September 17, 2011

Taking Your GERD Out to Dinner: Macrobiotic Restaurants

Last night J. and I went back to a new favorite restaurant, Souen.  A longstanding "macrobiotic institution" in Manhattan, Souen is classic macrobiotics, with its blend of simple seasoning, complementary foods, easy to digest ingredients, and mostly vegan approach (macrobiotics does incorporate fish; still, for a vegan/vegetarian, macrobiotic restaurants can be very exciting places to dine).

Here is our dinner:  broccoli and shredded tofu with carrot sauce (front) and kombucha squash with tofu and vegetables with tahini sauce (rear).



Sublime!  What I love about macrobiotics is this is inherently very flavorful* food without the usual GERD triggers -- no spicy ingredients, no salt, and no fats.    Our food all settled quickly and neither J. nor I felt any negative after-feelings that can sometimes happen after a meal out.  NO regurgitation overnight for me, either!  :)

I feel especially good this morning -- just a slight food in throat feeling -- what IS that, anyhow?  why does this persist every day?  I am starting to wonder if I am imagining it, or if it is more related to "stress" than any food related triggers.  

RESOURCE: Meta list of macrobiotic websites



*Some people think macrobiotic cooking is too stark -- too bland compared with "regular" cooking.  Since we've cut salt way down and tend to cook simply ourselves, this approach is just perfect for me.  I think diners need to put aside their expectations and let the gentle flavors emerge.



2 comments:

  1. An important aspect of macrobiotic dining is chewing thoroughly, to the point that your food is practically liquefied when you you swallow. I wonder if adopting some of those techniques might help?

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  2. Excellent point. I think slowing down while eating, as well as eating less, would definitely help. While I like macrobiotic cooking results, I am by no means following the macrobiotic lifestyle. I think being more mindful overall of how fast I am eating is helpful -- even if I'm not "liquefying" my bites, I should be eating more slowly and chewing more. This is a good reminder.

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