tropical Climates $50, Saturday April 17, 1:30 to 4:30 pm

Click on the lecture or cooking class title above to learn more and to pay. It will take you to a separate page with the course description and PayPal button.

Health Consultations Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Warren Kramer to discuss your particular needs and to receive individualized recommendations for how to strengthen or regain your health.Your recommendations are specific to you and based on macrobiotic principles of health and well-being. A limited number of personal consultations with Warren are available. They can be scheduled Wednesday (the 14th), Thursday (the 15th), Friday (the 16th), and Sunday (the 18th) and will be held at a private residence in Manoa.

Health Consultation Prices and Details

All classes will be held at Pan American MOA Foundation, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Drive Please see Leslie's website for all the payment and registration details

Easy Whole Foods Cooking for Busy People (8-week series)

2010-04-07T06:51:00.004-10:00

Easy Whole Foods Cooking for Busy People (8-week series)
**discounted class fee!**

When: Begins May 2nd
Taught by: Leslie Ashburn
Fee: $160/series; $30/class

Are you interested in healthy eating but not quite sure how to practice it? Are you overwhelmed by the task of cooking for your family?

This is the cooking class for you.

This 8-week series is intended to provide a very approachable and affordable way to commit to your cooking journey.

Leslie's vegan macrobiotic cooking classes are for people who seek a healthier lifestyle and a natural approach to diet and healing. Learn how to bring more balance, flexibility, and joy into your life through the power of food. In each class, you will discover the importance and health benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet. Only the freshest, organic, seasonal ingredients are used in a variety of sumptuous and enticing ways. The recipes shared in the class are easy to prepare, even if you have just a little bit of cooking experience.

Classes include an introductory lecture, demonstration, recipes and educational material. The atmosphere is casual, interactive, and friendly. All questions welcomed during the cooking classes. We sit down to enjoy a delicious taste of the food, followed by cooperative cleanup.

Series includes recipes for:
grains
beans
sea veggies
greens
root veggies
round/ground veggies
soup
dessert

Early Registration is required. The entire series is $160. You can sign up ala carte for $30/class.

2010-03-05T22:20:00.002-10:00

Power Foods: Public Cooking Class

Date: March 19, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm	to	8:00 pm

In this class, you will learn how you can utilize the macrobiotic approach to gain more energy and a happier outlook.

You’ll learn how to use some of the world’s healthiest foods rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Recipes include:

Hearty Peasant Soup
Tempeh Bacon Sandwich w/Sundried Tomato and Olive Tapenade
Marinated Beet Salad
Dark Chocolate Truffles

Pan American MOA 3510 Nuuanu Pali Drive

Leslie, the teacher, is an internationally trained chef who brings an ease and expertise for creating cosmopolitan macrobiotic food in people’s homes, changing stereotypes about what it means to eat healthy. She lovingly prepares colorful, dynamic plant-based dishes including macrobiotic cuisine, international cuisine, food-based remedies, sugar-free desserts, seasonal gourmet dinners, and more, with the highest quality local, seasonal, and organic ingredients.

link to Leslie's website where you can register for this class: Power Foods

Tying the knot

2010-03-05T22:19:00.002-10:00

KP4_5232.JPG
Originally uploaded by Kanu Hawaii

I was honored to be invited to Kanu Hawaii's 2nd Birthday Party. I was learning how to tie a variety of knots. Great fun!

Cooking Class: Ready, Set, RENEW!

2010-01-06T18:41:00.001-10:00

Cooking Class: Ready, Set, RENEW!

Date: January 10, 2010
Time: 4:00 pm	to	6:30 pm

For many, holiday indulgence often leads to weight gain and digestive problems, among other ailments. This class is intended to help and inspire you to get back on a path to health after the holidays.

You’ll learn:

Foods to avoid so that you can detox
Foods to add to help digestion and build natural immunity
Ideas for healthy snacks
Mindfulness techniques during meal time
How to start becoming a more conscious consumer

Leslie’s recipe demonstration will include:

Tempeh Collard Wraps
Tahini Sauce
Vegetarian Pho
Pears with Blueberry Sauce

You taste the food and take home the recipes.

Leslie’s classes are very interactive, friendly, and informative.

For payment and location, please see my website.

Stagnation

2010-01-02T12:52:00.002-10:00

If you have been feeling stagnated in your life, take a look around your home and also, in particular, in your refrigerator.

HOME:
Do you have stacks of things that haven't moved for eons, that you never use, and that you are hanging onto "just because"? Clean them out!! Make room for new fresh things in 2010.

REFRIGERATOR:
Are you vegetables fresh as can be? If they are wilted, old, and turning yellow, PLEASE, do yourself a favor and throw them out. Vegetables are best when fresh. Do you really want to save money and use the excess up if that means you also feel wilted and old after eating them? Everything has energy - please be mindful and conscious of the energy you're choosing around you. Maybe it's time to shop one extra time per week and also perhaps buy less when you do go shopping so you don't waste.

Pantry Must-Haves for Macrobiotic Cooking

2010-01-02T12:23:00.005-10:00

For healthful and varied macrobiotic cooking, I recommend these following items. Don't know what they are or what to do with them? Try a Google recipe search and see what pops up! This can be a great way to build your repertoire of recipes. Stocking these in your pantry helps make cooking easier so you can just pull out something from your cupboard to prepare for delicious and tasty meals.

1. Brown Rice Syrup
2. Miso (I have white, barley, & brown rice)
3. Umeboshi and Brown Rice Vinegar
4. Unprocessed & Unrefined Sea Salt
5. Sea Vegetables (nori, wakame, arame, hijiki, kombu, dulse)
6. Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
7. Whole Grains (brown rice, barley, quinoa are a few great ones)
8. Dried Beans (azuki, lentil, black turtle, garbanzo/chickpea, pinto are some good staples)
9. Cooking oils (olive oil, toasted & untoasted sesame)
10. Shoyu (soy sauce) and/or Tamari (make sure this does not have msg, food coloring, or any other addditives or preservatives)
11. Kuzu root starch for desserts and sauces

Beyond Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Spinach

2010-01-02T12:14:00.002-10:00

Hearty greens and savory roots add pizazz to your meals. However, potatoes, tomatoes, spinach and chard are ubiquitous in cooking, especially vegetarian and vegan. Perhaps you have not given much thought to some of the wonderful variety that is available (many which are grown locally and organically here on Oahu)?

For greens, try some of the hearty winter varieties that are high in minerals like calcium and iron. You can steam, blanch, saute, have raw in salad, and put in soups, stews, and casseroles:

Collards
Kale
Mustard Greens
Watercress
Broccoli Raab
Tatsoi
Daikon and radish tops

For root vegetables,

Hakurei turnips
Carrots
Parsnips
Burdock/Gobo
Lotus/Hasu/Renkon
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
Rutabagas
Daikon

Yum

2009-12-17T09:17:00.001-10:00

50116898[1]
Originally uploaded by macro808

Dinner Menu for "Last Supper"

2009-12-17T09:16:00.001-10:00

50117071[1]
Originally uploaded by macro808

Great friends

2009-12-17T09:09:00.001-10:00

DSCN0129
Originally uploaded by macro808

We had 9 tables of friends enjoying the meal. Anjali and Brian have almost never missed a dinner since they found out about them. Thanks you guys for your support.

Waiting in line for the final Macro Dinner

2009-12-17T09:08:00.001-10:00

DSCN0127
Originally uploaded by macro808

We had our last Macrobiotic Community Dinner on 12/16/09 after almost 4 years of serving the community vegan macrobiotic food. Thanks everyone for supporting us!

>> 12 TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY FOR THE HOLIDAYS <<

2009-11-25T21:35:00.001-10:00

1. Take a healthy and delicious dish to share with everyone at holiday
gatherings.

2. Stop eating when you are 80% full. There are always plenty of
leftovers during the holidays. You'll probably get a chance to taste
it again.

3. Fill your plate with smaller portions of each dish. Overeating is
one of the culprits of holiday sluggishness and extra holiday pounds.

4. CHEW each bite 20-25 times or more (no matter what you eat). This
can keep you from overeating and give you more time to enjoy mealtimes
with friends and family. It also leaves you more satisfied with what
you eat.

5. Eat a healthy meal before going to holiday parties, and take a
healthy dessert with you. It makes all that decadent (and fattening)
holiday food easier to resist.

6. If you eat snacks at parties, SIT DOWN to eat your food. Our bodies
process and digest food better when we are sitting down.

7. Use rice syrup, barley malt, maple syrup or agave nectar to replace
the sugar in your holiday desserts.

8. Set holiday GOALS for your health with a friend or family member.
It is always easier to resist temptations when you have a buddy and
someone to whom you can be accountable.

9. Take time to tell someone how much you appreciate them.

10. Holidays are usually busy and stressful. Treat yourself to a
shiatsu or healing massage to help you relax.

11. Make a list of things for which you are thankful.

12. Take time to reflect on what is really important to you in your
life. (And make sure you are spending at least some time doing these
things)

Enjoy your holidays! And remember the rule:

If you eat something that you know is not the best for you....
SAVOR and ENJOY every bite, and leave the guilt out of it.

Rebalance Yourself After Overindulging

2009-11-01T22:45:00.002-10:00

Overdid it this Halloween and turned yourself into a sugar zombie? Here's what you can do...

Eat simply for a little while: focus on a plant-based diet such as whole grains, beans and bean products, vegetables, sea vegetables, and naturally fermented pickles.

Try a macrobiotic home remedy called ume-sho-bancha.

Ume-Sho-Bancha

This tea is reputed to help relieve fatigue and obtain relief from over-consumption of sugar, fruit, or acid-forming foods and beverages.

½-1 umeboshi plum (no msg, sugar, or food coloring)
½-1 tsp traditional handmade shoyu
hot kukicha tea*

Place umeboshi in a cup and mash with a chopstick. Add shoyu. Pour in hot tea and stir well. Drink liquid and eat plum while hot.

*Kukicha is a Japanese tea made from the stems and twigs of the tea bush and can be found in your local health food store.

This remedy is very strong, so do not drink too often.

Healthy Holiday Cooking with Slow Food Oahu

2009-10-22T08:08:00.001-10:00

Date: November 15, 2009
Time: 4:00 pm	to	6:30 pm

Holidays can get a lot of people down. So many of us overeat and eat the wrong foods, leaving us feeling sluggish and grumpy. There’s another way to celebrate (and even meat lovers enjoy these dishes)!!

Leslie will teach everyone how to make healthy whole food dishes that keep your energy strong and your body light, while at the same time maintaining all the flavor that you love.

Holiday Rice
Shiitake Gravy
Watercress, Fig, Artichoke Heart Salad
Pumpkin Bread

To reserve your space at this special event, please RSVP by Monday, November 6 to Michelle at SFO.reservation@gmail.com . In your RSVP please include your name, member status, phone or email and the name of any nonmember guests you would like to bring. THIS EVENT IS LIMITED TO 15 PEOPLE, so please reply quickly if you know you would like to attend.

Non-members who are not guests of a member may sign up after October 19.

The cost for members is $35 and nonmembers is $40, and payment must be received by Friday, November 13.

Directions and further details will be sent to all confirmed participants the Wednesday prior to the event.

http://www.slowfoodoahu.org/

Class will be held at Baby aWEARness in the Manoa Marketplace, on the second floor above Bank of Hawaii.

Optimal Health and Healing Through Macrobiotics a BIG SUCCESS

2009-10-21T11:17:00.004-10:00

We had so much fun and learned a tremendous amount from Warren Kramer while he was here on Oahu. If you were unable to attend, he'll be back in April of 2010. We are already planning lots of interesting classes for you.

The whole event was very refreshing and revitalizing for me personally. Thanks Warren!

You probably don't experience these things, like fatigue, but if you do....

2009-10-15T15:49:00.003-10:00

I had lunch with Warren Kramer after his morning consultations today and asked him, "What are the most common reasons people come to see you?" Here's what he said:

#1 FATIGUE!!
Weight Issues
Hypoglycemia
Skin Problems
Allergies
Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Headaches/Migraines
Reproductive Issues: PMS, Infertility, Menopause
Addictions
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Anxiety, Fear, & Depression
Eating Disorders
Anemia

Warren is here to teach us all how we can address these naturally, using food and energetic medicine to heal ourselves. Restoring Your Natural Healing Ability is our first lecture! It's all about how to get out of the way so we can allow our bodies to heal and perform at their peak.

OPTIMAL HEALTH AND HEALING THROUGH MACROBIOTICS

Chard and Marigolds

2009-10-09T21:37:00.001-10:00

Chard and Marigolds
Originally uploaded by macro808

This afternoon, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Kahumana Biodynamic and Organic Farm in Waianae, HI. We spent the first part of the afternoon in the field harvesting chard for the Waianae Farmer's Market and then went into the packing shed to wash and bunch the greens. My job was to bunch them together. Mother Earth certainly shares her bounty and only asks to be treated respectfully in return.

Easter Egg Radishes

2009-10-09T21:36:00.000-10:00

Easter Egg Radishes
Originally uploaded by macro808

One of the additional vegetables that was harvested are these gorgeous Easter egg radishes. They just seemed positively triumphant in this photo!

Warren Kramer cooking classes coming soon!

2009-10-07T11:12:00.003-10:00

Cooking for Hearty Appetites:
Fried Chickpea Patties
Pinto Bean Soup
Sweet Vegetable Jam on Steamed Bread
Coleslaw w/Tahini Mayo
Stirfried Portabello Mushrooms and Broccoli Rabe
Pear and Apple Pecan Crisp

Cooking for Natural Beauty:
Hato-Mugi and Bean Salad
Cucumber Soup
Light and Refreshing Pressed Salad with Citrus Dressing
Boiled Daikon w/Sweet Miso
Arame Cucumber Noodle Salad w/Shiso Leaf Dressing
Sweet and Sour Apple Kanten

Go to Leslie's main website, and head to the community calendar, to see more and to register.

OPTIMAL HEALTH AND HEALING THROUGH MACROBIOTICS

Sunday Breakfast

2009-10-04T08:39:00.001-10:00

typical breakfast
Originally uploaded by macro808

People ask me all the time what I like to have for breakfast. Here's a photo of what my typical breakfast looks like. In this photo, it's a mixture of brown rice and oats, topped with dried apricots and almonds, a side of blanched kale, and a handful of fresh raspberries. My beverage of choice lately has been green tea. Itadakimasu...

Sacred Kitchen

2009-09-29T10:33:00.001-10:00

DSCN0006
Originally uploaded by macro808

The energy you approach your cooking with will be translated into the food as it's prepared. They say the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home because cooking is the highest art. The food we eat creates our health and consciousness.

The kitchen is also where I spend a lot of my time since cooking yummy vegan macrobiotic food and teaching is my job. I want the area to look beautiful and be a sacred space. When I walk into the kitchen, there are items that evoke positive feelings for me such as peace, abundance, and beauty. For example, we have milagros from Peru, Chinese good luck coins and characters, bowls filled with organic produce, organic teas, and symbols of longevity, prosperity, and welcome.

Sacred Kitchen 2

2009-09-29T10:32:00.002-10:00

DSCN0003
Originally uploaded by macro808

Here is another photo of the kitchen. What kind of feelings does it give you? Leave your comments!

Offerings

2009-09-29T10:27:00.002-10:00

DSCN0002
Originally uploaded by macro808

I like to offer a space for sacred and devotional items in the kitchen.

Italian Parsley

2009-09-27T20:54:00.002-10:00

Italian Parsley
Originally uploaded by macro808

While waiting for my cooking demonstration to start at Whole Foods in Kahala a gentleman stopped by and we started chatting about books and Italian parsley. Considering that I'm a huge fan of parsley, I asked him for his recipe. He looked at me with a question mark on his face. "Recipe? Just take the leaves off a bunch of Italian parsley and add a sliced banana. Pour apple juice over the parsley and banana mixture until the apple juice covers the mixture. Blend. Sure tastes better than wheat grass juice." "I agree." "You do?"

Cooking for the Changing Seasons

2009-09-24T10:28:00.002-10:00

Dan and I were just saying yesterday that we can feel a change in the weather. Have you felt this too?

Although it's still quite warm, we can start introducing a little bit of fall cooking to ease our bodies into slightly cooler weather.

Fall Cooking Style (From Aveline Kushi's Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking)

During the late summer, energy begins to flow downward until it becomes very condensed by late autumn. The change from hot to cool weather is often sudden. To mitigate this change, we can begin to adjust our diet in late summer by including more early fall squashes and root vegetables in our meals. In autumn, food is more plentiful than at other seasons. Just as the trees produce a multitude of yellows, golds, oranges, reds, browns, and light greens, these beautiful colors are found in the cornucopia of grains, beans, squashes, root vegetables, and autumn greens, such as kale, turnip greens, daikon tops, and cabbages. Many of the foods harvested in the fall have natural preservative qualities and can be stored for several months to be used through the cold winter and into the spring. Millet and round vegetables, such as onions, turnips, cabbages, and squashes, may be served more frequently in the late autumn months. During the summer months, the kidneys and bladder are often overworked because of an excess intake of liquids, fruits, raw foods, and salty snack items in an attempt to balance the extreme heat. In autumn, the results of this imbalance are experienced in colds, coughs, and other sicknesses of adjustment. Stronger cooking in autumn, as well as the change in weather, starts to discharge this excess. At this season, we can begin to introduce more rich tastes and styles of cooking into our menus, such as bean stews, fried or deep fried foods, creamy grain stews, sweet rice and mochi, hot amasake, and pureed squash soup and squash pies. Dishes can be prepared with longer cooking times and styles, such as long, slow nishime-style boiling, long time sautéing, or kinpira style braising. Vegetables may be cut in larger slices and chunks for longer, more slowly cooked dishes. Sea vegetable dishes can become hardier and include tempeh, dried tofu, or soybeans. In autumn, foods may start to be seasoned with a little more sea salt and a little more oil. The amount of raw foods served can be substantially reduced and dried or cooked fruits used more in preparing desserts.

Warren and wife Fatim

2009-09-24T10:14:00.001-10:00

Warren and wife Fatim
Originally uploaded by macro808

Here is Warren's amazingly sweet and wonderful wife, Fatim.

Warren shopping with Adam

2009-09-24T10:13:00.001-10:00

Warren shopping with Adam
Originally uploaded by macro808

Warren has a new baby boy, Adam.

Senior Macrobiotic Teacher and Counselor Coming to Honolulu

2009-09-24T10:12:00.001-10:00

Warren teaching
Originally uploaded by macro808

I was living in Japan when I started macrobiotics. I managed to find a counselor in the area, and plunged headlong into learning how to cook. From there, I became engrossed in all the lectures I could possibly attend, even though they were in Japanese.

How I would have loved to hear them all in English.

This is why I am so thrilled Warren is coming.

I first met him in Vermont, when I was working as a Cooking Class Volunteer, and again two more consecutive years after that as the Cooking Class Coordinator.

I have to say, he's brilliant. Every time I hear him lecture, I learn so much.

It's so exciting that he'll be here!!