Epiphany: My Life-Changing Decision to Go Macro

I've been inspired.  By Alicia Silverston.  Wait!  Before you start quoting lines from Clueless, let me explain.

Learning of my quest to enter into a vegetarian lifestyle, a friend of mine lent me the book The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet, and that was it.  I am now a convert to the macrobiotic diet.  That's right, I've finally discovered what the theme of this blog should be!  After only 6 posts!  It's enlightening and liberating, to say the least.  I'm thrilled!

So why this book, you ask?

First of all, it made sense.  I actually get why some foods are bad for you and why.  All the other macro books out there were so hard to understand.  Then, once I felt like I was actually getting it, I would think, "Now what?  Tell me what I'm allowed to eat!  And make it sound delicious!"  Alicia did that for me.

Next, the recipes sounded doable, not to mention delicious!  In two days, I've already tried 2 recipes and loved them.  One was Alicia's Magical Healing Soup, and the other was:

Rice Waffle with Vegetable Melange

Quick and easy, these recipes both took about 30 minutes max to make.  Plus, they were both in the Superhero (macro) section of her cookbook.  Huh?  Superhero?  Yes, and that brings me to the next reason I love this book:

Based on your knowledge of the vegetarian, vegan and macrobiotic diet, you can decide where you want to start your journey to healthy eating, and then work your way up from there.  You can start out as a Flirt (low-pressure choice to give veganism a try and see where it takes you), a Vegan (no animal-based products at all), or a full-fledged Superhero (a macrobiotic superstar).  There are enough recipes in each category to keep you interested well beyond a few weeks.

If anyone else is interested, this is her website, and this is her book:
Click here to save a few bucks at amazon.com
I'm buying one for myself and my mother-in-law today.  So, from here on out you'll find recipes and lifestyle tips on this blog that can hopefully help you enjoy eating a plant-based, and maybe even a macrobiotic, diet.  Another interesting thing is that, since macrobiotics has its roots in Japanese cooking, you'll still get to see a lot of Asian-influenced food here!

On a sad note, today was my last cup of coffee...... *sniff*  RIP Espresso Machine.