A Moveable Feast

What Does Macrobiotic Mean Today?

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:50:29 +0000

To many people born sometime after the middle 1970’s the term Macrobiotic may seem strange and unfamiliar. They might even wonder if it’s got anything to do with the fast food “Mac” that they know all too well. A cultural food historian would have to devote at least one chapter to the Macrobiotic movement, which could be described as a health food fad that had its day in the sun 30 or 40 years ago. Some inner city Houston residents may remember the Macro Center which was a very popular healthy dining spot in the 80’s. Many still follow the principles of this way of eating today.

Stated as simply as possible, Macrobiotics is diet based mainly on whole grains and vegetables. A “food pyramid” of Macrobiotics would have a large lower tier of grains, topped by vegetables, then a smaller one of beans, fish, and seaweeds, and finally a cap of cold-pressed oils, nut butters,and condiments made of fermented vegetables. Dairy products are absent, as are refined sugars, and nightshade plants such as tomatoes and potatoes. This is the Macro diet as presented to the world by George Ohsawa in the early and middle 20^th century.

Ohsawa got the idea for his diet from a fellow Japanese diet guru, whom he credited with curing him of tuberculosis. He resolved to spread the ideas and philosophy of the diet all over the world in gratitude. He found fertile ground in the U.S. after World War II. Many people then were seeking alternatives to the increasingly processed and toxin laden foods that were being incorporated into the mainstream American diet. Cancer and heart disease were on the rise, and Macrobiotics offered a less risky approach to nutrition. Many Macrobiotic centers and restaurants were opened all over the country.

Today Macrobiotics has lost a lot of its Japanese cultural connections, but miso, tamari, nori, and other formerly strange foods have become part of the American diet. China has its own version of a similar way of eating based on grains, beans, veggies, and seaweed which is associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine. Anyone who is vegan or vegetarian probably eats pretty much according to these principles, whether they realize it or not. Concern over factory farming, processed foods, and climate change will assure Macrobiotics a place at the table during the rest of the 21^st century.
John Fain

Is Red Wine Good for You?

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:08:40 +0000

In recent years there has been a lot written about drinking red wine, touting its benefits to the heart and as an aid to longevity. This buzz was based largely on the so-called “French Paradox”, an observation that the French were a healthy bunch despite the fact that their diet consisted of a lot of high cholesterol, high fat foods, and copious amounts of red wine. Could it be something in the wine that kept the French hearts healthy?

The answer may be resveratrol. This is a substance found in many plant foods especially grapes. Studies on rats have shown it can reduce bad cholesterol and act as an anti-oxidant to slow down aging. Red wine does contain resveratrol, but researchers caution that a person would have to consume at least one, and maybe as many as ten (!) bottles of wine daily in order to reach the desired dose. Needless to say, this is way beyond the level of alcohol consumption that is considered good for heart health.

Resveratrol is available at A Moveable Feast as a liquid or pills. You can protect your heart and increase your chances of longevity without the intoxication of alcohol. Be sure to buy only those brands made by manufacturers that are checked by the FDA for purity. Cheap vitamins are no bargain. Don’t waste your money on them. John Fain

Farmers Markets in Houston

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:06:06 +0000

This is a partial listing of farmer’s markets in the Houston area.
If you have an update or know of another market, please email me.
Thanks, Suzanne

Houston Farmers Market@ Rice University
Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
@ Rice University Campus off University Blvd.
Parking Lot South of Rice Stadium
6100 Main St.
Houston, TX 77005

Bayou City Farmers Market
Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon
3000 Richmond Ave.

Houston Farmers Market @ Onion Creek
Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon
Onion Creek Coffee House
3106 White Oak
Houston, TX 77007

LaCenterra Farmers Market in Katy
Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon
LaCenterra
23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd. @ Hwy 99
Katy, TX 77450

Midtown Farmers Market
Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon
Monica Pope’s restaurant t’afia
3701 Travis St.
Houston, TX 77002

The Woodlands Farmers Market website
Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon
Grogans Mill Shopping Center

Wild West Farmers Market in Richmond
Sunday, noon – 4 p.m.
5005 FM 359 (South of FM 723)
Richmond, TX 77469

Downtown Green Market at Discovery Green
1500 McKinney Street
Across street George R. Brown Convention Center
Sunday 12:00 noon – 4:00 pm

Are your vitamins made in China?

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:20:10 +0000

All vitamins and food supplements are not created equal. Some are what they say they are. The are clean, unadulterated and safe. Others aren’t. In general, you get what you pay for, but that isn’t always true.

You need to trust your source. If your source is a big box merchant, where is the person who is held accountable and who makes the decisions? If your source is a family owned business, the person who makes the decisions is right there in front of you. They make it their business to know what is best in the marketplace.

In a small family owned business like A Moveable Feast, reputation is everything. We have been buying and selling vitamins and food supplements for over thirty years. We seek out the best that is on the market and make it our business to know the good from the bad and the ugly. We search out the most reputable vitamin companies and stock them. You can find cheaper vitamins elsewhere but you cannot find better ones. Quality is important to us and it is important to you. It is what our reputation is built on. And you get what you paid for. Suzanne Fain

Do you know where your vitamins come from?

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:03:41 +0000

One time I decided to check out buying vitamins on the Internet. I had heard the big noise about Acai. Although we sell Acai, I decided to see if the Internet stuff was different or better. For practically no money, I got two bottles in the mail.

I thought “This is great!” I put the bottles on my desk and looked at them for about a month. I thought about trying the contents from time to time and suddenly realized why I hadn’t opened the bottles. I had no idea who made those pills, where they came from or what was actually in them. They were labeled but could I trust the label? It scared me. I had the bizarre thought that they could be contaminated, even be radioactive. OK. That’s slightly over the top but why not? Who knew? I bought them from some Internet site with a phone number manned by operators who knew nothing about the products. They only knew how to charge credit cards. I threw the contents in the trash and recycled the bottles. Suzanne Fain