Spork Food Macrobiotic Cooking Class

Ever since celebrities like Gwyneth and Scarlett claimed to follow a macrobiotic diet, I developed a curious fascination for it, wondering the rules, the point, if it really worked and why it was better than other fads. I took a class last month at Spork Foods that answered all my questions. Here's what the lady sisters Heather and Jenny made and taught me: 

First, a macro diet consists of a lot of brown rice, like 60% of all foods a person following consumes in a day. That's why the chefs developed these absolutely wonderful brown rice fritters. Don't worry, they're frying in a healthy high-heat veg oil (safflower). Note: only 5% of the macro diet is made up of proteins like beans. The rest is fruits and veggies - you do the math (after tax season I'm over all things numbers-related).


Oh, and P.S.: Spork, as you know from following this blog (ahem), is an all-vegan kitchen, so while regular macros eat fish, nothing on this menu has animal products, which we Stay Cools super appreciate.  

Brown Rice Fritters (my new very favorite food). 
Keep scrolling to see them browned and ready. 


The chefs said the point of a macro diet is to: "Eat as close to nature as possible, to close the gap between the world we created in the human world and nature." And "To eat well and prevent disease and unhappiness." Sounds fair enough to me. 

Like any good chef knows, a sweet course is a requirement. I mean, really, isn't the savory just foreplay for dessert? Here's a Spork chef preparing Date "Pudding" dessert cups. Again, this is vegan, so the pudding entails a lot of bizarre-to-most ingredients like kuzu root starch and arrowroot powder, to help this version of the dish gain a similar consistency to the one you grew up tasting. 


Furthermore, the girls explained that a macro concerns herself with the ying and yang of foods. Sugar, fruits and all things lovely (duh) are female or Ying, while the men and salty foods get called Yang. Someone in class made a joke about whale penises that I didn't write down, but go ahead and imagine the fun. 


While we find all these ingredients at the Santa Monica Co-op (LOVE!), we realize you might not have it so easy. We suggest emailing the Spork girls or the CO-OP for product details. Moreover, we've found that it's not only healthier but actually a lot simpler to cook this way - if you're cabinets are stocked properly - than it is to work with animal product since the beat and bake times are usually shortened. No chance at salmonella here people! 

Marinated extra firm Tofu "Breaded" with arrowroot powder and crisped in neutral tasting oil like coconut or safflower. 


The chefs are about to top these slices with shitakes sauteed with tamari, maple syrup, plum vinegar and ginger - yum! Shrooms, according to macros and the Spork girls, take toxins out of your body! 

Ginger Broccoli
We learned that broccoli is healthiest and tastiest in small crowns as opposed to the large stalks, and that it's an anti-inflamitory, an anti-oxident, and a detox food rich in Vitamin K, calcium, and even protein. I used to eat steamed broccoli every single day throughout college. I wonder if my body craved detoxing after all those nights out (ahem).   

Brown Rice Fritters over a Carrot Puree, ready to serve

Fried Tofu with Sauteed Shrooms 

The completed plate

Ariel view of the Sticky Date Carmel Pudding

Because I'm a baker, and an old-schooled one, this dessert was way too bizarre for my liking, but the ingredients supposedly had healing qualities so I finished mine anyway. :)


In this class, I learned that all foods consumed in a macrobiotic diet are to prevent sickness and make the body work to its highest efficiency. Maybe Gwyneth wanted more than just a killer Hollywood bod when she turned herself over to the macros - you can't criticize the woman for that!