To properly enjoy the full benefits of your macrobiotic lifestyle, be sure to note the necessity of symmetry and steadiness in your diet. One can easily become out of balance with oneself by taking in foods that are dynamically off balance with your yin and yang stability. Luckily, there are a few simple ways to regain regularity through your nutrition, and many of them taste delicious!
Find Your Balance
“Foods should be consumed in their most natural state and processed foods are not recommended. Other excluded foods are fatty meats, most dairy, sugars, coffee, caffeinated tea, stimulating beverages, alcohol, chocolate, refined flour, very hot spices, chemicals and preservatives, poultry, potatoes, and zucchini… Excluded foods are considered to be extreme, over stimulating, or too concentrated and therefore not capable of achieving balance.”
Macrobiotics engages the Eastern mindset of utilizing foods to obtain and maintain a finely tuned balance of yin and yang with dietary pairings of sweet, salty, sharp, sour and bitter individualities of taste. Generally, it is instituted that yang-foods are salty, hot and aggressive, whereas yin-foods are sweet, cold and passive. Barred foods are those that possess toxins, falling heavily on either far-side of the pairing gamut, endangering one’s Zen-food balance. So, it’s not that a macrobiotic diet is strict, per se. It simply relies on the basics of quality, quantity, regularity and equilibrium.
Health Benefits Experts Cannot Deny
The scientific health facts concerning a macrobiotic lifestyle are profound, as Zelman notes:
“A well-managed macrobiotic diet can be nutritionally sound. The ADA approves of carefully planned and monitored vegetarian diets for all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, and adolescence. The macrobiotic diet is low in fat and high in fiber. Because of all the soy products, it is also rich in phytoestrogens, which may reduce the risk of estrogen-related cancers, such as breast cancer. There is no scientific evidence that a macrobiotic diet will reduce breast cancer, however eating a diet low in fat, high in fiber, and rich in plant foods containing phytochemicals may offer disease protection.”
Macrobiotics calls for a lifelong commitment to gradually accruing health benefits, and one of the many gifts in maintaining this dietary rubric, along with spiritual calm, increased awareness and heightened bodily function, involves fortification from common, yet serious ailments. But a beginner’s journey, just like their diet, should be well and evenly paced.
“The macrobiotic diet focuses on foods typically lacking in most American diets. Eating more natural foods, whole grains, vegetables, and beans could be beneficial to most people. Adopting it, however, may prove to be much more difficult because it often requires major lifestyle changes. If you’re interested in trying a macrobiotic diet, start slowly. First, incorporate just a few concepts, such as eating less unprocessed foods. Then add more whole grains and so on.”
Taste of Health Holistic Holiday at Sea is more than a great vegan travel experience, it’s an opportunity to travel and stay healthy while pampering AND educating yourself with current events and trends in the vegan world. On our holistic cruise you will have the opportunity to eat divine meals, make new friends engage with some of the most celebrated personalities of the Vegan Industry. 2013 will mark the 10 year Anniversary of the Holistic Holiday @ Sea and there will be lots of socials, great classes, amazing Caribbean ports and even a few surprises. Learning a new way of living has never been so much fun, so easy and so tasty!
Sources –
https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/macrobiotic-diet
Cooking Classes
Learn to prepare best tasting vegan dishes by well-known chefs in the cooking classes. Please check back with us for a complete list of cooking classes.
Monday
COOKING CLASS: THE COLORS OF A CONTINENT
PHYTONUTRIENTS, ANTIOXIDANTS, AND ASIAN CUISINE Victoria Moran
MON / 10:15AM – 11:45AM / KD
In this class, we’ll explore the vibrance of plant-based dishes with Asian heritage. We’ll focus on fresh, flavorful ingredients and visually stunning dishes, featuring a wide array of colorful vegetables, herbs, and spices. You’ll learn to prepare delicious and health-conscious fusion dishes––”Japanese Rainbow Salad,” “Cauliflower Cream Soup,” and “Strong Bone Stir-Fry”––blending traditional Asian flavors with plant-based twists. Plan to taste and familiarize yourself with new and aromatic flavors, expanding your palate and culinary repertoire while learning the body benefits of these foods and experiencing for yourself the user-friendly reputation of pure-vegetarian cuisine.
Friday
COOKING CLASS: HEALTH-PROMOTING DISHES FROM MAIN STREET USA
FRI / 10:15AM-11:45AM / KD
Upgrade your health, shrink your carbon footprint, and honor all life by mastering meals that are both all-plants and all-American. Calling on the culinary traditions of the American South, Midwest, and New England, we’ll prepare “Butter Bean Smash Lettuce Wraps,” “Creamy Potato Corn Chowder,” and “Not-So-Crabby Cakes with Remoulaude Sauce.” You’ll learn to work with vegetables and spices for optimal flavor and texture as you master classic American cooking methods that turn the sad Standard American Diet into a life-affirming Main Street Vegan food style.
Tuesday
COOKING CLASS: MIDDLE EASTERN MAGIC
KALE, LENTILS & GOLDEN CAULIFLOWER Caryn Dugan & James Loomis, MD, The Doc and Chef
TUES / 2:30PM-4:00PM / KD
Explore bold, comforting flavors in this vibrant, oil-free Middle Eastern-inspired class. We’ll build a layered, nourishing menu featuring a Shaved Kale Salad with sweet-tart pomegranate and a bright sumac dressing, followed by WFPB Mujadara—an herbed lentil and rice pilaf crowned with deeply caramelized onions. Finish with our golden Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower, topped with a creamy lemon-tahini drizzle straight from The Doc & Chef Show. This class blends color, crunch, and comfort—no oil needed.
Saturday
COOKING CLASS: COZY MEETS ZESTY
BARLEY SOUP, CABBAGE STEAKS & CHICKPEA CAKES Caryn Dugan & James Loomis, MD, The Doc and Chef
SAT / 10:15AM-11:45AM / KD
This cozy cold-weather menu hits all the right notes—earthy, smoky, and just a little zingy. We’ll start with a soul-warming Mushroom Barley Soup brightened by black garlic and lemon. Then it’s on to roasted Cabbage Steaks brushed with a maple-mustard glaze, and Smoky Chickpea Sweet Potato Cakes paired with a tangy horseradish cashew cream. Whether you’re new to WFPB eating or looking to elevate your flavor game, this class delivers delicious, satisfying meals with zero compromise.
Cooking Boot Camp
Book your One-on-One Consultations, Treatments, and Group Workshop for the September 2025:
Email: Info@Holisticholidayatsea.com
Call 1-305-928-1098.
COOKING BOOT CAMP: Balancing Your Body with Vegan Ayurvedic Cooking and Cuisine with Victoria Moran, **EXTRA FEE, KD
SAT / 1:00PM – 2:30PM / KD
According to yoga’s sister science, ayurveda, ‘When food is wrong, medicine is of no use. When food is right, medicine is of no need.’ This introduction to vegan ayurveda as a foodstyle and healing practice, presents the ‘comfort food diet,’ wellbeing through compatible foods prepared in calming, healing ways. We’ll prep ayureda’s vitality porridge, kitchari, a soothing warm ‘salad,’ and a chocolate shake, therapeutically spiced to bring about balance and joy. You’ll also have a chance to take a dosha quiz and learn your ayurvedic body type, one way to customize your health habits to your absolutely perfect self.