The knowledge and practice of eating food that optimally feeds our bodies gives us the biological foundation and the confidence to live in this world without the fear of getting sick! One’s selection, preparation and eating of wholesome and nourishing foods is of vital  importance for one’s optimal health and long-term survival on this planet. In Natural Life Magazine’s January/February 2009 issue, macrobiotic chef and educator David Snieckus provides us with information about turning our kitchen into our family’s wellness center…taking our and our family’s health into our own hands.

The tips in this feature article begin with equipping the kitchen with the right tools and supplies: A gas stove, quality cast iron pots, pans, pressure cookers made with stainless steel, a sharp vegetable cutting knife, wooden cutting boards and quality cooking utensils. Then, in clean, glass jars, he suggests that we store healthy condiments such as high quality sea salt, shoyu soy sauce, umeboshi plum, miso, and bulk foods such as grains, whole-wheat pastry flour, dried beans, seeds and nuts, in all their abundant variety. In our kitchen and/or refrigerator, we should have organic plant-based seasonal foods, vegetables, fruits and plant-based protein, such as tofu, tempeh, seitan and beans in their own abundant variations.

David provides a variety of principles, strategies and recipes so that we can develop an understanding of how to select and prepare in our kitchens nourishing wholesome foods that will optimize our health.

For a general introduction to macrobiotics, see this article, published in Natural Life Magazine in 1994. And have a healthy, happy 2010!