Food, Energy and Health

By Alan Kenney

Guest blog

A recent experience gave me an object lesson on food as energy and the power it has to affect our bodies and emotions.

Sanae Suzuki at Studio Mugen

 Sanae Suzuki is my macrobiotic counselor and heading into autumn I found that my energy and my body had become quite contracted, that is very tight.  I experienced physical stiffness in my body, had a hard time relaxing and sleeping and behaviorally I became quite pushy, irritable and not able to sleep.  My wife even commented on my rigid behaviors and started to be concerned. 

 I realized how the energy of food affects me both physically and behaviorally, and that it can impact my mind and emotions.

In weekly counseling Sanae and I had always discussed my diet and recipes and other aspects of my macrobiotic lifestyle.  However, recently we decided to look at how I was cooking.  What we discovered is that I had been cooking brown rice and beans by pressure cooking pots and steaming my vegetables instead of water sautéed and/or boiling for a long time and all through the summer. 

We determined that this meant that I was creating a lot of contracted energy in my body through this cooking style. Sanae taught me that macrobiotics is not just what kind of ingredients we use for our cooking and eating. It is also about how to cook and what kind of equipment you use for your own condition. Learning about our energy is to learn about food and style of cooking, equipment that we use and adapting as seasons change, our physical and mental condition changes, and more. 

Next we determined what to change in my cooking style, my recipes and determined what macrobiotic remedy to use to help get my body back in balance.

After several days of my adjusted program I have noticed welcome changes to my body and energy and have become more relaxed and easy going…and have returned to a relaxed sleep pattern.

Alan Kenney

I am thankful that my path has led me to studying macrobiotics and learning about the energy of food and how it can affect us physically and behaviorally.  This incident showed me how important it is to understand the energy of food to maintain the best health.  A greater lesson to me is the value of having a counselor/advisor who can help me understand this path I am on.

 I encourage anyone who is seeking to improve their health physically, mentally or to strengthen the spirit to take an active interest in learning how food as energy can affect your life. Also consider a counselor to ensure that you don’t walk that path by yourself.

September Macrobiotic Support Meeting & Barefoot Beach Walk

 The Macrobiotic Support Group met Wednesday evening, September 18.

However, for the first time, before the meeting started several people went for a barefoot walk on the beach just as the sun was setting.  The air was temperate, the water warm, the surfers searched for waves and the birds ran to an fro as the surf ebbed and flowed. 

Then, we settled in at Seed Kitchen, enjoyed macrobiotic and vegan food.


The discussion centered on fear and different people shared examples of how an incident or incidents in life created an ongoing fear or hesitancy in dealing with life and life issues.

Discussion explored how a variety of incidents in life affected the soul and then sort of remained as an experience that colored subsequent decisions and behaviors.

Various people shared on how their growth through study and exploration of spiritual and life understanding brought about tools that helped to restore healthier life responses.

Overall, it was determined that macrobiotics is not only about eating healthy and being physically fit, but also having a healthy soul and spirit which can express its joy and vitality every day.



Macrobiotic support group attendees.



Green Remedy Drink

Hi everyone!

Hope you liked what Alan Kenny wrote on our last blog.
I really appreciate him to write his experience about our Umeboshi Plums at Seed Kithcen. Also post his photos. If any of you are interested to purchase our Umeboshi Plums we will be able to ship them in the U.S. so please contact seedkitchen@gmail.com.

We received a question about Green Remedy Drink that Alan mentioned.
Here is the information and how to make it.
Green remedy drink is a good for detoxing liver.
Using large leafy greens like; kale, collards, dandelion, daikon or turnip leaves, or Chinese cabbage.  Very finely chop two or three kinds of large, leafy green vegetables. Add twice the amount of cold water. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Strain out the solid vegetables. Add a pinch of sea salt or a few drops of shoyu/soy sauce or tamari for people do not use a wheat/gluten  toward the end of simmering and stir.
Drink hot or at room temperature.
How much and how often to drink this remedy drink changes depend on your conditions so I recommend you to talk to your macrobiotic counselor (if you don't have one...find your right counselor) and get details.
I am available to offer the counseling in person, phone or Skype.

Hope you like this in formation!!!

Please share it!

Love,
Sanae