The kitchen may also be seen as a platform for spirituality. Here cooking is not only an art, it may become a daily ritual, an opportunity for intuition to develop and cater for what the body also really needs. Emotionally, Macrobiotics can help create inner balance by addressing desires for extreme foods and drinks such as sugary desserts, chocolates, alcohol and coffee.
Thoughts while cooking or entering the kitchen are extremely important as well. A chaotic kitchen leads to disturbed energy while cooking. Clean kitchen with organic ingredients is what most pure cook’s desire. Growing and cooking Organic macrobiotic produce is a platform to practice ahimsa or non violence in our daily lives. Another practice is serving of food or gestures / body language while serving food, ideally it should not be rushed or scattered.

Spring clean your kitchen at the outset. A clean kitchen paves the way for you to detoxify on the inside. Dispose or give away any less healthy food. Continue on to clearing out all the possessions and belongings you no longer want to need. Getting rid of any clutter in your life will inspire your new, clean living style.

THE KITCHEN PRAYER

May this kitchen be so filled with peace that all who eat food prepared here receive peace.

May this kitchen be so filled with happiness that all who eat food prepared here receive happiness.

May this kitchen be so filled with good will that working here is a joy.

Bless this kitchen Bless all who work here. Bless the food that is prepared here.

May this kitchen and the work done here be a blessing to all who live.

Michael Pollan, an American health coach has said, “Western food is the worst in the world.” I feel the same for western cooking quipments’ innovation such as microwave, plastic jars, radiation emitting fridge etc. In rural India and some parts of Urban India, we still use earthen pots (Ghadah) for keeping water cool and earthen cups (Kulhad) for drinking tea or water. These pots and cups are environment friendly (as seen in the above picture.) Our tradition has been demeaned or defamed as a poor or uneducated individual’s cutlery and kitchen equipment. Western infrastructure or technology should not be confused for development or a superior product.

Pots, pans and other cookware are made from a variety of materials. These materials can enter the food that we cook in them. Most of the time, this is harmless. However, care should be taken with some materials. Copper conducts heat well, making it easy to control cooking temperatures. Brass, made from copper and zinc, is less commonly used for cookware.

Small amounts of copper are good for everyday health. However, large amounts in a single dose or over a short period can be poisonous. It is not certain how much can be safely taken each day.

Kitchen and cooking is often looked at as an uneducated / rural woman’s domain or in a working women’s dictionary as a failed or unemployed woman’s thing. We need to change our gender biased way of looking at the world of kitchen and culinary. According to Michio Kushi “Planetary ecology begins in the kitchen.”

According to Haryana based Naturopath, Dr. Bhardwaj, “The two most important places in your home for adequate health are your washroom and your kitchen.” When cleanliness and order is maintained in both, only then we get the best results in our health and immediate environment. Happy clean organic living everyone.