The Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook [Paperback]

Aveline Kushi (Author), Wendy Esko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1984

Wholesome and delicious recipes for cooking in harmony with nature.

Rooted in centuries-old principles, the macrobiotic diet consists of simple yet highly nutritious foods such as whole grains, vegetables, and beans, selected and prepared in harmony with the seasons. From lightly sautéed spring greens and refreshing summer salads, to harvest vegetables and hearty winter stews, this cookbook provides hundreds of easy-to-follow and flavorful recipes for complete and balanced macrobiotic meals. A combination of great taste and whole foods, this is traditional macrobiotic cooking at its best.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Aveline Kushi, one of the world's foremost experts on macrobiotic cooking, and her husband founded the Kushi Institute in Becket, Massachusetts, which has become the world center for macrobiotic education, and the One Peaceful World Society, an international macrobiotic information network and friendship society.

Wendy Esko has been teaching macrobiotics since 1976 and works for Eden Foods Inc., the largest distributor of natural and macrobiotic foods in North America. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 265 pages
• Publisher: Avery; 4th Printing edition (November 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895292327
• ISBN-13: 978-0895292322
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,087,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, September 15, 2005

By 

brooklyngal "brooklyngal" (brooklyngal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook (Paperback)

As a newcomer to macrobiotics, I absolutely loved this book and have used it every day since I bought it. It outlines easy, quick basic recipes that anyone can make - most of which involve few basic ingredients.

Everything down to how to make basic brown rice is in here. I am so blessed I happened to get this book in the beginning. After now having read some of the other macrobiotic books, I realize I might have been frustrated by the foreign ingredients and complicated recipes and been turned off from macrobiotics otherwise.

One thing I did when I bought this book (as I was just slowly learning macro foods and starting to introduce them to my cupboards) is sift through the book and start noting common themes of ingredients. After identifying and buying some of the "base" products identified, I was able to make several different recipes. These recipes make up my diet today and every day.

I would recommend this book to anyone, especially beginners like me.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Macro for the Undecided, May 5, 2006

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook (Paperback)

During the 1960's, Michio and Aveline Kushi popularized macrobiotics in the States, and this practical, well-written book is a good introduction. I chose this as a present, after browsing through Amazon.com for a book that combined recipes and macrobiotic concepts. As I discovered later, the balance of easily prepared recipe and basic macrobiotic concepts reflects the balance that "macro" devotees achieve through their diet. The gift recipient, Buree-Kan Kobayashi (name used with permission) confirmed that Aveline Kushi's book I chose wisely. Although Buree doesn't strictly adhere to a macrobiotic diet (he's more of a California vegan/macro/fish/almonds guy), my friend commands a basic understanding of macrobiotic concepts and principles.

One of the concepts most familiar to Westerners is the balance of yin (roughly: "hot") and yang ("cool") energies, and that's why Kushi organizes her recipes around the seasons. At the risk (read: probability) of oversimplifying, here's an example of this principle: One should eat yang foods (more raw foods, such as roots and fruit, de-emphasizing salt--a yin food) in the summer to balance the heat, and yin foods (cooked foods, often with more spice) in the winter. The book covers the transitional Autumn and Spring months as well.

Whether or not you accept these and other concepts, the book presents excellent, healthy dishes emphasizing fresh, nutritional, unprocessed foods. The recipes are generally easy to prepare, but not "dumbed down." Most ingredients can be bought at a local supermarket (especially one that emphasizes natural foods, like "Whole Foods"), but proximity to a health food or Asian store will be helpful. The flavors attainable without using meat or dairy products (your basic vegan diet) will stagger the taste buds of the uninitiated.

The simple but imaginative recipes will satisfy adventurous appetites. Satisfying staples include seitan (wheat gluten), tempeh (a cultured soy originally from Indonesia), tubers, and different grains. The list of keywords in Amazon.com's book description above hints at other foods that may be new to you; "exotic" as they may sound, these healthy foods represent the ordinary diet of millions. I think it was wise not to present cures and prescriptive herbs; the flavorful recipes are sufficient reason to incorporate some degree of macrobiotics into your cooking. If one really takes to this cuisine and wishes to explore more macrobiotic theory and praxis applied to nutrition and medicine, one can explore a more technically oriented text. Recommended for those ready to take a bite.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful menu planning, June 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook (Paperback)

This cookbook shows how to use macrobiotic foods in many appetizing meals. It is a wonderful way to envision a meal plan for a whole day, even a whole week for each season of the year. It offers many recipes that are different and shows how to incorporate items that one would not usually eat unless on a macrobiotic diet. The recipes are well explained and are easy to follow.