My Macrobiotic Meals For Weight Loss
Macrobiotic Meals for Weight Loss
Here are examples of my macrobiotic meals for weight loss.
For starters, if you haven't already read my previous posts, you may want to start with My Amazing Macrobiotic Weight Loss, where I share what I did differently that led to my success, followed by My Macrobiotic Weight Loss and Health Journey, where I share a little of my health history, and photos of my recent macrobiotic weight loss.
You may also want to check out these weight loss tips, and my day of simple macrobiotic meals, including Oat Millet Porridge, Miso Soup, Brown Rice with Peanuts, & Napa Cabbage Salad Recipes.
 |
| A few items from a recent farmers market haul ~ actually the second market in a week ~ Several items purchased on Wednesday prior to the Saturday market not shown ~ as you can see we consume a produce-rich diet ~ essential for optimal health & sustained weight loss |
To get an idea of how eating macrobiotically compares to how most people eat in Western cultures, I encourage you to check out my article, A Vegan Lunch Out - How Does It Compare To A Macrobiotic Meal? and my article, Crafting A Healthy Diet, Universal Principles. You'll find several more resources and recipes, below.
Click here for all Macrobiotics related topics.
My Macrobiotic Diet Weight Loss Meals Video
My Macrobiotic Meals for Weight Loss Format
- I make sure to eat some greens and vegetables at each of our two main meals. I usually have a snack, typically fruit and maybe a small amount of nuts and seeds, or if it's later, a bowl of puffed grain cereal with seasonal berries or hemp seeds. This is just what works for our current schedule.
- We also make sure to include one large carrot (each), and a cup of winter squash, or a sweet potato for betacarotene / vitamin A conversion, along with one cup of cooked dark leafy greens, daily.
- Each meal features a whole grain, or whole grain product, such as brown rice, bulgur, oats and millet, whole grain pasta, Don's whole wheat sourdough bread or a store bought whole/sprouted grain bread, whole wheat pita, whole wheat English muffins, or less frequently, tortillas (I honestly don't care for most commercially available brands these days as they all taste synthetic.)
- Most days, our breakfast consist of grain porridge with either Miso Soup with greens and /or vegetables, as shown in this post. Having plenty of greens and vegetables is very important for both weight loss, and getting an adequate intake of minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants.
- Having soups at least once per day is very helpful for aiding digestion, and supporting healthy macrobiotic meals for weight loss.
- My macrobiotic meals for weight loss include plenty of fiber- and nutrient-rich lentils, beans and/or chickpeas most days (just not as much as we used to consume.) IF you are a Vata dosha, or want to learn how to minimize gas and bloating when consuming legumes, check out this post.
- I generally cook oil-free, but not entirely. I do add some oils to dips, dressings, and/or stir fries, however, the amount I use is very minimal. That said, it is easy to stir fry and cook meals oil-free. I share how in all of my cookbooks. Seeds, and whole plant fats can be used to create dressings and sauces instead. For optimal weight loss, I suggest abstaining from oils for at least one month, to start.
Below, I outline a typical day of macrobiotic meals for weight loss, with several pictures of recent meals.
 |
| Breakfast Porridge with Greens, Miso Veg Soup & Local Strawberries |
 |
| Bulgur / Cracked Wheat is super nutritious, and very quick to prepare; the chewy texture makes for great salads like Tabouleh, or added to any other salad ~ I tossed this with fresh garden tomatoes, chives, scallion, celery, lemon, and a splash of balsamic vinegar and reduced sodium tamari (see condiments I use, here.) |
 |
| The above Bulgur 'Salad' with a ton more colorful vegetables |
 |
| Green Split Pea Soup topped with Roasted Peppers & Dulse |
Porridge with QB Greens & Veggies ~ a medley of dark leafy greens, cabbage, carrot, onion, and daikon radish with a sprinkle of kelp granules, and umeboshi vinegar (see below) - a nice mix of upward growing green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, and ground vegetables.
A Typical Day of Whole Foods, Plant-Based / Macrobiotic Meals
My macrobiotic meals for weight loss begins with breakfast with whole grains, vegetables and/or miso soup or fruit, and some seeds. We center most of our meals around whole grains and vegetables or greens.
We sometimes enjoy a carrot drink blended (as opposed to juiced) with ginger and apple juice, sometimes with a beet prior to breakfast.
Our morning porridge is usually a blend of a couple grains, like rolled or steel cut oats + millet, or oats + barley, and/or kamut, spelt, or whole wheat flakes; or leftover brown rice porridge possibly cooked with butternut squash (an awesome blend), or goji berries. I have a ton of excellent porridge recipes in Basic Macrobiotic Menus & Recipes, Simple, Natural Beautiful Food to Balance Body & Mind, shown below.
I also occasionally use grains which have been milled more, like Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Cereal mixed with Oat Bran, Creamy Brown Rice, &/or Cracked Wheat, polenta or buckwheat.
I typically snack on fruit, possibly with a few nuts. Sometimes I have a slice of Ezekiel bread or even thin no-sodium rice cakes with a thin layer of tahini, preserves, and homemade fermented cabbage or kimchi.
My second / last meal consists of more whole grains (or whole wheat tortillas) or possibly potatoes, fresh corn if in season, or whole grain noodles, and more vegetables and greens ~ some cooked, some raw or fermented, and whatever plant 'protein' food, such as tofu, tempeh, beans or lentils, or homemade seitan.
Sticking to mostly whole foods, with very small amounts, if any, oil and less total volume of liquid has been the primary component of my macrobiotic meals for weight loss.
 |
| We enjoy noodles around once per week, with veggies, or simple sauces, as shown below. |
 |
| Cajun Style Red Beans & Rice made for my Rouxbe online plant-based cooking course |
 |
| Brown Rice w/ Hato Magi (Chinese Barley) with Tofu, Lotus Root, Greens & Veg Medley |
For those concerned about gas and bloating on a whole foods, plant-based diet, the body will adjust to a higher fiber intake, however, there are ways to help minimize digestive discomfort, including adding higher fiber foods like beans in slowly, with just a little at a time. You can watch my video about how we adjusted our meals to improve our digestion following suggestions in Ayurvedic medicine, below, or read my article on Tips to Improve Digestion, or How to Minimize Gas and Bloating ~ Recent Meals with Our Vata Reducing Dietary Revisions. Our Favorite Beans That Nourish the KidneysAccording to Chinese food therapy and Macrobiotics, black soy beans, aduki beans, and small black turtle beans are great tonic foods for the kidneys. Black soy beans have a slightly higher fat content, making them super creamy and tender when cooked properly. We also enjoy aduki (azuki/adzuki) beans, which look like small red beans with a tiny white stripe, chickpeas, lentils, and green or yellow split peas. Black sesame seeds also support the kidneys (in general, darker colored blue or black foods), and are taken daily as a tea to help maintain one's natural hair color, used by the Chinese emperors to keep their hair black. In the picture below, black sesame seeds are sprinkled on top of black soy beans as a garnish.  More Macrobiotic Meals for Weight Loss About once per week, we have some type of noodle dish, either a Soba Noodle Salad or Soup, or 100% whole wheat or whole grain pastas with simple sauces as shown in the top two photos, including tomato sauce made from home grown tomatoes and vegetables, and occasionally a lower-sodium, store-bought spaghetti sauce. Here's a great Healthy Homemade Slightly Spicy Marinara Sauce Recipe.   |
A Couple More Colorful Macrobiotic Meals for Weight Loss
 |
Millet Squares, QB Greens, and a Sweet Potato. |
 |
| Garden grown Butternut Squash, Swiss Chard & Onions, a vibrant mix of carotenoid-rich greens and squash. |
Millet Squares:
Millet and/or polenta and millet can be poured into a baking dish once cooked. It can then be cut into squares, or bars, and taken to-go, or reheated by either steaming, baking, or pan-frying in a little toasted sesame oil if craving something more rich.
For the Squash, Swiss Chard & Onions:
Pan sauté vegetables in a couple tablespoons of water or vegetable broth, beginning with the onions.
Season with sea salt, black pepper, fresh grated or dried ginger, garlic, and a pinch of cayenne pepper or garam masala. Finish with a drizzle of tamari.
For weight loss ~ and better digestion ~ learn to eat until 80% full - enough to feel satisfied without over eating.
 |
| Creamy Carrot & Squash Soup, Salad & Edamame |
 |
| Barley Oat Porridge with Goji Berries |
 |
| Miso Soup with Wakame, Ginger, Carrots, Celery Scallion & Dried Shiitake Mushroom |
Recommended Resources for More Plant-Based / Macrobiotic Diet Information and How To Get Started
I highly recommend ordering seaweed from Larch of Maine Seaweed at TheSeaweedMan.com.
For the best quality canned beans, soy milk, Japanese Sencha teas, noodles, umeboshi plums or plum paste, and other items, visit the Eden Store on Amazon, or visit their website. Some items may be available at your local Whole Foods or natural foods store.
Try our Barley Oat Porridge Recipe, with several ways to vary it, Look for my Whole Grains Cookbook, coming soon! You may also like this day of Simple Macrobiotic Meals including Oat Millet Porridge, Miso Soup, Brown Rice with Peanuts & Refreshing Napa Cabbage Salad
Be sure to bookmark my Macrobiotics Page for all related macrobiotic diet and lifestyle topics.
Download our FREE Ebooks
Powered by Plants, Don's previously published, excellent, highly referenced book. Look for his excellent follow-up new edition under a different title available early 20227.
Get started with this easy, color guide - Whole-Foods, Plant-Based 21-DAy Health & Wealth Challenge
My Produce-Rich, Plant-Based & Macrobiotic Cookbooks have all been revised and republished!
Make Every Bite Count ~ The SASSY ~ Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy Produce-Rich, Plant-Based Path to Health was my flagship book, published in 2014. I wrote this book after our year-long high-raw, fruit and vegetable-based diet. The updated 2026 2nd edition is now available on Kindle for only $4.99.
The Macrobiotic Action Plan, Your MAP to Greater Health & Happiness, available in paperback, ebook or Kindle formats.
Basic Macrobiotics Menus & Recipes, Simple, Natural, Beautiful Food to Balance Body & Mind
Read about all my plant-based / macrobiotic books and cookbooks on my website.
Comments
Post a Comment
Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you!