Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking: For Health, Harmony, and Peace

I own multiple macrobiotic cookbooks, and this one is the one I come to time and time again. Learning about the specialty ingredients in macrobiotic cooking is tricky, but once you have found a source of these ingredients, the recipes in this book are simple and tasty. The thing I like most about this book is the simplicity of the recipes. Most of the recipes call for the same 4-5 cooking styles, with the same 4-5 condiments. Many of the recipes in this book have become staples of my diet. I am not a 100% practicing macrobiotic, but when I feel the need to eat healthy and lose weight, I always turn to this book as a refresher course to how to eat healthy. This book is an excellent companion book to "The Macrobiotic Way" by Michio Kuchi. Another book I highly recommend is "The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics". These three books are used more than any other in my cookbook library.

From the teacher herself comes a huge book which distills more than 35 years of macrobiotic cooking and teaching. This book covers everything on the subject, from food preparation prior to cooking (an area most American cooks know little or nothing about) through "Medicinal Cooking and Home Cures." Menu planning is included to incorporate acid/alkaline balancing which is so critical to the macrobiotic practitioner's path to total health. I predict that those who study macrobiotic cooking will never again be able to enjoy fast foods such as meat burgers, french fried potatoes, sodas, chips, etc. They will KNOW when food is creating an imbalance and why. They will understand at what point disease kicks in and how to reverse it. This book is required for all who seek health, harmony, and peace. We develop an appreciation and understanding of the role which whole foods, organically grown and properly prepared, play in our physical, mental, and spiritual health. I might point out that prescription drugs, refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, dairy, and meats (other than fish) are huge contributors to imbalance and have no part in macrobiotic health. In a diet consisting of 50% whole grains, 25% vegetables, and the remainder made up of beans, sea vegetables, fish, and soups, it is amazing to see how many creative recipes are included in this 414 page book. Buy it. Everyone needs this education.

Proper macrobiotic cooking unlike some other books which mix the pure foods with junk food. So many recipes...very thorough

Aveline Kushi's COMPLETE GUIDE TO MACROBIOTIC COOKING is the BEST book available of its kind. What distinguishes it from other books on the subject is its emphasis on explaining the philosophy behind the macrobiotic approach to cooking and to eating. In reading the background information, I learned a great deal about the WHYS and HOWS of macrobiotics. With regard to the recipes, they are simple and well-explained. There is a detailed explanation of utensils and of ingredients, as well as of the differences among different food types and their nutritional value. Insights into the health benefits of a macrobiotic way of life are also very well explained.When I took a brief summer class on macrobiotics, the instructor said that this was the best book on the subject. Five years and about twenty-five books later, I would have to agree with him. This is the book that I ALWAYS come back to, and the one which I buy for my friends.Another good book on the subject is Kathleen Turner's THE SELF-HEALING COOKBOOK. It was actually the first book I read on macrobiotics, and it was the one that drew my interest to this area, and is now also one which I regularly purchase for my friends who have an interest in this area.While not totally macrobiotic, the books by Annemarie Colbin are also excellent and address similar cooking/eating topics.

The book is well organised, indexed, has delightful sketches to illuminate the subject, though even more would be helpful. I have used this book every day for a month and have cooked and eaten the results. I am now pain free, knee problems, sleep six hours at night instead of only two and a half, am ten pounds lighter, and am most grateful to Aveline Kushi for sharing with me her knowledge. I have used it together with Michio Kushi's The Macrobiotic Way and have found the combination very practical. I have only one major problem with both books. The names for vegetables in America is not the same as those in England, and without a translation or a sketch I am occasionally baffled. But apart from that I would recommend both books to everyone and in particular someone who is keen to improve their quality of life by regulating their eating habits in a calm and understanding manner.